Low: Classic or classic?

This is so sad. Just devastating.

Low is the greatest Minnesota band, but they can only be understood as a Duluth band. The North Shore of Lake Superior is such a powerful and beautiful place, if you've ever been there in late fall or winter you can't stare out at the vast, grey, forbidding lake and not feel the weight of geologic time and be in awe. Duluth in winter can feel like the last outpost at the end of the world. The band was part of that place and that place was a part of the band.

Also, they stayed. But not like Prince, holed up in Paisley Park, but -- unlike most Minnesota music legends save Grant Hart -- they were among us. They played so many small, local shows, benefits, etc. Alan was much more visible than Mimi, but I put that down to their personalities. But as legendary as they were, they felt like a part of *our scene*, not above it.

The last time I saw them was at the Square Lake Festival. It's a small festival, my friend puts it on at his father's farm northwest of the Twin Cities. The stage stands next to an old-fashioned windmill. It always been a close-knit, DIY festival, only a couple hundred people. But despite the fact they could have played much bigger venues for the Hey What release show, they chose to do it there.

It was a beautiful fall evening, just a touch of chill in the air. During the quiet parts, you could hear the breeze through the trees in the grove that surrounded the farmstead. Throughout the show, the sounds of geese honking as they flew south over the farm would drift in and out of the mix. It was one of the the greatest shows I ever saw, and the most perfect Low show - the band as part of the natural world, of Minnesota.

I envy you. But I appreciate that ultimately it was a show for those who were truly there, always.

<3 amazing post ums

bless you ums

thanks so much for that ums

omg

wow beautiful post, ums

Carrie Brownstein, from the Sleater-Kinney FB:

We are devastated to hear about the passing of Mimi Parker from @lowtheband. I first saw Low play in 1997, on September 26th, backstage at the Capitol Theater in Olympia, Wash. At midnight, I turned 23, right as they were playing my favorite song of theirs at the time, “Venus,” a 7” single I’d listened to on repeat for days on end. My friend turned to me and mouthed, “Happy Birthday.” It remains one of my favorite birthdays ever, and hearing Low play is one of the best gifts I’ve ever received, because like love it is a gift that has never left me. Earlier this year, Corin and I stood side stage at a festival in Minneapolis and watched Low perform, playing songs off their most recent album, which is among their best. We stood in awe of Mimi’s voice and her drumming, and the soft power of her presence. Afterwards, we caught up with her and Alan, laughing about the years in music we’ve all put in; we talked about aging, parenthood, and of course, effects pedals. You know, all the important stuff. We are grateful for every note Mimi sang and played, notes that changed our lives, and we’re thankful for Low’s music, which will eternally be singular, stunning , staggering. Sending love to Alan, their children, past and present bandmates, family, friends, and fans. We count ourselves among the latter. Forever.

Low covered "Dance Song '97" on the Dig Me Out tribute issued last month.

ums nails it, they felt 'of' us. my childhood home was less than a mile away from the square lake show ums mentions. so a special show imbued with even more meaning to me now. it was a little easy to take them for granted here given their ubiquity and approachability. a real mistake given how much regard and love they're getting today

thanks ums—

Beautiful post.

I don’t have the proximity, nor did I know them beyond promoting a couple of their shows in AZ circa 99/00. But I still feel a closeness to them that I don’t necessarily feel with others.

Unlike other long-loved bands it’s not simply a matter of saying that I grew up with them—I was 17 when I first heard them, I’m 45 now. But also, they grew up with me. As a fan I remember learning about the birth of Hollis—they put her on Songs for a Dead Pilot and sang about her on Things We Lost in the Fire. Knowing their kids are grown (but not grown enough to lose their mom), is a testament to how amazing Low were are inviting you into their intimacy. And also why this is so heartbreaking.

Low have a lot of songs about parenthood, and motherhood in particular. They were writing them well before they had kids and many are some of their most brutal songs. As I’ve grown in my own life those are some of the songs that have stuck with me the most. Their meaning has mutated as I’ve had my own kids and also watched from afar as Low built their own family.

I’ve also talked in this thread before about the way so much of C’mon hits me. If you take it as the aftermath of everything laid out in the “Murderer” documentary, then a lot of Mimi’s songs read like documents of loyalty and hope—lifelines to her husband when he was in a dark place. That album really sticks with me.

The real trick of Low—the thing that sets them apart from every other band who has tried to exist within the genre they helped to create—was that Alan and Mimi had a closeness that could not be replicated by others. Every mundane detail of their whole lives was imbued in their songs. All the unsaid experiences and feelings that lay under their words and music elevated their songs to a profound level. This was the magical ingredient, their lifelong love and shared moments going all the way back to their childhoods—that freed them from every aesthetic constraint they applied to their music. The beauty of low was not their pace or their volume but their beauty and their deep understanding of each other. It transcends everything.

RIP. I have no words right now. Totally gutted.

i knew when i saw all the posts but hoped i was wrong...

the worst news. devastated.

Such terrible news, I hadn't heard about her diagnosis. What a voice and a presence on stage. RIP.

Ah shit no. Thanks for your post UMS. What a band.

Such incredibly sad news, <3 to you all. I was never really a full-on fan, but I cherish the albums I cherish and admired the fearlessness of how they moved in whatever direction they wanted. The thing I always loved most about them was hearing their voices together—I'm listening to "Two Step" right now and it's devastating

I was talking with my husband about it— they really changed the direction of my life. I saw them on my 18th birthday when I was visiting the college I ended up going to, and I still remember just being absolutely blown away by their music. They were one of the reasons I made the decision I did re: school, if I’m being honest— I’d never heard anything like them before, and I figured if they were playing there, then a lot of other amazing music was coming through, too, probably.

