Famous Shamans I have known and loved.

What needs do mythology and religion serve in today's world and in ancient times? Here we discuss the relationship between mythology, religion and science from mythological, religious and philosophical viewpoints.

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Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

Al wrote

Susan Tedeschi for one - IMO Wink

And Grace Potter!!

Both of them are "up & running" as artists
I saw them both in concert last year. The Grace Potter concert was excellent. She far exceeded my snooty high standards. The Tedeschi-Trucks band had some technical difficulties, but you could easily tell the talent was there.

Stone_Giant,

In my opinion Beyoncé and Madonna are the latest incarnations of Burlesque Queens. I have nothing against Burlesque, but I wouldn't call watching Beyoncé a mystical experience. Try watching with the sound down. I know I am showing my age.

Here is my list.

Joni Mitchel - a great poet who can really create images
Sinead O'Conner - She always wanted to be a priest
Loreena McKennitt - She is new age but evokes a mystical quality

Kate Bush- Anyone who begins a song with the line "I still dream of organon," gets my vote. The song is cloud busting. She was unique. Sang about being on the moon. If you don't know her try the CD "Hounds of love."

Here is a pop song from the 80s that asks the same question we have been debating at JCF. It is really the central question.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrlEalV-dUM
Am I only dreaming or is this burning an eternal flame?"
You know the old saying "out of the mouths of babes."

Finally Emmylou Harris- She has so many, "Sweet old world," "1917." Here is a link to "The pearl" and here are the lyrics. Good stuff.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CywArYObn2U
The pearl
O the dragons are gonna fly tonight
They're circling low and inside tonight
It's another round in the losing fight
Out along the great divide tonight

We are aging soldiers in an ancient war
Seeking out some half remembered shore
We drink our fill and still we thirst for more
Asking if there's no heaven what is this hunger for?

Our path is worn our feet are poorly shod
We lift up our prayer against the odds
And fear the silence is the voice of God

And we cry Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah

Sorrow is constant and the joys are brief
The seasons come and bring no sweet relief
Time is a brutal but a careless thief
Who takes our lot but leaves behind the grief

It is the heart that kills us in the end
Just one more old broken bone that cannot mend
As it was now and ever shall be amen

And we cry Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah

So there'll be no guiding light for you and me
We are not sailors lost out on the sea
We were always headed toward eternity
Hoping for a glimpse of Galilee

Like falling stars from the universe we are hurled
Down through the long loneliness of the world
Until we behold the pain become the pearl
The pearl

Cryin´ Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah

And we cry Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah
Ron

ALOberhoulser
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Post by ALOberhoulser »

What a great song by Emmylou Harris :!:

Joni Mitchell is definitely one of the greats, too!

Thanks, Ron!
Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
~Max Planck

Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

I thought I would post two more examples of female artists that touch on a mystical perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpA5Dp-uXxg

And this one from the moon.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YNJlZduP7o

It ends with
go to sleep little earth.
Here is a bonus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TupvVpxY_U

I've got to get back to writing.


Ron

Stone_Giant
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Post by Stone_Giant »

Al and everyone. I have started a Topic over in Mythos: For the creative community entitled "The Genius of Jimi Hendrix". In it I have posted my initial impressions of "Rainbow Bridge".

Regards, Stone_Giant.
Want to wash away my sins, in the presence of my friends. (Arcade Fire)

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Post by Stone_Giant »

Al, Still haven't checked Susan Tedeschi and Grace Potter but will definitely do so. I'ts really nice to have other people recommendations. There is so much media-pushed vapid "artistry" out there, the pearls are often hard to find.

Ron - like your take on Beyonce and Madonna - Burlesque Queens. As I said , I wasn't sure I should be promoting Madonna , I guess I just plainly admire her balls is what it is! I was also thinking of a name whom everyone would know. Probably not a candidate for Shamanhood then. :-)

You put forward two of my favourites, more subtle but much more spiritual than Ms Ciccone, I agree.

Joni Mitchell - bang on! A chronicler of the heart's trials. The lyrics to Amelia just floor me every time - to name but one song.
Kate Bush- absolutely groundbreaking artist. "..and I'll be two steps on the water.." She was laughed at when she first broke as an artist over here in the UK, and was the butt of comedian's jokes with much mickey taking in the media. However, she ploughed her own furrow and look at the results. (Incidentally have you heard the Futureheads take on Hounds of Love - it's a killer!)

Regards,Stone_Giant.
Want to wash away my sins, in the presence of my friends. (Arcade Fire)

Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

Listened to Amelia. What a great song.

One of my favorites was her tribute to Beethoven.

"The judgment of the moon and stars"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAAqsUgATBI

Lyrics

No tongue in the bell
And the fishwives yell
But they might as well be mute
So you get to keep the pictures
That don't seem like much
Cold white keys under your fingers
Now you're thinking
That's no substitute
It just don't do it
Like the song of a warm, warm body
Loving your touch

In the court they carve your legend
With an apple in its jaw
And the women that you wanted
They get their laughs
Long silk stockings
On the bedposts of refinement
You're too raw
They think you're too raw
Its the judgment of the moon and stars
Your solitary path
Draw yourself a bath
Think what you'd like to have
For supper
Or take a walk
A park
A bridge
A tree
A river
Revoked but not yet cancelled
The gift goes on
In silence
In a bell jar
Still a song ...

