It’s the sad misfortune of every generation in its prime to imagine itself the first to experience the shock of the new.
And similarly, every generation believes itself to be the first to feel the loss of one of its own. Kurt Cobain followed in the footsteps of Ian Curtis who followed Marc Bolan, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly and host of others going back to Mozart and Goethe and even further back to our own pre-history.
The archtype is as old as humanity. The Young God touches the sky only to be brought back to earth. And each generation feels the pain of the loss anew.
Not to diminish the death of Heath Ledger, but this quote left me feeling very sorry for the sap quoted in the New York Times who:
checked the Web, then walked to the apartment (where he died) “because of the way our generation is; we sort of feel we’re a part of each other’s lives.”
A bit of perspective – someday she’ll laugh at her younger sister who believes her own pop star death moment to be the most important moment in her life.
Link via Allan Jenkins
