The Manic Mechanic

Rue McClanahan
February 20, 1934 – June 3, 2010

Actress Rue McClanahan has died. She was 76. As gotmoof says, there's only one Golden Girl left. May she shine for a long time.

Yesterday, the music world lost someone that might be unfamiliar to most people, but his influence is known by many fans of music in the last 40 years. Alex Chilton was once a member of the 60s group The Box Tops, their most popular songs being "The Letter", "Soul Deep" and "Cry Like A Baby". He went on to for a group called Big Star in the 70s to little commercial success, but his stylings drove the band to influence many bands' sound. like R.E.M, The Bangles, and The Posies, among others. Alex guested with The Replacements, who penned a song with his name as the title. It's a fitting tribute to one of the greatest 'unknown' artists that was, indeed, known by millions, if indirectly.

They even remembered him during today's US House of Representative session (C-SPAN video).

Alex was to have played at the SXSW Music Festival. He died of an apparent heart condition at only 59 years old.

The Replacements
"Alex Chilton"

Thanks, Alex, for all those power pop riffs through the years.

News Anchor Walter Cronkite is dead at age 92.