It was standing room only at the joyous funeral services today commemorating the life and music of The Pogues’ frontman Shane MacGowan.
Hundreds of people packed the historic Saint Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland with music, eulogies and prayer to celebrate the life of one of Ireland’s most famous sons.
Earlier in the day, a funeral procession through the streets of Dublin was attended by thousands of well-wishers. MacGowan lived in Dublin, but his funeral was held 100 miles away in Nenagh where he spent part of his childhood.
Among the parishoners at the Mass in Negagh were his family, members of the Pogues, the president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, and fellow musicians and friends Bono (U2), Nick Cave, Johnny Depp, and Bob Geldof. Actor Aidan Gillen and former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams were also in attendance.
Not surprisingly, music played a big part of the ceremonies. Irish singers Mundy and Camille O’Sullivan sang “Haunted” – a duet that MacGowan recorded with the late Sinead O’Connor.
Nick Cave performed one of MacGowan’s best known songs, “A Rainy Night in Soho” and Hothouse Flowers frontman Liam Ó Maonlaí along with Imelda May performed MacGowan’s ballad, “You’re The One.”
MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke, gave a witty and introspective eulogy of the eccentric musician, relaying stories of his complex personality that included an oversized appetite for music and art, religion and spirituality, love and compassion, and drugs and alcohol.
As one of the most celebrated Irish musicians of his generation, MacGowan made his mark on the global music scene with his unique fusion of Irish music and punk rock.
MacGowan is best known for classics such as the Christmas-favorite, “Fairytale of New York,” “Dirty Old Town,” “Sally MacLennane,” “Pair of Brown Eyes,” “Love You Till The Very End,” among many others.
MacGowan, who was 65 years old, died on November 30th after a bought of pneumonia. He had suffered from a number of health issues in recent years, and was recently hospitalized for treatment of encephalitis.
Andy Rourke, the immensely talented bass player of the iconic band, The Smiths, has passed away at age 59.
Rourke’s distinctive bass lines contributed to the band’s unique sound and undying legacy.
Born in Manchester, England, Rourke was destined to become a musical virtuoso. With his innate talent and unwavering passion for music, he became an integral part of The Smiths, joining forces with Morrissey, Johnny Marr, and Mike Joyce to create one of the most influential and revered bands of all time.
Rourke’s bass playing skills were truly exceptional, characterized by melodic hooks, rhythmic precision, and a remarkable ability to infuse emotion into every note.
His contributions to iconic tracks like “This Charming Man,” “How Soon Is Now?,” and “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side” helped define the sound of The Smiths and resonate with fans across generations.
Beyond his musical prowess, rourke was known for his warm and humble personality. He had a deep connection with the band’s loyal fanbase, whose admiration and appreciation for his talent only grew stronger over the years.
Rourke’s infectious smile, genuine interactions, and down-to-earth nature endeared him to countless individuals, leaving a lasting impact on all who had the privilege of knowing him.
While The Smiths disbanded in 1987, rourke continued to contribute to the music industry, collaborating with various artists and pursuing his passion for creating and producing music. His talent and creativity extended beyond his work with The Smiths, demonstrating his versatility and dedication to his craft.
Rourke’s legacy will forever be etched in the annals of music history. His profound impact on the alternative rock genre and his ability to connect with audiences on a profound level will continue to inspire musicians and fans for generations to come. As we bid farewell to a true musical icon, let us remember Rourke for his immense talent, his contribution to the world of music, and the indelible mark he left on our hearts.
We extend our deepest condolences to rourke’s family, friends, bandmates, and fans during this difficult time. May his soul rest in eternal peace, and may his music continue to resonate and uplift us all.
Mark Lanegan (57) was the lead vocalist for the indie rock band Screaming Trees.
He was easily one of the central figures in the Seattle grunge rock scene for many years. Lanegan also recorded for Queens of the Stone Age and was well regarded by many fellow musicians.
Lanegan was hospitalized for Covid-19 earlier this month but passed away on Tuesday due to complications caused by the effects of Covid on his body.
Another giant of the music industry has passed on.
