] Folk-punk singer/songwriter Elliott Smith has died, an
] apparent suicide, according to the Los Angeles County
] Department of the Coroner's office. Smith's body was
] found in his apartment, in the Silverlake section of Los
] Angeles, by a female friend, who took him to a local
] hospital at approximately 12:18 p.m. on Tuesday.
]
]
] He was pronounced dead at Los Angeles County University
] of Southern California Medical Center just over an hour
] later. He was 34.

Another talented songwriter gone this year. Sad.

Singer/Songwriter Elliott Smith Found Dead, An Apparent Suicide

] It is no longer possible to have an original opinion on
] Radiohead.
]
] You've absorbed the deified albums, quarreled over the
] rock critic pontifications, frowned at the guarded,
] combative interviews. Thom Yorke's ugly-stick-beaten mug
] has peered at you from the pages of every magazine known
] to man; his every word and every note has ignited its own
] individual Internet flame war. Mass media has bombarded
] us with Radiohead critique, rendering us unable to
] generate an unfiltered opinion of our own.
]
] When you listen to Radiohead, you're no longer actually
] listening to Radiohead -- you're listening to everyone's
] opinion about Radiohead. It's impossible to separate what
] you hear from what you've read. You are betrayed by what
] you know, and you know way too much.
]
] Thus, in order to solicit an honest, undiluted opinion
] about Radiohead, you'd have to find the proverbial People
] Living Under Rocks. As People Living Under Rocks are
] unavailable, let's use fifth graders.
]
] Specifically, Mitsi Kato's fifth-grade class at Roosevelt
] Elementary in San Leandro.

Music Radiohead Rorschach, An innocent fifth grader's picture is worth a thousand-word critical analysis.,By Rob Harvilla

"Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure," Cash's manager, Lou Robin, said in a statement issued by Baptist Hospital in Nashville.

Thursday was a crappy day, as John Ritter also passed away unexpectedly while working on his TV show.

One very interesting tidbit that was on NPR this morning, but I can't find references of on Google yet, is the statement that while in the Air Force, Johnny Cash was a codebreaker. This would make Johnny the Alpha-Geek, and most beloved, as the original codebreaking Man in Black.

Music Legend Johnny Cash Dies at 71

] Prolific singer/songwriter Wesley Willis has passed away
] at the age of 40. No cause of death has been announced
] yet, but it is assumed that it was from complications
] from the surgery Willis went through last year to supress
] internal bleeding. Click READ MORE for the full
] announcement [taken from the Alternative Tentacles News
] Page].

It's a sad day in Rock and Roll.

Punknews.org | Wesley Willis dead at 40

If you haven't seen the Foo Fighters Low video yet, check it out. It's been banned from MTV. Jack Black and Dave Grohl in some great drunken debauchery.

RollingStone.com: Video: Foo Fighters -

Bob Log III, the one man blues machine's latest video. This guy is hilarious and I highly recommend you go see him live if you ever get the chance.

WARNING: Contains nudity.

Bob Log III :: Official Website :: Videos

] A huge fire engulfed a Rhode Island nightclub during a
] rock concert's pyrotechnics display, causing at least 10
] deaths and dozens of injuries, authorities said.
]
] Fire Capt. Russell McGillivray said an estimated 10 to 20
] people died. More were likely trapped inside.
]
] Great White is a 1980s heavy metal band whose hits include
] "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "Rock Me." The concert also
] featured the Canadian group Fathead.

Great White. Ok.

Now, this is one of those stories that at first glance would normally really get to me. I'm in clubs and at shows all the time. That being able to identify with the victims thing should instantally kick in.. But there is something I just can't get past..

Great White.

I feel really sorry for everyone there.. I hate to hear about people getting hurt and killed. I truly feel sorry for these folks.. Not only because they were at a concert where a fire broke out, but because they were at a Great White concert.

Picture their poor reletives.. Having to explain that.. Billy died at the Great White concert. That sounds horrible! And if you survived, and wound up horribly burned or something.. Having to tell folks where/how it happened. So sad..

On the other side of things, if you heard someone you knew died at, lets say, and Neil Young concert. It just sounds . . less tragic. Like, it might have been a worthy place to meet your end.. Of course, Neil Young wouldn't have fireworks blowing up behind him, its not his style really. Metallica has had problems with this. Michael Jackson too. Again, same thing kicks in.. There may be a connection.. Or natural selection in play. A signal from powers beyond our knowledge.

Now there is a good way to judge which shows you go to.. "Would it be ok if I died at this show?" If the answer is no, you skip.. Good filter.

So sad. Just heard on the news that the death toll is over 24. [U: 39 now..] [U: !!! +50!]

] The fire comes four days after 21 people were killed and
] more than 50 injured during a stampede in a Chicago
] nightclub that began when a security guard used pepper
] spray to break up a fight.

Just you watch... New fire code and search restrictions will start to be proposed for clubs. They will seem like really good ideas to the bulk of the population at a glance. But if by nothing other then botched implementations and enforcement, will wind up being a great blow to civil liberties, and somehow manage to force many places out of business. And by extension, wind up effecting the over all big picture of free speech in America.. People often forget the importance of venues.

Cock Rock Kills

"Joe Strummer (news), frontman with the Clash whose 1979 track "London Calling" exploded as one of punk's biggest anthems, has died at the age of 50, a spokesman said on Monday."

Clash's Punk Pioneer Strummer Dies at 50

"One mad consumer relations team might be an isolated incident, two begins to look like a trend. The dismissive response Bertelsmann Music Group's copy protection team recently issued to a consumer's query essentially boiled down to, 'all Cds will be copy protected, it's not our problem that they won't play on some devices, so tough.' But apparently, it's a competition. EMI Germany is taking pretty much the same attitude, and its humorously-tagged Consumer Relations team is calling the customers pirates while it's about it."

It never fails to amaze me just how stupid the recording industry is. However real the problem may be, I don't think this kind of idiocy is the answer.

All CDs will be protected and you are a filthy pirate