Now everybody’s died, so until our tears are dried,
we’ll drink and drink and drink and drink and then we’ll drink some more.
We’ll dance and sing and fight until the early mornin’ light,
then we’ll throw up, pass out, wake up and then go drinkin’ once again.
Someday soon I’ll leave this world of pain and toil and sin,
the Lord will take me by the hand to join all of me kin.
Me only wish is when the Savior comes for me and you,
He kills the cast of Riverdance and Michael Flatley too.
Death was three Black brothers in Detroit in the early 70’s. They were punk before it was invented. They were so ahead of their time they couldn’t get a contract. Their master tapes sat in an attic for 34 years. Then their old singles started going for $800 and their music was being played at underground parties. Now they’re back. The documentary is a must-see. I just downloaded their original album for $9.99, and yeah, it shreds
Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early ’70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death’s music— and band name—too intimidating, and the group were never given a fair shot, disbanding before they even completed one album. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family love story, A Band Called Death chronicles the incredible fairy-tale journey of what happened almost three decades later, when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of the attic and found an audience several generations younger. Playing music impossibly ahead of its time, Death is now being credited as the first black punk band (hell…the first punk band!), and are finally receiving their long overdue recognition as true rock pioneers.
One of the Twin Cities most beloved musical talents has passed away. Micheal “Eyedea” Larsen, a longtime Rhymesayer, singer, lyricist and fixture in the indie hip-hop scene died early this morning just a month shy of his 29th birthday.
Friends of Larsen said his mother, Kathy Averill, found him this morning.
“It is with great pain and sadness that I tell you my son Mikey (Eyedea) has passed away,” she wrote on his personal Facebook page. “At this time we kindly request your respect and our privacy as we process this devastating loss. On behalf of Mikey’s family, close friends and fans, thank you.”
Friend and fellow rapper Sage Francis posted this on Facebook:
RIP Eyedea. I don’t know what happened. The only news provided is in the link below. I woke up at 7:30AM to this news and I’m still trying to process it. My full condolences go out to his mom, his entire family, Sean, Max, Bird, Ali, all of RSE. I don’t know where this list should end. I’m not ready to share any stories yet. I don’t even know how to make sense of this at the moment. All I know is I’m shocked and sad. Mikey Larsen…you will be missed my man. You hit on levels most will never understand. Much love.
Larsen’s mother has a memorial fundraiser going on right now on Facebook to pay for “the cost of his services.” Below are some of Eyedea’s songs.
Mary Alice got cancer just like everybody here
Seems everyone I know is gettin’ cancer every year
And we can’t afford no insurance, I been ten years unemployed
So she didn’t get no chemo so our lives was destroyed
And nothin’ ever changes, the cemetery gets more full
And over there in Huntsville, even NASA’s shut down too.