Woodstock organizer/promoter Michael Lang succumbed to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma just hours ago.
According to Rolling Stone, Michael Pagnotta, a longtime family friend, Lang passed away Saturday evening at Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York. He was 77.
Lang was only 24 years old when he conceived and spearheaded the original Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969.
But only days before the sold-out, much talked-about (at least in the northeastern U.S.) music festival was set to begin, a potential catastrophy of untold proportions was about to explode on the entire affair.
The permit for the original site in Woodstock was revoked by the town after outraged citizens complained. The intrepid Lang would not cancel the fest and instead him and his crew scouted out and found Max Yasger’s farm in Bethel, New York. It it had not been for the loving grace and open arms of Mr. Yasger, the festival may have never taken place.
The Aurora thugs who jumped, choked, and drugged Elijah McClain, resulting in his death, have been arrested and booked.
Three officers, and two paramedics, were booked and released on bond late Wednesday, according to The Denver Post.
The gang of five was indicted by a grand jury and charged with manslaughter; criminally negligent homicide; and second-degree assault, among other counts.
Only after sustained community, statewide and national pressure and protests, a Colorado state grand jury was convened.
Now, after two years of blaming the victim, stall tactics, and non-action, a state grand jury came to different conclusions about the cause of Elijah’s death than earlier investigations.
The grand jury indicted Aurora police officers Randy Roedema, Nathan Woodyard and Jason Rosenblatt (no longer an officer) and paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec on 32 counts, including, the indictment outlines, manslaugther; criminally negligent homicide; assault in the second degree; crime of violence and various other assault and crime of violence charges against the officers and paramedics.
The indictment quotes Roedema as saying to investigators that his department tends to “take control of an individual, whether that be, you know, a[n] escort position, a twist lock, whatever it may be, we tend to control it before it needs to be controlled.”
“We’re here today because Elijah McClain is not here, and he should be,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said at a news conference announcing the charges. “He was a son, a nephew, a brother, and a friend.”
The indictment comes just over two years after McClain, 23, died after being violently attacked, assaulted, and murdered.
Editor’s opinion: What is even more disturbing of all is the restraint and injection of the animal sedative ketamine by paramedics. What is wrong with the minds and hearts of people who swore to uphold the Constitution and to protect property and life?
These thugs didn’t care about Elijah; he was a target for them and it didn’t matter to them whether he did nothing wrong or not – they were intent on violating his rights, his mind, his body and shockingly to sedate him like a wild dog, leading to his murder. Walking home from the store; jumped by bully racist police officers (because a bag he was caring from the store looked “suspicious”.
NOTE: Watch out folks – LAW enforcement of all kinds do it every day. So, now, instead of calling it profiling, they call it ‘suspicious behavior’ so that later a cop can say he/she was “suspicious”; acting ‘suspicious’; walking ‘suspicious’; looking ‘suspicious’ as a way to violate people’s rights. If this happens to you and cops mention suspicious you then say a person’s perception of suspision is not probable cause and then invoke your 5th Amendment right to remain silent. As much as you may want to talk, don’t and make sure to film any encounters and ask if their bodycams are activated. Remain silent, film everything and call a lawyer.
That’s just a huge open door allowing bad cops and other law enforcement officials to fuck with people. Now profiling has evolved to ‘suspicion’. They cannot stand that there are so many video cameras now everywhere.
In the days before cameras everywhere, cops really did whatever they wanted to. Even the cops that didn’t want to ‘go along’ had, and have, no choice but to defend the thin blue line at all costs.
In fact, another example of this deliberate lying by police officers is outlined in the indictment. When Roedema and Rosenblatt grabbed Elijah, Roedema later claimed that Elijah went for Rosenblatt’s gun even though Rosenblatt claimed he did not feel or see any contact with his “service weapon.”
Elijah should still be learning, teaching, sharing, and making music. Who knows what else he could have done and all of the people, and animals (which he loved), he could have touched with his light.
But dark, evil forces took all of that from him in just minutes: Elijah was taken from his walk home by these evil forces. Grabbed; forced to the ground, assaulted; choked three times and injected with a powerful animal tranquilizer. Elijah suffocated and died.
