Monday, May 14, 2018

RIP Glenn Branca



Glenn Branca, the avant-garde composer and guitarist, died yesterday of throat cancer, according to published reports. He was 69.

Reg Bloor, his wife and collaborator, shared this message...


Here's more about Branca via Billboard:

Branca is perhaps best known as a member of New York’s very short-lived no wave scene, which aimed to emancipate punk from the aesthetic trappings of rock 'n' roll. While The Ramones and the New York Dolls brought punk to the public as basically rebranded, updated hippies, Branca and his cohorts had other plans.

By treating listeners to endless drones, austere classical moves or prepared instruments like screwdrivers stuck in guitar strings, Glenn Branca’s basic M.O. never wavered in his decades-long career. And some of the young noisemakers he had in his madcap ensembles — Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Michael Gira — were listening.

You can find feature obituaries on Branca at Billboard ... Brooklyn Vegan ... and The Guardian.

And a selection of thoughts on Branca via Twitter...









1 comment:

JQ LLC said...

Kurt Cobain would have never knew how to do a guitar solo if it wasn't for Glenn. Goodnight to a guitar god.