ABC News just announced the death of the famous actress Elizabeth Taylor at the age of 79. Most famous as the actress of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woof? (see trailer underneath here), Elizabeth Taylor had a long lasting movie career but kept it on the low lately as she was having heart problems. RIP.

No, not the band, The polar bear. Knut collapsed earlier today in his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo and died. He was found floating in the water. The cause of death has yet to be determined. Approximately 600 to 700 zoo visitors witnessed Knut’s death. He was only four years old.

Sorry if we confused you with the title of this post.

We’ve just received the news Nate Dogg died this Tuesday. His family announced this to the local newspaper Press-Telegram. The cause of death is yet unknown, but the rapper already survived two strokes in the past. RIP.

We’ve just received the news that Extreme Noise Terror‘s singer Phil Vane has passed away in his sleep last night. The cause of death is yet unknown. If we’ll have more information we’ll post it on the blog as soon as possible! R.I.P.

Edit:

His death has been confirmed by his band members according to Blabbermouth:

“The rumors are true. We’re sorry to announce that Phil passed away recently. The band will make a full statement soon but for now we need to take the time to come to terms with this terrible loss.”

At the age of 58,  Gary Moore has died. The guitarist, known from his great work in bands like Thin Lizzy and Skid Row but mainly for his solo career was found dead in the Kempinski Resort Hotel in Estepona, Spain. Adam Parsons, who manages Thin Lizzy, told the BBC that Mr Moore had died in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The Mirror tells Moore died of a suspected heart attack.

R.I.P. Gary Moore

April 4th, 1952
-
February 6th, 2011

Last Wednesday, Throbbing Gristle member Peter Christopherson has died in his sleep at the age of 55. Last year, Christopherson visited Incubate to see the performance of Hermann Nitsch. A month ago, Throbbing Gristle announced to continue under the name  X-TG as Genesis P-Orridge left the band. Peter also played in bands like Psychic TV and Coil. Some of the very last photos of Peter Chrisopherson with his band X-TG can be found on the Flickr website of Chris Carter.

R.I.P. Peter Martin ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson

27 February 1955
-
24 November 2010

Harry Mulisch, the Netherlands’ most famous writer, past away yesterday evening 8pm. Mulisch suffered cancer and was seriously ill the last few weeks. He was 83 years old.

Along with W.F. Hermans and Gerard Reve, he was considered one of the “Great Three” of Dutch postwar literature.

R.I.P. Harry Mulisch

29 July 1927
-
30 October 2010

Today, August 20th, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool singer Charlie Haddon committed suicide. Just after the performance of his band at the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium, he ended is life on a nearby parking lot, the festival organization confirmed in a press conference. Haddon made a fatal jump of a mast at the artist parking area.

The debut album of the London based band, ‘Christ Died For Our Synths’, would be released in October.

More details are not announced yet.

R.I.P. Charlie Haddon

Video: Dance The Way I Feel  by Ou Est Le Swimming Pool:

A Dutch one, though….

(via) (photo via)

You Say Party! We Say Die! drummer Devon Clifford has died after collapsing onstage during a show in Vancouver. The Abbotsford, B.C., band had been playing a show on Friday night at Vancouver’s Rickshaw Theatre when Clifford suddenly collapsed. He was taken to hospital but died Sunday morning, according to the band’s publicist. Darryl Weeks said Clifford died while surrounded by family and friends. The drummer suffered a brain haemorrhage, according to Spinner.

A tribute from the band’s record label Paper Bag has since been released, saying:
“It is with absolute sadness to report that our dear friend Devon Clifford passed away just hours ago in a Vancouver hospital surrounded by his family and friends. He will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him. I request that we respect the family’s privacy during this incredibly difficult time.”

You Say Party! We Say Die! was about to start their European tour and play at the Pécs’ Europe Mania Festival on May 8th, where Incubate is curating a stage.

R.I.P. Devon Clifford
1979 – 2010

(Photo)

TYPE O NEGATIVE frontman Peter Steele, born Petrus T. Ratajczyk, is rumored to have died of heart failure yesterday. That’s what different sources post on the interwebs the past few hours. The death news has been confirmed by fellow bandmate Kenny Hickey. Also, keyboardist Josh Silver has confirmed to BLABBERMOUTH.NET that the band’s frontman, Peter Steele, passed away.

Back in 2005, many people were shocked when they logged on to the TYPE O NEGATIVE web site and saw a gravestone with the words “[P]eter Steele – 1962 – 2005 …. Free At Last” carved on it. According to Epinions.com, there were rumors at the time that Steele was sick (with anything from cancer to AIDS), was on his deathbed, attempted suicide … and the list goes on. Needless to say, it turned out that Steele was very much alive and the gravestone was merely a joke, albeit one the wasn’t viewed as being in particularly good taste. Before forming TYPE O NEGATIVE, Steele played for the metal group FALLOUT and the thrash band CARNIVORE.

R.I.P. Peter Steele

January 4, 1962
-
April 14, 2010

(via)

From Pitchfork:
Alex Chilton, the legendary singer, songwriter, and performer who created music with the Box Tops, Big Star, and as a solo artist, died today. Chilton was in New Orleans and was scheduled to play in Austin this weekend with the reunited Big Star as part of SXSW. According to the paper, he complained of feeling ill and was taken by paramedic to the hospital. Cause of death has not been confirmed, but the Commercial Appeal reports that it is believed to be a heart attack. Chilton was 59.

R.I.P. Alex Chilton

December 28, 1950
-
March 17, 2010

Live recording of Big Star – ‘In The Street’:

Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse has committed suicide, according to a report from Rolling Stone. His family has released a statement reading, “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.”

