Robert Quine

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So sad. He was one of the good guys.

Doobie Keebler (Charles McCain), Monday, 7 June 2004 23:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm playing Ugly Truth Rock by Matthew Sweet (lead guitar: Robert Quine): "You don't wanna die but the living gets you down / We want to act like nothing's wrong even though you heard a sound / And then you're ripped right out of the ground like a fucking root / No you simply cannot hide from the ugly truth." RIP.

JoB (JoB), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 09:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Seventeen second guitar solo in Scritti Politti's Don't Work That Hard!

JoB (JoB), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 10:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Quine's wife died less than a year ago and they'd been together over 35 years. She had a heart attack in the bath, and Quine came home and found her. He was utterly destroyed, as they were true soul mates. Rest easy, Robert.

shookout (shookout), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 11:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Fuck! Robert Quine dead, no no no no. Can't believe it.

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 12:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Fucking heroin!

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 12:18 (twenty-one years ago)

easily one of my top 5 fav guitarists ever....very sad he ended this way. rip.

M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 14:30 (twenty-one years ago)

actually a huge moment for me was buying this comp tape at wal-mart, it was a major label but it had a bunch of 70s nyc punk stuff like gloria by patti smith, x-offender by blondie, new values by iggy pop....but anyway....blank generation was on it and totally blew my mind, esp. the guitar work on that....really really a key musical moment I remember fondly....

M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 14:32 (twenty-one years ago)

An amazing musician

Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 14:35 (twenty-one years ago)

RIP. He was one of the best.

Felonious Drunk (Felcher), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 14:59 (twenty-one years ago)

This is terrible indeed. Fuck a heroin.

adam (adam), Tuesday, 8 June 2004 16:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Awful news. Been playing "Painted Desert" and his collab with Maher, "Basic," a lot during the last month or so. He's so great with Matthew Sweet too. "Kid with the Replaceable Head" with Hell is one of my favorite tracks ever. So sad he's gone.

eddie hurt (ddduncan), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 01:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I became aware of him in the early '90s through Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend. I had been cultivating a fervent anti-rockist mindset for several years, but I responded so strongly to the work of Quine and Lloyd on that record that a Damascene shift in attitude became inevitable. I had already been alerted to the pleasures of the electric guitar through listening to Joey Santiago and Dean Wareham, but Quine in particular made me realise that instrumental virtuosity could actually be a very good thing, when applied with imagination and taste. (As I recall, it wasn't long after that I began thinking that perhaps I should give this guy Hendrix a chance...)
It's so sad that his talent and love of music, of sound itself, wasn't enough to get him through. RIP.

Palomino (Palomino), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 08:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Robert Quine's discography:


Richard Hell & the Voidoids - Blank Generation (1977)
Lydia Lunch - Queen of Siam (1979)
Material - Temporary Music 1 (1981)
Robert Quine - Escape (with Jody Harris) (1981)
Richard Hell & the Voidoids - Destiny Street (1982)
Lou Reed - The Blue Mask (1982)
Material - Red Tracks (1982)
Get Crazy - film soundtrack (1983)
Lou Reed - Legendary Hearts (1983)
Lou Reed - Live in Italy (1984)
John Zorn - The Big Gundown (1984)
Richard Hell & the Voidoids - R.I.P.: The ROIR Sessions (1984)
Robert Quine - Basic (with Fred Maher) (1984)
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs (1985)
Scritti Politti - Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)
Wiseblood - Dirtdish (1986)
John Zorn - Spillane (1986)
Marianne Faithfull - Strange Weather (1987)
Matthew Sweet - Earth (1989)
Richard Hell & the Voidoids - Funhunt (Live at CBGB & Max's) (1990)
Lloyd Cole - Lloyd Cole (1990)
Lloyd Cole - Don't Get Weird On Me Babe (1991)
Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend (1991)
Dim Stars - Dim Stars (1992)
Brian Eno - Nerve Net (1992)
Lou Reed - Between Thought and Expression (1992)
Suzanne Rhatigan - To Hell With Love (1992)
John Zorn - Film Works 1986-1990 (1992)
Hal Willner - Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus (1992)
The Odds - Bedbugs (1993)
Matthew Sweet - Altered Beast (1993)
Sion - I Don't Like Myself (1993)
Matthew Sweet - Son of Altered Beast (1994)
They Might Be Giants - John Henry (1994)
Lloyd Cole - Love Story (1995)
Mike Mainieri - Come Together: Guitar Tribute to the Beatles, Vol. 2 (1995)
Richard Hell - Go Now (1995)
Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun (1995)
Matthew Sweet - We're the Same (1995)
Mikel Erentxun - El Abrazo Del Erizo (1995)
John Zorn - Film Works V: Tears of Ecstacy (1996)
Material - Secret Life (1996)
Corin Curschellas - Valdun—Voices of Rumantsch (1997)
Ikue Mori (with Marc Ribot) - Painted Desert (1997)
John Zorn - Film Works III (1997)
John Zorn - Film Works IV: S&M (1997)
John Zorn - Film Works VII: Cynical Hysterie Hour (1997)
John Zorn - Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach (1997)
Reiss - Vibe of Life (1998)
John Zorn - Bribe (1998)
Material - Best of Material (1999)
John Zorn - Godard/Spillane (1999)
Richard Hell & the Voidoids - 'Oh' - MUSICBLITZ.com (2000)
Kazuyoshi Saito - Cold Tube (2000)
The Odds - Singles—Individually Wrapped (2000)
Sion - Songs (2000)
Wayne Kramer Presents Beyond Cyberpunk (2001)
Andre Williams - Bait and Switch (2001)
The Velvet Underground - Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes (2001)
Lloyd Cole - Etc. (2001)
Richard Hell - Time (2002)
Michael DuClos - Lustro (2002)
Tom Clark and the High Action Boys - Cross-Eyed and Bow-Legged (2002)
Lys Guillorn - Lys Guillorn (2003)

