Before you read this. I'm fine.
Yesterday we found out that Keith Flint from 'Prodigy' had taken his own life. It's always shocking when that happens, isn't it. I'm not going to profess to be the world's biggest Prodigy fan - but I did love their music, and they did have an impact on me as a young person.
Growing up, I was always into Heavy Metal music. Then Grunge (Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, Layne Staley from Alice in Chains, and Chris Cornell all ended their own lives), and indie music. Even at the height of its powers, I wasn't really interested in dance, or rave music - in fact - looking back I think I was quite narrow minded in my musical tastes.
I can remember hearing 'Charly' by the Prodigy, and thinking it was clever that they sampled that scary public safety film with the weird cat. I hear 'The Prodigy Experience' and loved it, and when they released 'Music for the Jilted Generation' it blew the doors wide open. They were a true crossover band, bridging rave or dance music with indie and grunge. We were all dancing together.
Rage Against the Machine were big at the same time, and they did a similar thing, only the other way around.
The point is, that I love the Prodigy, and Keith Flint was their energy, if not their music.
But this post isn't really about music. It's about life, and suicide.
I was just thinking. Kurt's dead. Layne's dead. Chris is dead (still not really over that one). Elliott Smith is dead, now Keith Flint - and there are others, actors, and even one or two friends who took their own lives. Without meaning to state the obvious, it's just SO tragic.
I don't know why any of those people decided to do what they did really. We all know quite a bit about Kurt Cobain and his battles, but he wasn't a close friend - even if at times he felt like it. I'm sure he had his reasons. But there are some VERY shocking statistics about male suicide:
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics/mental-health-statistics-suicide
- In 2017, 5,821 suicides were recorded in Great Britain. Of these, 75% were male and 25% were female.
- Suicide is the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 years in England and Wales.
Shocking.
Perhaps because death, dying and suicide are all taboo subjects - the fact that so many men are taking their own lives seems to be conveniently glossed over, but theses statistics are a scandal in my opinion.
We need to ask some important questions of ourselves and our society.
- Why do men find it hard to cope?
- Why can't we find the help we need?
- Is stoicism valued over emotional honesty?
- Are the strains of modern life, with all of its requirements, and never ending responsibilities expecting too much of our brothers, fathers and friends?
There are more questions of course. More to ask and more to answer.
I wrote this, because I feel sad that so many lives are being lost so soon. You love your heroes, and the thought that they were too sad to continue is heartbreaking. Whether or not anything could have done anything about these tragic deaths is unknown.
So I wrote this, to get it out of my system. And I'm glad I did, because maybe I feel like I can feel like I've done something to express myself - even if I don't have the answers.
Like I said, it's cool. I'm fine. On we go.
