Like a Stone
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| “Like a Stone” | |||||
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| Single by Audioslave from the album Audioslave |
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| Released | 2003 | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Recorded | 2002 | ||||
| Genre | Post-Grunge | ||||
| Length | 4:54 | ||||
| Label | Epic Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Chris Cornell, Audioslave | ||||
| Producer | Rick Rubin, Simon Askew, Audioslave | ||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | ||||
| Audioslave singles chronology | |||||
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"Like a Stone" is the second single from Audioslave's 2002 self-titled debut album, Audioslave released in 2003. The song is based around a simple guitar riff, and features one of guitarist Tom Morello's trademark high-pitched solos.
It is the most successful single released from the album, having peaked at #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Like a Stone" is Audioslave's most successful single and has been certified gold by the RIAA.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Like a Stone" - 4:57
- "Like a Stone" (Live BBC Radio 1 Session) - 4:58
- "Gasoline" (Live BBC Radio 1 Session) - 4:45
- "Set It Off" (Live from Letterman) - 4:01
- "Super Stupid" (Live BBC Radio 1 Session)
- "Like a Stone" (music video)
[edit] Song information
Bass player Tim Commerford explained that the song is about an old man waiting for death. He sits in a house alone after all his friends and family have passed on before him. He is waiting to be reunited with them.[1][2]
However, while Commerford originally thought it was a song about love and romance, Chris Cornell explains: "It's a song about concentrating on the afterlife you would hope for, rather than the normal monotheistic approach: You work really hard all your life to be a good person and a moral persona and fair and generous......And then you go to hell anyway."[3]
The melancholy and certain parts of the lyrics of "Like a Stone" has prompted some to wonder if Cornell wrote the song about late Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley who died in April of 2002. Cornell's answer to these assumptions: "No. I'm not one of those guys where, like, something happens and then I go run around, 'Ooh, 9/11, and now it's 9/12, let me write about that. I wrote the lyrics before he died. ... You can misinterpret that stuff pretty easy, but I don't tend to sit down and plan on writing about a specific issue. They come up or they don't."[4]
[edit] Music video
The "Like a Stone" video is written and directed by Grammy winner, Meiert Avis, who has also directed videos for State Radio, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, J-Lo and many many others . The video was produced by Oualid Mouaness. Set in Los Angeles in an old Spanish mansion where Jimi Hendrix once lived and wrote. The imagery consists of a series of powerful personal portraits of the musicians, showing the band recording over several rainy days. Live sound elements reinforce the realism of the video. Brad Wilk's muscle drives the images. The bruised colors of the lighting, the use of negative space, Cornell's very vulnerable performance, all work to create an intense feeling of loss and survival. Though shot in Los Angeles, the ghosts of Hendrix and Seattle hang in the air. Morello's vibrant guitar solo lifts the beautiful melancholy of the song and then bassist Tim Commerford's young son Xavier appears in the clip, giving the solo and bridge a contrasting sense of optimism, family and friendship.
[edit] Credits
- Tom Morello - Guitar
- Tim Commerford - Bass/Vocals
- Chris Cornell - Vocals
- Brad Wilk - Drums
- Simon Askew - Producer
- Audioslave - Producer
- John Burton - Engineer
- Lindsay Chase - Voices, Production Coordination
- Rich Costey - Mixing
- Greg Fidelman - Digital Editing
- Harvey Goldberg - Engineer
- Chris Holmes - Assistant Engineer
- Vlado Meller - Mastering
- Darren Mora - Assistant Engineer
- Floyd Reitsman - Engineer
- Rick Rubin - Producer, Mixing
- Thom Russo - Engineer, Digital Editing, Mixing
- Andrew Scheps - Engineer, Digital Editing
- David Schiffman - Engineer
- Nick Scripps - Engineer
- Miles Wilson - Assistant Engineer
VIDEO
- Meiert Avis Director
- Oualid Mouaness Producer
- Danny Hiele DP
- Philip Duffin Designer
[edit] Miscellanea
- Limited Numbered Edition came with a poster.
[edit] References
- ^ (2003, July 29). Audioslave [DVD]. Interscope/Epic.
- ^ Songfacts - Like A Stone by Audioslave. Songfacts. Retrieved on 2007-05-14.
- ^ The Audioslave Fan Forum - Audioslave FAQ. audioslaved.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-14.
- ^ Blabbermouth.net - AUDIOSLAVE Select 'Like A Stone' As Second Single. Blabbermouth.net (2002-12-11). Retrieved on 2007-05-14.
| Preceded by "Somewhere I Belong" by Linkin Park |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single May 17, 2003 |
Succeeded by "Headstrong" by Trapt |
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