Passages

[GaryC]

Jennifer Johnston, Irish novelist and playwright, aged 95. One of my favourite writers: I've read every novel (some of them better described as novellas) that she published.

Shadows on Our Skin (Booker Prize shortlistee), How Many Miles to Babylon? and The Railway Station Man were made for the BBC in 1978 (Play for Today), 1982 and 1992 respectively. Meanwhile, her novel The Old Jest (Whitbread Prize winner) was filmed in 1988 as The Dawning.

[colinr0380]

Actress Kim Sae-ron at 25. I have not seen any of her films but a quick glance through imdb shows that she co-starred with Bae Doo-na in a 2014 film A Girl At My Door, which played in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes.

A Girl at My Door is wonderful. Can't recall whether I first saw it at the cinema or on DVD but I do own a copy of the film (either US or South Korean release).

A rather depressingly thorough video from the Muijin channel on the situation surrounding Kim Sae-ron.

[Buttery Jeb]

Michelle Trachtenberg

[domino harvey]

Wow, crazy. RIP Nona

[Murdoch]

That's awful, she was a constant presence in the aughts, from Buffy to Gossip Girl, along with the various teen comedies she'd pop up in. Very sad to see her passing at such a young age.

[dx23]

There's been rumors over the past few years that Michelle wasn't right mentally. Either going to depression or something worse, but there's also the ghost of whatever the fuck Josh Whedon had done to her in that set. I remember that when Whedon was exposed as the scumbag that he is, there were some statements from Michelle and other Buffy cast members about Michelle's parents not allowing her to be with Josh by herself at any point of the day. She had to be accompanied by an adult for any conversation or meeting with Whedon. Really sad that she's gone as 39 is too young to pass away.

[agnamaracs]

Wow, crazy. RIP Nona

I always wished I had a friend like Nona. R.I.P.

[domino harvey]

Gene Hackman discussion split here

[beamish14]

Joseph Wambaugh, Los Angeles cop turned immensely popular writer of novels such as The Onion Field, The New Centurions, and The Choirboys, all of which got high-profile film adaptations

My father’s widow was an Assistant District Attorney in Los Angeles, and he would regularly frequent their offices, do lectures, and stop by when he had a new title out

[Mr. Deltoid]

Joseph Wambaugh, Los Angeles cop turned immensely popular writer of novels such as The Onion Field, The New Centurions, and The Choirboys, all of which got high-profile film adaptations

My father’s widow was an Assistant District Attorney in Los Angeles, and he would regularly frequent their offices, do lectures, and stop by when he had a new title out

I don't think Wambaugh got enough credit for his influence on subsequent police-procedural dramas, like Hill Street Blues and the wave of '80's cop dramas that followed. I've only read The Choirboys and The Blue Knight (which spawned an okay-ish TV-mini, though William Holden was miscast as 'Bumper' Morgan), but his books were immensely popular during the 70's/80's.

[domino harvey]

David Johansen of the New York Dolls / Buster Poindexter

[mizo]

David Johansen of the New York Dolls / Buster Poindexter

I knew he was ailing, but still very sad to hear. The first New York Dolls record is amazing - razor-sharp, sensitive, gleefully trashy, and very queer, even if the cross-dressing was just part of the act - with side A in the running for my all-time favorite album side (and side B's not too shabby!). Their second album bucked the sophomore trend by being really good as well, covers-heavy though it is. I've never explored the Buster Poindexter work much, but just on the basis of those two early efforts, he's a generation-defining artist

[jwd5275]

David Johansen obit

[hearthesilence]

David Johansen obit

Gutted. One of the great pleasures of living in NYC was seeing him all over the place. Even well after the Dolls played their last show in 2011, he would perform onstage in different guises: the Lou Reed tributes, playing with the Harry Smiths at the Brooklyn Folk Festival, etc. There was also the Scorsese film, which he discussed at the New York Film Festival premiere, but I'd also see him taking in shows himself. The last time I saw him was after a Jonathan Richman show at The Bell House in Brooklyn, almost a year ago to the day. Knowing the roles he and Richman played in reshaping rock music and the doors they opened for so many people, it was mind-blowing to see just the two of them and Johansen's wife hanging out together long after everyone else had gone home. They were contemporaries, but I had no idea they socialized together, much less kept in touch after all these years. I'm really going to miss seeing him around.

