I first met Tim when we had abutting shows on a college radio station--not the one you'd think--almost twenty years ago now. We ran into each other off and on in the intervening years, meeting mostly in the context of mutual friends or at Other Music's short-lived store in Cambridge.
Tim was found in his apartment on Friday, dead from an accidental prescription meds overdose. Already a natural teacher, he was a doctoral candidate in African American and African Studies at Michigan State, but even saying that only skims the surface of this gentle, sardonic, complex, and passionate soul. In his own words:
“Anything I say here will sound tired, lame and cliched: I’m a loving, caring, empathic person trying to survive in a culture dominated by free market, neo-liberal values, white supremacy, patriarchy and the loathsome cult of individualism. My ‘academic’ work is *never* unconnected to my passions, desires, and ambitions for radical social justice. Black Studies is a calling to me, as strong as some folks’ religious fervour, and without music, my life would be a mistake.” - Tim Haslett
You would have liked Tim. And you can meet him still, through the people and passions that filled his life. The cinetrix encourages you to visit a few links and download some of the music that has been put up in his memory. You could do worse than start with one of Tim's Hard Wired shows on WZBC, digitized and hosted here. Those in the Boston area have a few more options:
- Tune in: ZBC is hosting tribute programming all weekend, stretching into Monday night during Tim's old slot.
Join Flack & I & Brian Coleman & friends as we pay tribute to the too too soon departed local music man, Tim Haslett, “one of the unsung heroes of the Boston scene,” former buyer for Other Music’s Hahvid Sq branch, Twisted Villager, true champion of underground music, rap-techno-electro lover (oh and house too), and black cultural nationalist. An intellectual and a gentle man. Who’s gonna be missed.
Monday night, March 24, 9pm-1am, music in the spirit of Tim.
If you’re a local DJ type who knew him, come on out and bring a few rekkids Tim woulda liked.
Beat Research
Mondays at the Enormous Room with residents DJ Flack and Wayne and Wax
567 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA
9pm to 1am, 21 plus, Free
As the man himself would say, it'll be a scorcher.
