just a really beautiful reflection on this tumultuous ride we call life, and what it means - part of an article written about the tragic suicide of Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse
"Life rarely makes much sense. It unfolds mysteriously, evolves and often erupts in wildly unpredictable ways that rattle our nerves. In its ugliest moments -- and, sure, in its beautiful ones, too -- we turn to artists to help us sort through our wriggling tangle of emotions, because they possess that special voice needed to articulate and illuminate what's otherwise a baffling maze of conflicting thoughts. For many people, myself included, Mark Linkous was one of those voices. His music and poetry was like life itself: It was sad and beautiful. For some, it was simply good craft, offering a brilliantly rendered view of both human suffering and our capacity for love. For others all too familiar with the music's most sorrowful moments, it offered intimate companionship; a voice that said, 'You are not alone.' "
music is one of few things that can do that for people... that can do that for me. and it has brought me through so many things in my life - there's a part of me that wishes no one ever had to be a part of a feeling so strong that they can so accurately describe it in lyrical poetic form. and yet, i think, there is a safety in (as Robin Hilton says) "a voice that [says], 'you are not alone' ".
Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, etc. all wrote words of lonliness, pain, suffering - and allowed people to feel through their music (and i use their examples, simply because i leaned on them through my adolesence). they certainly saved my life... and we can only hope they knew that, before they made their decisions.
that they at least felt whole for a moment in time.