Comments on: RIP Malcolm McLaren

RIP Malcolm McLaren

RegMcF — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:30:07 -0800

Malcolm McLaren, one of pop's sharpest, most fantastic minds has died at his home in New York, aged 64.

By: box

box — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:32:36 -0800

Did you ever get the feeling you'd been cheated?

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:34:20 -0800

I just loaded Fans and Duck Rock on to my MP3 player in the past few weeks, so I've been thinking about him lately.

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:35:23 -0800

You can accuse McLaren of a lot of unfavorable things, be he was always interesting.

By: tiger yang

tiger yang — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:35:23 -0800

Long live the Great Rock 'n Roll Swindle. .

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:35:38 -0800

Too soon. Or too late. Depending on whether you had an opinion on how he managed his acts. All the same, a hat tip from me. He changed the world in ways few people could manage.

By: desuetude

desuetude — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:40:44 -0800

whoa

By: "Elbows" O'Donoghue

"Elbows" O'Donoghue — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:41:03 -0800

What's that? Malcolm McLaren died? Makes you feel sad, doesn't it? Like your grandfather died... Yeah it's just too bad it couldn't have been Mick Jagger.

By: New England Cultist

New England Cultist — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:42:42 -0800

By: thivaia

thivaia — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:42:51 -0800

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:44:18 -0800

* (That's a puddle of vomit. From a Punk. RIP Malcolm.)

By: padraigin

padraigin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:44:41 -0800

I'm grateful to him for helping Vivienne Westwood's career, anyway.

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:45:04 -0800

What's the time? Hey, buddy! Hey, buddy, buddy, buddy, buddy, buddy!

By: JoanArkham

JoanArkham — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:49:07 -0800

Whoa. Whatever else you could say about him, he certainly did have a huge (direct and indirect) impact on music and fashion in my world, at least. .

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:53:46 -0800

He was a little sketchy, yes. A lot of those early punks and their managers were really sketchy people. Sketchy people are often the ones who change the world. The amount of time he actually spent changing the world was pretty short, yes (although not as short as it is sometimes made out to be). Still, how much time do you actually need a bomb to spend exploding?

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:56:59 -0800

For better or worse, rock'n'roll has always had it's share of colorful sleazy exploitive managers.

By: Ruthless Bunny

Ruthless Bunny — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:01:17 -0800

Who killed Bambi? .

By: maudlin

maudlin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:03:03 -0800

Whoa. I always thought he would be one of those eternal English eccentrics, but I guess not. Too bad he didn't get to make his own sardonic and truth-challenged biography (and no, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle doesn't count).

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:04:45 -0800

Holy shit.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:05:27 -0800

This getting old and dying thing sucks.

By: Samuel Farrow

Samuel Farrow — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:06:13 -0800

Visionary. This world is less without him. .

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:09:16 -0800

My name is Malcolm McLaren. I have brought you many things in my time...

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:10:45 -0800

"Buffalo Gals" (I'd link to the Wikipedia entry but it's woefully inadequate) -- probably one of the most underrated and most influential tracks of the 1980s. Here's a decent review of Duck Rock, the album on which it appeared, attesting to why it matters. Rest in peace.

By: mikel

mikel — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:12:31 -0800

By: vibrotronica

vibrotronica — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:14:06 -0800

By: run"monty

run"monty — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:16:17 -0800

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:19:08 -0800

Here's the video for Buffalo Gals. It's still pretty awesome.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:19:13 -0800

So long, Malcolm. You certainly made my 70's and 80's fun. .

By: Admiral Haddock

Admiral Haddock — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:23:25 -0800

By: scody

scody — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:30:12 -0800

More recently he stood for the then newly created London mayoralty in 2000. Amongst his policies was the serving of alcohol in libraries. Ha, awesome! I was raised on such a steady diet of Lydon's vitriol toward McLaren that I always assumed I'd be all, GOOD, FUCK OFF when Malcolm actually died, but I must admit to feeling shocked and sad. A sketchy bastard in his own way, but one who managed to do more than his fair bit to help shake up a culture that badly needed shaking.