His mother waited for him at home. She of course had no idea that her son was attacked, drugged and murdered for no reason at all by a gang of violent thugs – the same people who swore to protect and serve people just like Elijah.
Hill was the band’s bass player for more than 50 years. During his life, probably to his own surprise, he and his band mates became cultural and musical icons, even appearing in an episode of The Simpsons, television’s longest-running sitcom.
Band members Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard issued the following statement just a few hours ago:
“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’
“You will be missed greatly, amigo.”
Earlier this month, Gibbons and Beard performed for the first time without Hill in more than 50 years. They stated that he had “to address a hip issue” although Hill was reportedly in more serious condition than the public was aware.
Britain’s late 70s provincial punk scenes were seldom places for the faint-hearted, but few were as starkly polarised as that in Leeds. At one extreme, the city had a large National Front presence: Leeds has the dubious distinction of the giving the world its first openly Nazi punk bands, the Dentists and the Ventz.
At the other, there were the bands spawned by the city’s university and the radical leftwing theory popular in its fine art department: the Mekons, Delta 5 and Gang of Four. The result was frequently chaos, “terrible violence”, as Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill put it. There were pitched battles on the university campus and at the F Club, the city’s main punk venue.
It’s tempting to say you could hear the tension in the way Gill played guitar. His biggest inspiration was Dr Feelgood’s Wilko Johnson, but he took Johnson’s taut, jagged, aggressive rhythm guitar style and ran with it: there was a sharp funk influence too, but as the writer Simon Reynolds noted, the way Gill played guitar could make you flinch.
There was something austere about it. Gill refused to use distortion or play solos, unless you counted what he did on the extraordinary Love Like Anthrax from Gang Of Four’s debut EP Damaged Goods, where he unleashed a howling, scourging torrent of feedback that opened the song then seemed to crash in and out of it completely at random.
Update (5/11/18): Police have confirmed the identity of a man’s body found Thursday as that of Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchison. This is just too sad. RIP.
Original story:
THURSDAY, MAY 10 – At this hour, family and friends, police and even fans, are desperately searching for Frightened Rabbit lead singer Scott Hutchison.
The 36-year-old Hutchison was last seen around 1 am Wednesday leaving the Dakota Hotel in the town of South Queensferry, Scotland, just outside of the capital Edinburgh.
By Thursday, concern for Hutchison’s safety was growing. His brother, and bandmate, drummer Grant Hutchison, tweeted Thursday morning:
“We have no news to report on Scott’s whereabouts this morning. Your support so far has been incredible and all we ask is you keep him in your thoughts, keep an eye out and keep sharing his picture online. Thanks for everything. Your kindness and positivity is [sic] keeping us going.”
Earlier on Wednesday, May 9th, just hours after learning of his brother’s disappearance, Hutchison posted the following heartfelt message on his Instagram:
“Has anyone seen my brother/bandmate/best friend? He’s in a very fragile state and has been missing since last night and we’re all incredibly worried.
“He was in a hotel in South Queensferry and hasn’t been seen or heard from since 1 a.m. Please repost and share and get in touch if you have any info. His phone is with the police.”
“If somehow you are reading this Scott then can you just let someone know you’re safe, please? We love you very much.”
The band also posted on their Twitter account on Wednesday morning the following message:
“We are worried about Scott, who has been missing for a little while now.”
“He may be in a fragile state and may not be making the best decisions for himself right now. Please, could Scott or anyone with any information on his whereabouts please contact Police Scotland.”
His brother also reported on Thursday that he left the hotel without his cellphone.
On Tuesday, the singer wrote and sent a pair of “worrying” tweets via his official Twitter account:
“Be so good to everyone you love. It’s not a given. I’m so annoyed that it’s not. I didn’t live by that standard and it kills me. Please, hug your loved ones.”
The last tweet from Hutchison was on Wednesday: “I’m away now. Thanks.”
Please report any sightings of Scott Hutchison to the Scotland Police at +44 1786 289070.
Over the years, we have really enjoyed Hutchison’s and the band’s work and we can obviously only hope the best for Scott Hutchison, his family, friends, and fans.
