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September 12, 2003

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Artists, music play vital role in
developing self during college

I’m waiting for Warren to die. After nearly a year, I can tell you it hasn’t been easy. Last fall, Warren Zevon announced that he had terminal cancer and was given three months to live. But he is still hanging on, somehow.

Warren Zevon is one of my favorite musicians. I discovered him when I was a college student. He was peaking then, and I have continued to be a fan long since I graduated.

With a pipe-smoking skull for a logo and songs like “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” “Werewolves of London,” and “Excitable Boy,” Warren Zevon has always been a quirky rocker with a gravelly voice, a sense of humor, and a talent for making decent music. I suspect he would be tolerant of my impatience.

The truth is, I don’t want him to be over, and I’m kind of sad about it. I am among the loyal legion of fans who bought his recently released farewell album, The Wind.

You probably have your own Warren – someone whose CDs you buy the week they are released. The musicians who have made the most impact on me are the ones I came to age with as a student. The college years were among my favorite and not just because they were so unbelievably fun.

College is a time when young people often figure out who they are, how they want to be, what they value and what they feel. College students learn to be independent, to be intellectual, to be political and to be social, among other things. Students learn who their friends really are and how important they can be, in good times and bad.

And most of us use music, particularly during those important formative times, as a coat of arms if not as an imaginary personal soundtrack. Sometimes you just plain connect with an artist, even if you have little in common. Sometimes the music, the lyrics, and often a perfect combination of the two, resonate with you. Sometimes you have a void that needs filling.

You can learn a great deal about a person from looking through their music collection. At a minimum music is entertainment, but quite often it is a window to the heart of its owner. In college, that music can create a lasting snapshot of something meaningful: a friend; a date; a night; a smell; a year – or maybe more. You will have that music – and all that went with it – forever.

College is a time when young people often figure out who they are, how they want to be, what they value and what they feel. College students learn to be independent, to be intellectual, to be political and to be social, among other things. Students learn who their friends really are and how important they can be, in good times and bad.

For the past year, I have diligently checked the Internet and the music section of the newspaper anxiously wondering if Warren was still not dead – if he’d get to finish The Wind – if he’d just hang on. I’ve pulled out my Warren Zevon albums and CDs, and added some more – playing them mercilessly, getting reacquainted, and reminiscing. Soon I will have to let go of the man but not the music.

I hope you have your own Warren and that you enjoy him or her for as long as you can, even as you grow older. As for me, today … I’m just waiting for my Warren to die.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column was submitted prior to Warren Zevon’s death on Monday, Sept. 8. He was 56 years old.

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