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Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: TheMooseOfDeath on 20 Aug 2009, 17:07
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It's a very morbid subject, I know, but I just finished the book A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby (which is about suicide), and it got me thinking about a number of musicians who have killed themselves. This being a very music-savvy forum, I figured this would be one of the best places to ask for suggestions of musicians who have committed suicide and what their body of work was like (perhaps a little critical summary as well) so I could check them out.
So far these musicians whose music I've heard include:
Nick Drake
Elliott Smith
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Phil Ochs
Ian Curtis (Joy Division)
Doug Hopkins (Gin Blossoms)
Bradley E. Delp (Boston)
So...any suggestions?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Popular_musicians_who_committed_suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Popular_musicians_who_committed_suicide)
hell yeah
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jazz_musicians_who_committed_suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jazz_musicians_who_committed_suicide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Conductors_who_committed_suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Conductors_who_committed_suicide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Classical_musicians_who_committed_suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Classical_musicians_who_committed_suicide)
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and also Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) from Mayhem
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The absolutely stellar Vietnam-era singer-songwriter Phil Ochs committed suicide after a long bout with bipolar disorder and alcoholism.
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Phil Ochs is in the first post.
Somnium, Finntroll's old guitarist, may have killed himself, or he may have just been so drunk he fell off a bridge. The latter is the official story.
Jon Nodtveidt from Dissection shot himself at the climax of some sort of bizarre Satanic rite.
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I actually went through all the names on that wiki page (from the first reply) to get a good idea of whose music to look up, though it was tough getting a good idea of the quality of their body of work, considering I was just skimming through them. Two of the most interesting ones (to me) were Dede Fortin, who committed hara-kiri :-o and Yukiko Okada, who was a J-pop idol in the 80s, killed herself at age 18. Crazy stuff, man.
Phil Ochs is such an amazing musician. I don't agree with his politics, but everyone on the political spectrum could definitely appreciate his passion and sharp writing. He doesn't get nearly enough recognition.
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Richey Edwards from Maniac Street Preachers, went off and disappeared in 1993. Presumed dead since 2008
Does that count as suicide?
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Yes seeing as how the accepted wisdom is that he almost certainly killed himself.
EDIT: Oh man, I'd totally forgotten that J. J. Johnson shot himself 'cause he had cancer. Now I'm bummed.
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Anton Maiden
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: ((((((( RIP Anton
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I actually went through all the names on that wiki page (from the first reply) to get a good idea of whose music to look up, though it was tough getting a good idea of the quality of their body of work, considering I was just skimming through them. Two of the most interesting ones (to me) were Dede Fortin, who committed kara-kiri :-o and Yukiko Okada, who was a J-pop idol in the 80s and killed herself at age 18. Crazy stuff, man.
Phil Ochs is such an amazing musician. I don't agree with his politics, but everyone on the political spectrum could definitely appreciate his passion and sharp writing. He doesn't get nearly enough recognition.
Yes yes, André "Dédé" Fortin was part of the most influential party/ska band in Quebec.They tackled political and social issues by using metaphors that all Québécois could understand (see their song called "Passe Moé La Puck" where they use hockey as a way to explain that people living on the streets just needed someone to get them back on their feet). They were also pretty involved in the video clip medium as you could probably see in the earlier mentionned "Passe Moé La Puck" and most notably "Julie" . While their earlier albums were bright-sounding. Their last one before Dédé killed himself was pretty dark. It wasn't downright "suicidal", it tackled more personnal issues like drugs ("Tassez-vous de d'là") and depression ("Le répondeur"). It also didn't help that the 1995 referendum was lost by Québécois independantists.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jazz_musicians_who_committed_suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jazz_musicians_who_committed_suicide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Conductors_who_committed_suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Conductors_who_committed_suicide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Classical_musicians_who_committed_suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Classical_musicians_who_committed_suicide)
Notice how there is considerably less Jazz and Classical musicians/conductors who have offed themselves in contrast with popular music artists.
I know correlation /=/ causation...but, just sayin'.
