I'm terribly late with this post, should have written it a while ago but have been distracted by my own concerns. However, I feel I must comment on the recent deaths of Kelly Joe Phelps and Julee Cruise.
Kelly Joe Phelps was an amazing, soulful and sophisticated singer and guitarist who recorded some stunning and beautiful albums which I loved. I bought his 'Shine Eyed Mister Zen' album when it first was released, then got his 'Sky Like A Broken Clock' album. He was an amazing singer and guitarist, deep and inspiring. I wished I had been possessed of such talent. His death came as a shock to me, such a great loss.
Around the same time I heard of the death of vocalist Julee Cruise who had worked with David Lynch on the 'Twin Peaks' soundtracks and other projects. Her voice was perfect for the atmospheres David was creating, a haunting, innocent yet knowing voice that said a lot with emotionally economic means. She once befriended me on Facebook.
Once again, and all too often, all too soon these days, we lose special artists like these. The list of the cultural deceased is scary and marks the passing of qualities and values in the arts that are increasingly rare.
But they are not forgotten by those of us who know and care...
In the past few years, we’ve lost so my talented people. Musicians I’ve grown up with. Some I’d seen in concert, but many I only knew through their albums. Yes, it is terribly depressing. But we need to celebrate their creation, and the fact they’ve left a record of their talent for us to visit again & again.
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