above:
Charlie Nothing and the Big Ding
circa 1975
1954 Chevrolet redesigned
“I make my guitars out of American Cars”

from Clint Simonon of De Stijl Records:

“so sadly, i´m writing, that on oct 23rd at 930 pm in his soquel, california home, charlie nothing passed away.

“charlie was a monolith of life and creation, and it was not until wednesday that i realized i’d begun to think of him as this elemental entity, like wisdom, or experience, and certainly not something that would cease to be. you and i may have a watch, but charlie always had the time.

“i last saw charlie in the brussels airport, after finishing a short string of european dates with jakob olausson, charlie’s first time abroad. he was invigorated with the realization that there were new sets of young ears, eagerly interested in what he’d been creating for the past 40-plus years. It’s a sad and cruel twist that 40 years of the ding : a charlie nothing anthology will be released in posterus; he so excitedly anticipated its arrival.

“so, too late, but, soon, 40 years of the ding : a charlie nothing anthology, a collection comprised of charlie’s recordings for takoma, as well as a privately pressed LP, three singles, cuts from about a million privately released cassettes, and even a few tracks recorded while enjoying time spent in the venice county jail, with a nod / wink, it’s a project with the aspirational intent of answering the question, ‘who the fuck is charlie nothing?'”