Is 2016 a Cursed Year?

“2016: The year the music died,” was the bombastic headline of a CNN analysis of the past year. The notion that 2016 is the worst year for musicians ever was already established as a myth earlier this year. It certainly seemed that way, so I decided to dig deeper into the recent “history” of deaths in the music world.

Dozens of musicians die every year. Going back several years, we saw the deaths of many prominent names. For example, 2015 was the year when Lemmy, B. B. King, Scott Weiland, Ornette Coleman, Natalie Cole, Chris Squire, Clark Terry, Mike Porcaro, and Louis Johnson left this world, all of them being iconic figures in their respected genres. (If you told a jazz fan that you’re touched by the death of George Michael but you don’t know who Ornette Coleman is, he would probably laugh at you. The same would apply to a Dream Theater fan and Mike Porcaro.) It was the same with 2014 which saw the deaths of Joe Cocker, Jack Bruce, Kenny Wheeler, Tommy Ramone, Joe Sample, and Pete Seeger. In 2013 we witnessed the passings of greats such as Lou Reed, JJ Cale, George Duke, Ray Manzarek, and Alvin Lee, not to mention Dave Brubeck, Jon Lord, Etta James, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Gary Moore, Captain Beefheart, Malcolm McLaren, and Ronnie James Dio, which all died in the period from 2010 to 2012. So why did this particular year echo so badly and so loud in the media and among music fans? I have thought about it, and I think several tiny details helped in establishing the myth of a “terrible year,” but one main reason lies in the back of it all.

Let me start with the details. Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, one of the biggest icons of rock music, died towards the end of 2015. Lemmy was a tough guy, someone who was thought of being the next Keith Richards, in terms of their lengthy careers and prolonged living-on-the-edge lifestyle. The minor shock from his death on December 28, 2015, became a blast when twelve days later David Bowie died. He was not only one of the greatest living musicians up until then but was in full creative strength. At least that’s what I thought when I heard “Sue (In a Season of Crime)” two years earlier. Sadly, the song and the rest of “Blackstar” was his swansong in which he poured all of his potential, experience, and wisdom. Nobody knew, no one even guessed that he was sick (he kept his private life extremely private) and his death came as a surprise to many. The greatest impact was left by the fact that his death and his final goodbye album came at the same time. There has never been more buzz in the social media about anything else, as far as I remember. Bowie was the topic for over a month. When it all calmed down, another iconic musician was suddenly gone - Prince. Legendary for his flamboyant stage presence and musical innovations, he didn’t “announce” his death either. All of us thought that he would be here for many more years, celebrating music and life in his extravagant dress and makeup. But he passed away, and the myth has been created. Everything else that happened after just helped its growth. Leonard Cohen died at age 82, after a battle with cancer, but still - it was this terrible 2016 that killed him. The apocalyptic mongering was “crowned” with its final argument when George Michael died on Christmas Day. The tragic loss of one of the greatest singers of all times “proved” the cursed nature of the year that killed music.

Of course, I feel sorry for all lives lost, regardless if they were musicians or not. Something else I discovered this year is the change of discourse in almost every field of social interaction. People around the world are using offensive speech much more easily than before. Politics divided people all around the globe. Friends quarrel with friends over ideologies. Blame is shifted around like a hot stone; nobody takes responsibility anymore. Actors, musicians, businesspeople, and other social groups are judged upon their political orientation. Apocalyptic whispers of a third world war are getting louder and louder. People fear for their lives and homes, but most importantly, they fear to trust the “others.” In this atmosphere of mixed emotions and deep divisions, the deaths of all these heroes mentioned above came as a goodbye, not only to them but also to the humanistic values they so eagerly sang about in their music and represented as persons.

But instead of despairing and thus helping the shadow that’s outspread over the globe, we should keep our heads calm and our spirits unclouded by whatever is going on right now. The conflict is to happen only if we fall under the spell of ill words, that now spread through the air more than ever. I can almost see the “beast” of the industrial era dying and trying to kill everything along its way. Before we all switch to renewable resources and a juster economic system; before we enter the new era of social consciousness and let the old prejudice and bad habits disappear from our minds and bodies; before all of that we should all take a deep breath and let the beast die on its own, without pulling us into his demise. That way, at least the deaths of these legends we all adore but now are gone would not be in vain.