Thank You DJ

On August 28th 2009, the world lost the creative vision of Adam Goldstein.

Better known as DJ-AM, Adam was a pioneer and innovator in DJ culture. He recorded with Madonna, Will Smith, and countless others, and most recently had been performing with Travis Barker as the percussion-DJ powerhouse TRV$DJAM. Although toxicology reports are not available as I write this, it appears as though Adam succumbed in his war against addiction after nearly ten years of sobriety. I’m saddened by this news, as I am saddened by the death of all those creative souls who bring joy and inspiration to others. Sadder still, Adam survived a plane crash last December. One would think that would be more than enough to inspire a fierce appreciation of life. That just goes to show the power of addiction.

We are all addicted to something. It may be something benign like a TV show, or it could even be an addiction to something good for you, like yoga. But usually the word implies a desperate need to mask or medicate oneself from a pain too difficult to deal with or even acknowledge. But addiction doesn’t just rob us of the people infected by it, it robs us of the people affected by it. It clouds and diminishes the lives of everyone near it, and meanwhile too many others look the other way.

Below is a dance I saw on TV recently. I’ve seen it many times, and unashamed to say never once without crying. It’s a moving, haunting, soul stirring interpretation of addiction. I hope it moves you too. More, I hope it moves you to share anything you like about addiction. Your story. Someone else’s. And if a world free of drug addiction is something you fight for, tell us about that.