wtf? How did I miss this thread? Well, most of you know my passion is music so you can’t get me to shut-up, but feel free to pass up what’s likely to be, at least partially, a repeat of prior soap-box spouting. I’m never bashful about talking music so here are my comments on some truly excellent choices, a bunch of favorites:
The 3 probable suicides: I don’t believe any of their deaths were ruled suicides but all three battled depression and all three gained much greater fame following their deaths. I own the catalogues of all three, which is admittedly not tough to do with Jeff Buckley. He barely knew his dad, Tim, but they shared remarkable talent, a truly beautiful voice and tragic deaths at young ages (in their 20s). Jeff’s album Grace is a masterpiece and a regular in my playlist. I’ll admit that I did not.“discover” Nick Drake until after his death. Over the years, I noticed so many musicians listing Drake as an inspiration, I felt compelled to check him out. And I fell for him big time. The man put such so much emotion in his music, I feel he literally drained his very soul into his recordings until there was nothing left to sustain him.. And of course, we benefitted from that and I actually have feelings of guilt listening to his songs. Just like I do for the third guy, not mentioned above. I can not listen to any album by this guy without breaking out in tears. This guy also put it all out there and was a huge talent. He, like the other two, escaped my seeing him live. I was at another concert the day he died. I can’t even remember who it was, but I remember the singer of the band I was there to see announce that Elliott Smith had died and I guess he dedicated a song to him, but I was devastated and am not surprised I remember nothing of that evening but the news itself. I am and always have been a huge from his very raw early indie stuff through the more heavily produced Dreamworks stuff, as well as the two posthumous offerings. And he died a mysterious death (two stab wounds to the chest, probably self-inflicted) after finally slaying his drug demons and being apparently quite happy and clean. But he suffered much abuse at the hands of his step dad and had a life long battle with depression. All three gentlemen died tragically at young ages but left us remarkable legacies.
Another we lost tragically at a young age, while surfing in Hawaii, if I recall correctly, was the mastermind of the incredible band Spirit, Mr. Randy California. Spirit was a unique band with a big sound wonderful harmonies and animated music (1984, Nature’s Way, Garbage, Zoo, sorry if the titles are incomplete or a bit off). I believe the bald drummer was Randy’s step father, and I must say that was one tight band. It was also my brother’s favorite band and I grew up listening to them. An album of their greatest hits is in my regular play rotation ands Nature’s Way is among my favorite all-time songs. Great call @Marina.
I agree with @pdworkin that Jeff Beck and Tom Waits should not be on this list. They are among the very best and arguably the very best at what they do and although their success has been eclipsed by others of lesser talent, they have enjoyed a high level of success and very high peer praise.
That’s kind of how I feel about Ryan Adams, who, if you read my and Sherry’s fluther interview, is among my top favorites. Being such a huge fan, ever since his Whiskeytown days, I feel he has not enjoyed the success I believe he deserves, but that is probably just a selfish projection. Of course this guy is too prolific for his own good and frankly had some ego problems that he appears to finally be maturing out of since he hit 30 a couple of years ago. I’m pleased to see other fans here….I think you’d agree the man fucking nailed Oasis’s Wonderwall and what would you give to hear audio or see video of his high school punk band The Patty Duke Syndrome? The man is truly amazing.
OK, I feel the need to wrap this up, so let me give you my two guys that I have named before on similar questions. These two guys are as prolific as Ryan Adams and are two of my top three favorite singer/songwriters alive today (Bob Dylan is the third) and selfishly I’m glad no one has heard of them because I can still catch them at small clubs in L.A.. Both of these guys are wonderful story tellers and seeing them perform live is a treat and highly recommended. If you get an opportunity you might try youtube or their fan sites, but I’m afraid I’m too exhausted to get links. I’ve been a fan of the first one longer….the second I discovered when he opened for the first at the Troubadour several years ago and blew me away. Their names….Richard Buckner and Damien Jurado. Do check them out. Peace. See ya….Gary aka wtf (sorry about typos/errors….later)
