Bipolar Blues Artist Sean Costello Releases Final Album
Sean Costello died of an accidental drug overdose in 2008 at the age of 28. At the time, he was one of the most promising young blues musicians in the world, having released five albums and having played literally thousands live live performances. Since his death, he has found a new life on Youtube, where many of his live performances have gotten tens of thousands of views each. Because of this increase in popularity, a new album featuring previously-unreleased studio tapes and some of his best-known live performances has been released. The album, “At His Best: Live”, includes seventeen different tracks. Sean Costello himself had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and following his death, his family set up the Sean Costello Memorial Fund For Bipolar Research (caution: link includes music). A Full review of the new album can be found here on Blog Critics.
Commentary
Sean Costello’s music is amazing, and like the work of many bipolar performing artists, has an incredible amount of raw emotional authenticity. Posthumous albums like this are a rarity, and it is hard not to wonder what might have come of Costello’s Bieber-like revival on Youtube. Often, live performances are sloppier than recorded ones, but Costello’s live performances are so strong that this album to be published.
His death is also a reminder that, while bipolar disorder has a high suicide rate, it is not the only way that bipolar disorder kills people. Those with bipolar disorder also have high rates of addiction that can in themselves cause deaths. Some of this addiction is self-medicating, meaning that those who use addictive substances are trying to quell the symptoms of bipolar disorder. It underscores the importance of having proper treatment available for those with bipolar disorder, as well as removing the social prejudice around bipolar disorder that prevents people from seeking it.
Below is “Check it Out” by Sean Costello, one of the songs from the new album:
Related posts:
Leave a Reply
