"Tomorrow never happens, man..."

"It's all the same fucking day." - Janis Joplin

I first heard Janis Joplin say those visionary words back in 1977 (the first time I listened to her IN CONCERT double album).

There's a really cool black and white photo of Janis on the roof of the famous Chelsea Hotel (rather large: When you open the double album, the pic of Janis graces both sides).

It was the closest thing I had to a poster of her (since posters of Janis were scarce in the late 1970s), so I hung it on my bedroom wall with pride. And listened to her awesome voice and music again and again. And she became like a friend... even though most folks told me she was just a crazy addict. And I needed to wake up. Big time.

Well, I think I finally did wake up. But not in the way most folks had warned me to do: I began to see that Janis wished for everyone to live in the moment. To appreciate what is right in front of us, and not to count on tomorrow to answer all our prayers. It's up to us to find beauty in today. We can make it happen now, if our belief is strong enough.

Because tomorrow is not a given. But today is ours. And we should not waste a single moment of it. Janis Joplin was nobody's fool. But I already knew that. Big time. :sunny:

QP

P.S. Happy 2011.

 

Hey, Yara:

Thanks for fixing the double post. Not really sure why it happened? But I had been awake for close to 3 days.

Anyway, it was my sad attempt to wish everyone a happy new year. I really do wish Janis and Kurt could still be celebrating it with us? So I guess that's what made me think of the existential quote from Janis.

On a more positive note, Janis stated more than once:

"Don't compromise yourself. It's all you've got." :sunny:

QP

 

i never count on 'tomorrow'

 

No problem Poet...I been in hibernation for several days so it was good to crawl out and do something useful.

Heres wishin' the Best for all of Us in the upcoming year!

 

You wonder - did Janis know how profound she was. How soul warping she was? If you have not, watch the Monterey Pop fesival - '68 I believe. I was in awe. "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" - Joplin.

 

I saw her many times when I lived in San Jose and Santa Cruz. Walked right by her once and we exchanged pleasantries when the Hell's Angels rented a venue in downtown SF at which she and Big Brother played. Wish I had stopped her and talked to her. Only singer that made the hair stand up on my neck when she hit those notes that sounded like she had 2 voices harmonizing with each other. She was a good one.

 

Yeah, Janis was awesome in Monterey Pop: I get chills every time I hear/watch her performance. :sunny:

QP

 

I like how Janis never was into the whole star trip. She just saw people as people. And she would talk to anyone. Imagine trying to approach Cher or Madonna? You'd have to figure out a clever way to get past security.

QP

 

Anybody else got a favorite Janis pic (or tune?)

Hope everybody has an awesome new year. :sunny:

QP

 

It's hard to find color pics of Janis. I wonder what she was drinking? :sunny:

QP

 

Ball and Chain, Summertime, Piece of my Heart. I still have my original Cheap Thrills album... :sunny:

QP

 

A brand new paint job, but it still looks pretty much the way it did when Janis used to own it.

QP

 

Here's one of my favs from Rolling Stone mag 1972

 

That poster is hanging right next to my bed

 

Very awesome, Shale! I love it. :sunny: BTW, Pearl's birthday is coming up pretty quick: I believe it's on January 19th. That's why I am loving all these pics. :love: I just wish I could post some of her awesome music - my crappy computer always crashes when I try. Anyway, here's another really cool pic of Janis.

QP

 

Cool! Nice to know I'm not the only one that still remembers Janis. :sunny:

QP

 

Happy 68th Birthday, Janis. :sunny:

Wish you were still here with us.

QP