Like God, we need our rock stars to live forever. The perpetual joke that Elvis is still twitching in a chip shop in Barnsley emphasises this belief in the ever living presence of the present day gods. Gods speak the truth and the list of rock stars in cult heaven verifies this: Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, and so on. All these stars are American, part of the stars and stripes and now part of the stary firmament which lights our sky at night. Each star had a truth to tell, even Elvis (perhaps more so). Without this truth there would be no worship. Perhaps the message is there is no message. People can unite under one star, whole industries can develop. Beyond talent, charisma and showmanship, is the manufactured image, turning creativity into a product for consumption and without the cult, loaded with secrets revealed to the inner circle of devotees, there can be no real money making. Consider the correlation between the sense of oneness, mystification and hipness within a star cult and the extent of fame based on consumption. It leads us to the assumption that consumption equals truth. Those that are consumed the most are those with the highest truth, whether it be "enjoy yourself" or "buy more"- whatever the message, the link is with expenditure. The fame of these stars could only begin to occur in a 50s booming America where freedom was shown by spending power. I worship my God by obtaining more of him, records, books, fanzines, gigs and so on. The more devoted I am, the more I allow "him" to control my life, the more "his" views are mine, the less of a distinction there is between us. Of course, I am the humble disciple and can never usurp "him", but I dream I have union with "him", as if "he" can be in my power then I will know the deepest potency of "his" power, that is, why "he" has so much power over me.
Most of these heroes took drugs, unable to face themselves , almost like a slave to their cult, like the "mad" tennis player McEnroe said, "fame is like being raped." Everyone tells you what you are, everyone knows what they want you to be, but who are you: a performer, slave to the slaves and to the culture which produces you and you produce. Elvis did what he was told to do. It is amazing that we thought at the time that he was a rebel. He gave people an awareness of their body and in some respects denied them a mind. Of course the soul was deeply in it, he went to church and all that and to give people back their bodies is certainly revolutionary. But retrospectively we see how conformist he was. This is true for the still worshiped John Lennon, but as he was shot we can see it was less true. The fact remains that he lived for as long as he did. Someone with such a huge following could cause the most far reaching social changes. Did John Lennon have this in mind ? Was this why he was shot ? The other people listed above were obviously not really this way inclined so no authority would be really damaged by whatever they said. In fact, to promote drug taking is like saying, "look life is easy, escape, forget everything," so no wonder these lot remained alive without someone intervening. Do we only desire Thanatos, the death wish. Are there any true cult heroes who promote anything else ? They are cult heroes because they have died and thus, as most died out of their own choice, they epitomise the ultimate in the throw away culture- life is like a burger box with less meaning. Linked to this is the recycling of their material again and again. They have lived without a real will for living and have prematurely completed the process. They are the parents who guide by adopting a certain stance which others may imitate. The Who's maxim, "hope I die before I get old" is adhered to religiously, so stars never grow into your grumpy grandparents; they keep the flame of youth and by taking their life they have the eternal consumption free spirit. They fear loss of mind, youth, success and so on and this fear of loss drives them to take and have the ultimate control in a chaotic universe: suicide.
As the emphasis on positive thinking and happiness linked to consumption grows, will we see the increase in these anti-heroes who expressed what is deeply felt but seldom aired ? Of course, there must be a main stream acceptable sub-culture which channels deeply felt angst away from the cause of it into a managable form and sells products at the same time. This is the ironic nature of capitalism; through selling happiness it must foster want and frustration and unhappiness. Nothing is good unless one knows more about the new product, consumes more of the anti-hero. It does not matter what the message actually is; all it has to be is not really damaging at all to the status quo- indubitably the worst rock band in the world.
Jason Lee