This past week brought news of tragic losses in the world of music. December 4th saw the still unexplained death of southern hip-hip pioneer and rapper Pimp C of UGK while December 5th marked the death of pioneering electronic musician and composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, due to heart failure. The latter's influence on all forms of electronic music and sound art is immeasurable. By pushing the limits of harmonic forms, duration, timbre, and athematic compisition, he transformed the sonic landscape well beyond composition. The German composer was born in 1928 near Cologne and by his late twenties he had already begun his trajectory from experimental composition to musique concrete and electronic tape music. His creativity and sonic innovation were championed in post-war Germany and his students included Cornelius Cardew, Holger Czukay, and La Monte Young, to name but a few. His influence continues to resonate, and artists as diverse as Kraftwerk, CAN, and Miles Davis cite him as touchstones. While his passing is tragic, like the late John Cage, he opened up a world of sonic possibility. - David Michael Perez