Music Blogs

Maybe it's the holiday season. Maybe it's the fact that the new year is coming. Maybe it's because there's a new baby in my house. Maybe I've read one too many stories about Amy Winehouse, Boy George, Scott Weiland, and so many other musicians who party too hard and don't know when to stop. Whatever it is, I'm feeling kind of melancholy.

We live in an age when people should know when enough is enough. There's way too much history and way too many stories of rockers who didn't know when to quit. It's not cool, it's not romantic, and it doesn't make for good art. It just leaves a lot of sad fans and family.

I'm wishing Amy the best. I’m hoping George gets his act together. They've got more music left in them, and they've got a bunch of fans ready to take them back. And I’ve got a message for the paparazzi parasites who feed off the downward spirals of struggling rock stars: You guys should learn when to quit too. You're fanning the flames and not helping anyone with your voyeuristic footage of these folks partying way too hard. You're scum, the lot of you.

Here's a reminder of the ones we lost too soon. Six men and women who didn't even make it to 30. I miss every one of them. Except Jim Morrison. That dude was a self-indulgent blowhard who wasn't doing anyone any favors. Definitely not missing the Lizard King.

All the rest, though? Major loss. Let's not add any more names to this list in '09.



JIMI HENDRIX
1942-1970

He was probably the best guitar player we ever had. He also had some bad habits that caught up with him in England. His girlfriend, Monika Dannemann, found him in his London flat. The events around his death are still controversial to this day.

JANIS JOPLIN
1943-1970

She could sing louder, better, and with more soul than anyone. She could drink grown men under the table. Still, Janis was an insecure little girl inside who couldn't shake her demons. She died alone in her hotel room while in the middle of making her album Pearl.

ANDREW WOOD (lead singer of Mother Love Bone)
1966-1990

Andrew died just before his group's first album was to be released. Bandmates Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament went on to form Pearl Jam, and Andrew was memorialized in the one-off tribute band Temple of the Dog, which also included Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron from Soundgarden.

KURT COBAIN
1967-1994

Seattle's favorite most tortured son, Kurt had stomach problems, emotional problems, and substance-abuse problems that all became too much for him to bear. His suicide brought the age of grunge to a screeching halt and still leaves a big hurt.

SHANNON HOON (lead singer of Blind Melon)
1967-1995

Sudden success did not agree with Shannon Hoon. After Blind Melon's debut album, Hoon and his band spent two years straight on the road — most of which the singer could not remember due to his partying. He tried to clean up his act in between tours but he still eventually succumbed to his addictions.

NOTORIOUS B.I.G.
1972-1997

Biggie epitomizes the horrible consequences of the late-'90s East Coast-West Coast hip-hop wars that also claimed Tupac, another remarkable young artist we lost too soon. Only 24, Biggie was gunned down after leaving a party hosted by Vibe magazine. The murder remains unsolved.

Pay your respects to the rest of the musicians we lost too soon by visiting our FlipBook and writing your message.

and...

Give Amy Winehouse some love by remixing "Rehab."