|
SONGSPEAKdomo arigato, mr. roboto |
| { | } | { | } |
Archives
TAG: death
-
last exit
A permanent lapse of Richard Wright from Pink Floyd
Keyboard player and founding member of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright, died today in Britain after struggling with cancer. He met fellow band members Roger Waters and Nick Mason white attending Regent Street Polytechnic (now The University of Westminster) in 1965 and played on every album except The Final Cut.Though dominated by Roger Waters and later, David Gilmour, Wright had a heavy influence on the band’s sound and wrote songs as well. Some of his more recognized compositions, like “Us And Them” from Dark Side of the Moon as well as his early keyboard and synthesizer work introduced the rich synth sound to other bands in the 60s and 70s.
From the New York Times
A Pink Floyd spokesman says founding member Richard Wright has died. He was 65. Wright died Monday, September 15, 2008 after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. His family did not want to give more details about his death… He wrote “The Great Gig In The Sky” and “Us And Them” from Pink Floyd’s 1973 “The Dark Side Of The Moon.” He left the group in the early 1980s to form his own band but rejoined Pink Floyd for their 1987 album “A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
Tags: 60s music, 70s music, 80s music, a momentary lapse of reason, dark side of the moon, david gilmour, dead, death, died, nick mason, pink floyd, regent street polytechnic, richard wright, roger waters, sigma 6, synth, sythesizer, the final cut, the great gig in the sky, the university of westminster, the wall
-
last exit
Snowman… You got yer ears on, good buddy?
Jerry Reed, the Eastbound and Down scene-stealer in Smokey and the Bandit, also starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field, died this past Sunday, August 31st, in Nashville, TN. He was 71.Besides his films, Reed was an accomplished guitarist with a successful music career, winning a Grammy in 1972 for best male country vocal performance for his song, When You’re Hot, You’re Hot.
He also, of course, wrote the theme song to Smokey and the Bandit, Eastbound And Down. Here it is in this great scene/montage from the movie:
R.I.P., Snowman.
Tags: burt reynolds, cb, dead, death, died, dies, ears on, eastbound and down, good buddy, grammy, guitar, guitarist, jerry reed, radio, sally field, smokey and the bandit, snowman, when you're hot you're hot
-
songspeak
If you fell out a window
This is perhaps one of the most insensitive songspeaks in Matt’s and my history together, but I feel it’s a songspeak that must be told.
Some may remember that in 1991, Eric Clapton suffered the tragic loss of his son when his son fell out the window of a 53rd floor apartment. I’ll start out by saying there’s nothing funny about this. At all. Eric Clapton wrote the 1992 ballad Tears in Heaven for his deceased son, and it was getting major airplay at the time. It’s still on the playlist on many mix and easy listening radio stations, and I think of this songspeak whenever I hear it.
Matt and I used to share an office when we worked together, and we’d have the radio on all day. Tears in Heaven came on once, and we both knew the origin of the song. The lyrics begin, “Would you know my name…if I saw you in heaven?” Well, apparently these lyrics weren’t good enough for Matt, who very sincerely sang along, “Would you know my name…if you fell out a window?”. His rendition may sound insensitive, but people deal with tragedy in different ways. Our way is to use humor to try to make light of things. At this point, the song was 7 or 8 years old, and we had kind of been desensitized to the entire situation that surrounded it.
We’ve definitely matured in the past 10 years, and don’t make light of death in quite the same way that we used to, due to many personal trials and tribulations that we’ve been through. And now, with a daughter of my own, I can’t imagine that I would find this songspeak all that funny, the way I did when Matt first sang it.
Be that as it may, this is one of the more memorable songstories for me, so I feel compelled to share it. Please don’t think less of us. We already know we’re going to hell.
Tags: 90s music, ballad, death, death of eric clapton's son, easy listening, eric clapton, going to hell, insensitive, open window, tears in heaven, tragic loss
-
last exit
LeRoi Moore, sax player for Dave Matthews Band, dies
Saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, Leroi Moore, died yesterday, August 19th, 2008 in Los Angeles.In June, Moore severely injured himself in an ATV accident in Charlottesville, Virginia. Jeff Coffin, took his place for the remainder of the DMB tour. In July, Moore was re-hospitalized for “complications related to the accident”.
From the Dave Matthews Band official website:
We are deeply saddened that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. LeRoi had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program.
Read the obit at L.A. Times. Our thoughts go out to all the DMB fans, the band, as well as Moore’s family and friends.
Tags: accident, atv, charlottesville, crash, dave matthews band, dead, death, dies, dmb, leroi moore, los angeles, sax player, saxophone, saxophonist
Recent Comments