When I say I’m on a Facebook fast, I mean it. As in, I’ve told my wife to change the password and only let me log in upon request. So I’m only on Facebook once a week if that. Therefore, if there are memorial arrangements or anything else for Lisa, please leave a comment in the blog itself so I can pass it along. So far I haven’t seen an obit in any of the usual places, so any info much appreciated.
In the spring of 2008, my friend Don Buchanan committed suicide. I wrote a heartfelt post about it. True to my prediction, so did others. Death often brings clarity: and in the wake of Don’s death, it became evident that he’d affected almost everyone he met. Everyone had a story about a cool record, a fun live show, or a hilarious joke that he’d shared. I wonder if he’d be here today if only he knew how irreplaceable he was.
I heard from several of Don’s friends and relatives, all of whom appreciated the spirit in which I wrote it. (I didn’t gloss over Don’s dark side, and at the time, I worried that it would offend those closest to him.) Among the people who wrote me: Lisa Tombyll, Don’s wife and mother of his stepdaughter. Lisa and I went to school together but didn’t really know each other. She was devastated, as you’d expect, but seemed to appreciate the outpouring of love and goodwill that followed. I was happy I could provide some small comfort.
Now I have just learned that Lisa is gone, too.
Details are sketchy: apparently she woke up not feeling well this morning, went to the hospital and passed away there. All I really know is what I read on Facebook tonight. If there’s an obit or funeral news, I’ll share it here.
I don’t really know what else to say. I didn’t know Lisa that well. But I do know that her family and friends have experienced two heartbreaking losses in 18 months – not least of whom their daughter, who has lost both of her parents. My heart is with them all.
This enigmatic compilation EP has just shown up on discogs.net. Apparently recorded live in Rahway, NJ in 1985, it includes xex‘s “Baby It’s You.” This is one of two songs I remember from the late-period xex shows I saw – the other was “Vietnam Vet.” I’ve almost convinced myself that I imagined this song, and I must hear it. Look, I know there are record collectors and WFMU types that read this blog. Who’s got it? Who can make me a copy, mp3 or otherwise? I’ll reward you with some rare pixilated tracks of my own.
And while we’re on the subject: xex performing “St. Vitus Dance” live at Hurrah!, 1981. Filmed/produced by the same folks who did YMG’s Live At The Hurrah! DVD. Someday I’ll get around to updating the xex site to include this clip.
In my continued quest to be just behind the popular trends, I’ve been obsessing on the xx this week. “Crystalised” has not left my mind for days. I admit I sought the band out due to its alleged Young Marble Giants similarities…but other than a hint in the guitar/bass interplay, I don’t really hear the resemblance. If anything, the xx sound more like they’ve been obsessing on Broadcast and the early Too Pure family – one can easily imagine them opening for Pram or Laika.
I think it says something about YMG’s singularity that no one really sounds like them. Not even Confetti, whom I once spent a lot of ink and pixels comparing to Cardiff’s finest. Certainly Confetti’s arrangements were YMG-inspired – which was intentional, according to bandmember Mark – but the lyrical content was different, the production much less stark, the whole approach much less…weird.
All of which is good for the xx, who are thus forced to rely on their own devices and create something quiet and unique. I recommend them highly. (Dare we wish for an xx/X/X/Ex/xex bill? Probably not very compatible, names nonwithstanding.)
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