This isn't really fair of us because their lives belonged to them or God or both. Sometimes, when an artist's output affects us in an important way we begin to feel like we have some sort of dominion over their art or their lives or both.
We don't.
Here's a list of musicians, who affected me, that passed on all in one year. I will list them in order of the importance of their art in my life. But who am I, really?
1. Gregory Isaacs
Reggae and other music from Jamaica influenced my musical pallet quite a bit. Jamaican Riddims were among the first genre I experimented with as a young child. Gregory Isaacs is widely considered one of the greatest Reggae singers of all time. When asked who his favorite singer was in an interview, the great Robert Nesta Marley replied "Gregory Isaacs, Mon" I would agree with Bob on this one. Bless up, Gregory. Rest In Paradise
2. Ari Up
Front-woman for the uber-seminal Post Punk outfit The Slits. Her music was smart and fun and ahead of it's time. I can't think of a modern Punk-ish outfit that wouldn't fairly count Ari and The Slits among their influences. If they don't count Ari and The Slits among their influences their probably some shitty band on a shitty label and if they died they wouldn't get mentioned on this blog.
3. Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson
Sleazy was a founding member of Throbbing Gristle. Their label was Industrial Records. Industrial they were, maybe the first Industrial band. Can you imagine a world where Throbbing Gristle never existed? Me either. Besides his extensive musical accomplishments with Throbbing Gristle and subsequent bands, Sleazy was an amazing graphic and performance artists. In many ways Sleazy was responsible for the look as well as the sound of Industrial music and to a certain extent, the genres of Noise and Techno as well. Fanni and Genesis are still around. When they go it'll be pretty close to over.
4. Captain Beefheart
I'm sure this was a big one for a lot of people. I don't have to tell you that Van "Captain Beefheart" Vliet was a prolific rock musician with a career that spanned a quarter decade. I was never a fanatic but I am of the odd and the Captain was nothing if not odd. Jay-Z rapped once that no one else but he was "so Pop and so hood at the same time". I would argue that Captain Beefheart was so mainstream yet so weird at the same time. I'm not sure a truly avant garde musician, the way Van Vliet was, could obtain the type of success in this day & age that Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band have enjoyed.
5. Eyedea
Eyedea was a rapper from Minneapolis. He was white. Both of these things would have sounded strange in the 90's but Eyedea and his production partner Abilities were such proficient MC's (along with Slug of Atmosphere and the rest of the Rhymesayers crew) that the Twin Cities are now synonymous with dope, usually white, backpack rappers. He won Scribble Jam in 1999. That was the first I heard of him. He never really let up. Their weren't too many Indie rappers in the aughties that matched the success of Eyedea and his buddies. Again, I wasn't a huge fanatic but I took this one especially hard. I think it was because Eyedea (real name Mikey Larsen) was so young. His cause of death was a mystery for a week or more before it finally surfaced as an accidental drug overdose. Opioides, in all their forms, cause nothing but death for many and misery for all. Please don't do them.
Lena Horne, Teddy Pendergrass and Eddie Fisher also died this year but I'm not going to write about them.