Of course, we look forward to hearing the good news that Scott is safe.
Music lovers around the world are in shock today at the sad news of Prince’s passing. Here are just a few of the highlights of an amazing career – an artist who single-handedly made it safe for artists to cross and mix genres and to be totally original and humble – not to mention to stand up to the record industry. RIP Prince, the master genre-bender. Influence on indie rock? Immeasurable.
Check out Prince’s guitar solo of George Harrison’s ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ during 2004 RNR Hall of Fame. And don’t miss Sandra Bernhard’s revealing dance video for “Little Red Corvette.”
Rare – Extended Live Performance of ‘Purple Rain’ in Syracuse, NY in 1985 (suitable example of Prince’s stellar guitar playing abilities; audio is much better than video; it was 30 years ago)
Rare video of Prince in 1978 on American Bandstand – six years before Purple Rain.
Full interview of Prince on CNN in 1999
Prince talks to Tavis Smiley in 2011 about his music and other stuff
British Documentary about Prince (VH1 Behind The Music apparently never did one because Prince wouldn’t let them)
Quote of the Week: Caitlin Jenner, eat your heart out grrl – you could never be half the woman Prince was
Prince would laugh at that because part of what made him so great was that he was not afraid to be outrageous and express himself in such a flamboyant way at a time when it was not OK at all (height of the AIDS epidemic) to dress like he did. Prince, though, made it cool.
NOTE – By the way, YouTube: Please remove the karaoke tracks of Prince’s songs. Let’s have one thing that’s scared. He wanted his music shared, but he didn’t want it bastardized.
Evan Dando of Lemonheads: one of many musicians to pay tribute to Alex Chilton @SXSW
The final, full day of SXSW 2010, Saturday, March 21, was freezing cold. In fact, it was warmer by 20 degrees-plus in the northeast; at one point it was barely 40 degrees, but the winds wiping off the Texas prairie lands made it feel like it could snow. People with warm clothes, hats and jackets were cold, so you can imagine what it was like for all of the folks who dressed for typical Texas late March weather. Dallas got two inches of snow!
Visitors to Texas expecting warm spring weather in this near-tropical locale were dumbfounded. But, thankfully, people found ways to cope, and one way was to get a little to a lot closer, and that’s a good thing.
Perhaps, James Mercer, of an IRC favorite band, The Shins, performing at The Mohawk patio with Broken Bells – a great new band featuring Danger Mouse – summed it up best when he said: “welcome to Portland,” sarcastically referring to the cold, cloudy and windy weather residents of Oregon’s biggest city know all too well.
Although the weather was a huge topic of conversation – and even curse words – it was in fact the tribute show at Antone‘s to honor the sudden passing of iconic musician Alex Chilton of Big Star, that was the talk of SXSW today.
Chilton, who was 59, suffered an instantly fatal heart attack on St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans, only three days before the much anticipated reunion of Chilton with most of the original and later members of pop rock icons Big Star. In what surviving Big Star members called a musical wake, the 80-minute tribute to Chilton included guest appearances from the Lemonheads’ Evan Dando, Meat Puppets’ Curt Kirkwood, M. Ward, REM’s Mike Mills, and many others.
Ray Davies, of the legendary rock band, The Kinks (and one of the first rock bands to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), and who was also at SXSW for a solo performance (and honorary speaker at SXSW some years ago), talked about how Chilton came to his aid after Davies was shot in New Orleans in 2004 during a mugging in the French Quarter. “He would come over and lend me a guitar,” Davies said. “He became my friend …[and] helped me a lot.” Davies proceeded to dedicate The Kinks’ classic “Till the End of the Day,” a song Big Star previously covered. In the past, Chilton had creditedThe Kinks as one of the biggest influences on Big Star‘s sound.
“Till the End of the Day” (1965) – The Kinks
So far it’s been a sobering year for many music lovers. In the past few months, fans have had to come to terms with the tragic and untimely deaths of Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse), Jay Reatard and Vic Chestnutt. Yet as far as impact on music history, the sudden death of Alex Chilton is probably the most stunning of all, especially since Big Star were scheduled to reunite at SXSW.
