it's the killer's birthday today and i wanted to write something about the effect his music has had upon old captain mission, it's been powerful enough through my days, and any one who knows me will testify i've always been a passionate advocate for this artist. more so than bowie and lou reed who seemed destined for fast fame and it's rewards, they both had a period where their work became mundane and unrewarding, whereas the killer, he just produced quality, in all domains. you go see him act, he's acts, read a poem, and it's like wandering through a cathedral, listen to that base and it's talking to your spirit then there's the words. 
if in the beginning there was the word, then these are the ones i want resonating through my universe, sometimes i sit at home involved in whatever i am involved in, be it, writing, gardening, surfing and some fragment of a song will enter me, 'for 101 voluptuous days i broke the law' it will slide right into me and set me thinking, what makes a voluptuous day? what was going on there? what law was broken? why 101 days anyway?
the analytical part of my brain is actually quite weak so i don't tend to analyse the songs the way i probably would if i were a proper fan, they just enter my soul and make me wander around in some altered state, leave me thoughtful and contemplative, lost in the feeling. those words become mine, i'll get the feeling of 101 voluptuous days and breaking some sort of code or law, yeah i'll feel the line deeply, and in a way part of my life reveals itself. either a past life or a future one, or some buried memory of when i was younger pops into my head, or some landscape, the interior of a plush turkish tabernacle. ruby cushions, fresh figs and dates, wine in golden decanters, exotic fruit platters and the slave girls fanning myself like i was the favourite warrior of the sultan. and the lust in the air, heavy and strong like molasses as the dark skinned girls whom are very expert in their skills oil my shoulders, the law didn't break, it just dissolve's. anyway you get the picture, imagine that saturation, the words are very important, as much as the music. 
but it's not just embedded in one domain of creativity, he's a genius at many arts, like an old school master. and in the tradition of rock and roll, you don't get individuals whom have this expanse. 
australia never recognises it's great artists until it begins overseas, or until they are dead, i always felt far to much emphasis is placed on sporting types than artists. and here living amongst us is steve. you can still see him play with his band, or with some other talented musicians, you can hear him read at a book launch, that hilarious poem about the jacket lost in transit, you can see him in a play or in a movie, bit part, lead role, it makes no difference for he will be the brightest star you see. which is why i always attempt to get to those events, come hell or high water, sometimes i arrive a week early, due to my terrible head for dates, times and numbers, sometimes i have to beg people to swap shifts with me so i can get to the show, but whatever the obstacle, i know i'm going to be seeing a true great. a magnificent artist who is not only still going strong but getting better and better and i know in my very blood, sometimes when he's up there singing a song about william from glide or the one about the milky way bars or any of the hundreds of tunes, i'm watching the picasso of my generation. 
happy birthday.