[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "The Videography Of Audioslave"
07.10.13
BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
This was a “super group” or a “mesh-up group” from the early 00’s. We get the vocalist from Soundgarden, arguably the REAL best “grunge era” band, in Chris Cornell. We take that awesomeness and pair it up with one of the most influential rock-metal bands of the 90’s in the band that was Rage against the Machine. So that meant we had Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk in a band again, but this time fronted by Cornell. That’s just one bad ass collection of super music powers.
They put out three albums and had some pretty nice success. It wasn’t as mind blowing as their more known projects, but it was some solid rock and roll music in a time when not many people were doing it anymore. I don’t know why, but people seem to really like trashing this band. I know some perspectives don’t like it because of Cornell’s involvement and others just didn’t like the music they made. I don’t think we all have to agree on all music preferences, but I just never got the “hate”.
Here are the music videos of Audioslave…
Track: "Cochise"
Album: ”Audioslave”
Year: 2002
Director: Mark Romanek
This was such a bad ass rock song when it came out. When it first came out it got tons of play and then seemed to fade away after a while. The thing about this song is that it’s been a few years since I actually put in the effort to listen to it and it definitely holds up. The video is directed by the always amazing Mark Romanek. We see Cornell on a platform just chilling and hanging out. Then we see the band driving to the said platform. They get there, fireworks go off and the band rocks the hell out. There’s nothing too flashy about the video outside of the flashy stuff. What I’m trying to say is that the concept is simple. A singer and a band hook up and make a bad ass rock song as fireworks go off in celebration of the event. The video is almost like an “origin story” for the band. Pretty bad ass if you think about it. Rating: 8.5
Track: "Like a Stone"
Album: ”Audioslave”
Year: 2003
Director: Meiert Avis
I remember this song popping up in some movies and promotional things at the time. It’s a solid down-tempo slow burn of a rock song. The video is set in an old mansion that Jimi Hendrix once lived and wrote in. Not a whole lot goes on in this video. It’s basically all location, musicianship, vibe, and a lot of great cinematography. The video doesn’t do the song justice. The look of it is great, but it’s just too subdued of a video. Looking good is not entertaining good. Rating: 7.25
Track: "Show Me How to Live"
Album: ”Audioslave”
Year: 2003
Director: A/V Club
I always dug this video. We see an old school radio DJ introducing the band as the intro kicks in. The band is apparently on the run from the law. We see a whole bunch of small town/1970’s looking cops setting up a road block and preparing to take down what seems like harden criminals. Meanwhile, the and just casually cruises in their car. The cops start chasing them down, but they fail and crash in what turns out to be some cool ass stunt driving and crashing. The rock out portion is really cool. They know they’re in for trouble, so they just let loose on the big rocking break that comes for the chorus. It’s a really cool video. And really, in retrospect, this was a really cool “second rock out” single. The first, “Cochise”, was bad ass and then they followed it up with the ballad. I guess that’s the traditional formula for a reason. Then they bring out THIS song, which is arguably even better than the first big single. Based on these three singles, this album should get way more credit than it does. Rating: 8.5
Track: "Be Yourself"
Album: ”Out of Exile”
Year: 2005
Director: Francis Lawrence
This video is a lot like their “Like a Stone” one. It’s mainly them, atmosphere, the music, the vibe, and that’s it. Francis Lawrence did an awesome job at capturing the moment here, but it’s not all that remarkable in terms of narration or rewatchablity. I’d listen to the song plenty, but the video is lackluster despite looking nice. If you were a fan of the WWE during the mid to late 2000’s then you were forced to hear this song about a dozen billion times. It just got really worn out for me despite being a really good down tempo track. It’s got a positive message and all of that and still maintains a strong edge. What I’m saying is that it doesn’t feel “soft”. Rating: 7.0
Track: "Your Time Has Come"
Album: ”Out of Exile”
Year: 2005
Director: Steve Rees
This video isn’t all that remarkable either. It’s basically a typical “live concert video”, but the big difference is the band is playing in Cuba. It was a history making moment. They capture a lot of cool moments, but the flow doesn’t kill it. A lot of times a music video like this is an uncreative cop out to just get something out there or to do what everyone else does. Audioslave doesn’t do that here. On this one especially, they make a familiar style work to their benefit.. Sounds like something you could have said about their music. I think this song is an underrated gem in their singles collection. It’s not as impactful as their other rock anthem tracks, but it’s one of those songs that just works in the form of a video. Rating: 6.75
Track: "Doesn't Remind Me"
Album: ”Out of Exile”
Year: 2005
Director: Chris Milk
I remember seeing this video and being taken back by it. The cinematography has a more gritty and natural “independent film” vibe to it. The song is pretty good, but when you hear in the context of this video it makes it pretty great. The video really pulls at you while looking outstanding. The narrative sneaks up on you and makes it a whole different song. We follow the story of a little boy who is getting ready for boxing meet. He plays with airplanes a little, but the focus is on the boxing. We finally see the fight and it turns out his father died in the military and each punch brings back a memory. It’s some really powerful stuff. My description can’t do the raw emotion of this video any justice at all. Rating: 9.5
Track: "Original Fire"
Album: ”Revelations”
Year: 2006
Director: P. R. Brown
This video instantly reminds me of the old RAGE video for “Renegades of Funk” or even the “Take Me Out” vid by Franz Ferdinand. It’s not that it’s badly made because it holds up to both of those mentioned videos. It’s just nothing too ground breaking. The band rocks out as words, images, and animations swirl around them. We see shots of inspirational figures, keywords, and tons of drawing-looking animation on top of that. It’s okay, but I’ll forget about this video before I wake up tomorrow. That’s not a good sign. Rating: 6.75
Track: "Revelations"
Album: ”Revelations”
Year: 2006
Director: Danny Clinch
Another “sit around and play” video? Yeesh. They’re all great at what they do, but some added theatrics and maybe a hint of a narrative would go a long way. I love seeing Tom Morello play as much as anyone with a soul, but this is too much. Why do all the “down tempo” type of tunes get this kind of video treatment? Would be too crazy if a song with an up-beat energy got a cool “sit around and play” video? Probably. You know why? Because those kind of videos can get boring! I’m not saying this specific video is boring. It’s well done and all of that, but it’s just repetitive at this point. The way the background screen is set up for each member it looks almost like they had planned to use the footage in a different way and just threw this together after the fact. Who knows? For as nice as it looks, it’s just kind of there. It’s sadly kind of fitting that this would be the last music video the band made before breaking up. Rating: 7.0
Track: "One and the Same"
Album: ”Revelations”
Year: 2006
Director: Danny Clinch
So they must have had some footage from the “Revelations” left over. It’s the same exact set up and shots, but it’s just better. The song is more up tempo and more of a rocker. The cuts and the shots work better for this one though. The shots and the tone match up nicely. Fun video. Rating: 7.25
Track: "Until We Fall"
Album: ”Revelations”
Year: 2007
Director: [Unknown]
The band is obviously broken up at this point. This video is made up of candid backstage footage mixed in with awesome shots of the band playing live. They all seem to be having a blast doing their thing. It’s a shame the good times in this video didn’t translate to a creative connection between everyone. This band could have done some really cool things if they found their rhythm together. Moments like that captured in the video are really cool. I guess this is a nice wrap up to a solid three album run. Rating: 7.5
