A to Z Blogging Challenge 2015: T is for Tribute

AC/DC's 1980 album Back in Black was written as a tribute to the band's former frontman Bon Scott, who, sadly, died at the age of 33 after an unfortunate mishap. Unlike the rumors have it, Scott did not choke on his own vomit. He had been left in the back of a car to sleep off his state of inebriation. The weather was chilly, and Bon was a bit asthmatic. As well, he had an upper denture plate to replace teeth that had been broken in a serious motorcycle accident. The plate slipped and further obstructed his airway. The vomit was a reflex reaction by the dying body. It likely would not have killed him had he not already been fatally compromised.

Back on the Chain Gang was written as a tribute to The Pretenders guitarist, James Honeyman-Scott, who died of a drug overdose. He was 25 years old.

This song was written as a tribute Def Leppard's guitarist Steve Clark, whose alcoholism lead to his untimely death at the age of thirty. The scenes set to the song are from The Crow, so the song works as a tribute to Brandon Lee as well. Lee, the son of martial artist Bruce Lee, died in a freak accident on a movie set. He was 28.

~DJ Blooming Psycho~

Gone Too Soon: Usher Cover by Airto

Just remembering Michael Jackson today. Airto has a nice voice and does a good cover of Usher's tribute to Michael.

~DJ Gunnar~

Why this Gritty, Non-Descript Little Man is My Hero

I know everyone is sick to death of hearing me talk about why this man means so much to me and why his horrifying illness is so devastating to me.

 A fuck I don't give. I will speak of it until eternity if I want to.

Ah, your unsolicited opinion regarding the things I care about?

Still looking...

The Daily Post asked me who my hero is. Actually, I have a few, but this one goes way back.

"But Cheese," you might say. "That dude totally does not look heroic. He's really low key. Heroes should dazzle!"

He does. He's just not flashy.

However, even though the music was the first thing I noticed, this isn't why he's my hero. A lot of people are musically talented (although this not flashy musician was kind of special.) That makes them admirable, but it doesn't make them heroes.

It's when I found out about the people behind the music that they became my heroes.

I was one of Those People. 

I was one of those people that other people put down to try and make themselves feel big.

I was ugly, or at least that's what I heard all the time.

So I deserved to be picked on.

So it was said.

I hated myself.

But I loved music.

I loved the raw power of this new music that I'd just found out about.

When I found out about the musicians behind it...

I knew they were making the music for people like me.

They didn't give a fuck about appealing to the cool crowd. They weren't part of the cool crowd. They'd probably been ostracized by the cool crowd, just like I had. 

They didn't approve of being shitty to people who didn't fit in, I could tell that. These guys weren't some trend, they were real. 

Someone like me really needed to know that people like this existed. People who would have been nice to me, even though I wasn't part of the Cool Crowd. People who would have told the people who were bullying me to go fuck themselves.

Gettin' it done low budget pre-MTV style.

"Well, that's all very nice, Cheese," you might say. "But you're a heterosexual female, and I guess the little guy has kind of a cute face, but a woman needs a real Manly Man to be her hero, and this dude looks like he'd blow away in a strong breeze. A hero should look something like this and make all the ladies swoon!"

Image Source

Well, ya know, who doesn't love them some Val Hallen? But what makes a person truly heroic is strength of character, not muscles or epic hair. Now, Val is a nice guy, and he does have strength of character, so I guess that makes him something of a hero. Still, I want to talk about why the little guy is my hero even though he doesn't look like one.

For someone living with mental illness, he was something of a role model. He was very shy, but bravely went into a career which meant being in the spotlight a lot of the time even though he was uncomfortable with being scrutinized. He struggled with depression and managed to overcome alcohol addiction in spite of the fact that without alcohol he would no longer have the ability to have a shot of Sociability.

He was known for being self-sacrificing, and even when he became extremely ill he didn't want to burden others with his problems. He was more concerned with the effect his illness would have on other people than with the effect it was having on him.

That he no longer knows what he did during his remarkable life, who the people he loves the most are, or even who he is breaks my heart in a million pieces. I will never forget him or what he did for a badly bullied, mentally ill girl through his music.

You are my hero, Malcolm Young. I love you. I don't care how saying that makes me look in the eyes of those who are concerned with keeping up appearances. You taught me not to give a fuck about those who look down their nose at those of us who are different. I know you struggled with some of the same things I struggle with. I think you were and are beautiful both inside and out. You are always in my heart.