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Thanks for the background, Scarychips! Certainly sounds like music I'd check out (I have "Julie" playing on YouTube as I type this), though now I really wish I could understand French :-(
But yeah...hara-kiri...........HARDCORE
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and also Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) from Mayhem
Yeah, but let's face it ... Nomen Est Omen.
Scarier is that the people who found him took pictures and saved bits and pieces of his skull to turn into pendants.
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I was actually surprised to find Petri Walli of Kingston Wall from that first wikipedia list. Kingston Wall made absolutelu fantastic acid-rock/progressive stuff.
It is also argued a lot that Petri was high on acid when he jumped from the Töölö church-roof, although that is not the official story.
Kingston Wall - We Cannot Move (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uoGWL7GIkA)
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Anton Maiden
Man, it's been awhile, but I remember that guy! No idea he killed himself, though. Interesting.
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God I remember when I was in 7th and 8th grade I was beyond convinced that Kurt Cobain was murdered.
I feel awful for derailing this but the topic brought Nick Drake to mind. I was recently reccomended to check him out and was curious as to where I should start.
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I just remembered someone...
Steve MacDonald, one of the drummers for Gorguts, committed suicide. Shame really, because he was incredibly talented.
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jon lee, the drummer from feeder (not sure if they're big in the states, but they're a really good UK pop-rock band), hung himself in 2002.
you could argue jeff buckley's death was kinda a suicide. having read up on the guy, and the events in his life at the time of his death (and what he had to say about them), i'd venture he probably knew that swimming in wolf river would more than likely result in drowning when he went in...
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and also Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) from Mayhem
Yeah, but let's face it ... Nomen Est Omen.
Scarier is that the people who found him took pictures and saved bits and pieces of his skull to turn into pendants.
I really dislike Dead. I fail to see how he went so famous for just a live album and a couple of songs.
On the other hand, we have Jon Nödtveidt and that's indeed a dude from the metal spectrum that I will miss.
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God I remember when I was in 7th and 8th grade I was beyond convinced that Kurt Cobain was murdered.
I feel awful for derailing this but the topic brought Nick Drake to mind. I was recently reccomended to check him out and was curious as to where I should start.
Start off with Bryter Layter.
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God I remember when I was in 7th and 8th grade I was beyond convinced that Kurt Cobain was murdered.
I feel awful for derailing this but the topic brought Nick Drake to mind. I was recently reccomended to check him out and was curious as to where I should start.
Start off with Bryter Layter.
He has a very small discography (just three full albums, to my understanding), so I think it would be feasible to just pick up all of this stuff if you have the chance.
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because it's the best album.
Hehehe... Everytime I recommend albums of a certain band, I always recommend the second or the third best. Because if they listen to the best one first, the others will sound kinda weak for the listeners
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Scott Stapp
So close!
Ffffffffff
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Start off with Bryter Layter.
No. Five Leaves Left, goddamnit, because it's the best album.
I can up it (or any of his other albums) to MF if anyone wants me to?
Maybe it's his best (I say Pink Moon all the way), but I think Bryter Layter is his most accessible personally.
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I think "musicians who SHOULD HAVE committed suicide" would be a much more interesting topic, wouldn't it?
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what about chad kroger?
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See? Alright. There we go.
Let's keep this moving, people.
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Fred Durst
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Doing okay, but we're looking at easy targets right now.
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Mick Jagger
And every member of Anal Pudding
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Okay! Mick Jagger, presumably for peaking in the 70s ("Dancing In The Street" music video and role in Freejack opposite Emilio Estevez notwithstanding). Now we're getting somewhere.
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All of Attack Attack!
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No you see, there's a difference between people who should commit suicide and poeple who shouldn't be born in the first place.
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pish posh, same thing
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As long as they don't reproduce, we're fine, I guess.
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Also Gene Simmons. He should actually choke to death on his own tongue.
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Hey guys remember that time Bono immolated himself live on television in order to bring attention to the plight of the third world?
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And then Bob Geldof grieved so hard his heart exploded? Yeah man, good times.
Remember when Dylan's bus crashed into the Stones' bus?
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Not even Mick Jagger can kill Mick Jagger. The same applies for Keith Richards.
But perhaps...they can only die by each other's hands?
