Duncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter and composer best known for his earwormy ’90s hit, “Barely Breathing” and his composition of the Broadway musical, “Spring Awakening” — for which he won two Tonys — died on Thursday at the age of 56. And as details surrounding his passing from cardiac arrest are being shared alongside remembrances of his life’s work, what’s standing out in the sadness is all that Sheik stacked up in his short time on earth, beyond just that one song used to torture Marnie Michaels in an episode of “Girls,” handfuls of years after it was released.
In a 1998 concert review for The New York Times, writer Ann Powers opened with: “Don’t hate Duncan Sheik because he’s beautiful. He is trying very hard to distance himself from that fact.” And just as that review and that specific quote have taken on new life, widely shared in the wake of Sheik’s passing, so have the many cultural moments that pushed him past being just a pretty face with one well-known song.
