LD Beghtol

LD Beghtol
Beghtol in 2009. Photo: Holly McDade.
Beghtol in 2009. Photo: Holly McDade.
Background information
Occupation(s)Composer/producer, art director/graphic designer, writer
Instrumentsvoice, ukulele, baritone ukulele, tenor guitar, Marxophone, Stylophone, keyboards, exotic percussion
Years active1997–2020

LD Beghtol (13 December 1964 – 2020[1][2]), also known as "Uncle LD", was an American musician, art director and writer. He was best known for participating in The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs and writing the illustrated companion book 69 Love Songs, A Field Guide[3] for the 33 1/3 book series.

Beghtol was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was a founding member of the band Flare—aka Flare Acoustic Arts League[4]—and the death-pop outfit LD & the New Criticism, and was also in the collective, Moth Wranglers.[5]

In 2012 Beghtol formed LD&CO, with Scott Sosebee (Little Red Rocket) and others to record and play live; their debut single "Morgantown" was mixed by Kramer, but remains unreleased. The band's experimental 5-songs-in-5 minutes EP, The Just-World Phenomenon was released by Silber in 2015. A full-length album, Mental Health Styling is scheduled for a future release, again in collaboration with Kramer. Additionally, he has partnered with Mark Bishop's San Francisco-based atmospheric synth project Bronze Eye for a series of audio miniatures entitled Adventures in Love & Culture—the first of which was released in May 2016 on Silber, as well as many collaborations and guest appearances as a vocalist, instrumentalist, and arranger/producer.

Beghtol served as designer/art director for The Village Voice,[6] Travel Holiday, Outdoor Life, and other publications; since 2010 he worked in pharmaceutical advertising for industry leaders CDM, Area 23, and the BGB Group.

He is also known for his writing about popular culture for Time Out,[7] Memphis Flyer, The Advocate, The Oxford American,[8] and Gail O'Hara's fanzine chickfactor.

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (2020-12-08). "The Magnetic Fields Contributor LD Beghtol Dead At 56". Stereogum. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  2. ^ @TheMagFields (8 December 2020). "It is with great sadness that we learned yesterday that our bandmate and friend LD Beghtol has passed away" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Beghtol, LD (2006-11-03). "The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs". Bloomsbury Publishing. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  4. ^ Moyer, Matthew (2009-09-24). "Flare Acoustic Arts League Cut | Affairs of the Heart". Ink19. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  5. ^ "Kings Of The Boudoir". The Fader. 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  6. ^ Beghtol, LD (2008-01-08). "Resident Alien Klaus Nomi is Back From Outer Space—25 Years After His Death—With a Wondrous New Disc". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  7. ^ Beghtol, LD (2002-11-14). "Wild Flowers | Freak-cabaret trio the Tiger Lillies return with a fresh bouquet of psycho ballads and fetid ditties". Time Out. No. 372. Archived from the original on 2002-12-23. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  8. ^ Beghtol, LD (2012-09-11). "Articles by LD Beghtol". Oxford American. Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2023-07-19.