Seth Putnam, the 43-year-old founder of long-running shock-rock grindcore band Anal Cunt, died yesterday of a heart attack.
Kim Kelly, Anal Cunt's PR rep, released a statement via Tumblr, that eulogized the notorious vocalist and preemptively defended the often instigative and offensive Putnam from critics who might enthusiastically cry, "Good riddance!"
As the name of his band might suggest, Seth Putnam was a raunchy, vuglar asshole, and a flagrant addict to boot. For more on the death of the man who was Anal Cunt, check the jump.
The Anal Cunt legacy is dark and embarrassing, so it's incredible that anyone would willingly manage Seth Putnam's Public Relations. Evidently, Kim Kelly is the woman with enough fortitude and patience to take on the role of babysitting one of punk and metal's biggest shitheads. As such, Kelly had the official word on Putnam's death:
Yes, it's true. Seth Putnam, one of the most infamous musicians that extreme metal has ever seen, the grindcore GG Allin, has passed away due to a heart attack. I handled all the promotion for Anal Cunt's last album, Fuckin' A, and Seth was always happy to oblige any request I sent his way. The band had been working on a new album before his passing, so chances are his musical career's epitaph has yet to be inscribed.
I want to remind everyone that no matter how outrageous and controversial his musical career has been, Seth was still a human being with friends and family that loved him. I'm hoping that the internet will remember that. This is a very sad and trying time for those that knew him, and the last thing they need to see is an outpouring of messageboard hate. The man lived and died by his own rules; if anything, respect him for that.
If Kelly had learned anything by scrubbing Seth Putnam's smeared shit off the walls, she'd realize that an internet-led celebration is inescapable for a man who made his name and living writing songs titled, "Your Kid Committed Suicide Because You Suck" and "You Quit Doing Heroin, You Pussy."
Since 1988, Anal Cunt were an open sore on the crusty lips of aggressive, macho, and extreme rock music. Originally a flippant noise-grind improv group, the band slowly evolved into a more straightforward punk-tinged grindcore sound with a great emphasis placed on Putnam's outrageously offensive lyrics and stage show. Over time, Anal Cunt ventured into straight-up parody, like on 1998's Picnic of Love which featured sensitive, soft rock compositions in a distinctly un-Anal Cunt style, and goof tracks like "I Just Saw The Gayest Guy On Earth" and "Hitler Was A Sensitive Man."
Putnam was still blaring at full speed when New Times interviewed him at Churchill's Pub in 2007. After openly snorting cocaine, the frontman was carried to the stage where he collapsed and then performed a set filled with heckling and lunged beer.
With Putnam's open, self-righteous history of abuse, Crossfade can't help but wonder about the details surrounding his heart attack.
Follow Crossfade on Facebook and Twitter @Crossfade_SFL.
