In Memoriam – Warped Reality Magazine

Clem Burke drink specials at the Bowery Palace, March 25, 2026.

The history of rock n’ roll is littered with broken hearts and betrayals. Less common are those who leave their music community better off than they found it. Clem Burke, who died last year after a cancer battle, was one of those rare birds: An indefatigable and soulful drummer who quietly, effortlessly, made it his mission to elevate and support his fellow musicians. And he didn’t do it to score points – he just did it.

Clem’s friends and comrades-in-arms put together a tribute to him this past week at Jesse Malin’s Bowery Palace, a two-night affair filled to the brim with great songs and stories of Clem’s humble largesse. (The below is only applicable to Wednesday night, as Thursday sold out in five minutes flat.) Malin and Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go’s got out the old Rolodex and rounded up a who’s who of Clem’s tour mates and admirers to give him a proper Bowery send-off, from his Blondie bandmate Glen Matlock to Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Gail Greenwood (Belly, L7, Gang of Four) and Tommy Stinson (Replacements).

Upstairs at the Palace, there were Clem-themed drink specials like the X-Offender (vodka, St. Germain, lemon juice, simple syrup and soda) and Empty Heart (a prosecco-and-strawberry vodka affair). The small downstairs space was crammed with well-wishers, fans, and musicians with their own fond memories of Clem.

Steve Albini, 1962-2024

By andrea

On May 15, 2024

In In Memoriam

There have been numerous tributes in the wake of legendary producer and engineer Steve Albini’s death last week, at the age of 61. Some exhaustively trace his history in iconic Chicago bands like Big Black and Shellac — or his unique production work for bands like Nirvana (“In Utero”), the Breeders, PJ Harvey, Bush, and scores of others. Most detail his notoriously acerbic candor, often about bands he’d recorded. (Steve on the Pixies: “Never have I seen four cows more anxious to be led around by their nose rings.”) And most mention “The Problem with Music,” his oft-quoted 1993 Baffler screed — still spot-on roughly 30 years later — that likens signing with a major record label to swimming backwards through a trench filled with runny shit. (It gets less complimentary from there.)

Steve Albini with Lil Bub, a small saucer-eyed cat, on his shoulder. — Steve Albini with Lil Bub, the magical space cat, at Electrical Audio.

The Vaughan Oliver Memorial Lecture at Newcastle

By andrea

On October 24, 2023

In 4AD, In Memoriam

The phrase “fucked-up and photocopied” is often used to describe the aesthetic of punk graphics. Imagine visuals that have been chopped, warped, repeated, inverted, and so on, until the meaning becomes distorted and new. While the work of the late designer Vaughan Oliver grew in increasing complexity over the course of his long career, it always retained a certain roughness and the spark, the grit of the imperfect. That fucked-up-ness, if you will. As he himself said of his work with the Pixies (perhaps the band that he will be most associated with, despite working with a broad spectrum of musicians, artists and clients): “You imagine designing sleeves for your own record collection. The David Lynchian moods in there, the black humor, the surrealism — there’s such natural inspiration for me.”

1) Vaughan Oliver as a young man. 2) 4AD PMT experiment 3) Vaughan and Bruce Gilbert (Wire) at the ICA, 1993. 4) Vaughan and a skirt of eels for Pod. — 1) Vaughan Oliver as a young man. 2) 4AD PMT experiment
3) Vaughan + Bruce Gilbert (Wire) at the ICA, 1993. (Photo by me)
4) Vaughan and a skirt of eels.

Natural? Or unnatural? Either way, Vaughan never looked to the usual sources to draw inspiration. (And his weapon was often the now-obsolete PMT camera, a crucial ally in making beautiful accidents with type and texture.) “I would take something from Vaughan’s experience and his body of work and think about what happens when you step away from the computer and when you use your hands,” Vaughan’s peer, Adrian Shaughnessy, has noted. “Vaughan certainly advocated the use of hands in his teaching. And I suspect, deep down, he actually regretted the computerization of graphic design. Keep in mind that a lot of the best work was done manually.”

Shaughnessy was just one of the speakers reflecting on the work and legacy of Vaughan Oliver at the Glasshouse (formerly the Sage Gateshead) in Newcastle, UK, on September 14. Vaughan’s v23 colleagues, Chris Bigg and Timothy O’Donnell, also delved deep into their memories of their close-knit, challenging and fruitful collaboration at 4AD, where Vaughan served as the in-house designer for 20 years. The audience represented a wide swath of musicians, designers and photographers whose careers and working methods were forever warped, thanks to their work with the formidable V.O. Attendees included Miki Berenyi from Lush, Anja Huwe and Manuela Zwingman from Xmal Deutschland, artist Russell Mills, photographers Dominic Davies and Kevin Westenberg, Glen Johnson from Piano Magic, and Vaughan’s family, to name but a few. (The lecture also marked the inauguration of the Vaughan Oliver Graphic Design Scholarships, a 10-year initiative supported by 4AD to provide opportunities for talented students to study design at Vaughan’s alma mater, Northumbria University.)

Category: In Memoriam Page 1 of 3

Rock n’ Roll Heart: A Tribute to Blondie Drummer Clem Burke

Steve Albini, 1962-2024

The Vaughan Oliver Memorial Lecture at Newcastle