Sad news. Layne Staley is dead.
It's all over the news that the lead singer from Alice in Chains has died, probably from a drug overdose. This is really sad. I guess once you're hooked on those drugs it's not really easy to escape. He said he enjoyed drugs for years but then they turned against him and he couldn't give them up.
P.S. Let's show some class in this thread. No "He was an idiot" comments.
P.S. Let's show some class in this thread. No "He was an idiot" comments.
Comments
very sad
Here's some <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/21/obit.staley.ap/index.html"; target="_blank">linkage</a>.
With that in mind, and the appropriate sadness already expressed by those above, may I say...
He was an idiot. goodbye.
In the sense that readers here will experience his death this is such a non-event. Are any of you related to him? Close personal friends? Old high-school chums? If not, I can't see why you'd care; even as a music fan, I can't see it. Perhaps I have a deficit of compassion, which I don't mean rhetorically at all (well a little) but as a legitimate concern.
another sad chapter, another herion overdose.
He was probably in a position to get the best treatment and rehab. He could've been a Frusciante or Caffey success story, but he isn't.
You make choices in life. People say "yeah, but it's an illness...and addiction!".
Well, no shit. After you've been DOING IT, of course it is! But what about those first one, two, five or ten times?
At some point, it's all new and fresh and you're NOT an addict or "under its spell". You CHOOSE to go down that road. And if, by now (after 30 years of drug-caused rock star deaths), you haven't figured out that is a dark and dangerous road to go down, then you are indeed an idiot.
He chose to put that stuff in him initially. I doubt anyone held a gun to his head.
Choices, people.
It's hard to muster sympathy for certain types of people doing certain types of things, when it is so obvious that nothing good will ever come of it.
Sorry, that's just how I feel. Still sad that he's dead, but...
It reminds me what Richard Pryor once said: "I ain't an addict! Shit, I've been doing coke for twenty years...I ain't hooked yet!".
It's equally sad to see people instantly jump on the "the guy was a ****ing junkie, who gives a **** if he's dead" bandwagon. People make bad choices in life. I mean he's in that industry, and it's probably SO hard to NOT to do the stuff. Yeah, he's an adult and can choose not to, but come on... give the guy a break.
And Matsu, you have to be close, personal friends with someone to feel remorse for their death?
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Edit: removing the Matsu-induced profanity. Your comments pretty plainly show what an asshole you are. No need for me to go into any lengthy discussion of it.
[ 04-22-2002: Message edited by: Calvin ]</p>
I think the short answer to that is YES, and everything else is suspect -- possible but unlikely.
Of course we often feel remorse for public figures, but often they have earned this 'empathy at a distance' through some particular social contribution, some genius or virtue or deed. That might at times be no more real than the cult of celebrity, but it at least connects us to something real. A celebrity musician of minor (if enjoyable) contribution does none of that.
Would he have given a shit if you had died?
Can't remember where I heard that (or even if I have it just right), but it makes you think.
When I hear a song I know from years back, it always reminds me of what I was doing when I used to listen to that music. I have some really good memories of what I did the summer I listened to that CD - hearing that great music really takes me back.
I'm sure many other people have the same kind of experience.
So yeah, I feel bad for Layne, and a little hollow at the moment. Since I wasn't personal friends with him I'm sure it won't linger for more than a couple of days, sure. But I'm not going to say "Another junkie dead. What band should I move to now..."
And no, he wouldn't give a shit if I died. Why would he? He doesn't know who the heck I am. What a stupid question to even ask... Maybe if I did something that he thought was really cool, created something (music or otherwise) that moved him, made him think, or whatever... he would feel sad at my passing.
Anyhow, I'm sure this post will be ignored, and you'll go on as you always do...
Have fun with the thread, asshole.
April 22, 2002
On April 19, 2002, our friend Layne Staley was found dead in his Seattle home. The official cause of death is still unknown.
Yesterday, we all managed to come together in Seattle; it's good to be with friends and family as we struggle to deal with this immense loss...and try to celebrate this immense life. We are looking for all the usual things: comfort, purpose, answers, something to hold on to, a way to let him go in peace.
Mostly, we are feeling heartbroken over the death of our beautiful friend. He was a sweet man with a keen sense of humor and a deep sense of humanity. He was an amazing musician, an inspiration, and a comfort to so many. He made great music and gifted it to the world. We are proud to have known him, to be his friend, and to create music with him.
For the past decade, Layne struggled greatly--we can only hope that he has at last found some peace.
We love you, Layne. Dearly. And we will miss you...endlessly.
Layne's family has asked that the media honor their privacy as they mourn their loss; we ask that you respect their request.
Contributions can be made in Layne's name to:
Eastside Recovery Center
1412 140th Place NE
Bellevue, WA 98007
- Alice In Chains
His faults aside, it's truly a sad day for the music world.
I won't bother jumping into a discussion of his lifestyle, and whether he "deserved" this fate or not. I am a little sad today though, because I thought this man had a lot of talent. Regardless of the circumstances, it's a shame we are mourning this man at such a young age.
I too have some really great memories associated with many of their songs. Just such a damn shame.
Rest in peace Layne.
Talk about some warped perception. So the guy made some minor music that a bunch of people like, this supposedly obliges me to venerate him?
I wish I had the inclination to explain it, but I don't. This life of the celeb nonesense that goes on is beyond pointless. They turn their lives into a kinda pervasive performance art, which it is certainly their right to do, yet everybody balks at the first sign of critique. Art gets criticised, we have the work and we really (really) don't need the artist anymore. The human cost is not something you have access to in these cases. What you can get is only a stylized (and consensually inflicted) paparrazzi orchestrated by the celeb, the media, and YOU (in your own private case). It is not real, nor should it be. It is not genuine, and you cannot claim that it is valid without accepting your own weakness to a more general, if mild but widespread, societal delusion. Those who insist otherwise are either the foolish young girls who light candles and pray before TV cameras on rainy Seattle nights, or the stalker types who just have to be with whatever daytime actor catches their fancy, or worse, with the character that actor plays in their living room for an hour each day.
Anyway, I'm not in the mood to argue it, I'm not waving candles for the guy, I just liked the music and I'm sad he's dead. That shows my weakness to a "societal delusion"?
Okaaaaay...