Monday, February 1, 2021

Janis, John and All Our Unmet Needs



JANIS SINGING HER COMPLETE WOODSTOCK SET

At Woodstock 1969 a genius was presenting herself already as a fading spirit. Her pain had already begun to overcome her genius and the cause of her early downfall was her unmet needs. When we listen to her I say we feel our unmet needs.

 

Her songs were not just ornaments for the stage-of-privilege, otherwise known as the “good life” in our sad world. Her songs were a cry for all our unmet needs and her own personal cry for love.  A crying out of all the senseless pain people have to endure in the mad, spirit-wrenching search for meaning and love.

 

She was all glitter and caricature and gypsy feathers and an astonishing combination of Delta-Black blues and brassy Chicago blues and  pre-feminist thirties & forties abused-female disempowerment-angst blues…only MUCH more soulful and gutsy.  Primal screaming musical Janovian (ie: Arthur Janov) blues. But underneath was her pathetic tragic unmet heaving gaping black-hole of a need for love.

http://www.arthurjanov.com/  


Her whole public persona howled out this truth. From what I read of her story Janis was aloof and artistic and  she was savagely bullied in school for the usual reasons: unconventionality, intelligence and creativity, and looks which did not flatter the opposite sex, but apparently challenged it in a no-fooling kind of way.

 

Today I say she would have been  a staunch feminist, contributing much with her music towards liberating other lonely creative women…and creative people.

 

But instead of confronting hers and our unmet needs, she succumbed to her addictions, alcohol and heroin. What an incalculable loss to the music world and humanity.

 

So please enjoy her Woodstock Full Concert, presented at the original Woodstock 1969 Festival in Bethel NY.

 

And when you hear Janis, please tune your ear to the everpresent overbearing cry for love, which comes out in everything she sang, and everything she did.

 

It’s trendy to disparage people with flaws as great as Janis’. 


But I say we shouldn’t yield to the temptation to offer negative judgment, as comfortable as that makes some people…It’s also not nice to beat someone when they are down especially when they already died from it.

 

Lets take a new look at Janis… a tragic genius who SHOWED us with her musical strains and almost over-the-top disturbing cries and histrionic overtones ….that pain we all conceal too well inside our polished- and-polite exteriors. The pain that SCREAMS out to be noticed.

 

The same screams coming from John Lennon when he sang the last lines from his song “Mother”:

 

“Mother, you had me
But I never had you
I wanted you
But you didn’t want me
So
I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye
Goodbye

Father, you left me
But I never left you
I needed you
But you didn’t need me
So
I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye
Goodbye

Children, don’t do
What I have done
I couldn’t walk
And I tried to run
So
I, I just got to tell you
Goodbye
Goodbye

Mama don’t go
Daddy come home
Mama don’t go
Daddy come home
Mama don’t go
Daddy come home
Mama don’t go
Daddy come home

Mama don’t go
Daddy come home
Mama don’t go
Daddy come home
Mama don’t go
Daddy come home
Mama don’t go
Daddy come home

Mama don’t go
Daddy come home”

Songwriters
SWAN, SIERRA

Published by
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Read more: John Lennon – Mother Lyrics | MetroLyrics

http://www.metrolyrics.com/mother-lyrics-john-lennon.html

1.      Jasonsays:

September 2, 2015 at 16:58

Hi Avera,

Another great post. I loved Janis and her music, which as you say was unconventional, challenged the norms and spoke of tragic pain.

It is a shame that people don’t see through these barriers we try to defend ourselves with. Anyone that resorts to drugs, while they will never admit it, is making a plea for help or just trying to block severe pain from their life. The issue is as much as we block, we don’t heal and we begin a further downward spiral of self loathing and negativity.

A great post which will open many eyes!

Jason

REPLY

1.      Avera Yugensays:

September 2, 2015 at 20:11

Hi Jason and thank you for the heads-up about this post. I still get misty when I hear that diva Janis, and you are right in my opinion about the connection between shutting out pain and a pseudo-normality which will always break down in the face of enough stress…..
I hope you are right about how much attention this site will get now ;=)
Warmly,
Avera

REPLY

1.      Laurettasays:

September 1, 2015 at 19:16

Oh my goodness! an amazing article dude. Thanks Nonetheless I am experiencing challenge with ur rss . Don’t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody getting identical rss drawback? Anyone who is aware of kindly respond. Thnkx

REPLY

1.      Avera Yugensays:

September 1, 2015 at 20:18

Hi Lauretta,
No I never knew there was a problem with the RSS….I get the RSS-roll when I click on it and never hit the subscribe button myself. But I will check it now and try to fix whatever is keeping it from working. Thank you so much for you interest in my site… and obvious positive response ;=)
It’s people like you that make all this worthwhile! Stay in touch anyway you can…the project is growing…
Warmly,
Avera

REPLY

1.      Avera Yugensays:

September 9, 2015 at 02:12

Hi Lauretta,
The RSS is working now. Please do me the honor of being my first subscriber!!

Best to you always,
Avera

REPLY

1.      Lawrencesays:

August 30, 2015 at 23:36

Hey there
I like the lyrics of this song!
Always been a fan of Lennon as well.
i can see that a lot of passion and energy was put into this record.
Thanks
Lawrence

REPLY

1.      Avera Yugensays:

August 30, 2015 at 23:49

Hi Lawrence,
I recently saw a film about John Lennon, and he never really had anyone to care about him although his childhood was filled with bright promise. The adults were too busy with their own agenda and John constantly felt betrayed or used. And if anything he soft peddled that true history in his music. When it does come out it is startling and explosive. That album was filled with passion and tragedy, and I believe he was helped along the road to self-understanding by the therapist Janov. Unfortunately he needed much more help than what Janov could offer, but anyone could see in his music he was beginning to “get it”.

Warmly,
Avera

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