Jim Carroll, People Who Died.

Poet, author, musician and eternally young punk idol, Jim Carroll, died of an apparent heart attack on Friday in New York. Carroll’s ex-wife, Rosemary Klemfuss, confirmed Carroll’s passing to Reuters today. He was 60.

Incredible heavy sadness.

Les Paul & Mary Ford Show from 1953. For Surly and JB. 

I’m just getting settled here and this is the first I heard of Les Paul passing away earlier today. He was 94. I’m counting on the fact that some of you might not be aware that Les Paul is the singular innovator when it comes to the creation of the solid body guitar. Everyone from Ace Frehley to Bob Marley have played Les Pauls. Marley loved his custom Les Paul so much, he was buried with it. 

Because of  Les Paul, Jimmy Page banged out “How Many More Times” in 1969. Page’s defiant and ground-breaking sound defined Page as much Les Paul guitars. Very simply, Rock ‘n’ Roll is, because Les Paul was. 

Thank you Les Paul for giving so much of your life to all of us.  May you rest in peace.

Classic WBCN Bumper stickers.

Despite the fact that I’m a huge Aerosmith fan, I still can’t bring myself to put any of my Aerosmith WBCN bumper stickers on my car. Or anything else for that matter. Ten days and counting until ‘BCN goes off the air on Tuesday, August 16th, 2009.

The late John Hughes.

A publicist for John Hughes confirmed that the film maker, who was responsible for movies like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, passed away earlier this morning. Hughes reportedly suffered a heart attack during a morning walk in Manhattan. He was only 59.

John Hughes was a living legend, may he rest in peace.

The Beatles vs. the Zombies from Left 4 Dead.

For more visit Barely Digital.

The Exploding Hearts,  Shattered (You Left Me). For K.

I was extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to review The Exploding Hearts posthumous compilation, Shattered, for Sleazegrinder.

More on The Exploding Hearts here. To catch up with Terry Six, the only surviving member of The Exploding Hearts and his band Nice Boys, click here.

My prized WBCN vintage 80’s t-shirt.

I’ve got so much ‘BCN stuff tucked away it makes my head spin. I still wear the vintage WBCN t-shirt (pictured above) with pride to this day.

Former Big Mattress DJ, Charles Laquidara posted some great links to news stories on WBCN, past and present on his blog. Read ‘em and weep radio listeners for the end is nigh…

Pilot episode of the Jesus Fucking Christ show. For Freddy Pants and Agnostic Fucking Johnny…

Many years ago he died for your sins. Now he’s back on earth, to suffer like hell again

Jesus has to get a job and be a regular Joe. Fighting with his slumlord, and living with a ho.

Opening lyrics to the Jesus Fucking Christ show theme song.

At the JFC website, you can download the entire first season to your computer or iPhone. Although it will be of no surprise to anyone who reads this blog, Drunken Mess-iha episode 4, is my current fave.

To drop some cash in JFC’s donation plate so the show can continue to piss crazy people off, click here.

Living Will Tattoo.

Yikes!

Sid Vicious Beach Towel by Elizabeth Peyton. For Tommy One Time…

New York based artist Elizabeth Peyton created this beach towel as a part of the Artist Towel Series in 2007 for the Art Production Fund’s Works on Whatever (or WOW for short) project. You can buy your own Sid towel, here.

More from Elizabeth Peyton here.

The Stranger. Volume 18, #42. July 1st, 2009. By Jay Bevenour.

More from artist Jay Bevenour, who is approximately 5′9, here.

Jackson Five, I’ll Bet You. From 1970’s, ABC.

The Jackson Five covered this old-school Funkadelic jam on their February 1970 release, ABC. A pretty ballsy move considering that Funkadelic, the first vinyl collaboration from George Clinton and Bootsy Collins, was released only a few months prior, midway through 1969.

Like so many of you, I still have the wicked sads about Jackson’s passing. Also, like you, I’ve been reading and watching coverage almost non-stop. While most of the media prefers to spin either manufactured or car-crash-at-the-side-of-the-road sensationalism, the final thought in this article from the UK’s Daily Mail pretty much nails how I feel about this whole morbid circus:

Now that he’s gone, maybe it’s time to shelve the suspicions and appreciate the music.

