Otterites, I’m sure you have heard, we’ve lost Marvin/Michael Aday, the legend known as Meat Loaf. Yes, just months after the loss of his songwriter collaborator, Meat joins Jim Steinman on that silver black phantom bike in the sky at the age of 74.
Hot patootie, bless my soul, Meat Loaf was a major part of pop culture. Actor and singer, and generally performer extraordinaire, Meat appeared in films as widely diverse as Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club. He released 12 studio albums and toured extensively since something like 1968, in different bands and incarnations. A phenomenon really. Nobody was like Meat.
So as sadness comes to OtterWorld, I find myself thinking about all the great rock performers that have reached those golden years and passed on, like David Bowie, Charlie Watts, Meat, Neal Peart, John Prine, Eddie Van Halen, Dusty Hill, and I can’t help but think there’s no one to replace these musicians. Sure there is still popular music. It is just that it feels impossible to know anymore whether anyone has actual talent or if everything’s been sampled, duped, replicated and computerized. I have no clue who can hit that six string like Eddie, bang that low end like Dusty, or put down a beat like Neal or Charlie. Modern music just feels like a void.
Still, I suppose I should be comforted by the pervasiveness of this great classic music. I heard Elvis Costello and Peter Gabriel recently on the sound system of the grocery store, and you can bet I was mouthing my best my aim is true right there in the frozen waffles. These classics are now everywhere, you only need listen.
Perhaps I’m far too nostalgic, but I’ll just leave you with these awesome Meat Loaf lyrics. Go ahead, sing them out loud. Wave a hanky, wear a tux jacket. I won’t tell anyone. Oh, baby, you’re the only thing in this whole world/That’s pure and good and right./And wherever you are and wherever you go,/There’s always gonna be some light.
