I also come in praise of the love for Love, who I first heard on MIT's fantastic community radio station, MBR. That slipperiness between the light and the dark drew me in and sent me down the Arthur Lee rabbit hole. Appreciate the piece.
Thanks Paul. Yes that album gives and gives, and sometimes takes in strange ways. I recommend Hultkrans' book. Its a little "American Studies"-ish, but that's also a strength, since it embeds the book in history and American traditions without taking away its singular quality. It was wonderful to sit down and listen to my vinyl copy again, it is definitely one of my touchstones for California Gnosis (in the light AND dark sense, and the slipperiness between).
Great stuff, especially the time you spent on Arthur Lee and his beautiful and visionary lysergic bummer-whispering.
Curious if you've ever examined, or heard of a deep examination of Sly Stone's occultism? I've always assumed it was conscious or unconscious racism that kept Sly from being lumped in with the Jimmy Pages and David Bowies of the Crowley electric music continuum, and I'd really love to grok something that goes deep in to that, I mean the dude wore a star of David (wasn't Jewish), literally had a song called "everybody is a star", another song with the repeated refrain "shadrach meshach and abednego", and was defiantly proud of his early adoption of drugs as gate opening transgression tools. Am I looking too deep in it? Was he a master because no one actually figured out that he was consciously wizarding? Or was his humanity, in all it's positive and destructive complexity, just invisible to the white press. Or maybe all those things? I'd love your opinion, and possible direction towards a researcher/writer, hopefully of color, who's explored this.
Here I must claim ignorance. I have never put these pieces together; they suggest *something* for sure, but what? Have you read other sources on Sly's occult interests or just tying the pieces together? After all the Beastie Boys also sang about Shadrach, etc. Although there is Adam Yauch's tantric Buddhist thing there so who knows?
I would love to know and write more on Syle sometime. I felt bad giving him only a few lines in this piece, since his funk power is so mighty, as well as a kind of feel-good positivity that is devoid of pop sentimental treacle.
Meta-ironically! the Beastie Shadrach song beat and vocal refrain is sampled almost entirely from the Sly song "Loose Booty" which is the "Shadrach" one I was referring to. It's on the album "Small Talk", a profoundly underrated later strung-out Sly album, whose lyrics take the unsentimental positive thing you're talking about to new-aeon and utopian-Eselon levels (further pinging the mystery-detector).
I've searched Greg Tate's writing for something on it, but so far haven't found it, although it's hella fun scouring.
Wow that's almost a legitimate synchro, but of course the Beasties were being cheeky with the Sly track. The SM&A story is of course from the Book of Daniel, one of the most visionary in the bible. They are thrown into a furnace of fire and are not burned. Instead of the three anti-idolatrous Jews (with Aramaic names), the King sees four beings in the furnace -- the fourth a spirit of God (or another "entity"). All very alchemical: do not fear the fire of change!
I will listen to Small Talk today, I never went beyond Fresh. Clearly time to listen through the catalog.
I love Greg Tate's writing, always have, and I am happy we got to hang out back in my VV days and talk cyberpunk. But he has never been very interested in the mystic and/or psychedelic, so it doesn't mean its not there. Is there a Sly bio?
No Sly bio I’ve ever found, I’ve been told by journalists and musicians that, while clearly a genius, he’s not forthcoming or anything near a good person so no one dared tread to long in his world. There was an excellent and terrifying article in Mojo years ago about the making of “there’s a riot..” and it made him sound like a sadistic pimp who was seriously in to mind control.
Just listened to both Fresh and Small Talk, the latter was definitely better than the haters say. But what blew me away again, after all those years when it blew me away the first time, was "In Time." I guess when Miles heard that he played it over and over for his band. So "off" and yet perfect, broken funky, compressed funky, I dunno what funky. The link was great, I think he is right on: the "spirituality" of funk, in contrast to soul or blues, is the koan here.
I also come in praise of the love for Love, who I first heard on MIT's fantastic community radio station, MBR. That slipperiness between the light and the dark drew me in and sent me down the Arthur Lee rabbit hole. Appreciate the piece.