Love always,

Cie

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: Never Forget

Let us never forget the inspiration behind so much of our recent work. 

Click to enlarge the image

Photoshop manip by Cie

Original Eye in the Sky image:

Copyright: zadvinskiy / 123RF Stock Photo

This wasn't long ago, but it was prior to the massive cerebral degeneration that leaves him unable to remember anything about his life. Even at that juncture, the eyes that were once bright and alert were now bewildered and frightened. It breaks our hearts.

He and others like him are worth remembering, even though they can't remember.

If caring is uncool, then we're proud to be uncool.

We won't ever forget.

Forget any of the supernatural horrors that we create. Those are small potatoes. Even they run crying for their mommy in the face of real-life abominations such as this.

Lewy Body Dementia is an evil force which steals the light from beautiful, bright eyes. It is a sociopathic murderer which kills dreams and memories. It is a thief that strikes in the night, leaving a sharp mind broken in shards like a fragile artifact smashed on a stone floor. It is pure malevolence. It must be stopped so no more lives are destroyed this way.

Tempest

for

Team Netherworld

Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds

Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds

I

In an industry that praises a man for being a blackguard

You refused to behave like a swine

You were tolerant, but not amoral

You chose to cleave to what you deemed important

Refusing to be some sort of cog in the machine

Your voice was an understated baritone

Your style in no way operatic

You preferred to let your axe do the talking

Coming up from a humble background

You led the poor in a quiet revolt

By teaching us to be unashamed of who we are

If anyone had ever referred to you

As a knight riding in on a white horse

You would have laughed

But you were a hero to many of us

We saw you as strong in spite of your diminutive stature

Which is why we were shocked when it was revealed just how fragile you are

There was no antecedent to predict

How swiftly and fearfully you would be felled

II

When I found out the reason

Why the world would never again hear your restless thoughts poured out in music

It made me shiver and sway

My soul was left a jittering mess

Tumbling into a sick, hellish abyss

My heart landed in the basement

And there is no consolation

Nor any chance for denial

My eyes are swollen from crying

Everybody knows that something's wrong

I never was any good at hiding behind a mask

This is the worst, the absolute worst

Because not only are there no expectations for recovery

There's nothing left of what you were in your head

Although the curtain's not yet drawn on vital functions

The obituary for your soul's been read

I thought it might be whiskey that would take you in the end

She was the one mistress you had trouble resisting

Because she temporarily quieted the voices of self-doubt

That screamed behind your placid demeanor

Quiet people have the loudest minds

I loved yours

Love it still

Love it always

Cie and Mo

for

Malcolm

Writing Prompts:

Mindlovemisery's Menagerie

The Reverie

Cross-Posted to:
Dream About Me Sweet Brother
(Warning: Blog contains explicit, unapologetic slash/erotic gay fiction)
KHEL 666
Poetry of the Netherworld
Rattling Bones Undead Musician Magazine

Notes:

Morella La Muerte (Mo) is the primary writer on the first poem, The Real Cie is the primary writer on the second.

Mo wanted to use the words from both Wordles but became overwhelmed. She emailed Cie asking for advice. We've been collaborating since five this morning! Three point five hours in, we've finally got it cooked to delicious imperfection.

Delicious imperfection could also describe the subject of the poem, although that sounds kind of lecherous. We actually are referring to his personality. He was flawed, but extremely well-intentioned. He created wonderful things without knowing just how wonderful they were. He was also extremely hard on himself. He never measured up to his own exacting standards.

I doubt we'll ever stop writing about this situation. We certainly will never stop thinking that it's a steaming pile of crap on the part of the Universe. We'd have been sad to have the man killed off, but to destroy his mind on top of it, that's fucking insult to injury. His was a beautiful mind. The world has been robbed of a real treasure.

Ignoring the fact that we have to get a spotlight over here because Angus is taking off his clothes again, could we just for a moment pause and ponder the absolutely solid foundation of this very tasty blues-rock number?

