Will’s Unpopular Opinion – From Haze to Rain – 4-25-16

For those of you who may not be familiar with “The 27 Club”, it was a kitschy term created to refer to the group of pasts musicians that died usually due to drug or alcohol abuse at the age of 27.  The club’s member’s include Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and the list goes on. It would later go on to induct Kurt Cobain amongst it’s 50+ members, with Amy Winehouse as it’s newest big name star in 2011. However, apart from the multitude of raw talent taken at it’s prime, it’s not just the age at which the departed exited stage left that was staggering, but rather the time frame in which it happened. Between 1969 and 1971, the world lost over 11 musicians to the ill-fated declaration, creating a massive rift in the industry, and ushering in a sadness associated with so much of current music at the time. It was a time of reflection, and in a weird self-reflective sort of way, fans and casuals alike couldn’t help but feel that “emo” vibe every time ‘Riders on the Storm’ was played on the radio. After Winehouse’s death in 2011, a study was put forth to determine if a there was a correlation between musicians and risk of death. The results concluded that although the risk is slightly increased in their 20′ and 30’s, in the end, the biggest killer of musicians would be the same as everyone else; old age. Drugs and booze just helped. David Bowie was 69.

Unless you’ve been off the grid for the past week, you’d be hard pressed to not notice the influx of celebrity deaths that seemed to follow one after another like cows off a cliff. Doris Roberts, was followed by Chyna, only to be capped off by the world’s favorite purple logo wearing and neo punk pirate, Prince. They always seem to happen in threes. Others were passed by, like directing great, Guy Hamilton, who directed the early Sean Connery 007 movies, of which didn’t seem to get nearly the amount of press you may expect for creating such a film legacy. Then again, he was 93, and people kind of assume you’re already dead after 75 unless you keep yourself busy. But, like most everyone else, I found out through posts on Facebook about all of them. Of course the news covered it and the radio, etc etc, but it really came down to the incessant amount of posts I saw, one after another, like a waterfall of purple as it came tumbling down on my feed the day Prince died. Everyone paying tribute to the man that oozed sex appeal wasn’t afraid to show it. That day the rain was real, and it was in everyone’s eyes. There is a question that has seemed to puzzle me though as I bounce from source to source uncovering Prince’s legacy to write this article; why do people care so much?

Generally when a celebrity dies, people tend to chose to remember them with Facebook posts, tribute videos, memes, and so on. It’s no doubt that the world we live in today is different then only 5-10 years ago. People now seem to take the ownership of such news and push out their own “remember whens”. To say something like “Prince didn’t know you, why do you care?” comes off as crass and insensitive.
It seems to be that as a culture we remember our famed dead whether they knew us or not. Is this a strength we share as a culture or is this a semblance of connectivity we make to feel like our own lives aren’t so insignificant? It’s almost as if we need to recognize a changing tide in our lives; one that meant so much to so many people at one time, and attempt to be apart of something bigger then ourselves. It’s the same reason people love giving bad news. There were no shortage of FB posts, yet, they still kept coming. We all knew, but the masses have a lust for bad news. People need to be the barer of it, as though they want to be the one thats remembered as they piggy-back their own sense of importance onto the death they’re reporting. Others can then say “I found out from so-and-so’s post that this person died.” There is a connectivity we have with our entertainers, leaders, celebrities alike that even on the smallest scale, and in death, people feel the need to touch the hem of the garment to possibly feel even slightly purposeful in life. Or, maybe it’s not that bleak.

Truth be told, in a few weeks time this article will be passe, and the news of Prince’s death will falter with acceptance and eventually forgetfulness becoming commonplace. It’s always a shame when you see a talent cut down in it’s prime, but lately with so many personalities seeming to pass, the idea that there were second renaissances awaiting them with actors like Robin Williams or David Bowie seems nil. Yeah, Bowie had another album, but for the most part what he will always be known for, and the moments that inspired and influenced our culture, happened years ago. How much more could have Steve Jobs really pushed the industry down the road? The legacies these people have created are over and that’s why they are being mourned in the first place. To suggest Prince may have had another collection of great songs in him (although this may be true) is besides the point, because in the end, celebrities are remembered for what initially made them famous; usually not what they did after the fact. These people had their lives. They did what they did and that’s why they became who they are.

To be blunt, people die everyday. Someone just died this second as you read this. Championing someone after death who makes your life better or different is one thing, but it doesn’t change who they are, and it doesn’t change who you are. Is it a hinderance on our media consuming populace that we write “RIP” on community blogs one after another after someone has passed? No, but it doesn’t really matter either. For all extensive purposes, Paul Walker isn’t sitting in a room pissed somewhere that he didn’t get more memes than Robin Williams. Was David Bowie pleased that everyone took out their ‘Labyrinth’ shirts and wore them with pride for a week? No. He’s dead. Clearly we aren’t doing it for the departed, but rather ourselves, as we as a community try to assimilate to the bad news we can’t seem to come to grips with just yet. Is the mourning of our heroes just an attempt to connect to a world we wish we were bigger in ourselves? Or maybe it’s our greatest strength as a society that we don’t forget about these taste makers that altered and bettered our lives in so many fashions after they fall. There will always be people more important then you; people that shape and change the world we live in everyday. I wonder though to the degree that that heir of importance needs to continue once they’re gone in continued purple post after purple post.

-Will Valle