Yesterday I saw a god die and it made me angry. On the evening of 12/28 I went on Twitter to see what was going on. At first it was the usual joke formats followed by people pretending to be cool. Then I looked to see a retweet that said words that I never wanted to see “Lemmy of Motorhead has passed away”. I was filled with immediate disbelief and denial. It’s the internet, this must be a lame hoax. Turns out that it was not. My heart weighed heavy after coming to terms that a true god of rock had died. One of the first bands I liked along with Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Slayer was Motorhead. A band fronted by an ugly looking man with moles and facial hair of an evil biker and a rough jagged voice to match. His music was simple, fast, and hard which for a teen in high school was inspirational. I remember my Mom saying how he couldn’t sing and my thought was “Good, he doesn’t need to sing well. He’s Lemmy Kilmister”. When people talk about what Rock N’ Roll is they are describing Lemmy of Motorhead. He wasn’t concerned about being cool or having an image. He drank to excess and received oral sex while on stage, because that’s what a god damn rock god does. He wore daisy duke cutoff shorts and sang songs about sex, fighting, and living free. On the internet people like to say that they “give no fucks” but they are lying. Lemmy Kilmister truly gave no fucks and inspired millions with his music and silly interviews. I love his music deeply and have always held him up there as one of the main icons of rock and music in general. Yesterday I was angry because when this planet loses something so amazing and awe inspiring you should be pissed. You should scream to the heavens and mourn it’s passing. Then when all is said and done you pay tribute and honor them in how you think they would want to. Carry on the memory of this giant who lived among us. Drink up for Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister. There will never be another Lemmy Kilmister but there will always be Motorhead.

The artwork above was done by Gentlemen artist Aaron Alvarez who also shares my love for what we lost. It makes me happy to see that someone who touched and inspired me like Lemmy also did the same for my little brother.

Obscure Gent