The period from 28th December 2015 until... well... now... will surely be one that lives in infamy for years to come. Never before has it seemed that so many great talents shuffled off this mortal coil in such a small space of time.
In just a few weeks the world lost great musicians in the form of Lemmy Kilmister, David Bowie, Dan Hicks, Maurice White, Paul Kantner, Signe Tole Anderson, Colin Vearncombe, Jimmy Bain, Glenn Frey, Dale Griffen and Pierre Boulez. We also lost actors and writers including Alan Rickman, Margaret Forster, Joe Alaskey, Frank Finlay, Abe Vigoda, … even veteran Irish broadcaster Terry Wogan is no longer with us.
The death of a well-loved public figure always sees an outpouring of grief from their fans. Someone who has created a body of work that speaks to us on an internal level and helps us to come to terms with the human condition is essentially the cultural mirror in which we view ourselves. Whether it is the cultural progression of David Bowie, the innovative acting of Alan Rickman, or the wry humour of Terry Wogan they inspire us, comfort us and most of all entertain us.
Over the past month we have primarily saluted the legacies of Lemmy Kilmister and David Bowie, primarily due to their sizeable influences on rock, punk, heavy metal, goth, and industrial. Lemmy with his uncompromising realism. And Bowie with his artistic otherworldliness. Both were very different men, but both have left massive holes in the world.
But that's not to say the others mentioned above will not leave holes. The late Terry Wogan will forever be intertwined with his dry and sarcastic commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest as well as his long stints on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show. Paul Katner's psychedelic Jefferson Airplane became one of the defining acts of the psychedelic era whose influence can be felt in acid house, indie, and heavy metal. Even Maurice White of Earth, Wind, And Fire may not be the usual name that appears on this site but as an innovator of funk and disco and the influence those genres have exerted on popular music his talent is nonetheless to be missed.
On the flip side there is also a culture now of, like everything else in life, publicly bemoaning other people's displays of grief when a well-loved celebrity dies. Some people may not feel the same way about your idols as you do, and that's fine. But let's respect other people's feelings and not engage in the public sniping and back handedness that seems to be growing on social media.
Telling people on the internet to respect each other? I may be a dreamer...
In more positive news though, our free download compilation is just waiting for you to head over to our bandcamp pageand get your free copy. Once you've done that, why not then send the link to a friend? Play the tracks loud and proud and support the artists who kindly offered their hard work up to us.
https://intravenousmagazine.bandcamp.com/
And if you haven't already got them, there is also 'Blood Pack Vol. 1' and 'Blood Pack Vol. 2' still available to download for free! That's a total of 56 free songs + three PDF booklets with information on each artist!
And finally, make sure you have these links in your favourites:
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