:http://cdn.scratchrecords.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=11017&CFID=594104&CFTOKEN=52977On the weekend, I was talking to "Nathan and Caila":/Shapes_and_Sizes about a rumour they'd heard that Dave Wanger had been killed in some kind of car crash, maybe hit by a car, in Montreal. None of us knew how to confirm this, and I don't think I'm the only one who felt a bit weird about wanting to know, because none of us really knew the guy and mostly recognize him from shows, and by many accounts he was kind of a dick. It's pretty normal to care about a guy you used to see around in your town, but it gets weird when that guy sometimes "gets called a Godhead":http://goldkicks.blogspot.com/2005/07/daddys-hands-again.html, a major "songwriting influence":http://goldkicks.blogspot.com/2004_12_01_goldkicks_archive.html on "Frog Eyes":/music/Frog_Eyes, "Wolf Parade":/music/Wolf_Parade, Atlas Strategic, Sunset Rubdown, etc. It made me want to tread carefully, in order to avoid looking exploitative or like a groupie, so instead of doing something normal like calling a person who knew Wanger better, I ended up Googling for mentions of Dave Wanger on mySpace.I turned up this "R.I.P. Dave Wanger?":http://chinablogs.livejournal.com/2772.html entry, which I actually really liked. He was hit by a car and killed on November 22. I'm not the only one who feels weird for taking note.This reminds me of when Elliot Smith died. My friend emailed me the news while I was away travelling, and I felt the same kind of conflict between wanting to care because I respected the guy's music and wished him well, and then wanting to stay detached, to not make too much of celebrity, or pretend I had a special bond with someone I only knew through songs and shows. I don't want to act like Dave Wanger was a mega-celebrity either; but that only makes it more touchy, since unknowns are even more impressive to indie kids. Ah, the modern age.I suppose all that's left is to link to some music. Hive Studios in Vancouver has some old, "unreleased Daddy's Hands tracks":http://www.hivestudios.net/audio.php#unreleased from 1998, where you can hear the Victoria swamp-rock thing in full effect.bq. - "dilban straddles flab, by Daddy's Hands":http://www.hivestudios.net/Unreleased/Daddys_Hands/dilban_straddles_flab.mp3bq. - "Incest at Best (Daddy's Hands cover), by Tam":http://www.mp3.com/stories/5289.html (click the "play single" button)I think there's a new album by the reformed version of Daddy's Hands in the can somewhere, waiting to be put out. More rumours: it's supposed to be awesome. I hope someone actually releases it.