mhendo, surely you can think of some celebrities whose death would upset you - actors, writers, singers, politicians? Well…maybe not the politicians, but you get the idea.
If you’re going to take an ultra logical viewpoint of it, then it makes no sense to be sad at anyone’s death.
I think that we weep for celebrities because we weep for some element of ourselves we see reflected in them, like Jimmy Stewart, the American everyman, or qualities we would like to emulate, like Princess Di.
I think the case for mourning musicians is different. Music is intensely personal for a great many people; we identify songs with the moments we first heard them. A song might remind you of your first kiss, or the night you proposed, or the first time you danced together. Music comforts you when you are sad and helps you dance when you’re happy. Music, more than any other art form, speaks to our deepest feelings. Our love for music is transferred to the makers of music, and when we mourn the death of Aaliyah, we are mourning the death of a facet of ourselves.
I remember being absolutely stunned when John Lennon was shot. I was a college sophomore at the time, and I was inconsolable. When I heard of Jerry Garcia’s death, I was standing at an intersection in Seoul and started weeping because the Dead and Jerry’s music had meant so much to me.
I do think it is a little creepy how some people really believe they know celebrities because they watch Entertainment Tonight each night.
This is the power of television, and entertainment as a whole.
But more than anything, these celebrities represent a patch in your world, however small. When one patch is ripped away, your world does change. Obviously, the more close to you the person (imagined or otherwise) is, the larger the wound.
I burst in to tears, mainly because I’m a selfish bitch.
I loved going to Stevie concerts. I would look forward to summer every year for the sole purpose of being able to dance to my favorite music LIVE. And as far as your statement about not missing the music you’re correct. FOR THE STUFF THE ALREADY WROTE!! What about all the music or whatever that they could have written?!! HUH? What about that! I want more. I’m so selfish that after I read Conferacy of Dunce I was extremly pissed at the author for killing himself before he wrote more stuff for me to read.