I can’t collect my thoughts on this.

Arthur Lee, who led one of rock’s greatest bands (ever), Love, has passed away. The group’s three classic albums, Love, Da Capo and Forever Changes contain some of the most influential/ genius/disturbing/gorgeous/crazy/poetic/punk/inspiring/cool music you will ever hear. And achingly beautiful. Some songs get me on every level, right down to my nerve endings. I’ve not gone a month without listening to more than one Love tune since discovering them so many years ago and I don’t plan on changing this habit. Even if the brilliant song "Red Telephone" occasionally feels like it has crawled into my brain and scrambled around any sanity I have left. But such was the power of Arthur Lee.

I’m happy I was able to see him in 2002 (soon after he was released from prison) but I remember sensing a palpable doom. There was always doom around Arthur Lee. Thankfully, Lee created brilliant music out of this darkness.

In hippy dippy terms, Love sometimes seemed an ironic name. They were too multi-dimensional for that. Watch them blow away American Bandstand, garage-rocking out a Burt Bacharach tune. They take anything potentially simple from this song and make it tough, full of attitude and almost threatening. And the band was never as simple as just love (there was hate in there)– but then real love never is. And I can safely say that I loved Arthur Lee. Your Mind and We Belong Together.

The Make-Up sang "Free Arthur Lee"–he finally is.

I’ve been here once
I’ve been here twice
I don’t know if the third’s the fourth or if the…
The fifth’s to fix
Sometimes I deal with numbers
And if you wanna count me
Count me out