
It’s easy to make jokes about the premature -- if sadly somewhat predictable -- death of
Amy Winehouse, who died today, of officially unknown causes, at the age of 27. It’s almost harder to
avoid the jokes. After all, the talented but troubled British soul singer-songwriter preemptively provided us with plenty of fodder, her smash hit
“Rehab”; not the least of it. Regardless of how far off everyone could see this tragedy coming, Winehouse’s story is not only a far too familiar example of the heartbreak that inevitably comes with addiction, but also an incredible loss for popular music.