louis firbank, Wednesday, 9 June 2004 09:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Believe it or not, that list is incomplete. Quine also played two(TWO!) magnificent, explosive solos on track 5 of Lloyd Cole's The Negatives (2000).

the quinefox, Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:29 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...
Weird - I was just talking to my guitarist friend Mark abt Robert Quine last night, I was on about this Lou Reed live concert w/Quine playing, that got filmed. A really astonishingly powerful performance, and Quine's playing is up there w/the best.

I saw this today for the first time ("A Night With Lou Reed", from 1983). Lou Reed's playing is good (the vocals are nothing special), but the band pretty much pwns him. Quine looks badass in his dark glasses, sloppy-collared shirt and open jacket. Lou Reed is supposed to be the tough guy with the poses and a leather jacket, but Quine is the cold-blooded killer.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 31 October 2005 00:06 (twenty years ago)

Quine never rode a Honda!

Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 31 October 2005 01:18 (twenty years ago)

"Don't settle for walkin'."

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 31 October 2005 04:44 (twenty years ago)

I've got that video! - I think.

the quinefox, Monday, 31 October 2005 14:30 (twenty years ago)

Quine was the coolest ever.

M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 31 October 2005 23:04 (twenty years ago)

five years pass...

loving this record, just heard it for the first time last week:
Ikue Mori (with Marc Ribot) - Painted Desert (1997)

tylerw, Friday, 25 March 2011 17:40 (fifteen years ago)

think i need to put together a quine mixtape, with the best of his sideman stuff, or something.

tylerw, Friday, 25 March 2011 17:41 (fifteen years ago)

also been listening to an audio rip of that night with lou reed video mentioned above -- quine pretty much walks away with the show. every solo he plays is rad.

tylerw, Friday, 25 March 2011 17:42 (fifteen years ago)

please do put that together

curmudgeon, Friday, 25 March 2011 19:39 (fifteen years ago)

looking at that discog posted above, there's a lot I don't have!

tylerw, Friday, 25 March 2011 19:40 (fifteen years ago)

loving this record, just heard it for the first time last week:
Ikue Mori (with Marc Ribot) - Painted Desert (1997)

― tylerw, Friday, March 25, 2011 12:40 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

This is a fabulous record, that I'm guessing many haven't heard. Great use of cheap rhythm box.

Partyin', partyin', fun fun fun fun (Dan Peterson), Friday, 25 March 2011 19:55 (fifteen years ago)

this sounds interesting:
did another thing like that with Zorn and Bill Frissell. We jammed together a lot. It was a concert at Harvard in '87 at a chapel. We cleared the place. There was no discussion as we walked out to the stage. Bill and I had loop machines so we had four guitars and a sax playing. They made a recording of it and it'd be nice to come out.
from here: http://www.furious.com/perfect/quine.html

tylerw, Friday, 25 March 2011 20:02 (fifteen years ago)

i also love this quote from the same interview
After that, what would you say about the time you played with Lou Reed?

Musically, the first week and a half was really great, out of the four years.

tylerw, Friday, 25 March 2011 20:05 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

Would have been 70 today.

Albee Thousand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 30 December 2012 22:48 (thirteen years ago)

I remember when Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" was in heavy rotation on MTV, and it was such a wonderful mindfuck that you could hear Robert Quine multiple times a day on TV.

Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Sunday, 30 December 2012 23:00 (thirteen years ago)

mindfuck that you could hear any good music on TV.

But yeah, RIP Bob Quine. I remember feeling pissed off on his behalf when I read in Victor Bokris's book (hatchet job?) "Transformer" that Lou Reed mixed Bob Quine so low on one of his albums (Blue Mask or Legendary Hearts, I don't remember) that Bob repeatedly drove over the tape in his driveway after putting it in his cassette deck.

