If They Lived... Rock Star Edition Vol. 1

Question: If I killed myself today, would my band's albums suddenly become mysterious and artistically viable? Probably not, since only about .0000004% of the population's heard any of them. But what about some of the names we've grown to know, love, cherish, worship, dissect, and study in a scholarly manner? The death of a celebrity, particularly a rock star, or musician with some sort of audience appeal, seems to spark tremendous activity in all areas of study in their life, ofter projecting them to God-like status in the eyes of many.

I began compiling a list of dead rock stars, some extremely famous, some of cult status, and determined where they would be if they had lived; kicked the addictions, took the gun out of their mouths, drained their pools before they got drunk in them. Here's a rough summation of where I believe these rock stars would be today, had they lived.

I've broken the sections up into Good outcomes and Bad outcomes. The blog, VOLUME 1, contains three good outcomes.
The Good (denotes an positive lifestyle, career, and or fan following):

IF THEY LIVED!
Elliott Smith (Grammy nominated, cult singer songwriter of heavy '90s popularity. Date of Death: 5/21/03 Cause of Death: Apparent suicide. Possible murder. Knife to the heart):
Dropped from major label and releases 2 stripped down acoustic albums on his old record label, Kill Rock Stars. Tries his hand at acting in indie films to rave reviews, generally playing emotionally void, expressionless men in search of a greater good. Releases book of vague and abstract poetry and a Dostoevsky inspired road novel to high Amazon.com sales among the shaggy haired demographic. Signs to the eclectic indie label, Anti- Records (home of Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, The Locust), in 2006 where he releases well received albums every 5-7 years.

Brian Jones (Former rhythm guitar player, and eclectic instrumentalist of '60s Rolling Stones lineup. Date of Death: 7/3/69 Cause of Death: Drowned in pool. Questionable suicide, overdose, murder?):
After being dropped from The Stones, Jones gains a cult following in the '70s by releasing difficult, instrumentally layered, baroque pop records throughout the decade. After the phasing out of vinyl in the late '80s, collectors go mad obtaining records as he lays low in the decade kicking his addictions. Albums reissued through the Rykodisc label in the '90s as Jones guest stars on ostensibly cool records by other artists big in the coffee house folk and college radio circuit. Meanwhile, The Rolling Stones continue to sink deeper into a laughably creative drought as Jones becomes US citizen and relaxes in his quaint New England home. The Brian Jonestown Massacre forced to come up with different band name before they even form.

Keith Moon (Manic drummer of influential British rock group The Who. Date of Death: 9/7/78. Cause of Death: Overdose from Chlormethiazole, a chemical that aids in curing alcohol abuse):
Quits The Who after the average album "Who Are You" is released in 1978 and continues to tell Pete Townshend to fuck off every time he asks him to participate in a reunion tour. The Who's Moon-less '80s albums remain pure shit. Moon spends the late '80s and early '90s partying with celebrities before finally sobering up. After producing three various records for friends, Moon teaches drum lessons at local schools and holds a regular drum workshop where a 60 Minutes crew does a special on his happy and sober life out of the spotlight. The Who still put out 2006's piece of shit album "Endless Wire."


VOLUME 2 COMING SOON!!! THE BAD OUTCOMES!!!