General Music Chat

I read a lot of the earlier Stephen King material... In a lot of those stories, the first 100 pages were like wading through mud to get the momentum of the story going...

I liked his imagination overall... Loved 'IT" , The Stand...

... I never encountered him in person... never had any desire to... I would not say he is a literary genius by any stretch of the imagination..but he is entertaining and does have a decent formula to work with .

Thats crazy talk...If I could be a cross between Jeff Loomis, Chris Broderick, Vivian Campbell, Randy Rhoads, Marty Freidman, James Murphy, Alex Skolnick and Ron Jarzombek...Eternal damnation here I come...LOL!!!

Thats crazy talk...If I could be a cross between Jeff Loomis, Chris Broderick, Vivian Campbell, Randy Rhoads, Marty Freidman, James Murphy, Alex Skolnick and Ron Jarzombek...Eternal damnation here I come...LOL!!!

Wouldn't you rather be . . . "you"?

did you write this article? Or just borrowing it?
http://uncensoredhistoryoftheblues.purp ... devil.html

The legend of selling a soul to the devil in exchange for musical prowess has been associated with many genres of music for centuries. But it?s stuck more firmly to the blues than to any other music. However, the truth is that when blues singers talked about the devil they were more likely referring to a mistreating woman or boss than to the Price of Darkness.

Skip James recorded ?Devil Got My Woman? in 1931. He had an amazing voice where he certainly sounds haunted by something from hell. But he was more troubled by his woman than anything supernatural.

Washboard Sam recorded another song associating his woman with the devil in 1941, ?She Belongs to the Devil.?

Most non-religious types of music (and many activities) were dubbed the work of the devil church folk, the blues may earned the lasting sobriquet the Devil?s Music because some blues musicians embraced the image. One major blues star of the 1930s took it so far as to use it as a successful marketing tool. He called himself the High Sheriff from Hell or the Devil?s Son-In-Law and became one of the most popular and imitated musicians of his time. Peetie Wheatstraw probably gained many fans looking for a form of slight rebellion, because he presented a somewhat subversive alternative to the activities deemed acceptable by the church without being truly threatening.

Peetie Wheatstraw worked hard to establish that link to the devil and it would have been understood as all in fun by his audience. It?s a different story with Tommy Johnson who is also closely linked with the devil. In his case, the story that he sold his soul to the devil came years after his life had ended. His brother LeDell, a minister, told the classic tale of Tommy going to the crossroads to meet the devil and coming away with the ability to play any song he wanted. Though references to the devil are absent from Tommy Johnson?s music, this story has become an important part of the mythology of the blues. It must be remembered that it came from a man devoted to the church who considered a life outside of the church, a devil?s life. Big Road Blues was one of his popular songs that many of his followers would play later.

The lyrics in Lonnie Johnson?s ?Devil?s Got the Blues? may get at the place of the devil in the blues more accurately than anyone else. Lonnie Johnson sings ?the blues is like the devil it comes on you like a spell, it will leave your heart full of trouble and your poor mind full of hell.? The blues and the devil are both represent what?s wrong in the world, so it?s not surprising that the two would intersect quite often. The devil is most often used to represent the trouble, rather than a promise to sacrifice a soul as often referenced in the Robert Johnson legend (that also applied to Tommy Johnson and others). But Robert Johnson was just another man in this same tradition who was heavily influenced by some of the musicians I?ve played. He should be remembered for his music and the tradition he came, not as an exception that got his music through supernatural means.

If it was possible to sell my soul to the devil in exchange for fame,
I wouldn't.
I don't trust the devil, and God might be resentful and he would mess things up as well.
I think that belief comes from watching too many episodes of the twilight zone.
if it didn't work out in the outer limits it won't work out for you,
that's the law!

I'm a pretty fair player and a decent song writer. But with me, it's all been hard work - no talent that I can discern except perhaps a knack for lyrics and off beat songs.

I've known folks who had the talent - if they'd worked as hard as me they could have gone places.

Not sure I understand truly what 'talent' is though. It's part a sort of inherent ability to play instruments and think creatively. But there is more.

A wacky keyb player I knew called it "sparkle." In LA having 'sparkle' was a bonus - not quite 'talent' but maybe charisma, outrageiousness or something. Combine it with talent and you had The Tubes!

