I think most of us are so stunned that we simply cannot wrap our heads around the concept of such an icon like this disappearing from the planet. Many of us have felt that several times over this year.
There probably is no real answer to such a question, and I know that no answer would really assuage the feelings of shock and grief that many of us experience with such a loss. The truth is that people like Prince don't really die. If you think about it, the majority of us never knew Prince Rogers Nelson. And, yet, without knowing him, he held an important place in our hearts and lives, and we care deeply about his passing.
Someone like Prince isn't just an artist. Someone like Prince is so universally respected, revered, and recognized for his work and the influence he had, and will continue to have, on artists of all mediums that he is not so much human, but more like an element.
Not everyone who loves music is a "fan." The word "fan" loses its significance when an icon like Prince picks up his guitar. It just doesn't explain how some of us feel about our favorite artists, or art in general. For some of us, certain artists have been, and are, life changing, or even life saving.
When someone, or something takes a place of such high meaning to us, they never truly leave, even if they "die." People from multiple generations know who he was, and are familiar with his work. His importance will likely never be in dispute, and that importance will be validated a million times over.
Few artists achieve the kind of broad appeal, and universal recognition that Prince had. And very few were the kind of virtuoso that he was.
Some artists change the landscape around them by challenging convention, and creating something new. In some cases, that kind of power can tend to intimidate and challenge its intended audience.
David Bowie, was, without question, another iconic and influential artist that we also have lost this year. He was challenging, intimidating, and he frequently turned pop culture on its head. He wasn't everyone's cup of tea.
Prince, on the other hand, managed to impact culture and music in much the same way, but when he did it, a kind of magic happened. He was exotic, stunningly beautiful to look at, sexy, enigmatic, and dangerous. All of those traits drew us in--all of us. And we stayed. We stayed to find out what he would create next. We stayed to feel the charisma that permeated everything he did. We stayed to listen to the power of his art. And we stayed on the off chance he might flash us that shy Prince smile that could melt the polar ice cap faster than global warming.
He was a fast red car, a purple storm, a sign, a super hero and a gem--all rolled into one. He was beyond human, and he couldn't simply die. Someone so surreally "other" than us was surely made of something that could not break.
At least that is what those of us who loved him and his artistry believed. We lived our lives not thinking about it--the potential impact of such a loss. And that's why it stunned us.
In my own lifetime, I have seen some amazingly iconic figures break on through. Elvis, John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Princess Diana, Liz Taylor to name a handful.
I am sure that I am forgetting others that people feel as strongly about. I wasn't impacted by all of them, but I can relate to those who were. Whether I cared for them or not, they are significant examples of how certain human beings become larger than life. They are too large to leave us behind. They are the songs that get stuck in our heads. They are the dance moves we can never seem to duplicate. They are the philosophers that inspire us to do more in our lives. They are an iconic shade of blue, and they are sometimes tragic.
The truth is, they are as human as we are, and they are as mortal as we are. But they touch parts of us that we ever knew were there in a way that we never realized was possible. And that is why we find it so hard to believe and accept both their humanity, and mortality.
It's a cliche to say that because of his artistic legacy, Prince will never die. It's a cliche, because it's true. But the reasons he will never truly be gone are unique to every single one of us.
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