RIP, famous person

[Undertoad]

Forgot to recognize Mark Hollis, of Talk Talk, who died 2 weeks ago.

Back in the day, we hated musicians who would sell out - take their artistic success and flatten it for a commercial success.

Talk Talk was a remarkable reverse sell-out. In three albums, they went from making new-wavey synth singles ("Talk Talk"), to deeper, more sonically-interesting singles ("It's My Life", "Life's What You Make It")...

Then the fourth and fifth albums "Spirit of Eden" and "Laughing Stock" are utterly serious art. Unsellable. The opener is to "Spirit of Eden" is nine slow, deliberate minutes long, and the first two minutes are not song at all. It's almost just noise. Impenetrable. If the first records with singles sold a million, the last two probably sold 50,000 each.

And then, over time, that reverse sell-out paid off. People found the uncommercial records, and realized how goddamn good they were if you put the time in. They are now regarded as superb art. Very influential. Some people feel those records mark the founding the genre of "post-rock".

Spotify reports that the first single "Talk Talk" currently has about 4 million plays. "The Rainbow", that nine-minute opener to "Spirit of Eden", also has about 4 million plays.

I think that is a fine outcome. RIP Mr Hollis.