Such a gorgeous song. Shannon Hoon (above) really belts it. For anyone out of the loop, these guys did the song “No Rain”. Check out the vid of “Soup” at Woodstock ‘94 too (below). It’s moving stuff if only because it show a rock star, a musician, an artist really being those things. And it’s almost sad to think that few (or none) groups today would have the balls to get up in front of millions of people wearing something as odd as Shannon is wearing at that Woodstock. Not because I enjoy seeing people wear silly things, but because I enjoy seeing people be themselves (even if that self is a cocaine fiend wearing his girlfriend’s dress). Maybe I’m alone in seeing this, but when survival, in terms of being a living thing and staying alive, is as easy as it is for humans today then all we have left is our personalities* (no matter how crazy they may be). But if we hide ourselves from others there is nothing left at all. Wake up, eat, sleep, repeat. And if we hide ourselves from ourselves, then we might as well be dead already. It’s easy to look at someone like Shannon Hoon (or Hendrix or Joplin) and call him a druggie lunatic. It’s much harder to really get to know one’s self. Don’t take the easy road. Challenge yourself. Know yourself. Be yourself. Because living just to survive is a poor excuse for living.
(Disclaimer: A person close to me has been having problems with suicidal thoughts. I just wanted to make it clear that this post is in no way directed towards or in reaction to that person. I wrote the post mostly because I can’t stand living in a house with a bunch of zombies.)
* I re-read this and thought that “relationships” fits well here too, but it is really a secondary thing. This is mostly informed by my experiences, but when someone does not know themselves or have a personality that is conductive to forming relationships then they can’t form relationships. This is why personality comes first. (Again, this section is not about the aforementioned person.)
Excuse the rant. Leave a comment with your thoughts if anything made sense. Enjoy!
