Tom Petty dead at 66

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

It’s so tragic yet not unexpected. So many musicians have passed away in recent years due to opiod overdoses. Prince had hip problems and surgery as well which started his opioid problem.

For these guys who are performing on stage and still touring into their 50s, it’s not surprising that painkillers are a major factor in their lives.

Loving to get wasted has also been a major factor in their lives. Petty was a coke-fiend for decades. I don't understand why we're willing to cut celebrities like Petty, Prince, and Carrie Fischer more slack for their over-indulgence with drugs than we are a dude we went to high school with who wound up a drunk or a coke-head.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Loving to get wasted has also been a major factor in their lives. Petty was a coke-fiend for decades. I don't understand why we're willing to cut celebrities like Petty, Prince, and Carrie Fischer more slack for their over-indulgence with drugs than we are a dude we went to high school with who wound up a drunk or a coke-head.

I don't think anyone is denying that these celebrities contributed to their own deaths via drug use.

The pharmaceutical/medical industries historic reliance on opioids is certainly a problem too.

I do think some slack needs to be cut for performers who are relying on drugs to get them through performances. Many of them are attempting to treat injuries they've received from their decades of performing. Entirely different situation than some guy who just burnt out. Being a performer on the level of Tom Petty takes an extreme amount of work. Performers like that sacrifice a lot for their jobs and their fans.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by blankall

I don't think anyone is denying that these celebrities contributed to their own deaths via drug use.

The pharmaceutical/medical industries historic reliance on opioids is certainly a problem too.

I do think some slack needs to be cut for performers who are relying on drugs to get them through performances. Many of them are attempting to treat injuries they've received from their decades of performing. Entirely different situation than some guy who just burnt out. Being a performer on the level of Tom Petty takes an extreme amount of work. Performers like that sacrifice a lot for their jobs and their fans.

lol as if. I think I sacrifice a lot more working 45 hours per week than a dude that sings songs for two hours 40 nights per year.

[Sr. Mints]

Originally Posted by jayswin

I'd be interested how much of public perception that Canada still hands out addictive perspiration pills like candy is current reality vs people just hearing it years ago and the narrative doesn't change right away?

I have *bottles* of opioids laying around: Percocet, Oxy-before-it-was-reformulated-contin, T3, codeine phosphate. Anecdotally, I don't think it's harder to get if you have the same doctor(s), but if you get a new doctor: "take two Advil and stretch."

When I take the pain killers, I can almost feel, in that instant, when they start to work, how easily you can become addicted to them. A warmth washes over you and the pain is gone: relief. Even when I think I'm powering through pain, once pain killers kick in, I realize, no, I've just gotten used to the pain.

It's a bit screwed up: I avoid taking any heavy-duty painkillers, as I find it almost impossible to work, plus there have been some drug-abuse in my family in the past, which has admittedly soured me on pain killers in general. And yet, you're always in pain, but you try and power through it, some times it is still almost impossible to work.

[cKy]

Originally Posted by Sliver

lol as if. I think I sacrifice a lot more working 45 hours per week than a dude that sings songs for two hours 40 nights per year.

Ok, and travelling between those shows. So now you need to worry about eating right, drinking properly, staying sane while being on the road. He also I assume handled his business so he worked with his manager to determine tour dates, appearances, etc.

If you think that they just show up for 2 hours a day and mail it in for the rest you got your head up your ass.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by cKy

Ok, and travelling between those shows. So now you need to worry about eating right, drinking properly, staying sane while being on the road. He also I assume handled his business so he worked with his manager to determine tour dates, appearances, etc.

If you think that they just show up for 2 hours a day and mail it in for the rest you got your head up your ass.

I would agree. I'm sure it's a fun time, but being on the road all the time would be a real drag if you had persistent pain. Airplanes, buses, and performances probably aren't the usual domain of somebody with a hip fracture. The smart ones are keeping their bodies in good shape, but when you have that much money and fame, I wouldn't fault someone for skipping leg day.

[Sliver]

I think truckers have it a little harder. And they can't afford to take a couple years off every four years, either.

Being a rock star is hardly difficult.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I think truckers have it a little harder. And they can't afford to take a couple years off every four years, either.