I am almost certain that day would be the final event of RAGNAROK
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jon lee, the drummer from feeder (not sure if they're big in the states, but they're a really good UK pop-rock band), hung himself in 2002.
Godammit, I forgot about him. :cry:
I really like Feeder.
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I don't remember his name, but the guitarist from The Angelic Process injured his arm so that he could no longer play guitar, and committed suicide shortly after.
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Not even Mick Jagger can kill Mick Jagger. The same applies for Keith Richards.
I like Keith Richards. Something about him utterly fascinates me. (Not his music, but the man himself)
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If Wayne's World 2 has taught me anything, it's that Keith Richards cannot be killed by conventional weapons
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Back onto the actual subject, isn't it kind of rumored that Tchaikovsky committed suicide?
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Also man how did I forget Nikki Sixx
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Also man how did I forget Nikki Sixx
hahahah yeah I know more like Nikki SUXX am I correct?
No seriously though, get out, Motley Crue are great.
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Ohhh funny! You say that Mötley Crüe is good when they are not!
You funny guy! Ohhhhhh!!!
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What is your problem and why do you have to have it in such a grating and unfunny manner?
Actually I know what your problem is, your problem is that you don't like Motley Crue, this is not a particularly uncommon problem! What I am asking you to do is maybe have this problem in a way that doesn't make you sound like an idiot.
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Post was better before the edit, dogg.
Brevity is the soul etc.
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Dovey I have taken your advice on board and will wire you the money to your consultancy account immediately (account reference: DOCTOR STRANGELOVE)
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My theory is that Keith Richards is already dead and what we are observing is just a really amazing and protracted death rattle.
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I was making a reference to Family Guy in which a guy says something fairly similar to explain sarcasm. I didn't think you were sarcastic at all, I was just jokingly making you out to be sarcastic.
(I actually like one Mötley Crüe song (Wild Side), but the rest just bores me)
I didn't even realize until now that I got the pagebreak to be honest.
And I also wasn't trying to be malicious in any sense - I've got nothing against you for liking what I don't.
Warning - while you were typing 3 new replies have been posted. You may wish to review your post.
...okay. So you took out everything that I am responding to. Fuck it, I'm going to post this anyways.
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Back onto the actual subject, isn't it kind of rumored that Tchaikovsky committed suicide?
Whoa! I did not know that. And according to wikipedia...he was gay too?
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I think it's a rumor that every music student has discussed one night in the practice rooms. Oh, and he was crazy gay. Have you listened to any Tchaikovsky? I'm not actually a fan of his music. Don't get me wrong, I think it's brilliant, but it's written in a style that I just don't care for. Plus, I hate ballet music in a concert setting (except that I can't hate Stravinsky no matter how hard I try to keep to my absolute statements). That's like hearing a movie score (one that was written for a movie) without the film. It was written to accompany something, not to stand alone.
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No seriously though, get out, Motley Crue are great.
http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2302&name=Motley+Crue
e: http://translationparty.com/#2970598
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In this thread indie rock person admits to hating fun, nobody surprised.
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Man who said anything about hating fun
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In this thread indie rock person admits to hating fun, nobody surprised.
man how can you not dig on that perfectly competent hair metal version of "Helter Skelter" is what I want to ask that man.
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Twisted Sister still knock the socks off Motley Crue. Both share the distinction of being pretty much the only hair bands it is ever possible to admit to enjoying in any form of polite society.
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In this thread indie rock person admits to hating fun, nobody surprised.
Wait, me?
If so, I spit on your label of me.
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Twisted Sister still knock the socks off Motley Crue. Both share the distinction of being pretty much the only hair bands it is ever possible to admit to enjoying in any form of polite society.
Does Guns 'n' Roses count as a hair band?
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In the sense that they have hair, sure.
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I've just heard people refer to them as a hair band and I never considered them in that light much until I heard others refer to them. I realized then that they do kind of sort of fit into that category. (And to be honest, just taking a look at them without hearing their music I would just go "Oh, hair band," and think nothing more of them. Same goes for Aerosmith)
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Guns 'n' Roses took themselves way too seriously to be a proper hair-metal band.
