Feb 3, 2023
RIP Yukihiro Takahashi
This one is a little late. But here's a guy who was the vocalist and drummer of the legendary Yellow Magic Orchestra, and then — like his other two bandmates — went on to an almost equally-legendary solo discography. Like Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and Robert Fripp, Takahashi is a big inspiration on everything I do that involves "songs" or "musicality." He never strayed away from pop or accessibility, but always kept it a little left-of-center.
Here's an insanely 80s video for the title track of my favorite of his, Murdered By The Music.