By: heyho

heyho — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:31:07 -0800

He's the reason I began wearing safety pins in my ears in the early 80s. I'm guessing a lot of moms will not miss his influence on their kids. *pogos*

By: Flex1970

Flex1970 — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:32:32 -0800

Young.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:36:51 -0800

"Never trust a hippie" .

By: Webbster

Webbster — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:38:48 -0800

"Cash from chaos" .

By: marienbad

marienbad — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:40:43 -0800

"all this scratching is making me itch ... anyone got any more of that snow white?" punk is dead. wonder how lydon feels, now he's all respectable. .

By: item

item — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:54:23 -0800

Both burned out and faded away. .

By: Halloween Jack

Halloween Jack — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:57:00 -0800

. Rock and roll swindler or no, at least he helped bring the Sex Pistols to the world.

By: fizzix

fizzix — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:58:17 -0800

. Two buffalo gals, round the outside, round the outside, and do-si-do your partners ! Growing up in the late 90s, I was about 13 and beginning to use napster, just starting to explore the music outside what I heard on corporate radio. I don't remember how I found it, but I recall it was one of the first times that I heard spoken words sampled. It wasn't rap, but it sort of was, there were other samples being used, and he sounded like it. Whenever I played it at parties or on my college radio show, I'd always get curious people asking me who it was.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:02:27 -0800

 __   . _
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By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:04:06 -0800

Do not play the game; do not give the game away.

By: debord

debord — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:11:11 -0800

The spectacle has lost a co-conspirator. A big loss for reality.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:12:39 -0800

This is no good. Things would have been much more Pat Boone without him.

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:16:55 -0800

fizzix - did you move onto Coldcut after that?

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:17:44 -0800

So long, Malcolm. You certainly made my 70's and 80's fun. Can't think of better way to say it than that.

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:20:06 -0800

Buffalo Gals, yah, and don't forget the Supreme Team. I will have to go put on some vinyl tonight. RIP Malcom

By: sswiller

sswiller — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:21:23 -0800

By: Dormant Gorilla

Dormant Gorilla — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:25:18 -0800

About a year ago a friend of mine was contacted by Malcolm McLaren because he had made some weird industrial jewelry that Malcolm wanted to buy for some art gallery he was running. My friend asked me if I wanted to come out with them, which, of course I did. So we ended up at this place in the West Village, with Malcolm standing in the middle of the room yelling "champagne, bring me champagne" until someone did. At which point he looked at it and said "no, take it away and put a strawberry in it, love, I don't drink anything without strawberries in it." So the waitress took it away and brought him back the same glass of champagne with a strawberry in it. He took the strawberry out of the champagne, mashed it into my hair, and then drank the champagne. I don't know what that is, but it might be style. RIP.

By: ericb

ericb — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:35:38 -0800

. I ♥ his 1994 album Paris.