You've got to shake your fists at lightning now
You've got to roar like forest fire
You've got to spread your light like blazes
All across the sky
They're going to aim the hoses on you
Show them you wont expire
Not till you burn up every passion
Not even when you die
Come on now
You've got to try
If you're feeling contempt
Well then you tell it
If you're tired of the silent night
Jesus, well then you yell it
Condemned to wires and hammers
Strike every chord that you feel
That broken trees
And elephant ivories
Conceal

Ron

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Post by Stone_Giant »

Al, Just diggin' the Tedeschi Trucks band. V. interesting - that track is a blinding blend of Country, Jazz and blues/rock... and very tasty it is too.

Grace Potter - what a voice, what a babe.

Ron tx for the recommendations and lyrics. Who says us blokes are bluff, insenstive and rough as bear's arses, I'm getting some real emotional vibes aound here at the mo'. :-))

As we are on the musical/spiritual vibe can I also throw in Laura Nyro. I am a long time fan - so sad she died so early.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lDmFICw ... 153E1DA435


Stone_Giant
Want to wash away my sins, in the presence of my friends. (Arcade Fire)

ALOberhoulser
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Post by ALOberhoulser »

It's interesting we have been hitting the chords of "bluesman as shaman" (or blueswoman) - that's an interesting point of view... 8)
Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
~Max Planck

Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

Al,

After this post I think we should add Rush.

http://www.jcf.org/new/forum/viewtopic. ... cd22#87285

Stone_Giant

My favorite Grace Potter is "Low road."

My favorite Tedeschi-Trucks number is "Midnight in Harlem." I like guitars but they are typically not my focus. This song is amazing however. Down a couple of pints and listen to what I call mellow Hendricks. A statement I don't make lightly.

Al,

I think the Shaman is beautiful sound and mystical lyrics. The shaman of art.

Ron

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
~Max Planck

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

Muddy Waters - "Mannish Boy" - LIVE - '76 - HQ
Martin Scorsese ALMOST MISSED this! He had several cameramen covering the legendary concert (it is said "This Is Spinal Tap" was inspired by Marty's film) but their cameras only held ten minutes of film.

Thus every now and again, they'd pop into the booth for a refill. And when Muddy burst forth, they had ALL run out of film at the SAME TIME - bar ONE. After they had furiously reloaded and DASHED out, the other guy came in.

Quivering, Marty said, "Did you..."

"Don't worry," smiled the cameraman, patting his camera, "I got it."

Which is why a big chunk in the middle of the piece is ALL ONE SHOT!
I gotta say, here - Robbie Robertson was at his pinnacle in The Last Waltz . I finally got my hands on a copy of the whole show - it's magical! Now, I just need the full album :wink:

I've been listening to The Band quite a lot since Levon Helm passed away - it's like a soul quenching, time stopping mystical experience - sometimes :D

Emmylou Harris plays Evangeline on The Last Waltz (the person who uploaded that track has 22 of the songs from the movie on youtube)

"The greatest priests in NY were the musicians" ~Garth Hudson (from The Last Waltz) 8)
Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
~Max Planck

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Post by zoe »

It's interesting we have been hitting the chords of "bluesman as shaman" (or blueswoman) - that's an interesting point of view...
Agreed and I have to mention Joplin, she takes a little piece of my heart every time.
"If you can get them once, man, get them standing up when they should be sitting down, sweaty when they should be decorous... I think you sort of switch on their brain, man, so that makes them say: 'Wait a minute, maybe I can do anything.'" - Janis Joplin

Roncooper
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Post by Roncooper »

Well if we are going old school, I would like to add a Gospel-Blues Shaman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhzO9MiNafY

Ron

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Post by Roncooper »

How can we overlook Janis.

The cheap thrills CD had three of the best blues songs ever recorded, Piece of my Heart, Turtle Blues, and Ball and Chain.

In 1969, at one of my darkest times, I was a 1,000 miles from home, had lost everything, and had no hope for better days. I was sitting in my car and when I turned on the radio they played "Little Girl Blue." I knew she had been where I was and that helped, but what really helped was hearing the beautiful sound. I still had something after all.

Here is part of the monologue from the version of "Ball and Chain," on her greatest hits album. It sound like a Shaman.
I don't understand why half the world is still crying, man, when the other half of the world is still crying too, man, they can't get it together. I mean, if you got a cat for one day, man — I mean, if you say, if you want a cat for 365 days, right — You ain't got him for 365 days, you got him for one day, man. Well I tell you that one day, man, better be your life, man. Because, you know, you can say, oh man, you can cry about the other 364, man, but you're gonna lose that one day, man, and that's all you've got. You gotta call that love, man. That's what it is, man. If you got it today you don't wear it tomorrow, man, 'cause you don't need it, 'cause as a matter of fact, as we discovered in the train, tomorrow never happens, man. It's all the same f**king day, man.
Ron

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

She must have been referring to the train in Festival Express - 8)

Great story, Ron - the blues has been my salvation in many different circumstances. This song kept my feet on the ground after my grandma passed away - it was the juxtaposition that got me down to earth from intense grief. :cry:
Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
~Max Planck

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