freeform goodness

A tip of the hat to “Galley Mike”, who passed on July 23rd.

I found a link to another nice obituary here.

:: Dave Walker 15:14 (EST/EDT) [+]

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We got MTV when I was, I think, 13 years old. We’d only had cable TV in general for a few months. This was the early 1980’s, and cable TV had come to Ecorse only very recently. I’m pretty sure that we had the “basic +2” package, which was, at that time, about 45 channels, which included both HBO and Showtime, and which I’m pretty sure, cost under $20 a month. Ahem.

It was a Saturday morning, and I remember my dad calling me into my parents room so I could take a look at this weird new channel they’d just added. It was nothing but music videos, interspersed with these brief interludes with the “VJs.” I became quite fond of it — since the major artists weren’t at all convinced about music video, it meant that a lot of airtime was given to visually inventive acts like Devo, David Bowie, and the Buggles, who were way more interesting than the steady diet of REO Speedwagon and Journey that were on the radio. Anyway, if you spent a lot of time watching MTV, you became quite familiar with the VJs — cutey Martha Quinn (I’d still run away with you honey, just say the word), friendly southern goofball Alan Hunter, familiar AOR-style jock Mark Goodman, late-night caffeine (or some other stimulant) zombie Nina Blackwood, and world-wise, fatherly presence J.J. Jackson.

J.J. Jackson, who helped define the term VJ as one of MTV’s first hosts, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 62.

( article)

:: Dave Walker 12:33 (EST/EDT) [+]

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I am saddened to hear that Wesley Willis has passed away from leukemia complications. He was truly one of a kind. At one office where I worked, it was a ritual for us to play “Rock & Roll McDonalds” every day at lunchtime.

:: Dave Walker 14:50 (EST/EDT) [+]

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Mr. Rogers may well have been the first thing I ever watched on TV. His program is certainly one of the earliest things I have any conscious memories of watching. Goodbye…

addendum: Mr. Rogers helped save the VCR. How cool is that?

:: Dave Walker 19:31 (EST/EDT) [+]

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The song that kept running through my head (the one that maybe even inspired me to do it) when I first set up FFG was “This Is Radio Clash.”
So much loss in music this year.

I’m visiting my sister in Cleveland for Christmas, maybe I’ll stop by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (I’ve never been, even though I go to Cleveland all the time.) Stay safe everyone, and take an extra second to let those around you know how much you care while they’re still around to hear it.

:: Dave Walker 21:10 (EST/EDT) [+]

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I was quite saddened to hear of the passing of Stereolab’s Mary Hansen. I own quite a few of their records and have been fortunate enough to see them play live three times, and I’ve always felt few bands ever walked the tightrope between accessibility and experimentation as adeptly as they have. Pack Yr. Romantic Mind.

:: Dave Walker 18:14 (EST/EDT) [+]

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“Ray L. Wallace was Bigfoot. The reality is, Bigfoot just died,” said Michael Wallace about his father, who died of heart failure Nov. 26 in a Centralia nursing facility. He was 84.

:: Dave Walker 13:20 (EST/EDT) [+]

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Run DMC’s Jam Master J killed.

:: Dave Walker 15:20 (EST/EDT) [+]

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A followup on the passing of Drexciya’s James Stinson. The Detroit Free Press ran a nice group of articles last week: an obituary, the reactions of some of Stinson’s contemporaries, and a good interview with Stinson (from earlier this year) concerning his artistic inspirations.

The family suggests donations to the American Heart Association, 800-968-1793.

:: Dave Walker 11:55 (EST/EDT) [+]

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James Stinson, founding member and one half (with a partner who prefers anonymity) of the Detroit electro band Drexciya, passed away a few days ago from heart complications.

For over a decade, Drexciya built up a highly regarded catalog, releasing records on some of the best-respected labels in the field: Underground Resistance, Rephlex, Warp, Tresor, and Clone.

Drexciya’s music was the soundtrack of my 1990’s, from the early raw and futuristic 12” singles onward. They were the band that took Parliament’s Motor-Booty Affair as their starting point and fully integrated the techno-bass sound of Model 500, Afrika Bambataa and the unfettered noisy experimentation of the early Aphex Twin.

“most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps”

Further reading:

• An interview with James Stinson from earlier this year
• The All-Music Guide’s Drexciya entry
• A comprehensive Drexciya discography
• Sea Snake, originally released on the Deep Sea Dweller EP.

:: Dave Walker 20:22 (EST/EDT) [+]

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