Sly Stone: Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

If you want me to stay
I’ll be around today
To be available for you to see
I’m about to go
And then you’ll know
For me to stay here I’ve got to be me

– If You Want Me to Stay, Sly & The Family Stone

I don’t write about music much, because . . . well . . . I can’t.  Just never have found the words to capture what it is that grabs me about a song, composition, or artist.  So I’ll just leave it at this, for now: if I were packing my bags for the Desert Island Permanent Vacation, I’d be sure to include the entire works of Sly & the Family Stone.   It’s not just a soundtrack of my life thing – it’s a brilliant music thing.  Which brings me to the next part:  the reason that we’ve got that brilliant music -  Sly Stone.

He’s not dead, you know.  His appearance at the Grammy’s last year probably reminded a few people of that.  For the most part, though, I think he’s rather widely assumed to be dead.  Most of the best stars of his time are, right?  Well, this Vanity Fair interview (!!!) reminds us that he’s not.    For the most part, I’ve very little use for celebrity.  I don’t care who Tom Cruise is keeping in his basement, and please god get the pictures of Britney away from me.  But there are still a few public figures I’d really like to know more about.  Sly is one of them.  From the interview:

Sly Stone is my favorite of the rock-era recluses, and, really, the only big one left. Syd Barrett, the architect of Pink Floyd’s entrancingly loopy early sound, passed away last summer at the age of 60, having resisted all entreaties to explain himself or sing again. Brian Wilson, the fragile visionary behind the Beach Boys, has been gently coaxed out of his shell by his friends and acolytes, and now performs and schmoozes regularly. He doesn’t count as a recluse anymore. But Sly has remained elusive—still with us, yet seemingly content to do without us.

Content to do without us.  See why I like this guy?

I start the interview in earnest with the most obvious question: “Why have you chosen to come back now?”

At this, he grins. “‘Cause it’s kind of boring at home sometimes.”

Read it.  And then cross your fingers that he’s going to alleviate that boredom in front of us.