Sunday, May 20, 2012

Twitarded Says Goodbye to Some Music Legends

May has not been kind to the music world. This month, we've lost three influential musicians -- MCA, Donna Summer and Robin Gibb. Don't they say bad shit comes in threes? That's three. That's enough. The end.

On May 4, Beastie Boys founding member Adam "MCA" Yauch passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was just 47.

My greatest Beasties memory is when I got the Ill Communication CD. I had just bought my first real "stereo" -- you remember, the component system with the receiver and the 5-CD player -- I played that thing so loud that it made the CD skip because my speakers were too close to the CD player. Fucking right, dude. I can still see 24-year-old me sitting on the floor of my bedroom (I still lived at home) letting the sounds of songs like Sure Shot and Sabotage wash over me. I'm surprised I still have my hearing. What?

But nothing gets me like Get It Together... I can help but bounce in my seat.


This past Friday, we lost the Queen of Disco when Donna Summer lost her battle with lung cancer. She was 63.

I often forget all the amazing songs Ms. Summer graced us with throughout her career.  MacArther Park, Hot Stuff, Bad Girls (one of my all time favorites... toot toot, hey, beep beep!) and She Works Hard for the Money. But no song caused as much controversy as Love to Love You Baby in all it's moaning, orgasmic awesomeness. It became one of the first ever disco hits to be released in an extended form... perverts.

I'm surprised I haven't heard this as the soundtrack for a hot RPattz video. Someone get on that fast.


And today, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees succumbed to the colon and liver cancer that had been fighting for years. He was 62.

The Bee Gees were the fucking cat's meow when I was a kid. My mom had an album -- it had to be a greatest hits compilation and I can remember putting on the ol' headphones and listening to songs like Tragedy and Stayin' Alive a million times. I even had a Bee Gees lunchbox when I was a kid. No joke. Oh and one of those giant posters that came with the markers and you had to color it in yourself. I'm pretty sure I never finished coloring the Gibbs brothers. Shame.

I'm sure somewhere John Travolta is getting an inappropriate massage in memory of the Bee Gees.


I know we run the gamut of age groups here at Twitarded but I imagine you all have one or two memories of at least one of these amazing musicians. Can you top my lunchbox? Have at it in the comments.

17 comments:

  1. I really wasn't into going to a disco, but I loved Donna Summer's music. I'm actually a little surprised that she was older than me. Guess it's time for me to start checking the obituaries every morning. Or maybe I need to start working on my bucket list!

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  2. I have so many feelings. Great post!! The Beastie Boys were my high school soundtrack. I remember getting my first car and it had a cassette player, so my first stop was a music store to buy all their albums on tape. Or when I taught my 5 year old the lyrics to Girls, or when both my boys do the robot when ever Intergalactic comes on. *Sniffles*

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  3. The passing of these people really stopped me in my tracks. I listened to them ALL OF THE TIME. Beastie Boys-heard them first on the radio and then saw them on MTV. Their music was so different than what I usually listened to and I absolutely LOVED them. I knew they were ground breaking even back then. Donna Summer-I must have danced to her a thousands times in the clubs and sang at the top of my lungs in my car - knowing all the lyrics. Robin Gibb-and the BeeGees-more dancing, more singing in the car. My heart hurts and my eyes sting.

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  4. I was a senior in HS the '86/'87 school year just about when Licensed to Ill came out. We had at least 5 or 6 DJ's as students in the school and it seemed at least 1 or sometimes 2 of them had a party at someone's house every weekend. It was the kind of party where you learned about it from a flyer and paid a few bucks to drink illegally from a keg in someone's backyard. The trick was to party and get out before the cops broke us up.

    Well, someone found this "perfect" abandoned house near the business part of town where there were no neighbors to call the cops on us and we partied there every weekend for a couple of months. I distinctly remember going to a new year's eve party there and dancing our asses off to a few of the songs off of the Beastie Boys first album. Their music will always be a part of my life!

    The Bee-Gees were hip when I was a bit older, but I had some neighbors who were a few years older than I and we used to sit around and listen to their albums on our record player. I'm especially partial to Sgt. Peppers.

