An Ode to Lemmy, Bowie...and why we need art to survive

'We fight the darkness, baby'

These are words sung by Lemmy Kilmister on one of the last tracks he ever recorded, 'We are the ones'. This song was released less than three weeks ago. I remember when I first heard it. I listened to it while I waited for the tram to come. And believe me, it looks damn strange to stand on the tracks, crying your heart out. People look at you like you're crazy or something.
But for me, he did fight the dark and the monsters. He still does, everyday. But he's been gone for almost two years, and it doesn't get any easier. I still can't keep a straight face while talking about him. I get choked up and often cry while listening to his music or seeing videos of him. I'm crying right now.

And I got to thinking, while standing on the rails that this reaction would be considered normal if it were a family member or a friend. And there are so many people out there who don't understand that these people are family to us. That it's more than just an entertainer-fan relationship at stake.

Lemmy is a friend.
Lemmy is my God.
Lemmy is the man who made me think and open my eyes.
Lemmy pushed me to question the world I live in.
Lemmy showed me that I am not alone.
Lemmy told me that it's okay to be me.

Lemmy helped me survive.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't have many people in my life about whom I can say that. I love him as truly as I've ever loved anyone and he will forever hold a place in my heart.
Yes, I am still heartbroken over his death. I think I always will be, not because he's dead, but because he's not here anymore and that's a real shame.

I'm still heartbroken over David Bowie, too. When I was a little girl, I used to dance to his songs in my room, at night. 'Life on Mars' was always my song, I just knew he'd written it about me. I remember thinking 'Diamond Dogs' was the coolest song in the world. And in a way it is, because there was truly nothing like it.
Nobody makes you want to dance quite like David Bowie.
And maybe that's what it's all about. About the songs that are about us, that ring so true and so close to home that they couldn't be about anyone else...
There are many moments when I listen to his voice and think this amazing human being can't be gone. But apparently, he is. It was so frightening when he died, so very wrong. I remember intensely hating the beginning of 2016, because so many great people died. Lemmy, Bowie, Rickman. All great. All...all meant something to someone.
All had the qualities listed above...they all made our lives significantly better.

And if they took the trouble to reach out to so many people, to touch millions of lives, then it's only natural that when they die, those people react.

Because art is not just art, you see. It's not there just to be stared at or looked upon or read, it needs to be lived, to be experienced. These people, whom we call artists, did not set out to just play around and do some meaningless shit while their life passed them by. Maybe in your world, but certainly not in mine.
No, they set out to change something, to do good, to help others. And although their lives were far from perfect, they somehow found the strength to give to others.

Therefore, the art they made is not empty. Every song, every movie, every painting, every book is a little bit of life. Of their life, that they gave to you and me and all of us. And that's what all real art is.
Life.

We don't need art to survive. Not the pointless, pretentious, empty, meaningless type that just takes up space. We need real art to survive.

We need life.