Layne Staley

[Geekbabe]

good lord, can you imagine the music this guy would have put out if he hadn't died so young? What a voice and such a huge influence on other great bands.

 

[chrisms]

Staley.

 

[dartworth]

Heroin is a hell of a drug...

BTW...its Layne Staley

 

[Geekbabe]

man,such a waste of so much talent.

 

[chrisms]

He was what he was and would've been nothing without his addiction which led to his death.

 

[Reckoner]

I still usually watch the AIC Unplugged DVD once a month. It's legendary stuff.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

What I liked about bands like Alice in Chains was that they could write lyrics like:

My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find
And yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can't be my own
I'd feel better dead

...And it wouldn't sound cheesy/corny/formulaic like it does when most current artists do it.

 

[chuckywang]

Your OP is more applicable to Jeff Buckley.

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: chrisms
He was what he was and would've been nothing without his addiction which led to his death.

I think the angst came well before the addiction,too bad the talent wasn't enough of an outlet for it.

 

[Flyback]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
Your OP is more applicable to Jeff Buckley.

Was thinking along the same lines.

Nonethless it's still tragic he had to go down such a dark road just to die.

 

[Flyback]

Originally posted by: Geekbabe

Originally posted by: chrisms
He was what he was and would've been nothing without his addiction which led to his death.

I think the angst came well before the addiction,too bad the talent wasn't enough of an outlet for it.

Definitely. He had the quality songwriting long before the drugs.

Which leads me to wonder if he did it on purpose-- a speedball 8 years to the day after Kurt Cobain died? Perhaps he wanted to "burn out", too ?

The other thing is that people don't last relatively -that- long on heroin. Either you're on it, on your way down, or you kick it and get treatment. I can't see someone using it for like a decade. Which leads me to wonder when he started using. To die from it in 2002 is a little odd given the drugs lack of popularity these days. Almost seems like he wanted it. (Not to say addiction isn't real--it is).

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
I still usually watch the AIC Unplugged DVD once a month. It's legendary stuff.

Same here. In fact I haven't removed the mixed (Mad Season and AIC) CD from my car player for weeks now.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

It's not fair...

John Lennon - Dead
Yoko Ono - record deal



Layne Staley - Dead
Courtney Love - record deal

 

[monk3y]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
It's not fair...

John Lennon - Dead
Yoko Ono - record deal



Layne Staley - Dead
Courtney Love - record deal

I think you're thinking about Kurt Cobain.

Man that Unplugged AIC DVD is amazing. What a freaking performance.

 

[Alkaline5]

Originally posted by: Flyback

Originally posted by: Geekbabe

Originally posted by: chrisms
He was what he was and would've been nothing without his addiction which led to his death.

I think the angst came well before the addiction,too bad the talent wasn't enough of an outlet for it.

Definitely. He had the quality songwriting long before the drugs.

Which leads me to wonder if he did it on purpose-- a speedball 8 years to the day after Kurt Cobain died? Perhaps he wanted to "burn out", too ?

The other thing is that people don't last relatively -that- long on heroin. Either you're on it, on your way down, or you kick it and get treatment. I can't see someone using it for like a decade. Which leads me to wonder when he started using. To die from it in 2002 is a little odd given the drugs lack of popularity these days. Almost seems like he wanted it. (Not to say addiction isn't real--it is).

His fiance died sometime in '97, I think. Prior to that he had been relatively clean and recording music. So after that it would have been 4 - 5 years of use leading up to his death.

Edit: forgot to mention that his fiance died of a drug overdose, herself. He knew what he was doing to himself. Still a very sad story.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
good lord, can you imagine the music this guy would have put out if he hadn't died so young? What a voice and such a huge influence on other great bands.

His battle with drug addiction is what drove his writing. Artistic, tortured soul.

 

[DainBramaged]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
What I liked about bands like Alice in Chains was that they could write lyrics like:

My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find
And yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can't be my own
I'd feel better dead

...And it wouldn't sound cheesy/corny/formulaic like it does when most current artists do it.

I totally agree. They have the ability to write amazing lyrics with music that is equally amazing.

 

[rbV5]

The best lisp in Rock.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
Your OP is more applicable to Jeff Buckley.

i dunno about that. AIC was by far the single most influential band of the 1990's. by 2000, nearly every "mainstream" rock band was a direct rip-off of their sound (though they mostly favored baritone vocals). we might have more of a "buckley" sound going now, but i'd credit radiohead's "the bends" with that sound, not buckley.

that said, i think AIC were severly over-rated, and the bands that were influenced by them were terrible.