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Re: (TV) Rest in Peace Peter Laughner......



Hi everyone,

Thanks to the generosity of Jeremy i only fairly recently got to hear a lot
of the music Laughner left behind ,or had been involved with, outside of the
few official Ubu songs he played on before his untimely demise.
These recordings were a revelation to me.As a long-term Ubu fan it was
fascinating to hear how full and confident they sounded live even at a
relatively early stage('74?)and
to discover that Peter was indeed even more of a gifted guitarist than i had
thought originally as well as a talented songwriter.
I get sad and angry all the same when i think of how absolutely nihilistic
he could be at times -(check out the bloodcurdling lyrics of "ain't it fun"
for example)-a person so completely and utterly determined to destroy his
own young life.Maybe it's because i am reminded too much of the way i used
to be myself before i decided to pull back from the precipice..

I would like to remember him rather as someone who checked out way too
early-a musician who was also a catalyst for and an enthusiast of, a lot of
the great music around in Cleveland and NYC in the early to mid seventies
and let's not forget an early,passionate and influential supporter of TV.

I have been lucky enough to meet David Thomas on a few occasions-a true
gentleman-and the subject of Peter came up once in conversation (obviously
still a very painful one).He just looked down at the floor,closed his eyes
and shook his head sadly and silently for what seemed ages....


Jeremy wrote:
>Speaking of haunting guitar solos.....the end solo on Ubu's Humour Me is
among the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard...(I know one other person
on the list feels the same about it)...not played by Laughner but surely
inspired by....Tremendous...>

....and that person is me...this song is easily one of the most affecting
pieces of music that i have ever heard in my entire life..and the
solo...sublime...it has moved me to tears on so many occasions.... also to
hear the compassion and choked emotion in David's vocal when he sings "it's
just a joke man"...it's almost too much.....

This whole song seems to me to succinctly encapsulate both the positive
aspects of Peter's short life and the futility of his early death...I hope
that the Ubu fans on the list are in agreement....



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