MEET THE NEW DRUG; SAME AS THE OLD DRUG

Natural causes were cited last month when John Entwistle, bassist for the
rock band The Who, was found dead in his Las Vegas hotel room.

Despite recognizing the personal tragedy of his death at the relatively
young age of 57, music fans may have been tempted to breathe a sigh of
relief: At least it wasn't another drug-related death.

But not so fast. The Clark County coroner announced Thursday that
Entwistle's fatal heart attack was brought on by a "significant" amount of
cocaine in his system. The presence of cocaine, which restricted
Entwistle's blood vessels, proved fatal when joined with an existing heart
condition.

So it is that Entwistle's name is added to the roster of rock stars whose
lives were claimed before their time by drugs. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin
and Entwistle's own band mate, drummer extraordinaire Keith Moon, are among
the best known. But the list of lesser-known rock artists to die of a drug
overdose is much longer. And the list of those who've survived but
devastated their lives with drug use? Much longer still.

Drug use and the drug culture continue to mar rock as they have for
decades. For all of its vitality and power as an artistic and cultural
force, rock has long lived under the shadow cast by drugs. It is a tragic
pairing that neither passing years nor growing wisdom seem able to break -
to the detriment of those who play and those who listen.