So, I finally got a chance to dig around the garage sales of Rhode Island again and came up with some more interesting (if disturbing) finds.The first is by the Right Reverend Job Smit from Reat Lord Od Hates the Ays, a vinyl record put out by Od's Oing to Et You Records, which I think is the reverend's church in Mississippi. From the liner notes, it appears that Rev. Smit built his entire ministry out of a bizarre homophobia that was so virulent that he actually stopped using the letter "g" at all, since that was the first letter in "gay" (according to a recent memoir, the Crips and the Bloods do this same kind of thing with "c" and "b"). I did a little Internet sleuthing, and apparently this refusal to use "g" led to a huge misunderstanding regarding the reverend's views, and that his music actually became something of a hit in the gay underground music scene, since people thought he was singing about worshipping Lord Odd and that men were loving Earls and Als. In fact, he was invited to play a National Coming Out Party in San Francisco in the late 1970s. When he showed up and realized what was going on, he had a heart attack, leading to his demise three days later. His church and congregation, no longer held together by the force of his personality, soon disbanded. Here's a sample:
The next thing I found was on a cassette tape, homemade copy, really beaten and smelling of dog and whiskey. All that was written on it was the title. Possibly in blood. Whoever these demon children were, they seemed to lead their father into linking Joy Division's nihilistic song "Digital" with child-rearing. I pray for this poor lost soul:
So, I'll keep looking around and see what I can dig up.
4 comments:
It's great that a confused person like Rev. Smit can work out his demons to the delight of listeners.
Jimital sounds like the demon-child of Brian Eno and Devo. The haunting line "I got an idea... I got an idea ... A cookie! A cookie! A cookieeeeeee!!!" may never fully leave my brain.
Of course they're both going immediately on the iPod.
Thank you -- really, without your comments, I would feel I was but sending these out into the void.
Don't feel that way, honestly, and never give up. It's not unusual to get zero comments here even for a lengthy piece that took a lot of work (ask Paula). But I have abundant evidence that that doesn't mean people don't read (and listen) and like a lot of what they see here. So turn that frown upside down, buckaroo, and let a smile be your umbrella!
Thank you sir, I will unloop the rubber-band and tape noose I made from around my neck.
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