RIP someone or another

[mikeymad]

5 hours ago, Knuckledragger said:

Sam Kieth, Creator of The Maxx and Sandman, Has Died, Aged 63.

The Maxx was so good... RIP

Edited March 23 by mikeymad

[Voltron]

Rest in Soft Rockin Peace "& Crofts"

https://www.tmz.com/2026/03/26/dash-crofts-dead/#

Edited March 26 by Voltron

[Knuckledragger]

Ross “The Boss” Friedman, Legendary Dictators and Manowar Guitarist, Dead at 72.

[HemiSam]

Godspeed, James Tolkan....

https://deadline.com/2026/03/james-tolkan-dead-back-to-the-future-top-gun-1236768221/

HS

[Knuckledragger]

Goddamn.  Just learned that DJ Dan died at 57.  I did a 4 hour set downstairs at the legendary afterhours club Rise in Boston while he headlined in the main room upstairs in late 2012.  A few months later, I helped run a show where he played in early 2013.

This was the upstairs before DJ Dan started playing.  The number of people in it tripled by the end of the night.

 

I don't have many photos of the downstairs ...because I DJ'd for 4 hours, but this is one long exposure taken with me braced against a couch.

 

The 2013 show was amazing.  I saw a bunch of jaded drum n bass and dubstep fans realizing that house music was a lot of fun.    I only spoke to him briefly, because I had a job (or more to the point, like 20 jobs) to do.  He seemed like a very chill, down to earth guy, especially for someone as famous as he was.  57 is crazy young to pass.

[Voltron]

Appeared in my FB feed after reading your obit. Coincidence?

And the SF Chronicle https://mrf.lu/8yMD 

Edited March 31 by Voltron

[Dusty Chalk]

Tony Rivers -- did a lot of session work (backing vocals, arranging) with names I'm fond of -- Alan Parsons Project, Al Stewart, Roger Daltrey, Cliff Richard, et al.

[Knuckledragger]

This one is complex.  Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa dead at 67.  The guy coined the term "hip hop."  Calling him a pioneer is an understatement.

The problem is that he was a child molester and got away with it for decades.  There is at least one alleged murder involved in the coverup of his crimes.  I can't say RIP in this case.

[mikeymad]

RIP Sid Krofft

thank you for my acid trip childhood shows.

 

Edited April 13 by mikeymad

[blessingx]

 

 

 

 

Edited April 14 by blessingx

[skullguise]

Oh, man.....RIP Mr. Kroft....also hits home here....  One of my most notable memories was being extremely drunk from a Friday night party, it went deep into Saturday and I remember watching HR Puffnstuf the next morning while still occasionally spitting up....good times.....🙄

Another one hitting home too: RIP Máire Brennan (phonetically pronounced and often written as Moya).  Have enjoyed Clannad's music for many years....

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm112y4jyzo

 

Edited April 14 by skullguise

[Knuckledragger]

Not a person, but RIP Hampshire College.  "Hamster" or "Hempshire" as it was known was always the junior sibling to the other four colleges in the happy valley.  Hampshire has been plagued by rumors of financial troubles for years at this point.  I grew up going to shows at a couple different Hampshire venues.  Phish played there regularly in the late 80s and early 90s.  There is a longstanding urban legend that the characters in Scooby Doo are modeled after the five colleges: Fred is Amherst, Daphne is Smith, Velma is Mount Holyoke (these roles have reversed in my observance), Shaggy is Hampshire and Scooby is UMASS.  The legend is not true of course, but the parallels between Shaggy and Hampshire are particularly strong.  For 60 years, Hampshire was an important part of the landscape of the Pioneer Valley and the Five (now Four) College area.  It's sad to see it go.

Edited April 14 by Knuckledragger

[dsavitsk]

Iris Long, who helped steer early AIDS advocates into effective treatment activism that led to the development of lifesaving HIV meds, died April 4. She was 92.

Long was a retired pharmaceutical chemist living in Queens, New York, when AIDS emerged as a global threat in the 1980s. Compelled to take action at a time when people couldn’t do research online and when most young AIDS activists knew little about pharmaceutical companies and drug development, Long shared her knowledge with activists in ACT UP New York, working directly with them on effective ways to pressure researchers to test and market lifesaving drugs. The title of a CBS news segment in 2013 illustrates her legacy: “Iris Long: How One Woman Saved Eight Million People.” 

https://www.poz.com/article/rip-iris-long-lifesaving-hiv-treatment-activist-ally

[Knuckledragger]

Just learned that Michael Kohlbecker died.  In the 90s he made pounding hard trance on the then-mighty Harthouse label.  I especially like the work did under the Eternal Basement name.  I had a whole stack of Harthouse compilations in the mid 90s the EB tracks stuck out even amongst his legendary peers.  Later, he'd go on to do ambient downtempo weirdness with a rotating crew of compatriots as the Saafi Brothers.  While I outgrew the hard trance sound fairly quickly, the better Saafi tracks have stuck with me for decades.

My favorite track by them is still this one:

In classic SB fashion, it takes forever to get going and goes on far longer than it has any need to.  With that said, I used to put it on whole I was cooking dinner in the 00s.  I've mixed parts of it in to my radio show many times over the years.  It's got the best shuffling bassline.

[Pars]

Traffic co-founder Dave Mason https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2026/04/21/dave-mason-dead-traffic-cofounder/89727009007/

[Voltron]

RIP conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. He had the same kind of brain tumor as my brother who was named Thomas. I should listen to one of his Mahler symphonies because he was MTT's favorite composer. Cancer fucking sucks. ☹️😡

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/ap-michael-tilson-thomas-renowned-conductor-and-composer-dies-at-81/

[Pars]

That's too bad. I guess that makes sense as to why he stepped down from leading SFO.

Spoiler

I probably shouldn't say this, but when I saw him conduct the CSO on the Mahler 2nd, I was not favorably impressed.

EDIT: I will have to say though that he brought the mezzo-soprano, Lorraine Hunt-Lieberman, with him. I'm not sure if he discovered her or not, but I know she worked with him and the SFO alot. Her version of the 4th movement, "Urlicht", was easily the best I have ever heard that sung. My wife and I were nearly in tears during it, it was so beautiful. Sadly, she was suffering from breast cancer and had to perform seated most of the time. She passed away a couple of months later. RIP.

An yes, Fuck Cancer, on both of their behalves.

 

Edited April 24 by Pars
Additional information

[Knuckledragger]

David Allan Coe croaked.  I have mixed feelings about this one.  DAC was a jackass and utterly full of shit, for many decades.  He annoyed other country legends like Waylon.  He recorded an album in 1982 with some very questionable lyrics.  On the other hand, he had quite a good voice and could write decent songs when he wanted to.  Fittingly, he died on Willie Nelson's 93rd birthday.

This song sums up his whole career for me.  Kind of idiotic and cringe inducing lyrics and gratuitous name-dropping, yet it's also a goddamn earworm.  I first heard it on a cassette I had in the 1980s.  It had a bigger impact on me than I could imagine.

[swt61]

Controversial for certain, and an utter moron in every interview I've seen of him. A rasist, a redneck and a convicted felon, but I'll argue the "decent songwriter" comment. The man could paint a picture like few others. How you can be so idiotic in interviews yet write such poignant lyrics is beyond me. Listen to "If That Ain't Country" and tell me if set a vivid mood.