It was 1970 and Janis had just O.D.ed. The rock 'n' roll heroes were going fast. Jimi: dead; Jim: dead; now Janis. It was hard to believe that it could happen so fast and that they could've been so stupid as to die like they did. It didn't make a lot of sense. People talked about how "bright" their "flame" was and that was an excuse for how they could implode and choke to death on their own vomit, or to be mistaken on how much of what substance had gotten them too high to remember what could be toxic in their own, particular, "stone soup". For myself, I felt let down, disappointed, and sad. Our heroes don’t so much now commit unintentional suicide. I think we got a little smarter since 1970. Now, our heroes are shipped off to another place to die, suddenly and without much thought, in another land, by another hand.

Stumble It!