Malcolm McLaren (1946-2010)

-

Punk peddler, Malcolm McLaren, has died of cancer at the age of 64. Yes, the man was an exploitative showman, and yes McLaren inadvertently led Sid Vicious on his downward spiral. Yes, his want of marketable image withdrew credibility from The Sex Pistols and, ultimately, led to their ruin, as well.

But, where would John Lydon be were it not for Malcolm McLaren? Inasmuch as we want to dislike this figure for being so superficial, it would be a task to imagine how the late 70s and early 80s would’ve sounded without him.





R.I.P.

Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ellie Greenwich (1940-2009)

-
Image
A veritable sea of hits began with Ellie Greenwich, who passed away yesterday at the age of 68 . "Leader Of The Pack" ”Da Do Run Run” Without trying, you've heard at least a dozen of her songs, her name synonymous with "girl groups," and a pre-lethal Phil Spector . Farewell to a hit machine. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead
Read more

The Mailbox Giveth: Sleaford Mods

-
Image
Sleaford Mods Chubbed Up + Ipecac Recordings Released:11.29.14 Sleaford Mods is an interesting entity. Following much of the rhythmic and minimal throb of Factory-era post-punk and, of course, hip hop's rise from being a "sample sport," as Public Enemy once put it, to the largely trap-centric hit machine it is today, Sleaford Mods embodies a tirade-level synthesis of the two: a beat-powered device with which to bathe in poetic and profanity-laced commentary. The group (vocalist Jason Williamson and track maker Andrew Fearn ) gained some notoriety stateside with its 2013 release, Austerity Dogs , despite having been about five albums deep in its discography. The group's new release, Chubbed Up +, is a singles compilation that includes three previously unreleased tracks. It was released by Ipecac Recordings. The mostly repetitious loop'd loop of springy bass riffs and flat percussion offer Sleaford Mods the distinction of being the more sophistica...
Read more