Goodbye Norma Jean, though I never Knew You at All

The last little while has been a time of increased musician deaths. It is sad, but I guess to be expected with the way the world seems to work.

Here's my toll so far:

1. Casey Calvert from Hawthorne Heights passed away in his sleep. Ironic according to a co-worker. Having never listened to them, I cannot comment. I'm sure though that fans are off slitting wrists and bathing in their tears
2. Robert Goulet. I've made peace with his passing.
3. Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot
4. Pete Malmi
5. Ernest Paulin
6. Paul Brodie
7. Chickie Williams (wife of country singer Doc Williams). Only country singers and big blues singers could get away with a name like "Chickie"
8. John Hughley
9. Porter Wagoner
10. Petr Eben
11. Lala Brown
12. Lucky Dube
13. Joey Bishop.... I include him because he was a member of the Rat Pack. Oh to live in the glory days of Las Vegas and scotch.
14. Teresa Brewer
15. Nicky James of the Moody Blues

So you get the picture... people are dying at an alarming rate. Now while I'm not overly concerned for the state of music today, so I'm sure many monkeys with Guitar Hero and a dream could make better music, something about all of this posed a question for me? What exactly about musicians' deaths strikes a chord with our emotions?

After hearing about the dude from Hawthorne Heights passing away, at 26 no less, I decided to hit up their website, and I found something that disturbed be. Fans were going on and on about how they were crying about this. WHY??? You do not know this guy personally. His band's lyrics must have been that emo (that's right I used that word, and in these contexts it works! ). I don't get it.

I look at deaths like John Lennon and Kurt Cobain and just shake my head. They were just individuals with guitars and voices. I like both of them as artists, but I didn't know them, and frankly their deaths were just that, deaths.

Maybe it is callous of me, but I think we need to accept this fact and get lives.

I'm tired and my ass hurts from assall horizontology.