After a difficult struggle with an inoperable brain tumor, George Harrison, "the quiet Beatle," passed away on November 29 in Los Angeles. He was 58.

In 1998 Harrison had a cancerous lump removed from his throat (said to be the result of years of smoking). In 1999 he survived a knife attack from a deranged fan who broke into his Henley-on-Thames home, leaving him with four stab wounds to the chest and a punctured lung. In April of 2001, he had another malignant node removed from one of his lungs, and in June of this year when he discovered that the cancer had reappeared in his brain, Harrison traveled to Switzerland to begin radiation treatment.

When that treament failed to slow the cancer's progress, Harrison checked himself into New York's Staten Island University Hospital in early November to begin radical form of radiation treatment, fractionated sterotactic radiosurgery, under the care of Dr. Gil Lederman, the hospital's Director of Radiation Oncology. The treatment, which attacks tumors directly with high doses of radiation, is used on patients with large or highly advanced tumors, but would sadly not be enough to save the former Beatle. Harrison traveled to Los Angeles, where he passed away in the afternoon of the 29th at a friend's home with his wife, Olivia, and son, Dhani, at his bedside. His last thoughts were reported to be "love one another."

Long at peace with the inevitable, Harrison remained upbeat, even darkly comical throughout his battle. A song he recorded earlier this year, "Horse to the Water," was credited to RIP Ltd. 2001. And, of course, the music Harrison created with the Beatles in the few short years they recorded together forever, irreversibly, changed us. It is important to note that his passing became the first piece of news to knock post-September 11 coverage off the front page of every major news service (print, web, and television) around the world; something else that is testament to the music he created, the spirit he left behind, and how both have affected us.

Travel in peace.

"Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning / It's not always going to be this grey / All things must pass / All things must pass away."

Joey Ramone Gets His Place In History

It's official: Joey Ramone has put punk firmly on the map...the street map, that is. Approving a proposition that was the brainchild of 20-year-old Maureen Wojciechowski, the New York Public Safety and Transportation Committee of Manhattan's Community Board 3 has unanimously agreed to allow the corner of East Second Street and Bowery, which is just a few short steps from CBGB, to be named Joey Ramone Place. An official street sign will go up within a year, most likely coinciding with the late Ramones' birthday (May 19, for those not in the know).

Wojciechowski, a Staten Island resident, came up with the idea after the posthumous celebration of Joey's 50th birthday, brought it to the committee, which then instructed her to return with a petition of local support. When she returned with the necessary signatures, the 50-member board voted unanimously in her favor. Nice job, Maureen!

In other related Ramones new, Rob Zombie announced that he is teaming up with former Ramones' guitarist Johnny Ramone to put together a Ramones tribute album. "They still look cool, they still sound cool. There's something so simple about it. It's like when you see early Elvis or Mickey Mouse," said the former White Zombie frontman.

The Ramones and Mickey Mouse in the same sentence. Interesting...

Public Enemy Announces Remix Winners

When Public Enemy's new album his the shelves in early 2002, it will feature four remixes of earlier songs done by fans of the seminal hip-hop group. Through Chuck D.'s SlamJamz website, fans were instructed to download a cappella versions of "Public Enemy No. 1," "By the Time I Got to Arizona," "B Side Wins Again," and "Shut 'Em Down," remix and submit their own versions of the songs. Says Chuck D., "It's been tremendous. We had the a capellas downloaded 11,000 times and had 450 remixes done."

And the winners are: Jeronimo Punx of Buenos Aires, Argentina, for "Public Enemy No. 1"; Moleman Saphone of Long Island, New York, for "By the Time I Got to Arizona"; Owen Lake and Ross Farwell of Madison, Wisconsin, for "B Side Wins Again": and The Functionist of Austria for "Shut Em Down." Congratulations!

All four winners will receive co-writing credit and song royalties for their submissions, and Chuck D. plans to do another remix contest in the near future.

