18th May

Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave died earlier today at the age of 52, in what was apparently a suicide. I'm not hugely familiar with his music other than the latter's "Cochise" (which is a tune) but am aware of how much he was respected and admired in the rock community and he used to be written about a fair bit in Kerrang which I was once an avid reader of. It's obviously desperately saddening news for his family, friends and rock fans but what struck me as being especially awful was that it occurred a couple of hours after Soundgarden had played a show at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.

Gigs have been a huge part of my life for 13 years or so. With maybe a handful of exceptions, every time I've felt low, sad or upset, I've gone to see one of my favourite bands and felt better coming out the other side, having lost myself in music for a couple of hours. Cornell stood on stage last night in front of a group of fans who adored him. He had brought value to their lives through his art. Yet the admiration felt for him by them and others in the music world wasn't enough. It's not logical. But depression isn't logical. Suicide isn't logical. It's wretched.

There are no easy solutions. I have found merit in talking about my mental health issues through here or otherwise and will continue to do so. Equally I'm here for anyone who happens to be reading this.

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