Our Day Four got off to a slow start – after three straight days and nights of shows, often standing for 12-14 hours a day (that’s a lot of standing, huh?), the freezing, overcast weather didn’t help, and staying warm became more important than waiting in long, hardly moving lines outside. In previous days, long lines were cool because you knew it would be a great crowd, and probably a good showcase. One of the biggest downers about SXSW is waiting in a line for an hour or more and never getting in.
But with the case of Broken Bells show, unlike their shared showcase with Spoon, it was thankfully pretty fast and easy to get in. If only Austin’s own indie rock band Spoon had been there too, well, that would have been something else.
Broken Bells’ debut LP, released earlier this month, has created a lot of buzz. Broken Bells, dressed appropriately in layers, put on one of the festival’s most memorable shows. Ironically, Mercer and Danger Mouse where collaborators with Mark Linkous, and performed on Late Show with David Letterman only a couple of days after Linkous’ tragic death.
“The High Road” – Broken Bells
Following the Broken Bells, we headed inside to get warm with the Freelance Whales, who were performing in The Mohawk’s so-called “cake shop,” perhaps one of the smallest music venues in Austin. But because it was indoors, and smaller, the show was better than their outdoor performance at the Galaxy Room Backyard on Thursday.
After Freelance Whales, we headed over to The Parish where we unfortunately just missed Wye Oak, but were in time for Ben Gibbard‘s (Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service) solo set. In addition to playing a bunch of DCFC songs, Gibbard calmly did a terrific cover of The Magnetic Fields‘ song, “I Don’t Want To Get Over You.” The warmed up capacity crowd at The Parish were, not surprisingly, a bit older of a crowd than you see at other shows, but it was a highlight of SXSW to see Ben Gibbard, one of IRC’s favorite singer/songwriters of the past decade or so.
“Cath” – Ben Gibbard
By early evening, rumors circulated that the line for the Alex Chilton/Big Star tribute show was insanely long. The same was also true for the Perez Hilton Party where Snoop Dog and Courtney Love (reunited with Hole) was performing. Well, we never planned on seeing that show anyway – much too much fake “A-list” Hollywood for us. And Courtney Love? Pah-lease.
After the Ben Gibbard show, we wanted to check out a new, promising band we previously featured on IRC – the Small Black at The Mohawk. However, five minutes before the set, there were literally seven people there. Tough decision time: at SXSW, you go for the energy of the turn-out almost as much as you do for the bands. One thing you learn really quick at SXSW, is that if a show isn’t happening, either by attendance or performance – or technical issues – there are dozens of other choices unless, of course, it’s a show you have to see. Anyways, we have the opportunity to see Small Black with Washed Out and Picturesque Airplane in San Francisco this coming weekend. We see a lot of potential in this exciting, and latest, edition to the “surf rock” craze of the past year or so in the indie rock genre.
Here’s another video of Small Black performing “Pleasant Experience” (Note: Now having regrets about not staying to see Small Black’s Mohawk set)
Therefore, we headed out to catch a few songs from Minneapolis’ Banner Pilot and fellow Minnesotian dance pop duo Swimming With Dolphins before walking back over to The Galaxy Room to watch the only Matt Pond PA show we knew of at SXSW at the Polyvinyl Records Party.
Matt Pond PA, our first time seeing them live, were joking with the packed room, and playing one terrific song after another, including “Halloween.” We were disappointed, however, that they didn’t play “Snow Day,” one of their most well known songs, and it would have been so appropriate for the weather of the day.