By: gomichild

gomichild — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:14:15 -0800

By: HandfulOfDust

HandfulOfDust — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:14:18 -0800

By: Hairy Lobster

Hairy Lobster — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:20:34 -0800

By: Mike Mongo

Mike Mongo — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:26:18 -0800

Duck Rock was one of the most influential hip-hop albums of my life. It turned me on to B-boy and B-girl sub-culture. That and LL Cool J's Radio and Run-DMC's "It's Like That" 12" single. And New Order's "Confusion 12". THOSE were the days. We must have played "Buffalo Gals" and Double Dutch" a thousand times. We just kept recording the track over and over on cassette tapes and kept breaking but we kept dancing. I'm talking about walking around with rolls of "skid" (flooring) to spread out at the drop of a beat and start DANCING. In PUBLIC. It was outrageous. It was fun. People loved it. In fact, I have the song playing in the background right now, and my fingers are popping and locking. It was the early 1980's and I was a teenager. Devo and the Cars the Sex Pistols were staples. (I leaned towards Devo.) And I had no idea of the connection between the Sex Pistols and Malcolm McClaren until a long time later. Then came Fans. And I want you to know that Malcolm McClaren once again helped me to transition. This time to gay culture. (I was/am bi.) A lot of albums and artists have been influenced by Malcolm McClaren. He was/is a provocateur. He artistry is heavy on style, and long on influence. And he is remembered? No way, McClaren is unforgettable! I mean, Eminem's "Without Me"? Ha! Talk about irony. Talk about a shout-out. PLUS the Sex Pistols and The Great Rock N Roll Swindle?? Yes, McClaren's place in the scheme of things is solid. In fact, "Double Dutch" has got me jumping right now! SKIP THEY DOOS THE DUBBLE DUTCH THATS THEM DANCING!!

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:26:18 -0800

This much I know A life in pictures Blood, spit and tears as the punk provocateur dies

By: PinkMoose

PinkMoose — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:43:10 -0800

Is this where I admit that I was more appreciative for Bow Wow Wow, which I think is the lost masterpeice of the 80s, then the Sex Pistols.

By: sgt.serenity

sgt.serenity — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:46:27 -0800

The man fought the good fight against dreary american hippydom - RIP

By: iviken

iviken — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:48:21 -0800

By: rog

rog — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:30:38 -0800

double dutch blew my mind in 1983 and it's blowing my mind right now. we really had nothing like it. a sad day.

By: Edward L

Edward L — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:31:57 -0800

. One of my favorites - Madame Butterfly

By: snsranch

snsranch — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:33:52 -0800

By: spoobnooble

spoobnooble — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:47:50 -0800

Damn. I was just putting together a post on this. Preview, dear Spoobnooble, preview! Anyway, here are the links I was going to post: MM's obituary posted at CBC.ca The Sex Pistols, "God Save The Queen" (obvious link) The New York Dolls, "Looking For A Kiss (though McLaren only managed the Dolls long after the band peaked, this was where he prepped for his eventual career in music) Bow Bow Wow, "I Want Candy" (another obvious link) Adam and The Ants, "Ant Music" (I just like the chord progression in the chorus, really...) ... plus a few repeats from above: Malcolm McLaren, 'Madame Butterfly' Malcolm McLaren, "Buffalo Gals" ... and only because I think I'm the only one who remembers this: Malcolm McLaren, "Deep in Vogue"

By: Duke999R

Duke999R — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:11:42 -0800

By: Ron Thanagar

Ron Thanagar — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:17:52 -0800

R.I.P. Malcolm. You helped show us there was much more than arena rock or disco.

By: reenum

reenum — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:38:00 -0800

I loved the track he had on the Kill Bill soundtrack.

By: meosl

meosl — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:39:39 -0800

I think I just officially got old. Can't leave a dot for him, the swindling auld bastard, but I'm really conflicted about this - someone who was a part of making me "me" has died. Feels a bit like when a relative you've never got on with goes. Sorry if that makes no sense, it's late.

By: anigbrowl

anigbrowl — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:54:25 -0800

He was such a big inspiration to me as an unhappy kid. this makes me so sad. Double Dutch still inspires me in times of trouble.

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:04:29 -0800

For better or worse, modern music would not have been the same without him, at least the music I listened to ...

By: Joe Beese

Joe Beese — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:36:11 -0800

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:07:24 -0800

I am listening right now to the World's Famous thanks to Malcom. It is a warm and wonderful experience. They were Gods. All the African rhythms are great too. One of the links up thread called it (Duck Rock) one of the top five albums of the 80s. I am not sure I go to 5 but it was pretty big and important in terms of world music and hip hop. You know, the Sex Pistols were pretty big stuff as well. This guy rocked my world, he brought so much great music to us and he made it fun. He had style and a Rick Ruben sense of what is great.

