Image credit: California Curiosities
(PCM) Over the years there has always been some odd happenings in the music world, but we think this one really takes the cake! Many have heard of super producer Rick Rubin, but did you know that Rubin actually held a mock funeral, complete with casket and a grave site for the word “def”?
Rubin pulled this stunt after he learned that the word “def” had been accepted into the standardized dictionary in 1993. It was also when his company changed their name from Def American Recordings to just American Recordings. The funeral was a who’s who of the music industry and it was said that artists such as Tom Petty, Flea, Rosanna Arquette, David Gahan, Sir Mix-A-Lot and Trent Reznor were in attendance.
Rubin is said to have worn a floor-length black cassock, Ray-Ban sunglasses, a white Sikh turban, strands of red Hindu rudraksha beads and left a thick wake of incense aroma as he entered the chapel. The eulogy was given by none other than the Reverend Al Sharpton who was quoted as saying “def” meant, “more than excellent. Like, defiantly excellent with a bang. Now the bang is out of def. It lost its exclusivity to the in, defiant crowd. It died of terminal acceptance.”
The mock funeral didn’t just stop with a service, as they went on to have a full on burial for the word “def”. The coffin was filled with hats, albums, press releases and harmonicas along with other “def” memorabilia. According to the LA Times, “Beret-wearing Black Panthers stood guard with prop shotguns and AK-47s. After Sharpton’s eulogy, in a rare funeral appearance, the Amazing Kreskin did his mind-reading routine using Tom Petty and Rosanna Arquette. He also sent four mourners into spontaneous hypnotic trances.”
Definitely a bit of an odd scene and it just gets better from there! Mourners followed a 19th century horse-drawn hearse to the grave site where a brass band played out “Amazing Grace” in front of a simple granite tomb stone that simply read “DEF”! After that, there was an after-party at, where else, a bowling alley! Wonder if anyone scored a 300 game?
There you have it! The strange tale of the death of “def”!