Angus spoke about his admiration for Malcolm's style in a January 2014 article from Guitar World:

"Sometimes I look at Malcolm while he's playing, and I'm completely awestruck by the sheer power of it. He's doing something much more unique than what I do-with that raw, natural sound of his. People like Malcolm, Steve Cropper, Chuck Berry and Keith Richards-they're all doing something better than the rest of us. I can't deny that Eric Clapton's and Eddie Van Halen's lead stuff has influenced a stack of people, but for me it's the rhythm thing that's way more impressive and important to a band.

Malcolm is a big inspiration to me; he keeps me on my feet. Even when I'm tired from running around the stage for two hours, I'll look back at what he's doing and it gives me that boot up the backside I sometimes need."

Absolutely.

What a great loss, not only to the world of music, but to the world as a whole.

Photoshop manip by Cie

Original Eye in the Sky image:

Copyright: zadvinskiy / 123RF Stock Photo

Six Word Saturday: Words We Can't Say Enough

We love you always, Malcolm Young

Like anyone who allows themselves to age naturally, Malcolm's face became wizened by time. He was a tiny person. However, he never looked frail until recently, and he always looked alert, as if he was taking everything in and processing it, figuring out what came next at all times. In recent photos, that look was gone, as if he was struggling just to get along. It's heartbreaking.

Dementia sucks. It sucks. And then it sucks some more. It robs its victims of their minds, of the light in their eyes, of their ability to recognize even those they loved the most. It robs those who love the sufferer of his or her ability to give the gift of themselves. 

Fuck you, dementia in all its forms. Just fuck you. 

I wish I had something more intelligent to say. Unfortunately, that is how helpless such a condition leaves everyone it touches.

~DJ Blooming Psycho~

Angus and Malcolm Young: Real Brotherly Love

 

We have learned that Malcolm Young's dementia is so fast-moving that his wife had to put him in a long term care facility. He doesn't remember things that happened just minutes before. His short term memory has been totally wiped.

Some of the team have gone through this sort of thing with parents or uncles and aunts, or grandparents. But to endure it with your sibling, your best friend, must be a hell beyond compare.

Angus has said of Malcolm that he felt that Malcolm was actually the better guitarist. He wasn't flashy, he provided a solid wall of sound. But Malcolm, according to Angus, could kick anyone's ass, including Angus', had Angus ever acted like some sort of prima donna.

Malcolm Young put up with no shit. He was scrappy. But he was also a generous, caring soul. He took it upon himself to call Bon Scott's mother personally following Bon's death, so she wouldn't have to learn about the devastating loss from the news. He said it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do, and he agonized over it for a long time afterwards. He believed that Bon told him that he "did good," stating that he felt a hand on his shoulder and the presence of his departed friend.

Malcolm believed in doing the right thing. He once walked off the set of a TV show after they tried to goad him into swearing to make him look like more of a bad boy. He was moved to tears by the crushing death of fans at an ill-planned concert venue with general admission, and was deeply saddened by the deaths of the children at the Waco disaster.

Malcolm was married to his wife Linda since the late 1970's. He has a daughter named Cara and a son named Ross. It would be heartbreaking to see the love of your life and the father of your children decline so badly so quickly that you had to opt to put him in a nursing home because you could no longer properly care for him yourself. It would be heartbreaking to see your devoted father decline into a state where he no longer recognizes you.

For Angus, watching the person who was not only his brother but also his best friend fall into a state where he no longer recognizes those who mean the most to him must be a hell beyond compare. Only two years apart in age, these guys were close as could be. Both stated that they scrapped at times when they were younger, but it certainly didn't keep them from forming one of the deepest bonds we've ever seen. They didn't have to say it in words: they love each other and each would do anything for the other. They were inseparable.

We can only offer our sympathies and our greatest respects. There will never be another Malcolm Young. He was one of a kind. He always had such a spark. Who would have imagined that his life would play out in such a tragic way?

We never know what awaits us. We have to treasure the moment; we truly do. This sort of thing could, sadly, strike any one of us or someone we loved with great depth; perhaps someone we thought would always be there.

A bond like that which exists between Angus and Malcolm Young can never really be broken, not even by a tragedy of this magnitude. Their unmistakable loving filial ties will outlast both of them. A friendship such as theirs is forever.

All of our love to these two iconic brothers. You are in our hearts always.

 

Blooming Psycho

for the KHEL 666 Krew

CatHatFiddle: Hot Potato

If you don't get a bang out of this, I fear your humor chip has gone missing!

~DJ Faycin~