I had a duh moment yesterday. I realized Sean Prophet of Black Sun Journal was The Sean Prophet of Elizabeth Clare Prophet fame. As an occasional reader of his outstanding blog, I was a fan of his intellect but wondered about where he was coming from. Once I realized the connection, well... things made a little more sense.
Sean writes an outstanding post on the power of music and roll of the band Rush in an important moment in his life:
So I had a little time one night while I was packing. No one was around. I guiltily grabbed my headphones to listen to the prohibited music, all in the name of research, of course ;-) and popped in Power Windows. It had been a few years since I had listened--really listened to this music. I was overwhelmed. It was like a dam burst. I was even able to hear "Territories" in a different way, as a plea for peace and enlightenment. Next I moved on to Hold Your Fire, and was moved to tears listening to this song...
Music saved Sean. It's been an important force in my life, as it is for many people I know and love. I appreciate Seans story - it is powerful and reminds me of why I like blogging. I connect with humanity, a small sliver of humanity in this case, but the connection is no less real. I share this connection with Olly of 10,000 Reasons to Doubt the Fish. Olly connected me to Sean with a powerful affirmation of his own.
I’ve never had an idol. I’ve never had someone that I felt was worthy of that kind of brainless respect. What I have had are guides. My guides are Robert Plant, Trent Reznor, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and John Lennon. My guides are Frank Herbert, Issac Asimov, Allen Ginsburg, and J.R.R. Tolkien. They are Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Picasso.
Source: 10,000 Reasons to Doubt the Fish - A 'Rush' of Emotion from Sean Prophet
I don't follow sports, I'm not into TV or pop culture. I don't have a idol either. Instead, much like olly and many other people I know, I find inspiration in art, music, and the written word. Photography can move me to tears, paintings cause me to loose track of time, a book is a world of its own to explore, and music helps me keep it all together. Sublime, DMB, Collective Soul, Buckwheat Zydeco, David Bowie, Ben Harper, John Lee Hooker, John Lennon, Benny Goodman, SRV, Cat Stevens, Robert Johnson, Weezer, Green Day, Lyle Lovett, Brent Lewis, Thievery Corporation, The Crystal Method, The New Pornographers, Arty Shaw, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, The Decemberists, Johnny Cash, Matisyahu, Zazen Boys, Imogen Heap, James Blunt, my friend David Odeegard, and the great Bob Marley. This list goes on and on, as does the inspiration.
2 comments:
Glad you liked my post ;). I feel like I left a bunch of important influences out when I wrote my post: then I realized that I could never get everyone in, so I'll leave it alone.
;)
-olly
I feel the same way. Way too many to list.
Post a Comment