Layne Staley, lead singer of Alice in Chains band is dead.….actually to be more specific, a body was found in Staley’s home, and they can’t confirm if it is Staley himself. This story hasn’t exactly hit the mainstream media yet. Somehow I doubt that MTVers know what Alice in Chains is.
Alice in Chains had some good music. I especially liked “No Excuses” and “I Stay Away.” It’s a definite loss for good music. It might not generate as much media attention compared to if they found some boy band member dead.
Let me make some predictions. Within a few days, perhaps today, MTV will begin playing “Alice in Chains Unplugged.” VH1 will roll out “Behind the Music: Alice in Chains,” if they haven’t already made it. Sony Music will roll out a bonus album of rarities and live performances of Alice in Chains. They’re already got a Greatest Hits album out now, so it would be a little redundant to roll out something similar.
Ignorant news commentators will make the inevitable comparisons to Kurt Cobain and grunge music in general. Kurt and Layne were 2 different people. I’m not sure the comparison is justified.
In other music news….
Gene Simmons wants to Help Sharon and Arafat make Peace….how completely strange. Whenever they’ve interviewed Gene Simmons, he’s always talked about KISS so intellectually as if there was some type of substance to their music. KISS didn’t have any deep meaningful lyrics. Come on….”I Want to Rock and Roll all Nite and Party Every Day” …. “Lick it Up” …..these are hardly anything earth shattering. Let’s tell it like it is. KISS was a glam rock band with great merchandising skills….nothing more, nothing less. I have a hard time taking a band seriously when they dress up in outrageous costumes and paint their faces.
On a side note, when I was in elementary school I thought KISS stood for Knights In Satan’s Service. That being the case, I found it a bit shocking when I saw another kid wearing a KISS shirt to school. The kid wasn’t worshipping satan; he was just had no fashion sense.
Currently listening to Moby’s “We are All Made of Stars.” I’m not a big Moby fan, but I like some of his music, but definitely not his politics. From looking at his website, moby.com, it’s pretty clear that he’s one of those silly vegetarians. Unless one lives in India, all vegetarians are hypocrites. I can guarantee that somewhere located deep dark inside of all vegetarian’s home is a product made from animals. Whether its their leather watch band, or their leather shoes, its there.