[UKjovi]

Both Billy and Chris are more or less saying the same thing here.
http://grungereport.net/?p=12659
http://grungereport.net/?p=12675
Billy, My point of having a problem with nostalgia acts for the artists that are from the Grunge generation is it basically subverts the original meaning of the Grunge generation’s music, which is rebellion. So basically, everybody in their 40′s are now all phoning in, let’s call it for what it is. And yeah maybe we’ll put out one new song on the greatest hits album but it’s not really getting back on the horse. We need those artists to step up and take on the social issues particularly that are going on right now. And they’re choosing an economic model over a sociopolitical one, so as far as I’m concerned **** them, because they’re lazy or they’re scared. I grew up in a generation that had a message, where is that message? If it’s going to be subverted by simple economic downturns, then the message wasn’t real at all. No better case than Pavement, complaining about me in the 90′s, now doing the greatest hits tour. Why? Ca-ching, cashing in. Maybe that’s why they were obsessed with integrity, because they didn’t have any. We play just as many old songs as any other band, and we should, we have some great songs from the past. I understand people coming to shows, they want to hear those songs too. It’s just when that becomes the story, if that is the story, then I am dead as an artist and there is no future for my band, so what the **** am I doing standing there? I am nothing but a rodeo clown doing the act from 25 years ago. That’s not why I got into this, and I don’t like that expectation. As far as I am concerned, **** that expectation. Now, if you come to hear what the band’s about, and in the midst of that we want to create a historical context and an emotional context to tell a story, great. I just went to see Roger Waters do the Wall for a 2nd time, that’s a work from 1979, 1980. He didn’t play but one new song in the entire set. He’s re-contextualized the work to have a modern air, he’s talking about everything from Apple to Gulf Wars and all this stuff. He’s re-contextualized the work, he’s updated it for modern audiences. That’s the same thing we do, we update our music for this audience in this time. It’s not a sentimental ‘let’s go back to the old days,’ **** the old days. The old days weren’t that great, I don’t like this sentimentalism it’s killing our business, and it’s not good for culture. Rock and roll should be at the center of this culture and it’s not, it’s been marginalized because everyone’s afraid. Artists drive the narrative, they always have, that’s why governments are afraid of artists. Only rock and roll bands and radical artists, filmmakers/poets can change shit up from the outside in, because that’s the power of the word that’s the power of the song. Hence artists need to stand up and sing those political and revolutionary songs, that’s what we’re here for at the end of the day. But I’ve been very critical at the lack of my generation standing up and having something to say about what is a very intense time economically and politically in our country politically.”

Chris, Chris Cornell stated in a new interview with The Sun that Soundgarden’s new album is groundbreaking and as vital as anything they’ve ever done. Cornell also called out modern day music’s shortcomings, like Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has in recent interviews. Here are some excerpts:

“I’ve always believed that rock music benefits from an obstacle,” says the Seattle native.

“The worst rock is made when everybody loves rock, like in the late Eighties. That’s the only time hard rock has been the biggest-selling genre of music — and it was mostly crap.

“The Seattle scene was the antithesis of that. Soundgarden was very instrumental in creating that shift.

“We were one of the first bands to be held up and looked at, where the engines of commercial rock thought, ‘This is the future. This band or bands like it can be selling millions of records’.

“A big reason grunge became so big so fast is because people were so sick of what was out there.

“It’s the same thing now. You have a better chance of a very healthy and vital rock scene coming out today because there’s something to react against.

“Contemporary pop music couldn’t be any worse than it is now. The one bright spot was Adele having the biggest-selling record of last year. They’re actually songs and she can really sing.

“So obviously the biggest market still responds to a human being creating music.”

Cornell says: “The one way we stood out is that we weren’t one of those bands that was easy to get. I think every band from the Seattle scene was pretty easy to figure out. But we were extremely diverse and we could do it authentically, which is not easy to do.

“I think the one thing that’s been overlooked is that we covered a lot of territory.

“In terms of an overwhelming commercial acceptance, that hurts you. But in terms of longevity and having a lasting impact that’s legitimately culturally important, it helps you.

“We stand alone outside of genres. We’re not like anybody else. We can’t be imitated.”
After reading both interviews I'd say they are right. It's got a bit stale and there are so many bands out there that sound the same,i.e. Nickelback copycats. There are so many things to sing about isn't it about time we had a shake up in the Rock world?