Patterico's Pontifications

12/13/2017

RIP Pat DiNizio

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:59 am



The first time I went out with Mrs. P in what could be considered a date, she wanted to dance. I hate dancing. But I told her that I would dance with her if “Behind the Wall of Sleep” by the Smithereens came on. It did. We danced, and later that night we kissed for the first time.

We last saw The Smithereens at the Roxy, I think in 2016. DiNizio was not doing well. His right arm hung at his side, and he seemed to have limited use of his left arm too. Between songs or during guitar solos, one of his bandmates would mop his brow and give him water to drink. He could not hold the towel or glass himself.

And yet, he sounded great, and it was a marathon show. It might’ve gone three hours, maybe even three and a half. It was clearly not easy for him, but he still gave it his all.

RIP, Pat. You will be missed.

UPDATE 12-30-17: How awful. Mrs. P. reminds me that the song was “Blood and Roses” and not “Behind the Wall of Sleep.” (Actually, the way it worked is that I related the story to my brother-in-law, but citing the relevant song as “Behind the Wall of Sleep.” Christi told me I got it wrong, and that I had three more tries before I was “locked out’ — you know, the way one gets locked out of their iPhone upon guessing the password wrong . . . but with presumably more dire consequences. I got it right on the next try.)

10 Responses to “RIP Pat DiNizio”

  1. love them so much this is very sad

    i have them on a playlist with lloyd cole

    happyfeet (a037ad)

  2. OMFG….RIP

    urbanleftbehind (9240ed)

  3. The ability to meld perfect melodies to not-wimpy rock results in a music which is — to some of us, and I include myself in this group — irresistible ear candy. R.I.P.

    Smithereens — “A Girl Like You”

    Icy (c18855)

  4. Could do this all day, but just one more from me; the track aforementioned by Patterico:

    Smithereens — “Behind The Wall of Sleep”

    Icy (c18855)

  5. In counterpoint, a happy story:

    https://xkcd.com/1928/

    Kevin M (752a26)

  6. “Only a Memory” was my fave…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  7. all i have in my cloud is “Especially For You”

    14 tracks from 1986

    lol i guess she’s just a crazy mixed-up kid

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  8. this makes me wanna check in on the foals and see if i’m caught up

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  9. You’re a good egg, Pat.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  10. UPDATE 12-30-17: How awful. Mrs. P. reminds me that the song was “Blood and Roses” and not “Behind the Wall of Sleep.” (Actually, the way it worked is that I related the story to my brother-in-law, but citing the relevant song as “Behind the Wall of Sleep.” Christi told me I got it wrong, and that I had three more tries before I was “locked out’ — you know, the way one gets locked out of their iPhone upon guessing the password wrong . . . but with presumably more dire consequences. I got it right on the next try.)

    Patterico (522dfb)


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