RIP Tim Smith
July 22, 2020 7:32 AM   Subscribe

Tim Smith, the charismatic frontman of influential British rock band Cardiacs, has died at the age of 59.
posted by Cardinal Fang (20 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
This. Fucking. Year.

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posted by SansPoint at 7:35 AM on July 22, 2020 [1 favorite]


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posted by doubtfulpalace at 7:45 AM on July 22, 2020


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Very saddened by this announcement. The last few years, I've been checking regularly whether there was an update on Tim Smith's health, hoping he'd eventually get to live a life (relatively) free from pain again but alas...

Cardiacs are without a doubt one of my favorite bands and whether you like their music or not, there is no denying their sheer musical ability, inventiveness and energy. They would pack more ideas (and sometimes genres) into single songs than other bands would feature on full records. What is more, Cardiacs sound absolutely unique to my ears (leaving aside Cardiacs/Tim Smith's side projects).

I wish the band would have received the critical recognition and commercial sucess that they'd deserved but at the same time their incompatibility with mainstream tastes always seemed to be part and parcel of the Cardiacs' DNA.

RIP musical genius Tim Smith. My condolences to his family and friends.
posted by bigendian at 7:53 AM on July 22, 2020 [5 favorites]


That is it.
posted by Homemade Interossiter at 8:01 AM on July 22, 2020


This is very, very sad, so much so that I don't really know what to say, certainly about my emotional response (beyond "sad"). I was going to post something this morning, then realised I was afraid to.

Cardiacs are unclassifiable, and given the nature of their music (Tim started the band wanting to play punk and ornate Zappaesque instrumentals at the same time) can seem off-putting. For those of us who became fans, it tended to the verge of obsession. Those who are not find that obsession inexplicable. There's lots of Cardiacs material on YouTube - Tarred and Feathered and R.E.S. from their early "Bewildering viewers of The Tube" period; Their "hit", Is This the Life?; All That Glitters Is A Maresnest, a record of the late 80s Cardiacs; the magnificent Dirty Boy and Fiery Gun Hand from the wonderful album Sing To God, made by the more stripped down nineties Cardiacs; In the 2000s the early Cardiacs material was recorded live at The Garage, the rehearsals videoed and recently released in their own right as Tales From the Rotten Shed - As Cold As Can Be In An English Sea and Jibber and Twitch.

I saw them play a few times. Although the many vids on YouTube shot from the audience catch the flavour of the gig, they can be quite rough.

I have the impression that Cardiacs' reputation has been growing steadily over the last few years. But slowly. I'm quite glad that it was clear the level of respect and love Tim had inspired was clear to him since the accident - in particular after the fundraiser for his care raised over £40,000 in one day.

Smith was a kind of genius around whom a world of off-kilter music coalesced.

The leader of the starry skies.
posted by Grangousier at 8:12 AM on July 22, 2020 [11 favorites]


Don't forget David Minnicks' Labour of love. An a cappella recording of Sing To God in it's entirety. It's astounding.

Singin to God by The 180 Gs
posted by Homemade Interossiter at 8:22 AM on July 22, 2020 [4 favorites]


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posted by acb at 8:25 AM on July 22, 2020


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posted by pseudophile at 8:26 AM on July 22, 2020




Cardiacs are the most important band in my life, for more than three decades. I was gobsmacked the first time I heard one of their songs (it was The Duck and Roger the Horse), and I was gobsmacked the first time I saw them live (Kikker, Utrecht). I may drift off to enjoy other bands, other genres, but I always return to their music, or the many other projects Tim was involved in. It helped me survive shit jobs, shit relationships, shit circumstances (i.e. life in general). One of my great regrets is that I missed the secret gigs in London which I was supposed to go to, but life (again) intervened and I had to cancel. The Pond is the only reason I open Facebook these days, and before FB I was welcomed as a fellow pondie on the Cardiacs Chat list. I am glad to see that Tim's genius is finding the admiration it deserves, and his songs will be listened to long after we're all gone.

Of course, this doesn't really describe why I feel what I feel, but I know there are many like me that feel the same way, and that is part of Tim's magic. I knew this day would come, but it still caught me unawares this morning. This is not the way I wanted him to go, but of all the ways it could have gone, this is the way, I guess.

