#john osterlind

[greensparty]

Remembering Jeremiah Green, Anita Pointer and John Osterlind / Rebecca Pratt

Well 2023 just began and news has come in that we actually lost two musicians and a radio personality at the very end of 2022. Here is my combined remembrance:

Remembering Jeremiah Green 1977-2022

Green’s Party salutes drummer Jeremiah Green 

Modest Mouse drummer and co-founder Jeremiah Green has died at 45. The WA indie-rockers had some cool tunes and albums. He was in the band from 1993 to 2022, but took a short break from 2003-04, which happened to be their breakthrough year with Good News for People Who Love Bad News (great title) and hits like “Float On”. They came up at around the time of indie rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Death Cab for Cutie were breaking into the mainstream in the early-mid 00s, which was exciting to see.

The link above is the obit from Rolling Stone.

Remembering Anita Pointer 1948-2022

The Pointer Sisters’ Break Out album from 1983

Singer Anita Pointer of The Pointer Sisters, the vocal group she co-founded with her sisters, has died at 74. They were one of the great pop R&B vocal groups of the 70s and 80s. My earliest exposure to them was the “Pinball Number Count” on Sesame Street. Still a cool sing-along song. They, then, had a string of hits including “Fire” (a Bruce Springsteen cover), “He’s so Shy”, “I’m So Excited” (made legendary by the famous episode of Saved by the Bell where Jesse melts down singing it), “Automatic”, “Jump (for my Love)” (released the same year as Van Halen’s “Jump” but wildly different), “Neutron Dance” from Beverly Hills Cop, and “Dare Me”, many of these I was exposed to on MTV and V66 when I was learning about music at a young age. They also took part in USA for Africa’s “We are the World”. They also did a fun cover of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” on A Very Special Christmas album. 

On July 4, 1995, I went with a group of friends to the Boston Pops 4th of July at the Hatch Shell in Boston. There were too many people and we had to leave since there was nowhere to sit or stand, but off in the distance I was able to hear The Pointer Sisters performing a medley with the Pops.

The link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.

Remembering John Osterlind / Rebecca Pratt 1967-2022

Osterlind with WAAF in the mid 90s

[UPDATED 1/4/23] Radio personality formerly known as John Osterlind has died at 55. From 1992 to 2001 they were a DJ on WAAF-FM in Boston. In April 1995, I saw Slash’s Snakepit in concert at Axis in Boston and they hosted the show. I talked to them for a few minutes and was very cool. After 2001 they left WAAF and in 2003 left Boston for New Orleans. 

Since my initial post, several obits have now brought to my attention that in the last few years, John transitioned to Rebecca Pratt. Story updated accordingly.

The link above is the obit from Audacy.