But actual talent - my brother was playing drums in a band in his teens. He was critical of the guitarist. The guitar player made a big mistake when he told brother Dan "If you think it's so easy then you try it!"

Dan ended up being the lead guitarist.

Me? I just try to translate the things I see when I drink into songs without hitting too many wrong notes!

Talbot

did you write this article? Or just borrowing it?
http://uncensoredhistoryoftheblues.purp ... devil.html

The legend of selling a soul to the devil in exchange for musical prowess has been associated with many genres of music for centuries. But it?s stuck more firmly to the blues than to any other music. However, the truth is that when blues singers talked about the devil they were more likely referring to a mistreating woman or boss than to the Price of Darkness.

Skip James recorded ?Devil Got My Woman? in 1931. He had an amazing voice where he certainly sounds haunted by something from hell. But he was more troubled by his woman than anything supernatural.

Washboard Sam recorded another song associating his woman with the devil in 1941, ?She Belongs to the Devil.?

Most non-religious types of music (and many activities) were dubbed the work of the devil church folk, the blues may earned the lasting sobriquet the Devil?s Music because some blues musicians embraced the image. One major blues star of the 1930s took it so far as to use it as a successful marketing tool. He called himself the High Sheriff from Hell or the Devil?s Son-In-Law and became one of the most popular and imitated musicians of his time. Peetie Wheatstraw probably gained many fans looking for a form of slight rebellion, because he presented a somewhat subversive alternative to the activities deemed acceptable by the church without being truly threatening.

Peetie Wheatstraw worked hard to establish that link to the devil and it would have been understood as all in fun by his audience. It?s a different story with Tommy Johnson who is also closely linked with the devil. In his case, the story that he sold his soul to the devil came years after his life had ended. His brother LeDell, a minister, told the classic tale of Tommy going to the crossroads to meet the devil and coming away with the ability to play any song he wanted. Though references to the devil are absent from Tommy Johnson?s music, this story has become an important part of the mythology of the blues. It must be remembered that it came from a man devoted to the church who considered a life outside of the church, a devil?s life. Big Road Blues was one of his popular songs that many of his followers would play later.

The lyrics in Lonnie Johnson?s ?Devil?s Got the Blues? may get at the place of the devil in the blues more accurately than anyone else. Lonnie Johnson sings ?the blues is like the devil it comes on you like a spell, it will leave your heart full of trouble and your poor mind full of hell.? The blues and the devil are both represent what?s wrong in the world, so it?s not surprising that the two would intersect quite often. The devil is most often used to represent the trouble, rather than a promise to sacrifice a soul as often referenced in the Robert Johnson legend (that also applied to Tommy Johnson and others). But Robert Johnson was just another man in this same tradition who was heavily influenced by some of the musicians I?ve played. He should be remembered for his music and the tradition he came, not as an exception that got his music through supernatural means.

No Mike Rugel posted and got it out of the book Deep Blues, what's your point? Are you gonna yell at me about that asinine plagiarism crap?

I would imagine if you did sell your soul to devil to become kickass, it would go something like -
Get three hours of sleep a night, don't have time to hold down a job or develop any personal relationships, can't keep the relationships that you have, become malnurished, ect...
- All because you are suddenly COMPELLED to constantly play your instrument, learn stuff about music, play new music, and write songs.

So a psychological disorder would probably work just as well.

I would imagine if you did sell your soul to devil to become kickass, it would go something like -
Get three hours of sleep a night, don't have time to hold down a job or develop any personal relationships, can't keep the relationships that you have, become malnurished, ect...
- All because you are suddenly COMPELLED to constantly play your instrument, learn stuff about music, play new music, and write songs.

So a psychological disorder would probably work just as well.

gtZip's got it! Duke Ellington had numerous opportunities to marry actresses and women of royalty, but declined stating that it would not be fair to them because his life is his music and they would always come second.

I developed almost all of my musical abilities back when that was all I did, everyday, all day. There were weeks where I would practice day and night.

In a very real sense this type of sacrifice IS the deal with the 'devil' (Daimon). Do you want a life, or do you want excellence?
This type of discipline I carried over into my occult practices which requires focus and dedication.

Matter of fact I have been writing a book for the past few years on the subject of Music and the Black Arts . . . and 'someday' I might actually finish it! LOL!!

