This was a sad one. I was never a fan of his bands but I have a friend who taught himself to play bass because of John. I met John's wife over the summer, they'd been together for years but tragically were only married for a month or two before John passed. Cancer ****ing sucks. For me, the worst were Jack Bruce, Merle Haggard, Scotty Moore, and Tom Petty. None of them I expected to hit as hard as they did. I still don't think I fully understand that I'm on a planet that doesn't have Tom Petty on it anymore. He's just... always there. Right? Right???
Bowie, for sure. (biggest loss that didn't affect me at the time, since I wasn't born quite yet... toss up between Hendrix and Otis Redding)
If I had to stop and think about it.... Chris Cornell: I had been struggling with certain things and seeing this guy who seemed to be very together and very collected crack like that just numbed me, and I couldn't deal with the s--- anymore. Prince: I can still recall Awards Day at school, I was coincidentally in Purple, and my mom tells me Prince died, and I spent that night just watching Prince videos and trying to understand how it could be, cause I thought he'd be around for years and years. Tommy Ramone: Just knowing that all of them were gone broke me up, and it still hurts that none of them are here, or that I can't remember when all of them walked among us. Tom Petty: I can still recall classes, and in between I get this notice that Tom Petty is dead, and then it just flip flopped between Dead and dying, and even though deep down I knew he wouldn't make it, I still held onto whatever faint hope I could. When it was finally over, it seemed so difficult to comprehend. We already had to deal with the Vegas shooting, but Tom was just salt in the wound, he was this rock, always there for us, and we took him for granted, I took him for granted. Tie, since these two went close: Chuck Mosley: I can still see the thread, and my heart sinking, cause I love FNM so much, even with Chuck, and to lose him when everything was going so well... Malcolm Young: This one obviously wasn't that surprising considering all of his health issues, but Goddamn, to know the man was gone was just hard, and really it just sank in that AC/DC were gone. I'm used to Bon not being here, since he was long dead by the time I was born, but Malcolm.... A few weeks ago, I was putting away laundry, and I see an AC/DC shirt, and I just went "God I miss Mal"
Oh jeez, I forgot about Mal. Wow, last year sucked! We all knew it was coming, but damn, nobody wanted to see it happen. And George only days before... poor Angus...
I didn't personally know Bowie, George Harrison, John Lennon or Prince, but their music has been a significant part of my life, comforting me, educating me, inspiring me and helping with my self-esteem. Their deaths affected me at a level that sometimes was equal to those of loved ones and still do so. It hurts to hear their latter period music now, which is a shame because I want to listen and get the same enjoyment that I used to. I can't listen to Blackstar, Double Fantasy or Brainwashed without feeling a little pit in my stomach. Anyone else having this experience?
Allan Holdsworth, and not just because of his outstanding abilities. It was that he appeared here so many times in intimate venues, and he was always approachable to talk, shake hands and sign CD's. The news was a shock. We'll never see another like him again.
Two artists that I actually miss the most because I used to see them quite a bit are Vic Chesnutt and Ian McLagan. I saw Ian less than a year before he passed and he was still a character as always. I'd brought an Ogden's LP for him to sign and he proceeded to tell me stories about all the photos on the album cover. Perhaps Vic's death wasn't as much of a shock, but I still miss his razor-sharp observations and humor. I never was brave enough to approach him. I guess since I'm disabled I didn't want to seem like a wheelchair groupie.
Tom Petty Leonard Cohen Both so important to me at the times they died - Tom especially, couldn't believe it. John Lennon upsets me even though I wasn't born when he was murdered - the Stupidity and senselessness of it just anger and annoy me that one of THE BEATLES should just get gunned down in the street. It seems wrong
Lennon's death came as I entered adulthood, and completely changed my worldview. Most recently, Tom Petty's death felt like losing a close friend. I've been listening to his music from the first album, and was lucky enough to meet him as far back as '77. The Lawsuit Tour in '79 was my first real date with the woman I married, and we've seen almost every tour over the past 38 years.
Kurt Cobain - Despite Nirvana being my favorite rock band at the time, it actually put me off "rock" music for a while. It thought his suicide was cheap and irresponsible and by that point I was getting sick of the generally negative outlook of the "Seattle sound". Adam Yauch/MCA - I was a huge Beastie Boys fan, and he seemed like a genuinely good guy. Was pretty sad when he died. David Bowie - I wasn't even a big Bowie fan before he passed, but when he did I felt an odd, but overwhelming urge to dig deeper and immerse myself in the Bowie catalogue. I'm glad I did, and I'm sorry it took me so long. Bowie is now probably my favorite, desert island, artist.
