The news is old already, but The Typing Monkey would be fools to not acknowledge the death of Ari Up, especially given this.
So many lesser musicians owe a major debt to Up's methodical envelope pushing. Is there a better way to dismantle expectations than to just get inside the machine without asking permission? No there isn't. No manifestos or drawing attention to the fact that she was a woman making post-punk weirdo reggae/dub/pop. Up just did it.
The AV Club's obit sums her up well. We shall now retire to the lounge and listen to The Slits magnificent version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."
[As longtime Typing Monkey associate Kevan says: This news bums me the fuck out. -- ed.]
