TODAY ON OUTQ: MORE OF THE CHRIS CORNELL DISCUSSION (PLUS OTHER '90S ARTISTS)

I’ve gotten some feedback from people, both here on No Expiration, in my email box, and in person, about my posts about Chris Cornell’s solo music. I now have three songs, courtesy of iTunes: “Ground Zero,” “Scream” and “Watch Out.” I am starting to like them. Of course it is different from what Chris has done before, but he has the right to try something new.

So that will be the first topic on tomorrow’s OutQ show. As much as Chris wouldn’t like the theme, I’m going with it: ‘90s icons making new music. I’m also talking about Chris’ former Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello, who has just released his second album as The Nightwatchman. When Tom went from Rage/Audioslave to solo acoustic stuff, that was quite a change also, but one people seemed more accepting of (even if The Nightwatchman isn't nearly as popular as the bands he has been in). On his new album, The Fabled City, he rocks a bit more, but it is still really different from Rage/Audioslave. I like, but don’t yet love, his Nightwatchman stuff, but I think he’ll be doing it for decades to come, and I’m sure he’ll keep improving.

I’ll also be talking about Tom’s sometime Rage Against The Machine bandmate, Zack de la Rocha, and his new band, One Day As A Lion. I like their self-titled EP, I don’t love it. It features Zack on keyboards and vocals, but yet sounds very Rage-y.

I’m also talking about Tool/A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan’s Puscifier project, which is kind of funny. Most of it is electro-funk/R&B, but he also does some country. Maynard, who has also done stand-up comedy and who owns a winery, is a tough guy to pin down, and I think he likes it that way. Puscifer is nothing like Tool/APC. And finally, The Gutter Twins have just released a digital EP, Adorata, with covers of songs by Jose Gonzalez, Primal Scream and Eleven. Pretty cool stuff.

THIS WEEK ON OUTQ

Having seen the Neil Young's Crosby Stills Nash & Young tour doc Deja Vu, I thought that it would be interesting not just to talk about it this week on Larry Flick's OutQ show, but also to bring up the topic of politics in music. 

Also on the political tip is the debut album by Rage Against The Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha, One Day As A Lion. 

I'll probably also talk about the Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band shows that I saw this week. I've wondered why last time he toured with the E Street Band, he played 10 nights at Giants Stadium, plus three at Shea, and this time he's just doing three Giants Stadium shows: is it because he has turned off fans with his politics? 

I've also wanted to talk about the Body of War soundtrack. Hopefully this will be interesting, and people won't want to kill me. I think the next topic will be less controversial: do any artists make better albums on their own than with their bands (since Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes have solo albums coming out). 

ZACH DE LA ROCHA'S NEW PROJECT

Back in September, I wrote about how Zach de la Rocha had allegedly finished his first solo album. And then nothing happened. Now, the interweb is reporting that Zach has a new project called One Day As A Lion with Jon Theodore, the drummer from The Mars Volta. Zach plays keyboards. Their debut EP comes out July 22. I look forward to hearing this - it seems different from anything else Zach has done in the past. I imagine he'll promote this with a tour - but I'm hoping that Rage Against The Machine will do some shows in the fall around the time of the election. In related news, I hear Tom Morello has finished his second album as The Nightwatchman, and this one is a bit more rocking than the first one.