Posthumous albums are creepy. Does anyone disagree with that? While releasing unheard material is occasionally awesome, that whole "Oh we're having a duet! TWENTY FIVE YEARS AFTER YOU WERE SHOT IN FACE!" will never stop being weird.
Here are ten posthumous albums and our assessment of their level of creepiness:
Aaliyah
Drake is producing an album of unreleased Aaliyah tracks, apparently without the involvement of Aaliyah's buddies Timbaland and Missy Elliott, or the approval of her family.
CREEPY/NOT CREEPY: CREEPY.
Tupac
SEVEN ALBUMS. SEVEN TUPAC ALBUMS WERE RELEASED AFTER HE DIED. Who was making money off them? IT BETTER NOT BE YOU SUGE!
CREEPY/ NOT CREEPY: CREEPY.
Michael Jackson
In 2010, MJ's estate released previously unheard matierial. Lenny Kravitz was on it. It seemed to make people happy.
CREEPY/NOT CREEPY: NOT CREEPY.
Amy Winehouse
Lioness: Hidden Treasures was released only a few months after her death in 2011, with all tracks chosen by Mark Ronson and the Winehouse family. All proceeds went to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which apparently is a real thing.
CREEPY/ NOT CREEPY: NOT CREEPY
Joy Division
Ian Curtis committed suicide just before Joy Division released their second album,
Closer. The saddest bit is that dude never saw "Love Will Tear Us Apart" become everyone's favourite song :(
CREEPY/ NOT CREEPY: SHOULDN'T BE CREEPY BUT IS KIND OF CREEPY.
Biggie Smalls
Biggie's posthumous music began 15 days after his death. Is it right to record collaborations with people who are dead? It just feels weird, like that guest vocalist is somehow occupying some imaginary space between the living and the dead. Plus, Biggie never would have collaborated with Eminem willingly.
CREEPY/ NOT CREEPY: NOT CREEPY, SEE BELOW.
George Harrison
Three solo albums were released in the years following George Harrison's death in 2001. The Beatles can never be creepy, case closed. everyone go home.
CREEPY/ NOT CREEPY: NOT CREEPY.
Jimi Hendrix
After he died, owning souvenirs of Jimi Hendrix's career was like collecting Tazos. Because of this ELEVEN albums have been released since his death in 1970.
CREEPY/ NOT CREEPY: NOT CREEPY, BECAUSE HE WASN'T AROUND LONG ENOUGH :(
Jeff Buckley
After his almost suspiciously weird death, Buckley released more albums after his death than he did alive. Death was the best thing to happen to his career?
CREEPY/ NOT CREEPY: NOT CREEPY.
Nirvana
Although the record label were keen to get Nirvana's unreleased live tracks out soon after Kurt's death, the rest of the band found it too overwhelming to sort through the material straight away. It wasn't until a couple of years later that some unheard Nirvana songs began emerging.
CREEPY/ NOT CREEPY: NOT CREEPY.