Grant McLennan of the great Go-Betweens has died at 48.

It seems a strange testament to me, but perhaps the aspect of the Go-Betweens that strikes me as most remarkable is that they were a band that I loved and loved dearly but loved quietly. Whenever I would play one of those stupid desert island games and would think of what music I would take, I'd never think of them though they were always in the CD case if not in the CD player. I've no doubt that I've listened more often to the Go-Betweens than just about any other band, and their most famous song, "Streets of Your Town," so strongly evokes memories of a particular time in my life that I have to make sure to compose myself if others are around.

They were making new music, and 2005's *Oceans Apart* was one of that year's best. Here is a link to that album's single (and my least favorite song on the album, alas) "Here Comes the City." Yep Roc Records has a few live Go-Between cuts here. Pitchfork has an obit and song here.

Maybe there's finished new stuff in the can, but the thought that there will not be any more Go-Betweens music is amazingly, mufflingly, gray.