Negativland reports on Facebook that Ian Allen, one of their earlier members, died recently due to complications following heart surgery. Ian was 57 years young, and was instrumental in getting the band to work on their first concept album A Big 10-8 Place, which paved the way for pretty much everything else the band did after that.
Back in the early 1990s when Negativland were releasing all their back catalog on CD, I distinctly remember getting the CD version of 10-8 Place from the record store nearby my college's radio station, and then running excitedly back to the studio to listen to it. I couldn't even wait till I got home to listen to it; it had to be listened to RIGHT AWAY. So today I will mourn Ian by listening to that album.