I found Kaleb in his apartment last night. He looked sweet and at peace with God. He believed in his Lord Jesus Christ and always spoke of his friends in journalism. He loved Los Angeles more than I wanted him to. He loved the real parts, the gritty parts that captured his soul. He was a dear, wonderful person full of talent and big, big dreams. Nothing can ever take his place. No one is quite like him. Hunter S Thompson had nothing on him. I hope you all know how much your kind words mean to me. I will miss him until we are together again with our Lord. Look for him in kindness from others and in the everyday beauty he saw in things that lots of people overlook. God Bless you all and his dear faithful brothers who will deeply miss his humor and their Monday afternoon Mario Kart races…which he never won.
Deborah, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. Like any great journalist Kaleb gave himself to a great many of us, and so even in passing we get to keep carrying him around.
Matt, I do not have much of a social media presence and have no idea how to deliver a message to all of the amazing people who have sent me messages and been so kind and supportive so if that is something you are able to do I would so appreciate it. I am so overwhelmed with my world just ending but you are all so kind and so supportive of Kaleb and I feel so inadequate to honor him with his peers. Just pass along any way that you can that you all made my suffering feel more bearable. Thank you so much and God Bless you all.
Deborah, I’ll spread the word - there are others with followings who were personally closer to Kaleb than I was and I’ll make sure they see this. So sorry again and we’re thinking about you and the family.
Same here. Alas, I got my head in the sand but even I, barely in touch with current affairs, could not miss, and was moved by, the compelling tributes to a thoughtful, brilliant writer.
I remember reading a few of his pieces about 3 or 4 years back and immediately thinking ‘this guy is clearly a *very* top shelf writer’ and he was laid off soon thereafter and he struggles for work never made any sense. I get the market is tough, but not one music/culture editor isn’t the kind of huge fool that would let this guy walk by?
I’m shocked but not surprised by the answer. RIP from a reader.
I’ve spent a lot of time in those dusty parts of California that are never in car commercials. As a wildlife scientist, my team and I wandered into many many convenience stores at 6:00 am to get a large horrible coffee and some snacks. Just us and the highway and construction workers speaking Spanish. I’m used to that part of California, but I never bragged about it to family and friends who lived elsewhere. I was kinda embarrassed. Wish I had read Kaleb’s beautiful writings before. I would have appreciated my time there a lot more. Condolences to all the people who loved him.
Bill, I’m so, so sorry for your loss. Kaleb was well respected by many of his fellow writers, and from what I’ve seen, his death is deeply felt even among those who had only ever read his work. He is remembered.
Lovely tribute. I wish I’d known about him before now. I’m already appreciating his George Harrison piece one paragraph in. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and spent my early 20s in town and already felt nostalgic for the LA that was. Now home is a memory. I hope Caleb becomes a memory, nostalgic one or not, for many.
I really admired — and will continue to admire — his writing. From the east coast, he always had me wrapped into it. Folded completely. I’m so sorry for this loss and to everyone who knew and loved him.
Matt, Thank you. We were thinking about the obit and I said it’s already written and being read. Your piece brought real comfort to Deb. Kaleb would appreciate it.
Thanks for this fully deserved salute and for steering me down a pleasant trip through Kaleb's work and Merle's '78 video from Austin City Limits. Sunday night time well-invested indeed.
I met Kaleb back in 2003. We frequented the same video game message boards, but Kaleb rarely talked about the games. Kaleb was there to talk to people. Eventually, Kaleb outgrew video game discourse, but he always came back to talk to us, his goofy online friends. We kept contact via new message boards, social media, and occasionally in person all the way up until just before his passing.
Kaleb was ONE of ONE. I never met anyone like him. He was so many things, but he was also incomparable. We used to swap song suggestions. Most the stuff I sent him landed too mainstream, but when a song hit, you felt so validated. He never stopped trying to get me to "get" Merle Haggard or Tom Waits. We both fully agreed on Tom Petty.
The last time I saw Kaleb in person was in downtown Salt Lake City. We went out to get a burger while he was passing through. He asked me about my viewpoints on SLC, Mormonism, and the culture around me. He was curious, and never was eager to talk about himself unless directly asked.
If you knew Kaleb, you knew that he cared. He cared about his family. He cared about his friends. He cared about music, film, photography, and literature. He cared about his fellow man.
Learning of his passing was a stab to the chest. I only wish I had messaged him more often or found more excuses to meet up. I was in Los Angeles and Hollywood just a month before his passing, and I thought to reach out, but did not. I'm always going to regret not tapping out a few quick sentences to him.
My deepest condolences to those who were in his innermost circle. Losing that kind of genius and kind heart from your daily lives must be absolutely devastating.
My deepest condolences to his friends and family and to all of us on the loss of such a writer. Los Angeles needs more people that genuinely love her, in all her complicated array. But more importantly we are missing a person, the removal of a voice that will not be regained. I will read his work, and look for the jokes.
I found Kaleb in his apartment last night. He looked sweet and at peace with God. He believed in his Lord Jesus Christ and always spoke of his friends in journalism. He loved Los Angeles more than I wanted him to. He loved the real parts, the gritty parts that captured his soul. He was a dear, wonderful person full of talent and big, big dreams. Nothing can ever take his place. No one is quite like him. Hunter S Thompson had nothing on him. I hope you all know how much your kind words mean to me. I will miss him until we are together again with our Lord. Look for him in kindness from others and in the everyday beauty he saw in things that lots of people overlook. God Bless you all and his dear faithful brothers who will deeply miss his humor and their Monday afternoon Mario Kart races…which he never won.
