R.I.P. Rowland S. Howard 1959-2009
Rowland S. Howard (right) with Nick Cave
Because the 2009 death train apparently couldn’t leave well enough a-fucking-lone, Birthday Party guitarist Rowland S. Howard died this morning after a battle with liver cancer. He was 50.
Howard was arguably one of the most vital figures in both the 70s/80s post-punk scene and the current crop of no-wave/goth revivalists. I mean, this guy made amazing jams quite literally until the day he died. His most recent solo release, October’s Pop Crimes, is on par with much of what he’s done before, be it his work with Nick Cave, Crime & The City Solution, These Immortal Souls or his collabs with Nikki Sudden and Lydia Lunch. And most importantly, he was one of those rare musicians who never lost sight of the attitude that made him so captivating from the start. No one ever had to excuse Howard his age—the man consistently bested himself.
The saddest part? Howard was reportedly on a waitlist for a liver transplant. And, according to Mick Harvey in The Age, he simply wasn’t ready to die.
R.I.P. Rowland. And fuck you, 2009.
In memoriam:
The Boys Next Door – Shivers
Crime & The City Solution – Six Bells Chime
Howard plays “Dead Radio”(live ’06), but only after trashing Lou Reed a bit.
Howard discusses the making of Pop Crimes in one of his last interviews. (Audio only.)
- Rue Sauvage
December 30th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
They’re gonna lay me low (Lay me low)
They’re gonna sink me in the snow
They’re gonna throw back their heads and crow
When I go
They’re gonna jump and shout (Lay me low)
They’re gonna wave their arms about
All the stories will come out
When I go
All the stars will glow bright (Lay me low)
And my friends will give up the fight
They’ll see my work in a different light
When I go
They’ll try telephoning my mother (Lay me low)
But they’ll end up getting my brother
Who’ll spill the story on some long-gone lover
That I hardly know
Hats off to the man
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And I’ll show you how it works
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now don’t care how
Take your final bow
Make a stand Take my hand
And blow it all to hell
They gonna inform the police chief (Lay me low)
Who’ll breathe a sigh of relief
He’ll say I was a malanderer, a badlander, and a thief
When I go
They will interview my teachers (Lay me low)
Who’ll say I was one of God’s sorrier creatures
There’ll print informative six-page features
When I go
They’ll bang a big old gong (Lay me low)
The motorcade will be ten miles long
The world will join together for a farewell song
When they put me down below
They’ll sound a fluegelhorn (Lay me low)
And the sea will rage, and the sky will storm
All man and beast will mourn
When I go
Hats off to the man
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And we can watch this damn thing turn
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now Do it now
Take a long last bow
Take my hand Make a stand
And blow it all to hell
Lay me low…
When I go…