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  5. My mom played the Bee Gees and Moody Blues all the time, and I recall telling her that Robin had a funny voice. As I grew older I realized how truly unique his voice was. His song from the sixties, I started a joke, was his best song showcasing his vocals.

    MCA... what can I say? The Beastie Boys are from my generation, and I grew up listening to the masterpieces they created, like Sure Shot, Intergalactic, Girls, and Paul Revere. Throughout the ever changing Hip Hop scene the Beasties remained who they were. Silly, goofy dudes from New York, with the BEST music videos ever!!!

    Donna Summer was a beautiful Christian girl who made amazingly filthy disco hits. Lol. Her father was a preacher who scalded her after hearing Love to Love You Baby. It's one of those songs that make you blush and shoot covert looks to see if anyone else notices.

    RIP you guys. May you live on in Rock n Roll heaven.

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    1. Word.

      And can I just say that it's Monday, it's shitty outside, and all these people passing away is REALLY depressing the stuffing out of me. Time to go to my new happy place, found yesterday - in the park on a warm, sunny spring day, flying kites with Mr. Snarky.

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  6. I'm just hoping we can make it through the last 10 days of this month without losing another...

    Cancer sucks. Fuck you, cancer.

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  7. Nostalgic post...memories..........loved the BB.

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  8. Not a big fan of disco, but my mom loves the Beegees so I grew up listening to them. Always thought Barry was a bit of a twat, but the other two seemed so nice, I was really sorry when I heard they died.

    Donna Summer had a bit of a revival when I was in my early teens because Hot Stuff was on the Full Monty soundtrack, which pretty much everybody had at the time. A year or two later the Beastie Boys released Hello Nasty, and there was no getting away from Intergalactic or Body Movin'. Not that I wanted to :)

    I'm with you, LKW. Fuck you, cancer.

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  9. Cancer sucks.

    How dare it take away such wonderful people and influential musicians.

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  10. Ah, the Beastie Boys. Remember being at club that got raided and they weren't letting anyone leave. Everyone standing around the dance floor with the lights on and no music. Everyone started rapping out Paul Revere and it was so cool to see people who were there to rave just rapping. Maybe too much acid for the night. Disco was never my thing but Donna Summers had awesome songs as did the BeeGees. So sad when an illness takes people away too early. RIP.Despite the Monday thing, reminiscing and finally having 2 days of sunshine in a row made me smile. Thanks for the post

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  11. My sister had a full-length poster of the Bee Gees that was passed down to me when she got married and moved out of the house. I guess her hubby wasn't thrilled about the idea of FSBEEGEES in his house...

    That poster was my pretend husband (Barry) when I played house. :o)

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  12. Oh, MCA. It's been a real shit year for musicians, most definitely. There have been quite a few deaths but I have to say I was really surprised at how... upset I was over Adam Yauch's death.

    Oh, also? FUCK YOU, CANCER.

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  13. I totally cried when I found out about MCA. I went to the bar and the bartender (good friend of mine) and I sat and reminisced about the fucking EPICNESS that was their music. I happened to look over to our "One in the Well" board (buying a pint for someone who isn't there for future use) and noticed that someone put one in there for Adam. I added my own. One for my homies.

    Robin and Donna, now that's a different story. Around junior year of high school (peak of boy band/girl power shitty 90s music), refused to listen to the radio and went back old school and underground punk/hip hop/indie college stuff. I swiped all of my mom's old records and only listened to oldies stations. I swore I was "going back to my roots." ...I was in my roots, but who cares. I did a lot of listening to disco and motown and found some kick ass tunes.

    Fuck cancer in ear hole.

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  14. Top the lunchbox? Girlfriend, I HAD the lunchbox myself. i think it must have been fourth grade. God, I loved that thing.

    Beastie Boys were high school personified. Rough week all around.

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  15. I saw the Beasties w/RunDMC in '88. It was awesome! It was my 3rd concert after Rick Springfield and Duran Duran.

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