What would Keith Richards do? Daily affirmations from a rock'n'roll survivor

Author: Jessica Pallington West
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Price: $19.99 (paperback)

Rock star philosopher

I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn’t resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn’t have cared. It went down pretty well and I am still alive.

Really? Or is this something the famous Rolling Stone who owns over 3000 guitars only thought he did with enough heroin coursing through his veins to kill a small horse?

What would Keith Richards do? is a collection of some of the more lucid and relevant thoughts of one of the worlds greatest rock ‘n ‘roll talents this side of Elvis. As difficult it is to admit it, Keith makes some pretty good points. He strips back the fancy verbose language of some of the planets greatest philosophers and just gives it to you straight without apology or pretence.

Not merely a compendium of wisdom, this book is also a complete guide to the inner workings of a complex and inspired belief system, and the life of a man sanctified by fame. Broken down into handy chapters this book reminds us to learn from our mistakes, to let our instincts lead us and above all do what Keith has done better than anyone – survive.

In addition to scavenging for enlightenment within the confines of a 200-page literary offering, the author provides some musings about Keith’s style (or lack thereof). The personal battles that should have killed him have resulted in some rather questionable additions to his fashion arterial. Skull rings, headbands, enough trinkets pinned to his dreadlocks to rival a Myer Christmas window. A series of cosmetic talismans to that ward off evil and remind him of the fact that he is lucky to be on the planet at all.

The skull it has nothing to do with bravado and surface bullshit. Beauty is skin deep. That is what we are all like under the flesh.

When it all comes down to it Keith Richards is not Buddha. He is just a bloke that has survived fame, heroin, cold turkey and life in general. But as he attests he made life harder for himself due to the choices he made.

The book which possibly could have been executed a little better to avoid quite a lot of unnecessary repetition is a great read. Lots of interesting thoughts to ponder and even if you are not a fan of Keith or the Stones, you will be sure to walk away from this one having either laughed or learned. To summarise in the words of Keith, Shit happens and how we choose to deal with that is totally up to us but attempting to ignore it is just an exercise in futility.

Things change when the shit hits the fan. If you put a Barbie in a blender by mistake, when you take it out, if it’s not completely shattered it is going to look a little different. What goes down goes down and it’s how you deal with it that counts.