Linkous made his debut under the Sparklehorse name with the 1995 albumvivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, which yielded the minor hit “Someday I Will Treat You Good”. He went on to release three more acclaimed records of fractured, experimental alt-blues: 1999′s Good Morning Spider, 2001′s It’s a Wonderful Life, and 2006′s Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, as well as the Danger Mouse/David Lynch all-star project Dark Night of the Soul and the Fennesz collaboration In the Fishtank. A voracious collaborator, Linkous also worked with PJ Harvey, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, and many others.

Last year, Dark Night of the Soul was released as a book and a blank CD and leaked to the internet due to a legal battle between Danger Mouse and EMI. Earlier this week, it was announced that Dark Night of the Soul would finally receive physical release this summer. (Via)

Again sad to say goodbye to a great artist en person .. we think!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjsUZRs770U]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xQSWpLCcpE]

Dutch radiomaker Arjen Grolleman passed away today very unexpected, his employer learns us on their frontpage. Arjen worked at Kink FM, one of the coolest alternative radio stations in The Netherlands. From early 2006 until today he managed this station, after being involved with Kink FM since the establishment of it in 1995. He was also active on twitter. Only 18 hours ago, he posted his last tweet. Arjen was 37 years old.

R.I.P. Arjen Grolleman

22 August, 1972
-
20 January, 2010

Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy Sullivan, better known by his stage name The Rev, past away yesterday, December 28th. That’s what the metalcore bands tells on their website. Sullivan was found dead in his Californian house. He was 28 years old.

R.I.P. Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan

February 10, 1981
-
December 28, 2009

American actress Brittany Murphy passed away this Sunday, CNN learns us. The actress, known from movies like Sin City, Don’t Say A Word, Clueless, Just Married and Eminem’s 8 Mile died of a cardiac arrest. She was 32 years old.

She also hit the charts once with the song ‘Faster Kill Pussycat’ together with Paul Oakenfold, back in 2006. Here’s the official musicvideo of that release:

Eric Woolfson died of cancer yesterday, December 2nd, his official website learns us. Woolfson was the co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project back in 1975, and after he split with the band he persued musical theatre. Eric Wolfson was 64 years old.

Eric Woolfson
March 18, 1945
-
December 2, 2009

Today, Ramses Shaffy, Dutch chansonnier, past away. Shaffy suffered esophageal cancer since May this year. He was 76 years old.

R.I.P. Ramses Shaffy
August 29, 1933
-
December 1, 2009

Here’s a record made in 1966 of the song ‘Sammy’.

The rumours appear to originate from a New Zealand DJ shop called DMC World, which says on its product page: “Panasonic (the manufacturer of Technics) have announced that production of the world famous Technics SL-1200 and SL-1210 DJ turntables will stop at the end of February 2010″.
The turntables have been around for more than 35 years, and are featured in the London museum of Science and Technology as an important step in how music has been played and presented over the last century. Their popularity has ensued due to their tank-like construction, high torque and effective insulation from acoustic feedback.
Panasonic, the owner of Technics, announced that they won’t produce their legendary record player due to low sales. Panasonic Australia made an official announcement on it: “It is a sad day today but due to low sales globally in analogue turntables a decision to stop production has been made on Technics Turntables. For Australia this means we will receive our last shipment in March. ” Might it be the end of the dj as we know it?

Dutch hardcore hero’s Backfire’s very very last show was last Saturday in Leipzig. Check this video with the crowd going crazy. RIP Eurocore!

Drummer of Social Distortion, Black Flag, D.O.A., Danzig and many more bands Chuck Biscuits died last October 24th, after a prolonged battle with throat cancer. He was 44 years old.

“In response to the inquires, thank you for all the support,” an anonymous family member wrote in an e-mail sent yesterday morning.”Chuck, [born Charles Montgomery in British Columbia, Canada] did not survive his battle with throat cancer. He passed surrounded by his family on 10/24/09,” Blabbermouth learns us.

R.I.P. Chuck Biscuits
April 17, 1965
–
October 24, 2009

One of the two European countries without any McDonalds Albania has is own fast food chain: Kolonat. The name doesn’t look suspicious, but their brand imaging does. Being creative it is easy to write a K as an M. Of course, passing by this restaurant in Tirana made me having a look inside. I didn’t taste the food though.

Bassist and singer Dickie Peterson of heavy riffmachine Blue Cheer past away this morning at 5am in Germany. Blue Cheer was one of the first powertrio’s in rock-‘n’-roll and laid a blueprint of heavy metal/stoner with Vincebus Eruptum and Outsideinside in 1968. They were of great influence for bands such as Monster Magnet, Fu Manchu and Alabama Thunderpussy.

The cause of Peterson’s death is still unknown. He was 61 years old.

R.I.P. Dickie Peterson
1948
-
2009

In 2007, Blue Cheer played Roadburn festival. Check out one of the only videos around of this performance here:

But for those of you that don’t give a rat’s ass about official openings there’s plenty to do. There’s a cool hip hop program at V39 including Suckafish P. Bass Clef and Ferenc Kovács will play in Paradox and if that’s not enough music for you, check Centbisous in Kunstpodium T and Moustafa Moustache at Cul de Sac!

A very interesting lecture slash performance slash dance act will be perfromed by Pavlos Kountouriotis. Highly recommended stuff! This is also true about the films today: Good Copy, Bad Copy and RiP: A Remix Manifesto. These both very entertaining movies deal with copyright questions.

So you do not have be afraid you’ll get bored today.

And for the happy few that managed to get tickets in time: See you at the sold out Heavy Metal Bowling!