"She loses her beautiful self ..."
November 29, 2010 10:10 AM   Subscribe

Natasha Shneider was a Russian musician and actress, best known for her work in the band Eleven and with Queens of the Stone Age. She lost her battle with cancer in July of 2008, at the age of 52. Now, her husband of 25 years and bandmate Alain Johannes has released his solo debut album "Spark," a tribute to her. posted by jbickers (6 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Man, I had no idea she'd passed on. Thanks for this.
posted by mykescipark at 10:18 AM on November 29, 2010


What a beautiful way to memorialize her. Thank you for sharing.
posted by lily_bart at 10:35 AM on November 29, 2010


Ooh, love the intensity of Queens of the Stone Age. Thanks for turning me onto likable music I hadn't heard before. It makes me think Natasha Shneider may have lived her life with that kind of passionate resonance.

*personal gripe. When people die, it may be too early, tragic, violent, peaceful, in their sleep or not. But why are people with cancer the only ones to "lose the battle" when they make their final exit? People with heart disease, strokes, old age, flu, car accidents, measles, aneurysms, pneumonia, all kinds of other chronic illnesses, even dead in actual wartime battle, nobody is said to have "lost the battle".

Why are people with cancer the only ones to instantly become losers or martyrs when they die? Or defeated by the battle in the will to live? Didn't people with cancer try hard enough to out maneuver the disease, were they bad soldiers of life? Imo, it adds insult to injury. As a person dealing with cancer myself, when I die, please say I kicked the bucket, shuffled off this mortal coil, croaked, preferably not that euphemism "passed". But definitely not "lost the battle". If I lost anything in life, my wits, my dignity, reputation, morals, perspective, way, let me regret that in life and make amends or be accountable while living. But not forced to be a loser to the cancer battle after death, simply because I died. That's just not fair.

So I say rock on Natasha Shneider! Sorry you died too young, glad you lived.
posted by nickyskye at 11:51 AM on November 29, 2010


Spark is a good album, but sad both in content and context... I've always loved Alain Johannes' vocals and guitar playing and both are excellent on his solo album, but Natasha's absence is really noticeable when you go back and listen to the work they did together.

Endless eyes is heartbreaking.
posted by usonian at 3:50 PM on November 29, 2010


She had such an incredible voice, I'd love to have heard her sing more. And Elven were definitely one of the most underrated bands of their time.
posted by fshgrl at 9:18 PM on November 29, 2010


Saw Eleven live for the first time in 1994, opening for Soundgarden, and feverishly bought every release ever since.

The two of them were a tag team of rock brilliance, and so vastly underrated, it made her premature passing all the more heartbreaking.

Great to see Alain is still writing and releasing his own material ( when he's not being the unsung 4th member of them crooked vultures )
posted by Hickeystudio at 2:03 AM on November 30, 2010


« Older Can't get to the zoo?   |   Obama proposes pay freeze Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments