So for the last couple of hours I´ve basically been lying down or sitting up or had my feet up on the futon. Reading this book about Punk Rock. How The Velvet Underground became the Stooges, how the Stooges became The New York Dolls and the Dolls became Television and the Ramones and the Dead Boys and Patti Smith was there too. And everybody knew everybody else and they weren´t that big but liked to go around in NYC. And the world seemed like a different place. There´s a piece of Andy Warhol there too. And Mick Jagger. And Keith Richards, I guess. David Bowie wanted to be in and got in. The Beatles are there by omission. And Of course Elvis. But I haven´t gotten to the Sex Pistols part yet. And I´m not fully buying that "nothing like the old days" vibe that the book unwillingly dishes out. But its hard no to imagine that it really was like that. It could´ve been. And its hard not to feel that my own life´s a waste. but hey. There were also lots and lots of producers, managers and bodyguards.
The name of the book is Please Kill Me. It comes from a t-shirt Richard Hell designed with a bullsey on it. Richard Hell was in Television. He´s a writer who learned how to play the bass.
Rock music today is different than in the 70´s because: the rock scene has gotten really big. Im not sure where to place punk rock today. I guess there is no such thing anymore. Or its everywhere. But I better leave reflections on the present day situation for later.

Today I also walked by a small ecological reserve. There was an old couple looking at birds. They had not so sophisticated binoculars and were really excited about a new find. They were looking it up in a book.

Everyone has their thing. I thought. Choose your poison. For me its rock bands. For them its birds.

One thing about the book that definately hung on to me was the death of Billy Murcia.
Billy was of Colombian descent. The son of hispanic immigrants working in New York. He played drums on the first lineup the New York Dolls had. It only lasted a year, maybe less. The Dolls played a lot in NY. Got some minor recognition and were booked for London, where they would be a complete success. They went from playing small shows in cultural centers to opening for Rod Stewart in front of 13 thousand. One night on that trip in 1972 Billy got hooked to some rich girl who invited him to a classy party. He went and had some downer drugs and some alcohol. the drugs he had made him choke and pass out. the rich kids put Billy in an ice cold bathtub and ran water. to see if he would react. Billy drowned.