SEVENTEEN YEARS GONE

The grave of GG Allin: more pilgrimage-worthy than Mecca?

Today is the seventeenth anniversary of the loss of one of our fair nation's great troubadours and social commentators. Yes, it seems like only yesterday when GG Allin — born Jesus Christ Allin, later changed to Kevin by his mother — was unceremoniously plucked from this mortal coil to lend his singular musical stylings to the Choir Invisible, although I doubt he was granted admission through the Pearly Gates thanks to certain aspects of his general philosophy and behavior. Nonetheless, we are without his dulcet tones and lyrics that would have made Harold Arlen tear out hunks of his hair in a fit of raw jealousy. Never again shall we experience such rich and deeply moving works of the musical arts as "Expose Yourself to Kids," "I Wanna Piss on You" and of course the timeless and beatific song to Ethiopia, "Kill the Children, Save the Food." Such odes as "Fucking the Dog," "Abuse Myself I Wanna Die," "Bloody Mary's Bloody Cunt" and the cautionary "Needle Up My Cock" are now left as fodder for cover artists and would-be suburban iconoclasts, never more to be shouted to the heavens by the man who exposed his soul (and other things) through his body of work.

So rest well, o contentious GG. Your loss is mourned and may you have found a place in Valhalla where your philosophy of "drink, fight and fuck" would most certainly be embraced.

The corpse of Jesus Christ "GG" Allin, thoughtfully defaced by family, friends and fans.