R.I.P., The Purple One.

MUSIC
An American hasn’t won the world’s most prestigious writing prize since 1993.
If you were born in October, you might share a birthday with one of your favorite historical figures—including six U.S. presidents.
The man who gave Looney Tunes their sound was an eccentric electronic music pioneer.
A Kickstarter is turning the only government-authorized alien playlist in history into a vinyl box set.
More than 50 years after its premiere on NBC—and subsequent cancellation following a measly two seasons—The Monkees are still a topic of never-ending fascination.
Dvořák was a bona fide trainspotter.
'Freddiemercury' is leaping through the sky 200 million miles from Earth.
Cash called the retreat “the center of my universe.”
The King of Pop once took some business advice from Paul McCartney—and used it to buy all of the Beatles song collection.
Doctors say a British man’s fatal lung infection was likely caused by daily use of his fungi-filled wind instrument.
Part of the album's appeal might just be a fire extinguisher and a pepper shaker.
Think of it as the birthplace of the 'Birth of Cool.'