Cochise (song)

"Cochise" is the first single by Audioslave for their eponymous debut album released in 2002. The single was released with a white and a black cover. The difference between the two versions besides the covers is that the black version only contains the title song, while the white version contains "We Got the Whip", a live version of "Gasoline", and the music video for "Cochise".

Inspiration

In an interview, guitarist Tom Morello said this about the song:

Cochise was the last great American Indian chief to die free and absolutely unconquered. When several members of his family were captured, tortured, and hung by the U.S. Cavalry, Cochise declared war on the entire Southwest and went on an unholy rampage, a warpath to end all warpaths. He and his warriors drove out thousands of settlers. Cochise the avenger, fearless and resolute, attacked everything in his path with an unbridled fury.

^[3]

Composition

"Cochise" is played in standard E-A-D-G-B-e and B-E-A-D on the guitar and bass respectively. Tom Morello came across the intro riff by accident. He had a guitar on his lap and his delay pedal set to "slap-back" and, while writing notes for a song, he rapidly hit the strings with a pencil in his right hand. This produced a noise reminiscent of a helicopter. When Audioslave recorded this song, Morello did the same thing, with his Digitech Whammy set an octave lower, and using a flat hand to slap the strings. For the opening riff of the song, while Morello incorporates the helicopter sound on guitar, bassist Tim Commerford plays an open E with a fast strumming technique with his thumb or fingers, while using distortion and a Wah pedal. The verse, as well as the solo part, the bridge and the opening of the song is played on the bass with the use of a type of distortion and a bass Wah-Wah pedal at the same time, giving it Commerford's unique sound found on the majority of Audioslave songs.

Music video

The accompanying music video, directed by Mark Romanek and produced by Aris McGarry, shows Chris Cornell on a raised platform, presumably waiting for the other members. Meanwhile, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk drive to the platform in a Chevy pickup. They take an elevator to the top of the platform where they play atop the platform with a barrage of fireworks being shot off in the background. At the end of the video they hug.

The amount of fireworks released during the filming caused nearby residents to report a possible terrorist attack.^[4]^[5] This video has also been censored in some places, due to the fact that it has a large amount of flashing lights, and could cause epileptic fits with some people. At the beginning of the video "PLAY LOUD" appears on screen.

This video is available as a "director's cut" on the DVD The Work of Director Mark Romanek and has new footage inserted. There is more emphasis on the strobe lighting and fireworks during the video.

Track listing

"Cochise" - 3:42
"We Got the Whip" - 4:05
"Gasoline" (Live from Letterman) - 4:43
"Cochise" (Video Version) - 3:42

Trivia

A cover version that omits part of the intro is playable in the 2005 music video game Guitar Hero.
It is featured in 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Short clip of it is used in the 3rd episode of season 19 of The Simpsons,"Midnight Towboy".
It is used in a montage after the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
It is used in trailers for 2008 movie Iron Man.
It is featured daily as the opening theme song on "Red Heat" on Hardcore Sports Radio Sirius Satellite Channel 98 (now 158) since the late fall of 2009.
In the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, it was played as the Boston Bruins entered the ice in the first period.
One of Audioslave's first performances was playing "Cochise" on the Late Show with David Letterman, outdoors on top of the show's marquee.

Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	24
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	69
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	9

Notes

Lyrics by Chris Cornell.
Written and Arranged by Audioslave.
Recorded by Harvey Goldberg.
Engineered by Thom Russo.
Assistant engineer: Miles Wilson.
Additional recording at Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research, Los Angeles.
Mixed by Rick Rubin, Thom Russo at Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research, Los Angeles, CA.

References

↑ "Audioslave CD rates a rave". Plainview Daily Herald. April 1, 2004.
↑ Wood, Mikael (May 4, 2007). "Cornell's Soundgarden tunes rock the Avalon crowd". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
↑ Armor, Jerry (September 20, 2000). "Yahoo! Music - Audioslave, Ex-Rage Cornell Band, Announces Tracklist". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
↑ "The Audioslave Fan Forum - Audioslave FAQ". audioslaved.com. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
↑ Monks, Jon (September 2003). "Audioslave album review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved April 7, 2008.

External links

Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

v t e Audioslave

Chris Cornell Tom Morello Tim Commerford Brad Wilk

Studio albums	Audioslave Out of Exile Revelations

DVDs	Audioslave Live in Cuba

Singles	"Cochise" "Like a Stone" "Show Me How to Live" "I Am the Highway" "What You Are" "Be Yourself" "Your Time Has Come" "Doesn't Remind Me" "Out of Exile" "Original Fire" "Revelations"

Related articles	Discography Rage Against the Machine Soundgarden Interscope Records Epic Records Axis of Justice Temple of the Dog

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