“Halloween” – Matt Pond PA
“Snow Day” – Matt Pond PA
By the time Matt Pond PA wrapped up, SXSW was in it’s final night of official showcases. So, we didn’t waste much time; off next to see Titus Andronicus outside at Red 7, two blocks away. The Glen Rock, New Jersey band, whose new album, The Monitor, is one of our favorite 2010 releases so far, played a raw and energizing set of guitar rock, including a fifteen-minute, acid-freaked version of the guitar punk-rock song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Right before the crowd-pleasing jam, Titus frontman, Patrick Stickles, said: “Thanks to Fuc*ed Up for making the world safe for 15-minute punk songs, like this…”
“Titus Andronicus” – Titus Andronicus
By this point, it was becoming apparent that SXSW was coming to a close, but we still had a few more gigs to catch before the ball dropped. So, we caught a bit of Woods set inside the Red 7 and then headed around the corner to Barbarella to see Abe Vigoda; doses of good guitar rock are filling up this part of the schedule, and Abe Vigoda lived up to expectations, as did the next performance by Canada’s Two Hours Traffic at Mi Casa; they performed their best-known song, “Territory,” with perfect musicianship.
“Territory” – Two Hours Traffic
The wheels are starting to come off – finished the official SXSW with Japandroids at The Galaxy Room and No Age at Barbarella. Both of those shows were packed and memorable as the night (it was now about 2 am) came to an end. It was time to say goodbye to everyone before turning in to warm up and rest aching feet. Next year, we hope to host a showcase, so stay tuned for updates about that in 2010.
“Wet Hair” – Japandroids
We would like to thank everyone – from the organizers (how do you do it?) to the venues, the musicians and bands, and the good folks of Austin – for a great first time SXSW experience. The past five days are like one long blur of venues, people and music, and it will take some time to digest it all.
SXSW typically kicks off the music festival season with big fests like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Sasquatch, Lollapolooza, Outside Lands and many others in the pipeline. Look out for our special series of features on music festivals of 2010.
Over the next week or so, we will have more coverage from SXSW, including band profiles, playlist mixes, show videos and interviews, samplers, photos and more. We’ll also profile bands we heard about but didn’t get to see, and bands we like, even love, that we didn’t get to see. One thing you learn at SXSW – if you get to see even two dozens bands you wanted to see, it’s an accomplishment – but there will always be those shows you missed for one reason or another, and that’s just part of the gig.
On that note, it is hard to imagine what it is like for SXSW attendees who go to conferences, panels and seminars all day, because a lot of the best showcases – and chances for actually getting into see a show – are the unofficial, often free day-time shows. It’s also very different than the more exclusive night-time showcases, and gives you a entirely different overall experience in seeing how many non-industry people respond, or don’t respond, to a particular artist or band. See our full SXSW coverage, including dozens of songs, videos and handy links of SXSW 2010 bands.
Tomorrow, it’s back to our regular programming with the Best New Releases of The Week feature. There is plenty of great new music out this week, so check back for that, as well as more SXSW coverage. In addition, we are excited to share with you in coming weeks a bunch of artists and bands that you probably never heard of, many of who have contacted us in the past few of months with music submissions. The amount and variety of great music we receive just In Dee Mail (our silly way of saying music sent in to us via email) alone is overwhelming.
Jimmy Lee Lindsey, Jr., aka Jay Reatard (1980 – 2010) photo from Matador Records
Update: 1/14/10 3:20 pm: Pitchfork is reporting that Reatard’s death is now a homicide investigation and the Memphis police are asking the public for any information as well as offering an award for leads.
Garage/punk rocker Jay Reatard, 29, was found dead this morning in his Memphis home. While details are still sketchy, early reports say that Reatard, whose birth name was Jimmy Lee Lindsey, Jr., apparently died in his sleep last evening. A cause of death has not yet been determined.
A fairly cryptic message from Reatard’s Twitter feed on Jan. 9th stated: “If I don’t get well soon I’m gonna eat myself into pig champion/tad teritory.” His last Twitter message, delivered on Monday, January 11th, was also somewhat cryptic, but did not hint at any indication of what he meant two days earlier about apparently not being “well.”
It said: “I will give anyone a hundred bucks per tire that they pop on the band liquor stores van! Yes I’m serious”. Perhaps in true Jay fashion, that was apparently his last public statement to his fans worldwide.
Reatard’s record label, Matador Records, issued this statement just hours ago: “We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we’ve ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist. We’re honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly.”
The alternative music world has lost another great talent, and much too young at that, for the second time in the past three weeks. Last month, on Christmas day, legendary singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt died after lapsing into coma following a rumored overdose of muscle relaxtants.
