Songoftheday 2/13/24 -On a cobweb afternoon in a room full of emptiness, by a freeway I confess...

 

 

"Like A Stone" - Audioslave

from the album Audioslave (2002)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 10

Today's song comes from the rock "supergroup" Audioslave, who came together at the turn of the century when the seminal aggro-political rock band Rage Against The Machine saw their lead singer/rapper Zach De La Rocha leave the act. The remaining members - guitarist Tom Morello, bass player Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk stayed together, looking for a new frontman. Producer Rick Rubin set them up with Chris Cornell, who had previously led the post-grunge giants Soundgarden, the third in the triumvirate of Seattle 90's rock with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Soundgarden had never been a "singles" act, but they did manage to have three songs reach the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 Airplay chart, the most recent being "Burden In My Hand" in the fall of 1996. However not long after that, they imploded during the tour behind that album. Chris recorded a solo song for the soundtrack of the 1998 movie adaptation of Great Expectations; "Sunshower" went to #8 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock radio chart and #12 on the Alternative Rock counterpart. Later that year, Cornell released a solo album, Euphoria Morning, which peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200 sales tally. The lead single from the record, "Can't Change Me", made the top ten on both the Mainstream (#5) and Alternative (#7) Rock radio chart, and managed to "bubble under" the Hot 100 at #102. 

Eventually assuming the moniker Audioslave, Cornell, Morello, Commerford, and Wilk released their self-titled album in 2002, after delays with management, label, and song leaking issues. The first song promoted to radio from the record was "Cochise", a primal, drum-heavy song that got a good reception on rock radio, spending four weeks at #2 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart and climbing to #9 on the Alternative Rock list, while coming in at #69 on the Hot 100. It also made the top-40 in the United Kingdom at #24 (where singles sales were still a thing) as well as Italy at #33.

 

The second offering was "Like A Stone", written by the band who produced the track with Rubin. A much softer-produced record, the lyrics contemplate what people believe to be an afterlife. It then drifts into a sort of purgatory where Chris is endlessly waiting for the something that doesn't come. An atypical guitar solo from Morello is follows to a return to the acoustic start. Cornell's vocals are (for him) pretty soothing during most of the track. This allowed mainstream pop station to dabble in this, and the band found themselves with their first decent crossover hit...

 

 "Like A Stone" reached the top-40 on Billboard's Hot 100 in May of 2003. On the radio, the song peaked at #27 on the Mainstream Top-40 chart, and #23 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format. But it's best showing again was on rock radio, spending twelve weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock airplay list and two weeks atop the Alternative Rock counterpart. Internationally, the single reached the top-40 in New Zealand (#14), Australia (#35), and Italy (#40). The Audioslave album, released in November of 2002, crested at #7 on the Billboard 200, spending almost two years on the list (103 weeks) and going on to sell over three million copies. At the Grammy Awards in 2004, "Like A Stone" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance, losing to Evanescence for "Bring Me To Life". The Audioslave album was also up for Best Rock Album, which the Foo Fighters took home for One By One. 

The third release from the debut album was "Show Me How To Live", which made the top five on the Mainstream (#2) and Alternative (#4) rock charts, and rose to #67 on the Hot 100. That was followed by "I Am The Highway" which took two weeks at #2 on the Mainstream Rock list and three at #3 on the Alternative counterpart, and made it a notch higher on the Hot 100 at #66. (This one also made the top-40 in New Zealand at #36.) Finally, the song "What You Are" hit #8 on the Mainstream Rock chart, #17 on the Alternative list, and "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #125.

Audioslave will be back to the series.

(7/10)

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

The band performed the song on top the marquis for the Letterman late show to promote the album in 2002...

Audioslave played the Live 8 charity concert in 2005, and "Like A Stone" was also included...

Lastly, here's an acoustic version from Chris for AOL...

Up tomorrow: British R&B duo give their consent.