Poliopolice, Sunday, 30 December 2012 23:40 (thirteen years ago)

the woman on the right is j@ne quine, either mother or aunt of robert quine (i can't remember exactly, but i know she was related)
she was super cool
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6p23avsDm1rzge1ho1_1280.jpg

passion it person (La Lechera), Sunday, 30 December 2012 23:45 (thirteen years ago)

A friend of mine just told me that Robert's uncle was William Van Orman Quine.

Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Sunday, 30 December 2012 23:58 (thirteen years ago)

But yeah, RIP Bob Quine. I remember feeling pissed off on his behalf when I read in Victor Bokris's book (hatchet job?) "Transformer" that Lou Reed mixed Bob Quine so low on one of his albums (Blue Mask or Legendary Hearts, I don't remember) that Bob repeatedly drove over the tape in his driveway after putting it in his cassette deck.

― Poliopolice, Sunday, December 30, 2012 6:40 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm gonna guess Legendary Hearts, only because he's all over The Blue Mask (as he should be). Ironically, he stuck around to tour with Lou (cf. Live In Italy).

Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Monday, 31 December 2012 00:01 (thirteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx7bXk4N5no

Albee Thousand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 31 December 2012 00:17 (thirteen years ago)

Try again, with http instead of https:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx7bXk4N5no

Albee Thousand (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 31 December 2012 00:21 (thirteen years ago)

i still don't know his subsequent work very well, but even just the first voidoids album is enough to make him one of my all-time favorites.

it burns when 1p3 (goole), Monday, 31 December 2012 00:29 (thirteen years ago)

he was able to take the contradictory impulses of (what became) punk rock -- to revisit earlier forms of rock music and to wreck them all -- and make them materially real, as a player. he could play the whole corpus of traditional american guitar playing upside down and backwards. and so, he did.

it burns when 1p3 (goole), Monday, 31 December 2012 00:34 (thirteen years ago)

Total throw down by Quine here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzl3AB5tw-w

john. a resident of chicago., Monday, 31 December 2012 00:37 (thirteen years ago)

Also, wow! Had no idea he was on Scritti Politti's Cupid and Psyche.

john. a resident of chicago., Monday, 31 December 2012 00:43 (thirteen years ago)

dennis miller is the most annoying man on the entire planet

"reading specialist" (Z S), Monday, 31 December 2012 01:04 (thirteen years ago)

His cousin Tim Quine has a good blog, Rubber City Review, where he posted a couple commentaries on Bob several years ago--this one is about the music, incl mp3s of several things I hadn't heard; think they all still work, but haven't checked the l0u lately (most likely to be removed?) http://rubbercityreview.com/2010/05/robert-quine-the-hits-2/

dow, Monday, 31 December 2012 01:20 (thirteen years ago)

Here's Tim's first post: close encounters and some music links as well: http://rubbercityreview.com/2010/03/encounters-with-quine/

dow, Monday, 31 December 2012 01:23 (thirteen years ago)

ha pretty sure the drummer in that clip is the guy from Mr Mister

Big session dude IIRC

Master of Treacle, Monday, 31 December 2012 04:22 (thirteen years ago)

Def the Mr. Mister guy, who has spent the past 15 years or so in king crimson. Bassist is sara lee, who played in gang of four and b-52s. Dunno the other guy.

Quine is on the Scritti Polliti because the band was basically Material. That album was produced by Fred Maher, who also produced girlfriend.

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 31 December 2012 05:32 (thirteen years ago)

those blog posts are great, thanks for sharing...
quine was known for a certain type of guitar playing, but he really was super versatile -- as those blog posts note about his solo on that reed's "betrayed" (from live in italy), he was an amazing country rock guitarist, too.

tylerw, Monday, 31 December 2012 15:43 (thirteen years ago)

Oh yea, forgot Quine was in Material--did he ever play on a track w Sharrock? Or Frith?

dow, Monday, 31 December 2012 16:19 (thirteen years ago)

I don't think so. Not sure Quine was a Material regular, either, but he was in the same orbit as Laswell. I know Quine and Maher did an album together called Basic.

Josh in Chicago, Monday, 31 December 2012 21:09 (thirteen years ago)

Those Manhattan bohos of the mid to late eighties all knew each other. Maher and Matthew Sweet played on Lloyd Cole's good 1990 eponymous record; he returned the favor by playing on Girlfriend.

He makes just one appearance on C&P '85 but he makes it count: a solo on "Don't Work That Hard"

the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 31 December 2012 21:17 (thirteen years ago)

Yeah I've got Basic, and I used to buy everything I could find w Quine in the credits. Haven't heard the first Cole, but got the second, Don't Get Weird On Me, Babe, with Quine-Sweet-Maher. He and Maher are always worth hearing, though he did do a lot of one-offs, like C&P 85. Consult your local yard sale.

dow, Monday, 31 December 2012 22:23 (thirteen years ago)


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