Deborah, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. Like any great journalist Kaleb gave himself to a great many of us, and so even in passing we get to keep carrying him around.
Matt, I do not have much of a social media presence and have no idea how to deliver a message to all of the amazing people who have sent me messages and been so kind and supportive so if that is something you are able to do I would so appreciate it. I am so overwhelmed with my world just ending but you are all so kind and so supportive of Kaleb and I feel so inadequate to honor him with his peers. Just pass along any way that you can that you all made my suffering feel more bearable. Thank you so much and God Bless you all.
Deborah, I’ll spread the word - there are others with followings who were personally closer to Kaleb than I was and I’ll make sure they see this. So sorry again and we’re thinking about you and the family.
His service will be Oct 9 in Silver Lake. I will let you know when I know more.
"If you are a Californian and care about literary journalism and hadn’t heard the name Kaleb Horton, well, that’s part of the whole sad story."
It me, as the kids used to say. I am sorry for your loss and sorry to have only heard of Kaleb through the outpouring of heartfelt tributes today.
it me too
Same here. Alas, I got my head in the sand but even I, barely in touch with current affairs, could not miss, and was moved by, the compelling tributes to a thoughtful, brilliant writer.
I remember reading a few of his pieces about 3 or 4 years back and immediately thinking ‘this guy is clearly a *very* top shelf writer’ and he was laid off soon thereafter and he struggles for work never made any sense. I get the market is tough, but not one music/culture editor isn’t the kind of huge fool that would let this guy walk by?
I’m shocked but not surprised by the answer. RIP from a reader.
I’ve spent a lot of time in those dusty parts of California that are never in car commercials. As a wildlife scientist, my team and I wandered into many many convenience stores at 6:00 am to get a large horrible coffee and some snacks. Just us and the highway and construction workers speaking Spanish. I’m used to that part of California, but I never bragged about it to family and friends who lived elsewhere. I was kinda embarrassed. Wish I had read Kaleb’s beautiful writings before. I would have appreciated my time there a lot more. Condolences to all the people who loved him.
This is beautiful Matt. Kaleb was such a lovely guy and such a gifted writer. He deserved better than this world gave him.
Just wanted to say thank you for the kind comments about my oldest son, Kaleb. He was brilliant and he'll be missed to the point it hurts.
Bill, I’m so, so sorry for your loss. Kaleb was well respected by many of his fellow writers, and from what I’ve seen, his death is deeply felt even among those who had only ever read his work. He is remembered.
Lovely tribute. I wish I’d known about him before now. I’m already appreciating his George Harrison piece one paragraph in. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and spent my early 20s in town and already felt nostalgic for the LA that was. Now home is a memory. I hope Caleb becomes a memory, nostalgic one or not, for many.
I really admired — and will continue to admire — his writing. From the east coast, he always had me wrapped into it. Folded completely. I’m so sorry for this loss and to everyone who knew and loved him.
Always admired him. May his memory be a blessing.
Thanks for writing this
Matt, Thank you. We were thinking about the obit and I said it’s already written and being read. Your piece brought real comfort to Deb. Kaleb would appreciate it.
Thanks for this fully deserved salute and for steering me down a pleasant trip through Kaleb's work and Merle's '78 video from Austin City Limits. Sunday night time well-invested indeed.
I can't believe this Matt. I want to share this true crazy story by him, which I had never heard of until he wrote about it and absolutely knocked me flat. https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/22570738/chowchilla-school-bus-kidnapping
It was his reporting magnum opus, I think.
I met Kaleb back in 2003. We frequented the same video game message boards, but Kaleb rarely talked about the games. Kaleb was there to talk to people. Eventually, Kaleb outgrew video game discourse, but he always came back to talk to us, his goofy online friends. We kept contact via new message boards, social media, and occasionally in person all the way up until just before his passing.
Kaleb was ONE of ONE. I never met anyone like him. He was so many things, but he was also incomparable. We used to swap song suggestions. Most the stuff I sent him landed too mainstream, but when a song hit, you felt so validated. He never stopped trying to get me to "get" Merle Haggard or Tom Waits. We both fully agreed on Tom Petty.
The last time I saw Kaleb in person was in downtown Salt Lake City. We went out to get a burger while he was passing through. He asked me about my viewpoints on SLC, Mormonism, and the culture around me. He was curious, and never was eager to talk about himself unless directly asked.
If you knew Kaleb, you knew that he cared. He cared about his family. He cared about his friends. He cared about music, film, photography, and literature. He cared about his fellow man.
Learning of his passing was a stab to the chest. I only wish I had messaged him more often or found more excuses to meet up. I was in Los Angeles and Hollywood just a month before his passing, and I thought to reach out, but did not. I'm always going to regret not tapping out a few quick sentences to him.
My deepest condolences to those who were in his innermost circle. Losing that kind of genius and kind heart from your daily lives must be absolutely devastating.
It appeared that Kaleb had a seizure and hit his head on the nightstand when he fell. It should never have happened.
My deepest condolences to his friends and family and to all of us on the loss of such a writer. Los Angeles needs more people that genuinely love her, in all her complicated array. But more importantly we are missing a person, the removal of a voice that will not be regained. I will read his work, and look for the jokes.