Being a rock star is hardly difficult.

It's like any profession. It depends on the person. But high end performers like Prince and Petty would put on perfect shows. The amount of practice that had to go into that must have been insane. Not too mention the large stage shows have become huge productions in themselves. The preparation is immense.

[rbochan]

Originally Posted by Russic

I would agree. I'm sure it's a fun time, but being on the road all the time would be a real drag...

It's one of those things you wouldn't trade for anything in the world, but also wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I think truckers have it a little harder. And they can't afford to take a couple years off every four years, either.

Being a rock star is hardly difficult.

Every occupation has different stress points. It's one thing for most of us to go to work on a day you aren't feeling well or into it and have an unproductive day at your desk but you can't hide in front of 18k fans. Must be a lot of pressure to always put on a good show and not disappoint your fan base. When you have a bad day in that occupation you can't hide it. How many times could say Prince get excited about going on to stage and performing 1999, Little Red Corvette, etc? Has to be a lot of days when you could easily go through the motions but some of these performers place a high standard on themselves and probably overwork themselves trying to maintain those standards.

[CliffFletcher]

High-powered lawyers have stressful jobs. So do surgeons. I don't see too many people expressing sympathy when one of them dies from a heart attack after decades of being a hard-partying coke-fiend.

The lifestyle of many pop stars is extraordinarily hedonistic, self-indulgent, and often self-destructive. It's sad, I suppose. But I don't regard the death of a waste-head celebrity any differently than I do anyone else who let their appetites destroy their lives. Given the money and the support they have, celebrities are certainly more responsible for their own fate than a car salesman who drinks himself into oblivion.

[ernie]

It's not that hard to understand is it?

The surgeon who burns out or dies in a similar circumstance had zero impact on my life. There is no emotional attachment though I may wonder what drove the person that way or emphasize or whatever.

A famous person, however, may have had an significant impact on a persons life. The attachment is greater. It's real. And the subsequent outpouring of emotion is going to be proportional to that attachment.

And the person need not even be famous to react on a persoal level. There are musicians that not many have heard of that have had a huge impact in my life. They may not be my family or friends but they may very well play just as large part of my life as those people.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

High-powered lawyers have stressful jobs. So do surgeons. I don't see too many people expressing sympathy when one of them dies from a heart attack after decades of being a hard-partying coke-fiend.

The lifestyle of many pop stars is extraordinarily hedonistic, self-indulgent, and often self-destructive. It's sad, I suppose. But I don't regard the death of a waste-head celebrity any differently than I do anyone else who let their appetites destroy their lives. Given the money and the support they have, celebrities are certainly more responsible for their own fate than a car salesman who drinks himself into oblivion.

Part of what makes us sympathetic to celebrities is that their personal lives are exposed to us. That's another point of stress for them. Some celebrities like the fame, and it destroys others. I can understand that. I can't imagine how horrible it would be if I had my clients coming up to me whenever I left my home and needed security to keep them away.

That being said, I have varying degrees of sympathy for celebrities, and you make valid points. I have a lot of sympathy for someone like Petty who has to take pain pills in order to control his pain from a broken hip in order to go on stage. I would have little sympathy if it was a less talented and accomplished celebrity (Ex. reality TV star).

I had the pleasure of seeing both Petty and Prince live. Like I stated before, the amount of preparation that went into their shows must have been immense. They both put on multi-hour shows and were clearly physically exhausted by the end. They both showed a mastery of their craft and hit every note. If you think that these kinds of artists can maintain their longevity by being lazy, I think you're way off. These are the most successful people in their field. I have no doubt that people like Prince and Petty give everything they have to create music and entertain their fans.

This is another part of what makes us sympathetic to celebrities. They are providing a service for us. If some random trucker died of an overdose, I probably wouldn't be overly affected. If it was someone who was working for me, I'd probably be much more affected.

[Erick Estrada]

Given how many lapse into drug and alcoholism there's no doubt that being a celebrity is not a walk in the park and not all people can deal with the constant attention, high expectations, lack of privacy, etc. Over the years if you think about it there are plenty of once popular actors and musicians that just disappear. Plenty make their money and pull out to live a normal life which for many is the best solution to maintain sanity.