River Phoenix Fallen Stars

originally written 2/8/08

One of the greatest rap albums of all-time was released over 10 years ago. In March of 2007, Notorious B.I.G. posthumously released Life After Death, an album that contain several epic singles: Mo Money, Mo Problems, Notorious Thugs, Sky's the Limit, and the classic, Hypnotize. One of the lesser known singles on the album, but appropriately penned, was You're Nobody (Til' Somebody Kills You). Tragically, Biggie was gunned down several weeks before his album release, yet, in a stark contrast of what the song title suggest, Biggie was somebody; he, along with Tupac, was one of the all-time greats in, not just hip-hop, but music in general.

The real tragedy was losing them way too soon; they had just reached the tip of the iceberg, they had so much more left to do it's a shame they left us too soon. Shame doesn't do what happened to them justice it was a tragedy. I bring this up because, as we all know now, two weeks ago Heath Ledger died, thus giving us another celebrity who left us too soon.

Over 20 years ago, one of the best 80's movies made its debut. Based on a short story from Stephen King, Stand by Me was released, perhaps, the quintessential coming of age movie of all-time. With a standout cast featuring Jack Bauer, Corey Feldman (pre-Corey Haim), a tubby Jerry O'Connell, John Cusack, Wil Wheaton, and of course, River Phoenix. If you have been reading my blogs for a while now, you will remember the Stand by Me(z) blog I wrote on the movie and why it's important to people, particularly teens. Aside from Wil Wheaton's Gordy LaChance character, the best performance in the movie, with apologies to Jack Bauer, was River Phoenix's character, Chris Chambers.

River Phoenix, at the time, was arguably one of the hottest and most promising young actors in all of Hollywood. After making his debut in Explorers, he burst onto the scene in Stand by Me. And for good reason too: To this day, Stand By Me stands the test of time and to this day is still considered a classic. With his performance in Stand by Me, he had gained public notoriety and was set to be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood after appearing in Little Nikita, Running on Empty, and, My Own Private Idaho. The only problem was Phoenix never came close.

Tragically, River Phoenix died of an accidental drug overdose in 1993 in Los Angeles at on the sidewalk of The Viper Room. This rocked Hollywood; one of its most promising young, talented actors was taken away from us, all for no good reason, because honestly, are drugs, especially heroin, really considered good reasons? Sure, they provide a temporary escape, but that's it; nothing else. 15 years later, Hollywood experienced the same pain: the loss of one of its finest actors, one who merely scratched the surface of their potential. In the past, I've brought you the Diane Lane All-Stars, the Rachael Ray All-Stars, the George Clooney All-Stars, today, I introduce to you the River Phoenix Fallen Stars; those notable celebrities who died before they reached their peak; those who were taken away from us too soon.

Before we get to the River Phoenix Fallen Stars, let's go over a couple of things real quick. Criteria for these people include, but are not limited to:

a) Being younger than the age of 30 years old.

b) Cannot have reached their peak before their death, and

c) Their death caused shock because no one saw it coming

Here is where we get a little trickier because there are countless of celebrities who have died throughout history, some of their deaths had more of an impact on society and others didn't have as much as an impact on society. This however, is not to say their death was any less than someone else, because frankly, anytime someone dies, it hurts and it's pain is felt throughout hundreds of people. Here's what I mean, when Mario Puzo died in 1999, was his death as traumatic and as shocking as when Tupac got killed in Vegas? I mean sure Puzo wrote The Godfather series and Superman, but Tupac wrote I Get Around and Keep Ya' Head Up.

One of the hardest things to do is to quantify objects, in particular, people. For example, if I was to ask you who are your best friends, you should have no problem coming up with about 5 really, really close friends. Now, if I was to ask you who is your absolute best friend, it gets a little trickier; can you really decide which one, of all, of your friends is the absolute "best" friend? In theory it's easy to decide, but the more you think about it, the harder it gets: Some of your friends are better in certain areas and others are better in other areas. This is why it's hard to quantify people; you can't really and truly place a quantitative variable on them. I bring this up because if it's hard to quantify people when they are alive, how much harder is it to quantify them when they are dead?

So, what's my point? It's this: I took Selena's death a lot harder than I took Heath Ledger's. For me, Selena's death was harder to come to grips with than Heath Ledger's but I can promise you in other's viewpoint, it was the opposite. This is why I say you can't quantify someone's death. Is it really fair to say, in the grand scheme of things, Biggie's death had a more profound affect than someone like, Amy Winehouse's soon-to-be-death? No, granted I hate Amy Winehouse, but to say I'm glad she is dead (not yet, I know, but the smart money is on her) is not just immature, but also ignorant and short-sighted. This is why all these celebrities below are deserving of being mentioned; to each and every one of us, they meant something in varying levels of degree, one thing is for sure though, the world is less without them here. And if you don't know, now you know…

River Phoenix Fallen Stars

River Phoenix: At the tender age of 23 years old, River died of a drug overdose outside a club in Los Angeles. For me, he is the first celebrity I remember dying and actually hearing about the commotion regarding his death. 23 years old is way too young, considering he was in good, to excellent, movies in his entire career, it's hard to imagine him not taking over Hollywood, almost in the same way Brad Pitt took over Hollywood. Can you imagine instead of seeing Brad Pitt, in Legends of the Fall, River Phoenix? How much different do their lives take? Does Brad go on to the Brad Pitt, but more importantly, what happens to River? Unfortunately, one can only imagine because we'll never know the answer.