Now, can I get an AMEN? Amen…

Professional yeller and TV pitchman, Billy Mays is dead at 50.

The man who sold the world, Billy Mays, was found dead in his Tampa home yesterday. Stranger still is the fact that on Saturday, Mays had a near miss when the plane he was on blew out it’s front tires during it’s landing. It’s reported that Mays hit his head during the incident. Now it appears that Mays had a pretty devastating case of Heart Disease. The effects of which he likely succumbed on Saturday when he passed away after complaining of “not feeling well”.

The Glove…

Michael Jackson passed away at 2:26PM today at a home he was renting in Bel Air today. Details are still emerging but preliminary reports indicate Jackson died of cardiac arrest after attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was 50 years old.

RIP Michael. I’ll always remember you like this…

A clip from the 1970 pilot episode of Kung Fu staring David Carradine.

What happens in a man’s life is already written. Man must move through life as his destiny wills.

Caine

Actor David Carradine was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room today. It has been reported that Carradine committed suicide by hanging himself. Now it appears Carradine’s death was an accident. He was 72.

Namaste, Grasshopper…

What do you mean you know who killed me?

In his new book, Rock Roadie, James Wright claims that Jimi Hendrix’s death was no accident. Wright says that in 1971, Hendrix’s manager, Michael Jeffrey confessed to him that he had murdered the 27 year old guitarist saying he feared that Hendrix was planning to dump him for a new manager. According to Wright, Jeffrey admitted to stuffing pills into Jimi’s mouth while he was sleeping, and then attempted to wash the pills down with several bottles of red wine. The doctor that treated Hendrix at the hospital said that Jimi had literally “drowned in red wine” adding that only a small amount of alcohol was actually found in Hendrix’s system.

Upon Hendrix’s death, Jeffrey’s stood to inherit around $1.2 million dollars from an insurance policy he had taken out on the rock icon. Jeffrey was killed two years later in a mid-air plane collision.

While this is a pretty stunning revelation from a man close to both Hendrix and Jeffrey, it’s important to consider that Wright also says he spurned the sexy affections of Jayne Mansfield. Which to me, sounds even more unbelievable than Wright’s claim that Hendrix was aced by a man who’s been dead for 36 years.

Ean Evans of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Ean Evans, the original bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd passed away yesterday after a long struggle with cancer. Evans was 50 years old.

The late Dom DeLuise and Dean Martin in the skit “Mate My Bird”.

A comedian with one of the greatest laughs of all time, Dom DeLuise, passed away in his sleep last night after a long illness. He was 75. Maybe it’s all the rain and gloomy-gray weather today but I feel like I just lost a friend. Captain Chaos, you will be truly missed.

Sadness…

Guitars salvaged from The Dutchman fire. I don’t know about you, but this photo made me cry.

On January 7th, 2009, The Dutchman, long time Seattle rehearsal/recording space burned to the ground. Two months later, the first benefit show for The Dutchman will take place at The Funhouse on March 12th. Taking the stage will be The Zack Static Sect, one of the musical residents of the 103 year old Dutchman reportedly lost everything in the fire. The rest of the night includes, The Pleasure Elite, LD & Her Pretty, Pretties and Witchburn (!). Another benefit for Gary Mula (owner and resident of The Dutchman) is in the works for later on this year at Neumo’s. Mula’s cat, Jules, died in the fire.

If you can make a donation to The Dutchman Fund, click here. If you’re a local artist, musician or in a position to donate an item or your time to an upcoming silent auction or event for The Dutchman, click here.

Thanks to LP for the link.

Alan Landers, The Winston Man, dead at 68.

Alan Landers, a spokesperson for Winston Cigarettes for over a decade passed away due to complications form throat cancer. Landers said he lost his mother, father, brother, grandmother, aunt and uncle to cancer. Landers was also involved in a lawsuit against four major cigarette makers was scheduled to go to trial next month.

Landers was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1987, and had two cancerous lobes removed from his right lung. Six years later in 1993, doctors found cancer in his left lung. Shortly after that, Landers was diagnosed with emphysema which then led to a double-bypass to repair his blocked arteries. Landers has been quoted as saying that at one time, he smoked as many as four cartons of Winstons a day.