At 78 years old. In his sleep. Who would have thunk it? Here's his family's statement about the death.

If you haven't heard Suicide - the duo which Vega formed - do so now; their first album is still fantastic and not dated: it's futuristic, despite being released in 1977, the year I was born.

https://youtu.be/8_dXp0eF8s0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT_rlpOSqg4

edit, 2016-07-18

Win Butler has covered Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream":

https://soundcloud.com/dj-windows98/k33p-ur-dr34ms-win98

...and MGMT have covered Alan Vega's "Goodbye Darling":

https://soundcloud.com/watermelonsugar-1/goodbye-darling