Me. Without a doubt one of the greatest movies ever, you have to either hate good movies, or be communist not to like this classic.

Heath Ledger: Granted, A Knight's Tale, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Brokeback Mountain aside, he was a pretty good actor. Let me see…he was pretty good in The Patriot, and, uh…..hold on, gimme a sec, oh yeah, he was pretty good in, uh…well, uh, I think you get the point. The Brothers Grimm, Ned Kelly and Monsters Ball being more famous for Halle w:st="on" Berry's sex scene. But herein lies what I was saying about celebrities deaths: Ledger's death doesn't affect me the same way other celebrities deaths did, but I am able to respect him as an actor and accept that he was a good actor. It's always a tragedy when people like him leave us too early; not solely celebrities, but human beings in general.

Personal Favorite Moment: Because I know this movie will kick so many asses, I am eagerly anticipating the release of The Dark Knight. This movie will pwn.

Aaliyah/Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes: Two of the most underappreciated R&B singers to ever live, unfortunately, they get overlooked for what they did, but even more unfortunate is the fact they are no longer here. Left Eye was pretty much the creative force for TLC, as her demeanor suggest in her appearance and attitude, it was no surprise when she died, TLC died. And, who doesn't like TLC? Aaliyah was completely tragic in every since of the word. She died in a plane crash coming back from the Bahamas. Not just a pretty face, she had the voice of an angel with a slight hint of street 'cred, as working with R. Kelly grants that 'cred. Consider she was also a budding movie star, she had the entire package. Unfortunately, that package was never delivered.

Personal Favorite Memories: Left Eye burning down Andre Rison's house and Aaliyah's If You're Girl Only Knew, seriously, one of the greatest songs of the 90's, which isn't saying much, but still.

The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly and Ritchie: Known as "The Day Music Died" when they all perished in a plane crash, these three gentlemen, along with the pilot, shook rock and roll music as we know it. Possibly the first rock star tragedy, losing these three musicians on the way to their absolute prime is a prime of example of having people taken away from you too soon. We all know the legacy these men left behind us, but what we don't know is the unwritten legacy they all could have written if they were still alive. Movies have been featured about them, countless tributes have been paid to them, and it is all worth it; these guys were rock music in the 50's. I mean really, does Lou Diamond Phillips become a movie star without La Bamba? Who knows what would happen if they were alive, would Elvis be as big, would Buddy Holly be greater? What about Ricthie Valens? This is the most difficult thing to imagine: What would happen? I wasn't even alive when these guys were around, hell, I was barely a twinkle in my father's eye, but I can understand how important they are; this would be tantamount to hearing U2 died in a plane crash. I don't even want to imagine that.

Personal Favorite Moment: The song American Pie paying tribute to this event and dissecting the lyrics in a class I took in college.

Kurt Cobain: Honestly, when Nirvana was around, I didn't appreciate them, as a matter of fact, I didn't understand them, I didn't like them, hell, I thought they sucked. In their absolute prime I was not a Nirvana fan, basically, I was to them the way I am to Radiohead right now: I don't get the fascination. But, that doesn't mean I didn't come to like them because I did, what I didn't come to see and understand is why he felt necessary to kill himself? Were things that really rough? Was Courtney Love really that much of a bitch? I didn't get it. When he was found dead I had hundreds of friends who were upset; was I? Eh, not really, but as the years have gone by I wonder what would have happened with Nirvana? I would assume Dave Grohl wouldn't have gone to form the Foo Fighters and if that was a possibility I would have been completely happy. I loathe the Foo Fighters.

Personal Favorite Moment: The shenanigans they pulled at the '92 MTV Music Awards. They were supposed to perform Smells Like Teen Spirit, but strummed Rape Me before switching to Lithium. I remember this vaguely but was reminded of it when I saw a feature of them on Vh1.

Janis Joplin Of all the female musicians who have sung, I think she sounds the blackest; that's a compliment. Her sound is remarkable, I love it. She is basically what Amy Winehouse is trying to be, however, with unremarkable results. Her music was, stylistically, different than anything else done in the 60's. She was basically the first real, true female rock and roll musician. She personified female rock stars as we know it; she was the inspiration for every female rock star great ones, Stevie Nicks, to horribly shitty ones, Amy Drughouse.

Personal Favorite Moment: The song, Piece of My Heart. I had no idea the Faith Hill version was a remake of her song. Hearing her hit the notes in the bridge and the chorus is unreal, amazing the sounds of that song came from a white Texas girl. Then again, she's a Texan, we rule.

