So here we go again. I go to listen to music and songs from Janis Joplin start playing on its own, I turn on her music on Spotify and ask her what would she like to say. There is a group called Multidimensional Living that resonates with a lot of the messages I get from musicians and I usually post there, but every now and then they ask for a blog.
So I sit down and Get It While You Can Live at McMahon Stadium from Pearl (Legacy edition) starts playing. She comments that if I´m going to listen to anything the live stuff is better. Being that the recording is live she says into the mic on the recording. ¨I got a song here that you can apply to anything you want but you could even call it the truth, I wouldn´t go that far, I wouldn't heavy up on anybody like that but I can tell you one thing this song has got something to say if you can dig it. It talks about everybody´s life man and what passes by you and what you miss and what you can grab, it´s a song called Get It While You Can, cuz it ain´t gonna be there when you wake up man. Pretty profound and a great starting point for a blog.
Image source: Vintage News Daily
The thing I love about musicians is that they have a song for everything. So when they want to chat the songs start to play and I write down what comes through. This is the simplified version of my process but she has been watching me for three or four days now so I guess I passed some sort of test. I hear you ready man, let´s do the thing. So we do the thing... here is what I got for you all, she spoke to me and I´ve written what I heard below:
The thing about me is I was born about forty years ahead of my time. I wasn´t interested in being Doris Day looking for Rock Hudson like in the movies. I wanted to be in charge of my life. I thought being a pretty girl with a guitar was boring as well. I felt music was the only thing I was good at but I don´t care for love songs. People were really getting into either two camps, the pretty white girl strumming her guitar or black soul singers. I wasn´t either but San Francisco embraced the weird and unusual and I ticked those boxes. I had a lot of pain about not being able to just be me and people felt that in my songs. Some asshole would say something about me getting barefoot and pregnant or even worse pay me less than they paid the guys right before I went on stage and I let the audience have it. I could here people say well she isn´t much to look at so she better be able to carry a tune. People always called me ugly, there is nothing more evil than a pack of entitled high school girls. If you want to be a good parent, break that shit up. Teach your child they don't need to be a sheep to be strong.
When I performed, I didn´t carry the tune I threw at the audience like a bomb. All that rage, intensity, was left out on the stage. It pisses me off that society has not changed much, We are all either the norm or the freak. Not much room in between. What are people so afraid of? Why do we have to label everything? There are a few creative pockets of freedom around the world but the fun police are always around the corner. We gotta show the young that being yourself is not just a catch phrase. We have to encourage the young to reject labels and embrace creativity and the arts. Making fun of the band kids is so last century. The artists need to be loved as much as the athletes.....the real point here is you gotta live your life grabbing the happy moments you can, because there is always somebody out there that wants to drag you down and you gotta be secure in who you are and what it is you do.
There will always be rain, make sure your raincoat is strong and magical. So back to Get it While You Can, people are always looking for what is next, what is better, but you need to look at what is in front of you, you never know when it will all go sideways, when you will lose what you love, life is unpredictable so make the most of it in the now, whatever that looks like for you. If you do not have love, be the love you are missing. If someone tells you they don't think you are shiny and new anymore, that is their loss, don´t carry that label. So you see something good, grab it, don´t wait and say oh I will appreciate this tomorrow. You know what real love is, does not have to be romantic. Do not reject love if you know it is real you will know.
There is a long pause of silence here and I ask if there is anything she loved about life. She says clubs at sold out shows, San Francisco in May, and listening to the radio at midnight. She also says she has a dog with her, and she loved him more than any human. A quick google search confirms this and this is the photo she asks me to use of Janis and her beloved George. Any last words for today? If a relationship is bad, lose the partner and get a dog, but make sure the dog picks you. Stay on your toes man, messages come from all over, not just angels. She smirks and walks away, as she goes she adds you gotta know when to walk away man. The last thing I hear is a bit of a cackle. Me and Bobby McGee starts to play.
I hope you enjoyed the wisdom of Janis.
You never know where wisdom will come from and I hope it resonated with you today.
Wishing you music and creativity today and Always,
Meg