So many memories: of listening to “Trust” on headphones while riding miles and miles through cornfields on my bicycle. Being depressed and high on painkillers and blasting “Curtain Hits the Cast” on repeat. Driving around on snowy days listening to all the rarities. Seeing them on this past tour in March and breaking into tears when they started “Two-Step.”

My favorite band, always.

Nothing to add to the great posts by ums and pgwp, Low have always been one of those rare bands who avoided the traditional descent into creative obsolescence. I saw them in the mid-90s supporting Come in London at a shitty rock dive venue, the more the audience talked over them the quieter they played, which was a victory of sorts. RIP Mimi and good thoughts to everyone who knew them and/or their music.

This is devastating news :(

:(((

Alan once said Mimi singing his words was like breathing life into a corpse, which is a bit of an unfortunate turn of phrase at this point but I think speaks for how much she brought to their creative partnership. An unimaginable loss.

I've met alan a number of times and played a few shows with him/retribution gospel choir, he's a sweetheart and I hope he will be ok through all of this.

Heartbreaking news, i had no idea Mimi was sick and find that hard to reconcile with the incredibly beautiful, intense and just plain long show i saw them play in Brighton just six months ago. They had then, as ever, the most magical, haunting chemistry.

I've met alan a number of times and played a few shows with him/retribution gospel choir, he's a sweetheart and I hope he will be ok through all of this.

Awful news. What a legacy she created, right up to the very end.

it wasn't hard to see this coming but i really hoped it wouldn't, absolutely devastating news

they were really as good as bands get, a nearly-unmatched creative output and it feels especially tragic when they were still reaching new peaks. mimi's presence was incomparable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Enxzh-O9Y

all the love in the world to alan

yes, if hugs over the internet worked I would send them

This one hurts

Shocking to hear this, even though I feared it was coming. A devastating loss, RIP

Spent the day listening through the Low discography while raking leaves and trying to keep it together

The genius of Alan and Mimi’s partnership can’t really be overstated

My personal connection with this music aside this is just an enormous loss for music as a whole

Thanks ums and pgwp and table for your posts today

Truly gutted

Brutally tragic. A band and musician who expanded how I think about music.

pgwp's great post made something occur to me, even early, and even that they were only slightly older than the kids in the audience, they always seemed like a band of adults

Yeah, there's a truth there. Realizing they were only a couple of years older than me seems a bit weird to think about when it came to the night they crashed at my place as I mention above. I didn't think they were massively older, but there was a gentle gravitas.

Alan once said Mimi singing his words was like breathing life into a corpse, which is a bit of an unfortunate turn of phrase at this point but I think speaks for how much she brought to their creative partnership. An unimaginable loss.

― "Spaghetti" Thompson (Pheeel), Sunday, 6 November 2022 20:05 (yesterday) link

her vocals were the angelic balance to their songs. devastated for the family's loss.

recommend the Optimimi version of "Hatchet" for some sweetness.

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

"we'll call it starfire, who will know?"

</3

The real trick of Low—the thing that sets them apart from every other band who has tried to exist within the genre they helped to create—was that Alan and Mimi had a closeness that could not be replicated by others. Every mundane detail of their whole lives was imbued in their songs. All the unsaid experiences and feelings that lay under their words and music elevated their songs to a profound level. This was the magical ingredient, their lifelong love and shared moments going all the way back to their childhoods—that freed them from every aesthetic constraint they applied to their music. The beauty of low was not their pace or their volume but their beauty and their deep understanding of each other. It transcends everything.

― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Sunday, 6 November 2022 18:43 (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

otm

Presumably Low cannot now continue in any form but I hope Sparhawk finds it within himself to make new music one day. How did their collaboration as songwriters work? The credits just read Low, but who tended to write most of the lyrics and music?

Alan's had a few side-projects, so I imagine he will/must keep working. But I can't imagine him ever revisiting Low again. Which is incredible to even think about.

He's been doing his Tired Eyes Neil Young tribute band, well it's more Rich Mattson's (a local guy from the Glenrustles) band but they do it together

I actually have a ticket to see Derecho, the band he's been doing with a couple local musicians and his son Cyrus, on December 1. I expect it probably won't happen but who knows? It's more of a funky, danceable thing, very 70s r&b

feels like Black Eyed Snakes never really breaks up just comes and goes, I know they did some shows a couple summers ago

don't know the status of Retribution Gospel Choir but that felt way less casual than the others and I wonder if that's just done

He was also in a Velvet Underground tribute band at some point in the not-too-distant past.

I was reading an interview someone clipped on twitter yesterday which basically said Mimi helped Alan rein it in and not go too far overboard. I do think we will still continue to get great music from him and at the same time it will never approximate Low again.

Tragic, awful news. Ugh.

Audio's a little muddy here, but nice tribute from Robert Plant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SawQl67koxo

i love plant and krauss's versions of those two low songs, lovely. plant is such a class act, someone who just really loves music.

You know you've made an incredible impact when Robert Plant pauses the show to pay tribute to you.

i really wish i had gone to that robert plant show, which was about a minute's walk from my house, but sadly my finger is patently very off the plant pulse as i didn't know it was on.

have been listening to low all day.

You know you've made an incredible impact when Robert Plant pauses the show to pay tribute to you.

― Josh in Chicago, Monday, November 7, 2022 10:16 AM (thirteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

was thinking the same thing
Plant is definitely the coolest of the old classic rock dudes

Friends. Your love is perfect and overwhelming. Spread it. Thank you.

Funeral will be this Thursday likely at 1 pm at the LDS church in Duluth. All are welcome and we indeed invite you.

Peace and love. Equal rights and justice, too, but peace and love through and through.

— LOW (@lowtheband) November 7, 2022