Robert Quine



Guitarist Robert Quine died in New York City this past weekend.




Recognized worldwide for his incredibly inventive playing as a member of Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Quine also graced recordings by a number of heavyweights including Lydia Lunch, Tom Waits, John Zorn, Marianne Faithful, Ikue Mori, Material and many others. With the possible exception of Quine's brilliant work on Hell's 'Blank Generation' and 'Destiny Street', his performances on Lou Reed's 'The Blue Mask' are amongst his best known.

In more recent years, Quine appeared on records by the likes of Matthew Sweet, They Might Be Giants, Lloyd Cole, Wayne Kramer and They Might Be Giants. In 2001, he compliled and composed liner notes for the Velvet Underground's 'Bootleg Series Volume 1 : The Quine Tapes'.

Though I used to see Quine around my neighborhood in NYC, I never had the pleasure of meeting him. But for those of you who haven't heard the Voidoids stuff or never saw Quine play, let me assure you, he was no mere sideman.

(Update, 18 June : Richard Hell's obituary for Robert Quine from the 14 June issue of New York, and John Piccarella's from the 15 June issue of the Village Voice.)

Posted: Mon - June 7, 2004 at 06:32 AM      

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