The rebellious, often controversial, Reatard made a name for himself in the alternative rock world for his fast, short and often furious punk songs and live stage peformances. In 2009, he released a less raucous, more pop-inflicted album, Watch Me Fall, to mostly critical acclaim. Reatard was known for his strange, sometimes violent, stage antics and played in a number of bands over the years, including Lost Sounds, Nervous Patterns, Destruction Unit, and the new wave garage rock outfit, The Final Solutions. This past October, for reasons never made clearly known, the members of Reatard’s solo band quit.
“It Ain’t Gonna Save Me” – Jay Reatard from Watch Me Fall (2009)
Last month, on December 9th, Reatard made headlines when he stormed off-stage near the end of a show at an Austin nightclub. While performing, two fans jumped up on stage and attacked Reatard. According to a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman newspaper, Reatard retaliated by “swinging his microphone stand and departed mid-song, giving the at-time rambunctious audience the finger as he exited the stage.” The fans jumped the stage after Reatard announced it would be his last song of the 40-minute set. Both men were later arrested.
The day after the incident, Reatard’s publicist issued the following statement: “Jay was attacked, totally unprovoked, by two different people, both of whom were later arrested. One guy bolted onstage and came swinging at Jay, but security took him away pretty quickly. Soon after (the band hadn’t stopped playing, by the way), another guy sprinted onstage and hit Jay. Unlike the first guy, Jay didn’t even see this guy coming. So Jay defended himself with the mic stand until security took that guy away, too. Jay is safe and unhurt, and the cops were there for about an hour afterwards.”
The following night after a performance in Dallas, Reatard posted this message about the incident on this Twitter feed: “Another epic tour comes to an end … Thanks to all the good folks that came out and f— you to the sh– heads in Austin! How was jail haha.”
“See-Saw” – Jay Reatard from Matador Singles ’08 (2008)
“Always Wanting More” – Jay Reatard from Matador Singles ’08 (2008)
“My Shadow” – Jay Reatard from Matador Singles ’08 (2008)
This is a video of Jay Reatard performing in Dallas; his last known live performance:
The following clip from Jay Reatard at the Goner Fest 6 in September:
Vic Chesnutt: RIP (1964 – 2009) photo by Eric Lawson
In an on-going playlist series featuring fantastic singer and songwriters, we are honoring the memory of the great Athens, Georgia singer-songwriter, Vic Chesnutt, who passed away on two weeks ago on Christmas after lapsing into coma following a rumored suicide from an overdose of muscle relaxants.
Chesnutt was well known for his witty, dark songs and collaborations with members of various alternative and indie bands, such as Elf Power, Fugazi, Godspeed!, You Black Emperor, Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra,Widespread Panic, Cracker, Lambchop, Throwing Muses and M. Ward, to name just a few. Fellow Athens, Georgia resident and long-time friend, REM’s Michael Stipe, produced Chesnutt’s first two LPs.
In 1996, Chesnutt received national prominence after an album (Sweet Relief) of his songs were covered by Smashing Pumpkins, Madonna, REM and Garbage. Chesnutt was paralyzed at age 18 in a car accident, and he has required constant medical care ever since. Earlier last year, he told Spinner that he was terrified by the fact that he was being sued by the Athens Regional Medical Center in Georgia for up to $50,000 – even though he had health insurance. “Right now,” Chesnutt said, “I am in huge trouble in that the hospital is suing me for $35,000 for payment, which is terrifying – and the rub is that I have health insurance.”
In September, Chesnutt released the critically acclaimed LP, At The Cut, and was touring to sold out crowds. In honor of the prolific Chesnutt, here are a pair of songs from his own website – one from At the Cut, and another from his 2007 classic LP, North Star Deserter, and a couple of videos. The irony of the first song in this mix is heart-wrenching. Rest in Peace, Vic; we’ll miss you.
“Flirted With You All My Life” – Vic Chesnutt from At the Cut (2009)
“You Are Never Alone” – Vic Chesnutt from North Star Deserter (2007)
Download a free six-song samplerfrom Vic’s official website.
