Chris Cornell and Timbaland Sell Me On “Scream”

Ran into this lil’ interview of Chris Cornell and Timbaland discussing their upcoming collaboration “Scream”.

Watch the video before you read my rant, because you’re going to learn a few things from it.

Artist on Artist: Chris Cornell and Timbaland

Okay, now for a quick lesson on interacting with an audience, and how to build up some buzz.

First thing, did notice how the video opened with an intro by Chris and his son? A brilliant snapshot of where Chris Cornell is at this time of his life. He’s a rock legend who has a wife and children and lives in Paris.

He’s an older, happier dude than his Soundgarden days. He’s been involved with three very influential and groundbreaking rock acts (and screw all of you who hated Audioslave, go pick up Revelations and shut your mouths) and has had two solos projects (Euphoria Morning was outstanding and though Carry On was not as well received, there are songs on that album that I have grown really, really fond of). The dude continues to break boundaries of what he wants to do with his career and has taken a bold move in collaborating with Timbaland.

I first heard of this project probably eight-ten months ago. My first reactions was “What the F#$@%?”. Not that I do not respect Timabaland, but I’m just a rock dude at heart and do not really listen to a lot of rap/r&b/etc. I know who Timb is and what he’s accomplished, and if I were in the position to work with the guy, even I would be all over it.

Then came the first Rhapsody-exclusive single, “Long Gone”, which dropped in August. I at first liked it, but then forgot about it for a little while. other than the man Albert updating us on release date news here at the rocking blog of Evolvor.

Then came the two very-omg-media placements of Chris Cornell – the first in a recent Verizon wireless commercial (and I don’t watch a lot of TV, so this was high priced premium football ad spots were talking about here, that’s all I have time for on the Tube). The commercial features a quick snippet with a slew of other very high profile musicians. Not that Chris doesn’t deserve it, but I’m sure having Timb as the producer influenced quite a lot of big-wig corporate types. Nicely done.

THEN came the placement of the song “Ground Zero” on the new critically acclaimed ABC drama, “Life On Mars”, starring a movie-quality ensemble cast with Tommy Lee Jones and Gretchen Moll just to name a few. NICE! Not only did he get that gig, but it was on a very well received show that looks promising. I wonder if it’s in the show’s intro, that would be a godsend of promotion! Again, I hear the album in a different medium then I usually work in (or one that an Indie band would have), but still, it’s another chance to grab me.

And finally the MySpace video. All this time I’ve been curious, but forgetting of the album. The TV spots reminded me it was coming, but it wasn’t enough for me to give a shit about it.

Then I see this video of this guy with his kid, bug ass smile on his face. The Timbaland and Chris shoot the shit about the album for five minutes, and I GET IT.

Interaction. I got to see these guys just talk about the project. They provide the hype, just by sitting down and talking.

It wasn’t the product placement that got me. That’s just “Planting the Seeds”.

Make sure you’re interacting with an audience, on a real level. You have the tools (MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc the list is infinite).

And by the way, after the interview, I went back to Rhapsody to listen to “Long Road”, and low and behold. there was two other singles available – “Scream” and “Ground Zero”. Another little bite for me.

Can’t wait to buy the album the day it comes out.