Fuck.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=100353229
One of his final interviews. IMO, you can see that his health is pretty bad, he breathes heavily and looks way older than he is.
This interview is depressive as fuck. Don’t watch it if you don’t wanna get bummed out…
Yikes! His real surname was Ratajczyk. Same as my wife’s maiden name.
Now there’s a name you don’t hear very often. I wonder if they were related somehow. Ratajczyk is Polish for “Ploughman”.
No, its not.
Its old Polish for “mentor”.
No, its not.
Its old Polish for “mentor”.
The genealogy research my wife’s family has done says that is a diminutive of ‘rataj’ which supposedly means ploughman. If this is incorrect, I’m sure they’ll be happier to know it means ‘mentor’.
This is some pretty sucky news, especially if coke was the cause of death. I havent really listened to typo in about 4 years, partly cause chicks kinda ruined their music for me. I know thats a very weak reason not to like or listen to a band but its the truth. However, I still think October Rust is a masterpiece with such classics as Love You To Deth, Of Wolf Moon, Red Water and their version of Cinnimon Girl. Bloody Kisses also had some funny stuff. Last songs I can recall hearing from them were from Life Is Killing Me, namely I Dont Wanna Be Me, The Dream Is Dead and I Like Goils. I almost wanna dig up any Typo I have left. I still got Bloody Kisses somewhere. I just hope it doesnt remind me of why I stopped listening to them.
RIP Pete
[reply]No, its not.
Its old Polish for “mentor”.
The genealogy research my wife’s family has done says that is a diminutive of ‘rataj’ which supposedly means ploughman. If this is incorrect, I’m sure they’ll be happier to know it means ‘mentor’.[/reply]
Rataj simply means ‘peasant’ but anyone who had it as a surname must have been some kind of chief since people were referred to by their function. Therefore, a blacksmith would have the surname Kowal and a person famous for his apples might have the surname Jab³ko. Ordinary peasants simply didnt have surnames since they were all seen as disposable by the nobility.
The confusion comes from the fact that the distant root of the word ‘rataj’ seems to be ‘artojis’, which in Latin means to plough. This means it is not a Polish word and that it was borrowed by Polish people sometime around medieval times and its meaning was made more general. Perhaps the word burger might be a good analogy. In German it means citizen or town dweller but in English it most commonly means a type of sandwich. Similarly, rataj might come from the Latin word “to plough” but has a different, wider meaning of “peasant”, “chief” or “mentor” in Polish.
More likely than not, your wife’s ancestor was some kind of peasant chief.
I think he looks more vulnerable than anything else in that vid. He doesn’t look good but then again considering everything he could have been worse. Though he was probably looking a lot worse recently as his heart was on the way out. He still retained his humour but I was pissed off with that interviewer, he was dickhead who was so completely awkward he’d make anyone feel uncomfortable. I mention the vulnerability thing as he had a kind of youthful nervousness that as a wild drinking rock star you can compensate for it but if you kick the habits and you’re left dealing with the same people you can’t get away with being a dick as much as the whole guilt thing kicking in as well. His family turned against him as he mentioned a few years ago so he may have been on his own so to speak, makes more sense in light of his born again Christian thing.
I don’t like feeling sorry for people but I do a bit for Pete as he seemed a genuine guy underneath it all. I listened to October Rust last night and it’s still amazing. When I started getting into music one of the first albums I touched upon was OR. It was a great time, I can remember it vividly. It’s the longest serving album in my catalogue that I still love today.
Peter Steele was the real deal.
Most metal guys (or rappers) talk tough, but Pete actually did time in prison and in a mental hospital.
And the ladies loved him.
Now I was never a fan of their music, and only saw them open for Pantera. Anyways… according to their official site there is a statement saying:
“and eventually creating one of the most influential albums of all time.”
Which of their albums would that be? I’d be interested to hear it.
Now I was never a fan of their music, and only saw them open for Pantera. Anyways… according to their official site there is a statement saying:
“and eventually creating one of the most influential albums of all time.”
Which of their albums would that be? I’d be interested to hear it.
They are probably referring to Bloody Kisses.
A hugely overrated album with most of their hits.
The confusion comes from the fact that the distant root of the word ‘rataj’ seems to be ‘artojis’, which in Latin means to plough. This means it is not a Polish word and that it was borrowed by Polish people sometime around medieval times and its meaning was made more general. Perhaps the word burger might be a good analogy. In German it means citizen or town dweller but in English it most commonly means a type of sandwich. Similarly, rataj might come from the Latin word “to plough” but has a different, wider meaning of “peasant”, “chief” or “mentor” in Polish.
More likely than not, your wife’s ancestor was some kind of peasant chief.
Fascinating stuff. Two of my favorite pastimes are genealogy and word etymology. I appreciate your input. Didn’t know until recently that my paternal lineage was Williams and not Roberts and that my Williams heritage in America dates back to the 1630’s. BTW, my father’s mother is the daughter of 2 Polish immigrants who came to America in the early 20th century. Thx again.
Sucks. I would recommend Bloody Kisses to anyone, even though I haven’t listened to it in about seven years. Too Late… Frozen! RIP.
This is some pretty sucky news, especially if coke was the cause of death. I havent really listened to typo in about 4 years, partly cause chicks kinda ruined their music for me. I know thats a very weak reason not to like or listen to a band but its the truth. However, I still think October Rust is a masterpiece with such classics as Love You To Deth, Of Wolf Moon, Red Water and their version of Cinnimon Girl. Bloody Kisses also had some funny stuff. Last songs I can recall hearing from them were from Life Is Killing Me, namely I Dont Wanna Be Me, The Dream Is Dead and I Like Goils. I almost wanna dig up any Typo I have left. I still got Bloody Kisses somewhere. I just hope it doesnt remind me of why I stopped listening to them.
RIP Pete
Chicks that dig Type O are usually really terrible chicks, I’ll give you that. And past relationships are a totally justifiable reason to not like a band anymore or at all. (I fucking HATE Regina Spektor.)
I’m gonna miss the guy. So hard.
[:(]
Aint that the truth. I can remember putting on Love You To Deth on a mix for this one chick I was into after high school got out. I put the song on there largely due to Peter repeating “Am I good enough for you?”
Coming up to his anniversary, here is Pete as a wee lad: 
Terrible,terrible loss…just listened to World Coming Down this weekend…
Just saw a message from Duff’s in Brooklyn that the yearly remembrance will be this weekend… Saturday night. That was one of Peter’s favorite haunts… and an awesome, awesome metal bar.
Coming up to his anniversary, here is Pete as a wee lad:
Damn, he definitely was a late bloomer but bloom he did!
Late,
grmpysmrf