Thanks Paul. Yes that album gives and gives, and sometimes takes in strange ways. I recommend Hultkrans' book. Its a little "American Studies"-ish, but that's also a strength, since it embeds the book in history and American traditions without taking away its singular quality. It was wonderful to sit down and listen to my vinyl copy again, it is definitely one of my touchstones for California Gnosis (in the light AND dark sense, and the slipperiness between).
Wonderfull.
Great stuff, especially the time you spent on Arthur Lee and his beautiful and visionary lysergic bummer-whispering.
Curious if you've ever examined, or heard of a deep examination of Sly Stone's occultism? I've always assumed it was conscious or unconscious racism that kept Sly from being lumped in with the Jimmy Pages and David Bowies of the Crowley electric music continuum, and I'd really love to grok something that goes deep in to that, I mean the dude wore a star of David (wasn't Jewish), literally had a song called "everybody is a star", another song with the repeated refrain "shadrach meshach and abednego", and was defiantly proud of his early adoption of drugs as gate opening transgression tools. Am I looking too deep in it? Was he a master because no one actually figured out that he was consciously wizarding? Or was his humanity, in all it's positive and destructive complexity, just invisible to the white press. Or maybe all those things? I'd love your opinion, and possible direction towards a researcher/writer, hopefully of color, who's explored this.
Here I must claim ignorance. I have never put these pieces together; they suggest *something* for sure, but what? Have you read other sources on Sly's occult interests or just tying the pieces together? After all the Beastie Boys also sang about Shadrach, etc. Although there is Adam Yauch's tantric Buddhist thing there so who knows?
I would love to know and write more on Syle sometime. I felt bad giving him only a few lines in this piece, since his funk power is so mighty, as well as a kind of feel-good positivity that is devoid of pop sentimental treacle.
Meta-ironically! the Beastie Shadrach song beat and vocal refrain is sampled almost entirely from the Sly song "Loose Booty" which is the "Shadrach" one I was referring to. It's on the album "Small Talk", a profoundly underrated later strung-out Sly album, whose lyrics take the unsentimental positive thing you're talking about to new-aeon and utopian-Eselon levels (further pinging the mystery-detector).
I've searched Greg Tate's writing for something on it, but so far haven't found it, although it's hella fun scouring.
Wow that's almost a legitimate synchro, but of course the Beasties were being cheeky with the Sly track. The SM&A story is of course from the Book of Daniel, one of the most visionary in the bible. They are thrown into a furnace of fire and are not burned. Instead of the three anti-idolatrous Jews (with Aramaic names), the King sees four beings in the furnace -- the fourth a spirit of God (or another "entity"). All very alchemical: do not fear the fire of change!
I will listen to Small Talk today, I never went beyond Fresh. Clearly time to listen through the catalog.
I love Greg Tate's writing, always have, and I am happy we got to hang out back in my VV days and talk cyberpunk. But he has never been very interested in the mystic and/or psychedelic, so it doesn't mean its not there. Is there a Sly bio?
No Sly bio I’ve ever found, I’ve been told by journalists and musicians that, while clearly a genius, he’s not forthcoming or anything near a good person so no one dared tread to long in his world. There was an excellent and terrifying article in Mojo years ago about the making of “there’s a riot..” and it made him sound like a sadistic pimp who was seriously in to mind control.
That said, I found a good article about his upbringing in the Pentecostal Sanctified Charismatic COGIC, which makes tons of sense lyrically, musically. and definitely puts him on at least one type of California freak wave: https://www.newblackmaninexile.net/2012/06/sly-stone-and-sanctified-church.html?m=1
Hope you dug Small Talk, his funk is at least unambiguous.
Just listened to both Fresh and Small Talk, the latter was definitely better than the haters say. But what blew me away again, after all those years when it blew me away the first time, was "In Time." I guess when Miles heard that he played it over and over for his band. So "off" and yet perfect, broken funky, compressed funky, I dunno what funky. The link was great, I think he is right on: the "spirituality" of funk, in contrast to soul or blues, is the koan here.