Amy Winehouse Dead!

[J.M. Vargas]

http://www.tmz.com/2011/07/23/amy-winehouse-dead-dies-london-apartment/ (NY Times confirms it in its front page).

[stypee]

The strangest thing about her death is people really aren't surprised at all. Nobody is at all shocked or anything it's like "well, we were expecting that to happen anyway...". Sad but true.

[Dunnyman]

Actual cause of death listed as Excessive Celebrity Syndrome, where your "fame" far exceeds the amount of actual "talent" you possess. You begin to believe that you deserve said fame, riches, etc. in the first stages of the disease, and the...n when the "fame" starts to wane your symptoms include excessive drug usage, drugs busts, arrests, mug shots, etc. Male celebrities usually die at that point, but some female celebrities finish off their "career" with a "sex tape" scandal. Luckily for us, no such tape exists so there will be no revealing shots of Skeletor Winehouse.

[JoshRode]

Actual cause of death listed as Excessive Celebrity Syndrome, where your "fame" far exceeds the amount of actual "talent" you possess. You begin to believe that you deserve said fame, riches, etc. in the first stages of the disease, and the...n when the "fame" starts to wane your symptoms include excessive drug usage, drugs busts, arrests, mug shots, etc. Male celebrities usually die at that point, but some female celebrities finish off their "career" with a "sex tape" scandal. Luckily for us, no such tape exists so there will be no revealing shots of Skeletor Winehouse.

How do you know such a tape doesn't exist? Could still come out.

[Andrew Forbes]

Actual cause of death listed as Excessive Celebrity Syndrome, where your "fame" far exceeds the amount of actual "talent" you possess. You begin to believe that you deserve said fame, riches, etc. in the first stages of the disease, and the...n when the "fame" starts to wane your symptoms include excessive drug usage, drugs busts, arrests, mug shots, etc. Male celebrities usually die at that point, but some female celebrities finish off their "career" with a "sex tape" scandal. Luckily for us, no such tape exists so there will be no revealing shots of Skeletor Winehouse.

Wow. Could you be any more of an a**hole? First of all, Winehouse wasn't exactly my bag, but she had a hell of a voice. Make no mistake, her talent brought her fame, not a sex tape or a famous relative or a manufactured star-making process. Second, she didn't turn to drugs because her fame began to wane. Her fame began to wane because of her substance abuse problems interfering with every facet of her career. But, you know, whatever. It was undoubtedly all her fault, so we should just crack jokes about the death of a human being, right? No better time to do so than immediately after her death.

[Observer]

Actual cause of death listed as Excessive Celebrity Syndrome, where your "fame" far exceeds the amount of actual "talent" you possess. You begin to believe that you deserve said fame, riches, etc. in the first stages of the disease, and the...n when the "fame" starts to wane your symptoms include excessive drug usage, drugs busts, arrests, mug shots, etc. Male celebrities usually die at that point, but some female celebrities finish off their "career" with a "sex tape" scandal. Luckily for us, no such tape exists so there will be no revealing shots of Skeletor Winehouse.

Wow. Could you be any more of an a**hole? First of all, Winehouse wasn't exactly my bag, but she had a hell of a voice. Make no mistake, her talent brought her fame, not a sex tape or a famous relative or a manufactured star-making process. Second, she didn't turn to drugs because her fame began to wane. Her fame began to wane because of her substance abuse problems interfering with every facet of her career. But, you know, whatever. It was undoubtedly all her fault, so we should just crack jokes about the death of a human being, right? No better time to do so than immediately after her death.

If you think this is a woman without talent, I respectfully believe that you're out of your mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJAfLE39ZZ8&ob=av2n

Her death may not necessarily be tragic, since she obviously fell victim to her own vices, but to say that she lacked talent is an absurd statement to me.

[Andrew Forbes]

Her death may not necessarily be tragic, since she obviously fell victim to her own vices

I don't see that as any less tragic. Sure, she elected to take drugs, but who knows why she first turned to them, and who knows what traumas she has in her past. Hell, the majority of the world's adult population is made up of drug users, I'd wager. Alcohol just happens to be more socially acceptable and legalized. It's led to more than a few tragic deaths. She clearly fell victim to her own poor decisions, but youthful irresponsibility leading to a fatal tailspin of substance abuse seems about as tragic as you can get in my view.

[mkiker2089]

Her talent was marginal, although whoever directed the video did well. That however isn't really what these threads are about. There is a time to pay respect or at least hold back.

As far as the tragedy of it, it's harder to be sympathetic when someone brings it on themselves. I'm not sure why though. I suppose it instincts somewhere.

[Andrew Forbes]

Her talent was marginal, although whoever directed the video did well.

I'm sorry, but that's just insane . She's one of the strongest voices of the past decade, easily. And she wrote powerful songs that came from a very genuine, painful place, bridging classic soul with contemporary pop. Like I said, she's not exactly my thing, but if you can't appreciate her phenomenal talent, you may as well be deaf.

[Dan Mancini]

Her talent was marginal, although whoever directed the video did well.

I'm sorry, but that's just insane . She's one of the strongest voices of the past decade, easily. And she wrote powerful songs that came from a very genuine, painful place, bridging classic soul with contemporary pop. Like I said, she's not exactly my thing, but if you can't appreciate her phenomenal talent, you may as well be deaf.

In related news, Billie Holiday was a hack who had it comin'.

[Attrage]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the stunning coincidence of her death at age 27. f---, what is it about 27??? Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin....it's a little freaky...no?

[mkiker2089]

I've heard the conspiracy theory that Hendrix, Morrison, and Joplin were given bad drugs to kill them. Some say the DEA was responsible, others blame political extremists.

[Dunnyman]

I've heard the conspiracy theory that Hendrix, Morrison, and Joplin were given bad drugs to kill them. Some say the DEA was responsible, others blame political extremists.

27? Just a coincidence, although that's only the opinion of an arsehole. My lack of sympathy has to do with her inability to follow up her "brilliant" first two records,and her subsequent series of "what can I do to stay in the papers?" incidents. "Hey, if I run out in the streets in my underwear, it'll be in all the papers!" Easier to do than get it together and create more work, sure, and it's exactly what led to her problems. As long as the spotlight was on, she was "happy". These fame fanatics don't get much sympathy from me when they go way too far in their efforts to "still be popular". I won't feel sorry for Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian when their fame seeking backfires on them either.

[Andrew Forbes]

My lack of sympathy has to do with her inability to follow up her "brilliant" first two records,and her subsequent series of "what can I do to stay in the papers?" incidents. "Hey, if I run out in the streets in my underwear, it'll be in all the papers!" Easier to do than get it together and create more work, sure, and it's exactly what led to her problems. As long as the spotlight was on, she was "happy".

Yeah, she just oozed calculated scandal. Footage of her in the last months suggests that she's hardly aware of where she is, let alone the promotional possibilities of her escapades. But it's easier to write off all headline-garnering starlets with the same broad brush than it is to consider that they may have wildly different experiences, aims and paths to fame, isn't it. By all means, detail the correlation between Paris Hilton (wealthy, socialite family; "reality" star; courts paparazzi), Kim Kardashian (wealthy, socialite family; "reality" star; courts paparazzi) and Amy Winehouse (daughter of a taxi driver and a pharmacist; arts-intensive upbringing; long history of emotional/psychological distress, depression, self-harm, eating disorders; filed restraining order against paparazzi).

[Steve T Power]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the stunning coincidence of her death at age 27. f---, what is it about 27??? Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin....it's a little freaky...no?

You forgot Kurt Cobain...

[mkiker2089]

Turns out the 27 list is huge and also has a wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_Club