Scott Miller (Game Theory & Loud Family) 1960-2013

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This has been an unfortunate day for American music and not just because an Elvis impersonator was arrested for sending ricin-contaminated letters to US Senators and the President.

A couple of hours ago it was announced that Scott Miller - there are quite a few SM's in music, but this was the one who led Game Theory, then the Loud Family (on whose site the news came) - had died, just a few days after his 53rd birthday.  Miller came pretty close to major stardom with Game Theory in the late '80s and was a heavy critics' darling at the time, but, as was the case with Tommy Keene (an artist whose work has a certain kinship to his), it just didn't happen.  In the '90s, with the Loud Family, he put out a number of records that, again, got a lot of enthusiastic reviews and maintained his cult status. But he was always just outside the "hot" trends, so he didn't reach a larger audience. In the last year or so he was reported to be working on new material.

One of a kind as a lyricist, highly gifted and melodic composer, author of a interesting and pretty idiosyncratic volume of what could loosely be called "rock criticism" - he'll be missed.