RIP Mark Lanegan

Artist: Rhys Cooper

I always told myself I wouldn't be shocked by Mark Lanegan's death and yet, here I am. Frankly, he outlived his early trajectory, so I'm grateful he was as prolific as he was. And that's the thing about Lanegan. He fought drugs, alcohol, his own band, and himself and still managed to have a career with a lot of highs and not many lows. Even the experiments that don't work for me -- some of the electronic stuff in the early 2000s, e.g. -- made organic sense at the time. He'd earned the right to try on a few different hats and some of em didn't fit. It happens. He never went through a stupid emo phase or metal phase or ska phase, although now I'm thinking of Nearly Ska'd You and Uncle Skanesthesia and maybe that was a lost opportunity. But man, that fucking voice. Dude sounded 100 years old and was smart enough to lean into it,and build a career on it. I wish he lived long enough to make up with the Trees, but such is life. He's gonna be remembered as this grunge golem -- which is partially true -- but you gotta have balls, soul, and the feel to take on Bobby Bland and come out the other side unscathed. Godspeed ML.