Now he's free
Free Fallin' and he can't get up
Wow, what a stretch it's been these last two years or so. Bowie, Prince, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Don Henley and Walter Becker. It's not just them; it's us. We are aging and our rock icons are aging and leaving us. We rocked with them when we were teenagers or twenty-somethings and now one by one or three by three they are moving on. I guess we are lucky so many actually lasted so long.
I was blessed to see Tom Petty a few years ago with ZZ Top. And, this year I saw Steely Dan for the first time. I've grown to have a Dinosaur bucket list;artists and groups I'd like to see, at least just once before they die. Die they will, shining a light on our mortality. As much as I hate many aspects of modern civilization, I'll always feel grateful for the advent of superb recorded sound and playback. Long after they leave, I will still bop around to Peter Gabriel, The Who, Elton, XTC, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, Pink Floyd and even the not so old Porcupine Tree and many many others. Tom Petty just seemed like such an "every man" kind of rocker; it was just so easy to relate to him and his often uncomplicated rhythms and lyrics. At other times, he reached deep. The last song he wrote that I played over and over was "Saving Grace."
They all leave too soon.
And, so it goes.