By: xorry

xorry — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:37:22 -0800

By: jeffen

jeffen — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:37:55 -0800

We Love Malcolm But no one else does

By: Bron

Bron — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:38:49 -0800

I still love Fans. Played the hell out of that tape. What a brilliant idea. I remember playing it for the creative director of the first place I worked out of school, he was like, "What is this shit? Turn this off, this is a travesty," and then I knew how really great it was. Madam Butterfly Fans Carmen Boys' Chorus Lauretta Death of Butterfly (There's also a lovely Death of Butterfly instrumental mix, but it's not showing up on youtube. Worth finding if you're a fan)

By: the christopher hundreds

the christopher hundreds — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:42:10 -0800

So long, Malcolm. You certainly made my 70's and 80's fun. Wow. It was my teens and 20s. Your grandkids must think you're awesome.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:39:04 -0800

I have loved McLaren despite (or perhaps because of) his dodginess for over thirty years. His albums, which sometimes don't seem to really even involve him, are completely joyful. The man knew how to throw one fucking awesome party. Fans? Duck Rock? Paris? Waltz Darling? I mean, really, these were all fun, brilliant records. The man might have been jumping on bandwagons, but he always made you think he'd built the bandwagon, filled it up with clowns, and given you a party hat. RIP, you old wanker. God save you.

By: marvin

marvin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:06:27 -0800

64. I can't believe it. That pine box is closer than we realize.

By: The Ardship of Cambry

The Ardship of Cambry — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:07:13 -0800

By: lapolla

lapolla — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:44:43 -0800

By: susanbeeswax

susanbeeswax — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:39:37 -0800

By: Twang

Twang — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:02:00 -0800

"I was raised on such a steady diet of Lydon's vitriol toward McLaren that I always assumed I'd be all, GOOD, FUCK OFF when Malcolm actually died" Worked for me. I *like* PIL.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:23:42 -0800

John Lydon: "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you."

By: Phanx

Phanx — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:40:12 -0800

I spit on his grave.

By: peterkins

peterkins — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 03:18:04 -0800

i'm surprised at lydon's reaction, but i suspect it's that british/working class 'let's not speak ill of the dead' shtick at work. because john is essentially a decent chap. mclaren on the other hand, was a talentless, tedious and tiresome tosser with an undoubted talent for self publicity. according to some of the hyperbole i've read and heard over the last few hours (particularly on the bbc - oh, the irony) he seems to have been credited with the invention of both punk and hip hop. yeah, right.

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:32:27 -0800

Wow. It was my teens and 20s. Your grandkids must think you're awesome. Well, that's about the cruelest thing anyone has said to me today. I was just talking about it with a co-worker and realized I bought Never Mind the Bollocks and saw Iggy Pop for the first time in the same year. We both quickly realized that was before she was even born. So yeah, I guess you're right. If I had grandkids I'm sure they would think I'm awesome.

By: desuetude

desuetude — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:38:13 -0800

Psst, marxchivist, it was a riff interpreting "my 70s and 80s" as age at the time, rather than the decades included.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:40:09 -0800

marxchivist, read it again. But I know, I'm sensitive that way myself, like the person who posted in the Godspeed You! Black Emperor thread about how they went on hiatus when he/she was 12 and they listened to the Montreal post-rock scene all through high school before they got tired of it.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:41:27 -0800

Erm, I mean, it gave me pause to read that. And to contemplate that Arcade Fire's Funeral came over 5 years ago, and that's a long time when you're young. Ancient history, for some of us. For me, it was kind of like last month or something.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:41:58 -0800

"came out over five years ago". I've gotta learn to preview.