Fair winds and following seas, Tim

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posted by fregoli at 10:55 AM on July 22, 2020 [3 favorites]


I learned of Tim Smith and Cardiacs from Tantacruls' video . It saddens me to hear this news.

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posted by Harpocrates at 1:29 PM on July 22, 2020


Tributes:

Rob Crow
Devin Townsend
Kavus Torabi
Steven Wilson
Marc Riley

Finally, the announcement, which begins, "I hope you are all holding yourselves together. It will be hard but you can do it without denying your grief and without being angry at the world."
posted by vverse23 at 1:32 PM on July 22, 2020 [1 favorite]


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posted by mikelynch at 4:06 PM on July 22, 2020


Well, then. That’s that.

The leader of the starry skies, he’s here;
But burning at such a speed that no good dog can obey.

As it’s entirely clear that history will continue to cease to be created by Cardiacs, I think it best to disassociate myself entirely from his recent demise and recognize it as yet another excuse for not fulfilling his duties. The ALPHABET BUSINESS CONCERN, I trust, would expect the same from all the little fishies in the pool.

Before doing so, however, I must first remove the lump in my throat as I read Steven Wilson’s lovely tribute to a mind that demolished my perception of what’s possible with the 4017 chords provided by the universe:

I am deeply saddened to read of the passing of Tim Smith from Cardiacs today. Even though Tim had been ill for many years, it's still hard for me to think of him as gone, as his music made such a big impression on me, and continues to do so. He had one of the few truly unique sounds and musical personalities you could ever hope to hear, it was almost impossible to understand where his music came from and what his influences might have been.

In that respect he was a true original, and like many other true originals he paid the price of being a cult artist, relatively under the radar for most of his career. But for those that 'got' Cardiacs they almost without exception went on to become their favourite band. A few years ago when Tim first became ill I contributed a cover version of one of his most beautiful compositions Stone Age Dinosaurs to an album released to raise funds for his medical care, and I would like to share it with you here as my eulogy to Tim:


Stoneage Dinosaurs

I hope you’re swimming with the snakes, Timmy. Savour every moment.
posted by prinado at 5:46 PM on July 22, 2020 [4 favorites]


What shitty news to start the day with today. Was lucky enough to see them once and it was the most insane show I've ever seen, totally incredible. Here's hoping there are some newer recordings that will still see the light of day. RIP TIM
posted by ericthegardener at 5:59 PM on July 22, 2020


God fucking dammit.

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posted by equalpants at 6:36 PM on July 22, 2020


Oh dear. I think I'm going to have to go off an things.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 8:09 PM on July 22, 2020


From Rhodri Marsden in The Guardian:

"It won them few fans in the media, but Tim wasn’t overly bothered. According to one legendary story, an unfortunate journalist was sent to meet the band on their Surrey home turf in the middle of summer. They dressed up in full stage gear, crammed into a Mini, kept the windows closed, turned the heating up and chain-smoked cigarettes. Tim instructed them to spray their clothes with water to create a hideous fug. The radio was tuned to static. The journalist was collected from the station and had to cram in the back for the duration of the interview. The car never went above 15mph. Cardiacs were undoubtedly awkward bastards."
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:07 AM on July 23, 2020 [4 favorites]


In the fullness of time, what I'd like to hear more about is Tim the director - of the videos (Seaside Treats, Mares Nest, the Rotten Shed) but also of Cardiacs in general as a theatrical experience. The earlier show was more extravagant, but the shows I saw were full of stunning theatrical moments - Will Bleed Amen, where Sharron Fortnam would appear from somewhere (always in my memory in a bright red dress, though video evidence suggests otherwise), do her vocal parts and disappear again; 2002, when Cardiacs put down their instruments and walked off stage right, while the support band (Oceansize) came on from stage left to perform Eat Him Up Worms Hero then stomp off again while Cardiacs returned for the rest of the set; One tiny gesture that always stays with me is that the last to leave the stage were Mel and Cathy who walked to the front of the stage, bent over and blew on the audience before turning and leaving, which always seemed to me like something from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

This interview with Kavus about the making of Tales From the Rotten Shed (and LSD and more) speaks to some of that, I think.
posted by Grangousier at 5:03 AM on July 23, 2020


rewatching the restored version of mares nest helped
posted by inpHilltr8r at 6:13 PM on July 23, 2020 [3 favorites]


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