Lemmy Kilmister - RIP

His vocals sounded like barbed wire soaked in gasoline.  His three-piece band was the loudest in the world.  He was revered throughout the metal community not only for his uncompromising music, but also his brutal honesty, his uncanny wit, and his gregarious nature.  He was a loveable rogue. Lemmy Kilmister died December 28, 2015.  The rock press had several reports of Lemmy's recent health problems.  He had problems with diabetes and he had a pacemaker.  Earlier this year he couldn’t finish a Motörhead show in Austin, and couldn’t play in Salt Lake City or Denver because he couldn’t breathe.  Time, it seemed, had finally caught up with him.  I figured either diabetes or heart disease would get him in the end, but cancer came out of nowhere and took him away from us.  Nobody lives forever, but it was/is still a bit of a surprise to hear of his passing.  By all accounts that I’ve read [including his autobiograhy White Line Fever], Lemmy never feared death.  If he did, he never expressed it.  Once when asked of his greatest achievement, he responded “not dying.” 

Given the substances he ingested, the gallons of Jack Daniels and Coke consumed, the number of women he slept with [the number of which really doesn’t matter], he figured he led a good life and had no complaints and no regrets.  His wish that death would come quickly was granted.  Two days after receiving his death sentence, he didn’t waste any time dying.  He didn’t linger.  He was at home in Hollywood with his favorite video game from the Rainbow Bar & Grill, surrounded by his beloved World War II memorabilia, of which there was plenty.  I’m sure when the time came, he was still wearing his boots.  He said he would never retire, and he was true to his word.  His last show was December 11, only 17 days before the end came.  He had a fascination with all things German, so it is appropriate that his last show was in Berlin. 

Lemmy Kilmister and Motörhead were synonymous.  He is truly irreplaceable.  Mikkey Dee said so himself when he announced that Motörhead were finished without Lemmy.  The lineup with Lemmy, Fast Eddie Clarke and Philthy Animal Taylor [who passed away in November] is considered the “classic” Motörhead lineup.  They released five studio albums and one live album in a seven-year stretch [1975-82].  The albums Motörhead, Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades, No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith, and Iron Fist established the template from which Motörhead seldom veered for forty years.  Lemmy said at the beginning of many a Motörhead show “We are Motörhead, and we play rock and roll!”  The metalheads adored him, and the punks claimed him as a kindred spirit.  In Los Angeles, he was rock royalty.

My first Motörhead album – Orgasmatron [1986].  I bought it on cassette when it was new.  I came to Motörhead later than some, when the band had been in existence for only eleven years.  The only studio albums I don’t own are the self-titled debut album, and March Or Die [1992].

Favorite Motörhead studio album – Bastards [1993].  This was Motörhead’s first full album with drummer Mikkey Dee.  The band was in its two-guitar period [Phil Campbell and Würzel], the songs were impressive, and the production was top-notch.  At the time, it was Motörhead’s best-sounding album.  For quite some time, Bastards wasn’t available anywhere except Germany.  I had to get my copy from Amazon.

Favorite live album – No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith [1981], of course!  After purchasing practically the entire Motörhead catalog, this one sticks out as a live “best of” from the early period.  It’s a great Motörhead primer for the uninitiated.  However, Everything Louder Than Everyone Else [1999] is pretty damn good.  It’s more intense than No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith, probably because it was recorded in a small venue in Hamburg, and the band was better [Lemmy, Mikkey Dee, and Phil Campbell].  Lemmy preferred Everything Louder Than Everyone Else for those reasons.

Favorite Motörhead song – For most people, it’s Ace of Spades.  For me, it’s Overkill.  The band liked it so much they played it through three times.  Well, it is called Overkill.  Of note, this was the last song from the last Motörhead show in Berlin.  [We Are] the Road Crew is a close second.

Lemmy Bass Tone – Motörhead didn’t have a proper bass player.  Lemmy was a rhythm guitarist whose weapon of choice just happened to be a Rickenbacker bass.  Paul McCartney, Roger Glover, John Entwistle [RIP] and Chris Squire [RIP] used Rickenbackers, but they never sounded the way Lemmy made them sound.  Lemmy was quoted as saying that if Motörhead moved in next door, your lawn would die.  The best description of Motörhead’s sound came from Jarvis Cocker of Pulp -

“It’s the aural equivalent of being in a sandstorm.”

Words – Lemmy had a way with words and could always be counted on for a clever turn of a phrase.  There are too many examples to list, so here’s a sample from On Your Feet or On Your Knees –

Shut up, I'm talkin' to you
It's on television so it can't be true
And I can't play that game no more
Wake up and play it through
Kill the many to save the few
I know what the blind man sees
On your feet or on your knees

The rest has already been written about Lemmy and Motörhead.  The man is dead, but to paraphrase Jerry Wexler's words at Duane Allman's funeral, the music is imperishable.