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:57:53 -0800

Psst, marxchivist, it was a riff interpreting "my 70s and 80s" as age at the time, rather than the decades included. Oh thanks, I can be kinda clueless sometimes. I thought you meant if we were old enough to enjoy the Pistols in the 1970's we could have grandchildren by now. Which is true, I got into the Pistols in 1979, I'm now over 45 and could easily have grandkids. So your remark actually worked on several levels, kudos. FWIW, I wasn't really upset by it. I thought it was hilarious actually (based on my misinterpretation). Seems like I've had a lot of those "Damn I'm old" moments the last couple weeks.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:00:31 -0800

I remember once chasing Malcolm McLaren down a boulevard in Paris. He had just heisted the Maharaja's prized Royal Sapphire from a banquet it had been on loan to as an exhibition. It had been a daredevil scheme, and he'd pulled it off with aplomb. In truth, it was largely by luck that I happened to see him climbing from a sewer cover, Sapphire in hand as I was walking the beat. Nevertheless, the chase was on. He was surprisingly fleet footed but years patrolling the banks of the Seine had kept me in shape. One thing I will say is that McLaren was a cleverer man than people ever gave him credit for. Just a very intelligent and devoted criminal. I had thought that his tricks were exhausted. I had thought that, having stumbled on him by luck, the advantage was mine as the contest for the jewel had by dumb luck rested on a foot race. Like so many, I had underestimated the mad burglar. As we rounded a corner, I recall very clearly seeing him stop all of a sudden and wheel around to face me, the jewel held high. As I paused - understandably nonplussed by the maneuver - he cackled maniacally and in a massive puff of smoke vanished seemingly into thin air. He was an admirable foe, Malcolm McLaren.

By: readery

readery — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:07:25 -0800

i'm surprised at lydon's reaction, but i suspect it's that british/working class 'let's not speak ill of the dead' shtick at work. because john is essentially a decent chap. And maybe when all is said and done so was McLaren. I think it is a product of age and the particular way one can see something after 30 years have passed. Lydon may question Mclaren's motives and methods, but where would he have been without him. I read interviews linked to from the McLaren's Wikipedia page that I can't link to now that I found fascinating. I greatly admire the self made and am continually amazed how much a factor fate can be. He never finished school, but took an art course because he saw good looking girls leaving the building. He understood at a fairly young age that his talent was for making things happen rather than making things. McLaren was incredibly lucky to have met Vivienne Westwood, who in turn was lucky to have met him. She was talented, but married to a factory worker with a young child. She left her husband for McLaren, he promoted her designs, they open a shop... RIP .

By: Skot

Skot — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:13:40 -0800

Truly a document of its time: Something's Jumpin' In Your Shirt

By: tellurian

tellurian — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:43:17 -0800

An inspiring and influential geezer passes. Vale Malcolm.

By: peterkins

peterkins — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 05:10:47 -0800

And maybe when all is said and done so was McLaren. I think it is a product of age and the particular way one can see something after 30 years have passed. Lydon may question Mclaren's motives and methods, but where would he have been without him. fair point, but i think his motives and methods were very much questionable, hence my rather uncharitable post earlier.. i don't know if you've seen the excellent the filth and the fury; in it lydon blames mclaren (as well as himself) for the slow, awful demise of sid vicious. certainly mclaren's behaviour showed little traces of basic human decency however you slice it. i'm all for shafting the likes of emi and branson, so fair play to him for that, but even at the time (i was in my mid teens then) there seemed something hollow and distasteful about mclaren. the release of the woeful 'great rock and roll swindle' kind of confirmed that and made him as bad as those he set out to irritate.

By: sighmoan

sighmoan — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:41:53 -0800

By: peterkins

peterkins — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:00:30 -0800

Hard to see how anyone could favor Malcolm or John or even Sid himself over Sid's own mother and father, in regard to his early demise, (not so slow, by the way) considering how young he was. Who had the most influence the longest, eh? it was slow compared to being hit by a bus - ie people could see as what happening and did nothing about it. true, he was clearly a self destructive sort with issues that probably came from inadequate parenting - his mum doesn't seem to have been much help, it's true. but that's not the point. mclaren was in a position to do something about sid's condition, and he chose not to.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:34:29 -0800

according to Lydon in The Filth and The Fury, Mclaren didn't just fail to help. He actively supplied vicious with heroin when he was on true, behind the other band mates' backs, while Sid was trying to quit.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:34:48 -0800

on tour, rather. 'scuse.