Malcolm McLaren stole Adam's Ants (awarding them to this young vision) and replaced the Sex Pistols' competent bass player with a non-musician because he better fit their look. Life imitates art. In McLaren's case, he seems to have modeled himself on that creepy music agent guy in the "Johnny Bravo" episode of The Brady Bunch. If ever there was a musical style obsessed with image it was the anti-image image of punk. That so much of it is sonic rubbish is proof enough of this. McLaren was the svengali, or at least that's what he wanted everyone to believe, behind the Sex Pistols and the punk movement of the late 1970s. Do we first think of Brian Epstein when we think Beatles or Allen Klein when we think Rolling Stones? McLaren's skills as a promoter were so great that the manager rather than the band receives the accolades. Don't hate the player hate the game? McLaren died yesterday at 64.

Dan, do a You Tube search for Malcolm's "Madame Butterfly" video. It's quite good.