Over the weekend, Hunter S Thompson passed away at age 67, the victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. While Thompsons writing rarely reflected on music, his prose style, in particular a penchant for excess that limned his personal life remains influential (for better and worse, as there are many wanna-Gonzos and only one good Dr. Thompson). Most of our readers are likely familiar with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which remains sharp and revelatory more than thirty years later (its reproof of the nation’s superficial trappings remains vital and uniquely American in a Holden Caulfield-on-ether-kind-of-way). Still, it was within the political scrum where Thompson thrived and his observations were similarly incisive and trenchant (re-read Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail in 72). Plus, hey, he was able to regualrly express righteous indignation at Garry Trudeau for his cariacature in Doonesbury, no small feat.
Our own Jesse Jarnow wrote the Relix cover story on Hunter S. Thompson for the April/May 2003 issue (and an except now appears on Relix.com).