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I've just heard people refer to them as a hair band and I never considered them in that light much until I heard others refer to them. I realized then that they do kind of sort of fit into that category. (And to be honest, just taking a look at them without hearing their music I would just go "Oh, hair band," and think nothing more of them. Same goes for Aerosmith)
It's funny because by the standards of the day Guns n' Roses were some dangerous motherfuckers and basically anathema to all of the hair bands, but by today's standards they're considered very hair, indeed.
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Our standards today are always better than the standards of the past, obviously.
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Yeah, it just seems odd to us because they really only distinguished themselves by small but significant degrees in terms of lyrics and subject matter. When bands like Motley Crue sang about getting high and going out on the town, they usually preferred to project a sense of invincibility. They may occasionally paint a nasty world but consequences were something for other people to worry about. Guns n' Roses acted like they already had a hangover.
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I would rather listen to Twisted Sister or Motley Crue than Guns and Roses. I don't feel I need to defend this.
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I would not. I've got nothing against either Crue or Twisted Sister (well, I do kind of hate Dee Snyder after he made that VH1 movie about the congress censorship hearings that made Zappa look like a moron, and him look like the hero), but I much prefer Guns and Roses for some unpretentious, rock-out music (which is pretty much all of my rock music).
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How do you spell pretentious?
E-L-P
:lol:
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Just because they played a piece of modern concert music on a rock CD doesn't make them pretentious.
What was that? You say it does make them pretentious. Right.
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I, for one, love the hell out of ELP, but when I hear the word 'pretentious' they are the first band that come to mind. Also Roger Waters.
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(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/ESpaceman/slash.jpg)
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(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/ESpaceman/slash-1.jpg)
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Just so we're all clear:
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/ESpaceman/slash.jpg)
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/ESpaceman/slash-1.jpg)
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i don't think anyone else has represented the demographic of those for whom both motley crue AND guns n roses are for the most part boring, tedious, and frankly SHIT.
so, for the record, i think that aside from one or two songs each, they both suck donkey dick.
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I, for one, love the hell out of ELP, but when I hear the word 'pretentious' they are the first band that come to mind. Also Roger Waters.
Oh, I love me some pretentious music all right, but I find that concert music tends to do a better job of it than rock music.
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Listen, I would be hard pressed to name more than two Motley Crue songs, but they're not Guns and cunting Roses.
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I think it's a rumor that every music student has discussed one night in the practice rooms. Oh, and he was crazy gay. Have you listened to any Tchaikovsky? I'm not actually a fan of his music. Don't get me wrong, I think it's brilliant, but it's written in a style that I just don't care for. Plus, I hate ballet music in a concert setting (except that I can't hate Stravinsky no matter how hard I try to keep to my absolute statements). That's like hearing a movie score (one that was written for a movie) without the film. It was written to accompany something, not to stand alone.
I actually really do like Tchaikovsky. But now that I think about it, how dild I NOT realize that a guy who's given us so many great ballets was gay?
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So we've moved from suicide to hair metal. Is this the natural order of things?
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I wasn't seeing a distinction between the two, to be honest.
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Yeah, ballet isn't even a gay stereotype at all.
I mean, if we were talking about, say, Stephen Sondheim, it would make more sense (because it is a commonly acknowledged and semi-accurate stereotype that gay folks love musicals).
(Also I didn't know this before writing this post but Stephen Sondheim actually is gay).
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So we've moved from suicide to hair metal. Is this the natural order of things?
other way round
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have you regained yr senses
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So we've moved from suicide to hair metal. Is this the natural order of things?
other way round
Fuck, I wanted to say that.
Also;
The people you would have overdose on drugs never would. Like Mötley Crüe would never fucking overdose, man, never. You could put them in a room with two tons of crack, they'd come out half an hour later, goin "ROCK ON MAN!"
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have you regained yr senses
are you talking to me or Nikki Sixx
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His heart, his heart.
He'll just kickstart his heart.
Also, TWISTED FUCKING SISTER (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL3C_eAtlS0)
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Y'know, I actually expected this to be a massive Kurt Cobain circle-jerk?
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Don't be ridiculous, everyone knows Kurt Cobain was murdered!