Brad Nowell: Perhaps the most overlooked front man of any band who has lost a member. As a member of Sublime, he was, perhaps, the most influential person in creating the ska sound that has been so influential in bands such as the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones and, even, No Doubt. How many times have you ever been at the beach, or hell, even the bar, and heard Santeria or What I Got? I can guarantee you each and every time you've heard this song, it's been a good time; that's exactly what Sublime was all about. Really, do you know anyone who doesn't like a Sublime song? I don't (and I know a lot of people)

Personal Favorite Moment: Anytime Caress Me Down comes on the XM radio or on my MP3 Player. Probably one of the greatest songs no one knows about unless you're Mexican or can speak Spanish really well. Anytime you pronounce you are hornier than Ron Jeremy, you have a lot going for you.

Jimi Hendrix: Pure genius. There are very, very few musical virtuosos, but Jimi was one of them. I would be willing to say he, along with Prince, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Van Morrison are perhaps the most musically talented musicians to ever grace us. His influence is unparalleled, what could have been with him if he didn't choke on his own vomit? I can't say anything about him that hasn't already been said about him; revolutionary in every since of the word.

Personal favorite moment: When I was in college one year, we had a baseball game and for the national anthem we played his version of the Star Spangled Banner, well, 7 minutes into the song, we had to cut it off because everybody was looking around stunned. We lost that game, coincidence? I don't think so.

Notorious B.I.G./2Pac: Two of the best rappers to ever live. Say what you want about hip hop and rap music in particular, but these guys were different. They were rap music. They've pretty much influenced all present day rappers, which might seem like a bad thing but it's not. I will never forget when these two were taken away from us, I couldn't believe it, and I was really big into rap music back in the day. Everything they've released has become a classic, with Biggie's Ready to Die and Tupac's All Eyez on Me albums being two of my all-time favorites in all genres. Jay-Z would not have the title of "Best Rapper Alive" if these two were still around, I don't think it would have even been settled, they were both legends, both phenomenal, and both taken from us too soon. And that's what is stupid: They were taken away over stupid shit, I mean, really, east coast-west coast? That's fucking gay. Not as gay as some of the rappers out right now, but close.

Personal Favorite Memory: Anytime, Hypnotize comes on, it's a guaranteed party. I know Im not the only one who cranks up the stereo when this song comes on, hell, I watch the video on YouTube just because it's fucking tits. As for 2Pac, when I ran my marathon, I needed something to wake me up in the morning and get me going, so I went with this song, one of his most underappreciated songs ever.

And the one who hit me the most:

Selena: She was the Mexican Madonna, except way classier and way hotter. I loved her, I was infatuated with her, I loved her. I listened to all of her music and I didn't even speak Spanish, much less know what the hell she was singing about, "bidi bidi boom, boom?" I don't even know what that means. But what I do know what she means was she was iconic, a successful Latina singer who was gaining prominence and fame, she was our Madonna. Ok, you know how Texans are prideful? Well, Mexicans are also proud people as well, consider she was a Tejano singer who is Mexican from Texas<>and you can imagine how much people were devoted to her. She was our girl, our star and sadly she was taken away from us by a fucking stupid bitch (I'm still bitter). I cant watch Selena and not think about why she had to die, it really, really is tragic. If it wasn't for her there wouldn't be no Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, nothing, she was it. Now, she's gone L. If she was still around, I think she was going to be bigger than Gloria Estefan, which is to say, pretty big.

Least Personal Favorite Memory: Heading to baseball practice at Kempner and hearing from my teammates that some singer named Celine was shot and killed. At first I thought it was Celine Dion (which would have been, well, I think you know) but when I heard it was Selena, I fucking couldn't believe it. I wondered why and who would do something like this. After practice, I came home and saw my mom and she started crying and, well, anytime you see your parents cry, you invariably cry as well, I couldn't believe it. That was one of the last times I've seen my mom cry in front of me. I hated that day.

Personal Favorite Memory: Trying to karaoke Como la Flor at a party once, I didn't even know the words but it was also, I even did the fake Tejano dance steps, pretty comical. My next favorite memory will be when Riv has his wedding reception and I dance to her songs. I suck.

And there you have it, the inaugural, and hopefully dormant, class of the River Phoenix Fallen Stars. It's crazy to think that you never know how much your life can change within 24 hours and that's why it's crazy to hear these people are now dead. One day they're here, the next day your idol is gone. A while back I wondered why people really paid so much credence and attention to celebrities; particularly when they are dead, but I finally get it know. The reason we pay attention to them is because they are just like us. The same pressures and tragedies that happen to us happen to them too, they're not immune from any of this. Is the loss of Jonathon Brandis, or Brandon Lee have any more of an impact on our lives than losing an aunt or uncle? No not really, but for some people, that is all they have, and really, that's okay because, after all, we're all fans. Until next week…