FWIW, besides the first two New York Dolls albums and his self-titled solo debut, I thought his other great records were usually live recordings and more esoteric releases that were easy to overlook. Specifically:

The March 1973 demos recorded by the New York Dolls at Planet Studios, NYC (best heard on the CD A Hard Night's Day). Every song on the debut and most from the second are heard here in arguably superior form.

The New York Dolls' Live In Concert (Paris 1974) (released under various titles with different artwork) recorded at Radio Luxembourg.

The David Johansen Group Live recorded July 21, 1978 at the New York's The Bottom Line - only half of it was originally released as a promo LP, but the entire show was finally released in its entirety on CD in 1993

Live It Up, which I think did all right commercially speaking. David Letterman's social media accounts just posted a clip of him promoting it on his show back in the day.

[Matt]

The last remaining member of the Dolls' original lineup. It's weird for me seeing members of punk bands die off, but they're all in their 70s now.

Also: R&B queen Angie Stone

[knives]

He’s also the single best thing about Scrooged.

[hearthesilence]

Was great to see him in Candy Mountain (even if it's just one scene, but it sets up the rest of the movie). I've never seen the whole thing, but I thought it was cool that Freejack managed to cast him AND Mick Jagger though they don't have any scenes together - I doubt it's a very good movie, but you know someone involved must have had the Stones and the Dolls in their record collection.

[ando]

Also: R&B queen Angie Stone

Horrible. Thanks for the post. Always liked her music but never got a chance to see her live show. R.I.P.

[hearthesilence]

Posted by David Lowery's social media accounts:

It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of Bob Rupe. Bob was the charismatic and talented bassist for Cracker from roughly 1994 to 1999. Along with the late Charlie Quintana, he formed the rhythm section that powered Cracker’s theatre and shed tours at the peak of the band's popularity. Bob also played bass guitar on many Cracker recordings, most notably the albums The Golden Age and Gentleman’s Blues.

Although Bob was not a man of many words, he was known for his sharp and concise wit. He had a love of drag racing and vintage muscle cars. Indeed, the Cracker fan club release “Bob’s Car” features a photo of his beloved Super Bee on the cover. In addition to his work with Cracker, Bob was a founding member of The Silos and Gutterball. He also played with House of Freaks and Sparklehorse. Bob was a staple of the 1990s central Virginia music scene and will be missed by his many peers.

Bob is survived by his mother, Carol; his brothers, Tom and Dan; and his sister, Kathy, along with two nephews and two nieces. The cause of death is unknown at this time.

This year’s Cracker Camp-in is dedicated in memory of Bob Rupe.

[dwk]

Geoege Lowe (voice of Space Ghost on Space Ghost Coast to Coast)

[hearthesilence]

Per his official social media accounts, Brian James, founding member and guitarist of the Damned. He was also their primary songwriter and wrote most of their songs, including their classic record "New Rose," the very single ever released by a British punk band.

[ando]

Roy Ayers

[hearthesilence]

This goddamn year....

D'Wayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Toné! and IMHO they were hands down the greatest R&B group of the '90s, no one else came close. They should've had a much longer recording career, leaving us with only four albums (the last two being their towering masterpieces), but to be fair they did continue to perform live and they all found success away from the group, most notably Raphael Saadiq who continued to make one excellent-to-great album after another.

[thirtyframesasecond]

This goddamn year....

D'Wayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Toné! and IMHO they were hands down the greatest R&B group of the '90s, no one else came close. They should've had a much longer recording career, leaving us with only four albums (the last two being their towering masterpieces), but to be fair they did continue to perform live and they all found success away from the group, most notably Raphael Saadiq who continued to make one excellent-to-great album after another.

Now watch me do a little dance to Tony! Toni! Tone!

[mrb404]

Hong Kong director Clarence Fok, more than a year ago, but confirmed just now.