Dead Is Uncool

Keith Moon was 31. Janis Joplin was 27. So was The Lizard King. As was Jimi. Syd Barrett sank into his drug-exacerbated depression and schizophrenia at age 22. His Pink Floyd bandmates finally chose to move on without him. I realize that Syd did not die at a young age, as the others did. He was 60 when he died but had not really lived in the interim.
They all left their mark on the world. They won't soon be forgotten. If you're on this blog, you're probably a fan of their music. You think of them from time to time. You get that mental picture whenever you hear one of their songs. My impetus for writing this blog was a special on VH1 Classic on the life of Jim Morrison. A quick aside. Did you know that the name of the band The Doors was taken from Aldous Huxley's book :The Doors of Perception? Huxley wrote his book to detail his experiences while tripping on mescaline. He wrote the book in 1954. And my generation thought we had "discovered" mescaline and peyote. I was only six years old when Huxley wrote the book! My first hallucinogenic experience was still 13 years away.
All the previously-named performers were examples of the James Dean quote: "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." I guess he's a good one to emulate; he was 24 when his life ended in a car crash.
They all had fame and fortune. As long as there is a way to play recorded material, their images and voices will be remembered. But I can't help but ask myself: Would they rather be alive?