I would imagine if you did sell your soul to devil to become kickass, it would go something like -
Get three hours of sleep a night, don't have time to hold down a job or develop any personal relationships, can't keep the relationships that you have, become malnurished, ect...
- All because you are suddenly COMPELLED to constantly play your instrument, learn stuff about music, play new music, and write songs.

So a psychological disorder would probably work just as well.

That sounds like good old fashioned labor and sweat to me... And BTW, if you look at most of the work from all the 'greats', you'll find flaws in every stitch of it, suggesting that aspiration for Excellence might be futile and never-ending chase.

Look at Janis Joplin: She's the first entertainer of her time, that actually didn't give a sh*t about polishing her work... You could say that she successfully figured out how to make music AND live a life (Albeit a hardy , short one) at the same time. She always made room for her friends,etc...

In short, the curse on mankind comes to us through imbalances in life. The only thing the Devil can ever really offer to a mortal, is leverage against the un-leveragable...and that inherently proves he's a liar, not to be trusted..But it also proves what idiots such people are who buy into his promise. How's that saying go: "Gain the world, lose your soul" ?

I would imagine if you did sell your soul to devil to become kickass, it would go something like -
Get three hours of sleep a night, don't have time to hold down a job or develop any personal relationships, can't keep the relationships that you have, become malnurished, ect...
- All because you are suddenly COMPELLED to constantly play your instrument, learn stuff about music, play new music, and write songs.

So a psychological disorder would probably work just as well.

uh oh....................

This thread has me wanting to find that movie Crossroads and listen to some Vai, for some reason.

you guys have got me confused, (think the Rolling Stones talk about the state of mind known as "confusion" in their tune Sympathy For The Devil") but is the inner daemon spoken of by the Ancient Greeks the same as a Luciferian demon? in one aspect a daemon is something that can be helpful to a human all around, but a demon is to be admonished... read Ouspensky literature when I was in my early 20's trying to get meaning out of human existence, but without the right mind it can lead to more confusion rather than helpfulness... guess that's why you need to be ready spritually, physically, and emotionally, before you advance.. Fripp and Summers come to mind, "I Advance Masked"

you guys have got me confused, (think the Rolling Stones talk about the state of mind known as "confusion" in their tune Sympathy For The Devil") but is the inner daemon spoken of by the Ancient Greeks the same as a Luciferian demon? in one aspect a daemon is something that can be helpful to a human all around, but a demon is to be admonished... read Ouspensky literature when I was in my early 20's trying to get meaning out of human existence, but without the right mind it can lead to more confusion rather than helpfulness... guess that's why you need to be ready spritually, physically, and emotionally, before you advance.. Fripp and Summers come to mind, "I Advance Masked"

The modern misunderstanding of demon comes from the Greek word Daimon, which was more of a guardian angel type of thing that had our best interest in mind and would guide us in times of pending disaster, was also our direct contact to our soul, and would also act as our creative muse.

There is no Luciferian demon (associated with evil), but rather the Daemon in the Greek respect.

I recall having delightful conversations with Fripp back in 1985 when I lived and studied with him about our Daemon/Muse, very intelligent man.

you guys have got me confused, (think the Rolling Stones talk about the state of mind known as "confusion" in their tune Sympathy For The Devil") but is the inner daemon spoken of by the Ancient Greeks the same as a Luciferian demon? in one aspect a daemon is something that can be helpful to a human all around, but a demon is to be admonished... read Ouspensky literature when I was in my early 20's trying to get meaning out of human existence, but without the right mind it can lead to more confusion rather than helpfulness... guess that's why you need to be ready spritually, physically, and emotionally, before you advance.. Fripp and Summers come to mind, "I Advance Masked"

The modern misunderstanding of demon comes from the Greek word Daimon, which was more of a guardian angel type of thing that had our best interest in mind and would guide us in times of pending disaster, was also our direct contact to our soul, and would also act as our creative muse.

There is no Luciferian demon (associated with evil), but rather the Daemon in the Greek respect.

I recall having delightful conversations with Fripp back in 1985 when I lived and studied with him about our Daemon/Muse, very intelligent man.

.so Etu, you possibly studied Gurdijeff also, as did Fripp, possibly if you have had actual conversations with Robert?