Butch Vig Contracts Hepatitis A

Garbage drummer and producer extraordinaire Butch Vig announced recently that he had contracted Hepatitis A while on tour with the band, and has been at home in Los Angeles for the past few weeks recovering from the illness that, besides turning his skin and eyes yellow, left him "delirious." Says Vig, "It's been a strange couple of weeks for me." No doubt! Get well soon.

Home Alive Release Flying Sidekick

Home Alive, a Seattle-based anti-violence organization that was founded in the early '90s after the murder of local punk icon Mia Zapata, has announced the release of its second album compilation, Flying Sidewalk, which includes tracks from Zen Guerilla, The Makers, Sanford Arms, and Maktub, among others.

Proceeds from the 17-song CD will go towards funding Home Alive which, among other notable community services, offers affordable self-defense classes for women. So lend helping a hand and support Home Alive by buying the CD. You'll walk away with some good music to boot!

Seattle City Council Approves $75,000 for Vera Project

In other Seattle-area music news, the Seattle City Council voted to approve a $75,000 grant for The Vera Project, a local youth-oriented, volunteer run, music and arts venue whose future was uncertain when outgoing mayor Paul Schell cut the organization's funding from his 2002 city budget.

Seattle Developers Save Hendrix Childhood Home

And in yet more Seattle music-related news, developers Craig Dieffenbach and Peter Sikov saved a childhood home of Jimi Hendrix from being torn down by paying $30,000 to have it moved to a temporary location until the duo can find a permanent site for it. The home had originally been sold on eBay for $33,853, but the winning bidder re-negged on the deal (tsk! tsk!), which meant that it was in jeopardy of being demolished to make way for condominiums. The fact that Dieffenbach and Sikov rescued the home is a bit ironic considering their profession, but they both should be saluted for stepping in. Upon finding a permanent location, Dieffenbach and Sikov planning on creating a non-profit organization, restore the home, turn it into a museum of Hendrix memorabilia and multimedia presentations, and build a recording studio and hostel nearby. Says Dieffenbach, "We're trying to do the right thing."

Courtney Love Leaks Unreleased Nirvana Track

Snatching the title of "Look How Big of an Asshole I Can Be...Just Watch!" from Ted "Coo Coo for CoaCoa Puffs" Nugent (who has been conspicuously absent in the news for awhile now), Hole frontwoman and wife of the late Kurt Cobain (rest in peace) Courtney Love leaked an unreleased Nirvana track to New Musical Express. The track, "You Know You're Right," was recorded in 1994 after the band had completed In Utero, and has been a sore spot of legal dispute between Love and Nirvana's surviving two members, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, who had wanted to include the track on a "hopefully appearing sometime this century" box set of Nirvana material. Love was granted an injunction preventing the inclusion of the song in the box set, and now seems dead set on flaunting her victory. Word has it that at the urging of her manager, James Barber, she's interested in including the track on a single-disc compilation, which Barber claims could sell 15 million copies.

Love and greed...

In other Love news, it was reported that she had plans of suing Eminem over the DVD release of The Slim Shady Show, which includes a cartoon showing her late husband missing half his face (Cobain died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head). Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers), who Love once referred to as "the first totally post-modern artist," has reportedly promised to drop the cartoon.

Mick Jagger New Solo Album Sales in Need of Viagra

And in yet other Courtney Love-related news, while we at eP can't confirm it, we believe that she isn't behind the laughingly poor sales of Mick Jigger's latest solo album, Goddess In the Doorway. The album, Jagger's fourth, sold only 954 copies on its first day. Apparently, Jagger is entirely responsible for his own poor showing here.

Thieves Are Scum (That and the Kitchen Sink, Too, Remix)

Hippie groove band Radiators reported last month that their fully-loaded equipment truck was stolen from New Orleans. The 28-foot Isuzu rental truck was loaded to the gills with guitars, amplifiers, effects, and other tools of the trade. A full listing of equipment and serial numbers is listed on the band's website. Yeah, hippies... But no one deserves to have the tools of their trade stolen from them, so give the list a once-over, would ya?

Quote of the Month

"He left this world as he lived in it: conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, 'Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.'" -Statement released by George Harrison's family after his death.

-Craig Young
Editor, Earpollution