Malcolm McLaren laid to rest

Mclaren's funeral in north London Thursday. Crowds gathered to watch the procession. Photo by Joel Ryan, AP.

Brief end-of-an-era note: Malcolm Mclaren, Svengali behind the Sex Pistols, had his funeral. AP called him a Punk Pioneer, but he wasn't punk. He was a publicist, a canny, opportunistic promoter - an "impresario," to use a vanishing word. He was the sort of person who'd cheerfully destroy any tradition if it made him a pound, content there'd be apologists who'd explain why this was tremendously important as art. His post-Pistols contributions were a bit more civilized, but he was content to tweak and mock to the end. To be fair, he had few self-illusions, and he would have been disappointed no one charged admission for the mourners who showed up to watch his bier pass.