Traces of the Spirit: The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music

298 Pages·2002·1.123 MB·English

by  Robin Sylvan

Traces of the Spirit

Traces of the Spirit
The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music
Robin Sylvan
a
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
© 2002 by New York University
All rights reserved.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sylvan,Robin.
Traces ofthe spirit :the religious dimensions ofpopular music /
Robin Sylvan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-8147-9808-X (cloth) — ISBN 0-8147-9809-8 (pbk.)
1.Popular music—Religious aspects. 2.Popular culture—Religious
aspects. I.Title.
ML3470 .S97 2002
781.64'112—dc21 2002000536
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction:Traces ofthe Spirit:The Hidden
Religious Dimensions ofPopular Music 1
I Theoretical,Structural,and Historical Background 15
1 The Connection between Music and Religion 19
2 West African Possession Religion and American
Popular Music 45
II Popular Music Subcultures as Religion:A Comparative
Analysis Based on Ethnographic Research 77
3 Eyes ofthe World:The Grateful Dead and
the Deadheads 83
4 The Dance Music Continuum:House,Rave,and
Electronic Dance Music 117
5 Stairway to Heaven,Highway to Hell:Heavy Metal
and Metalheads 152
6 The Message:Rap Music and Hip-Hop Culture 182
Conclusion:There’s More to the Picture than
Meets the Eye 214
Appendix 223
Notes 231
Bibliography 271
Index 281
About the Author 291
v

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Charles Long for taking me under his wing
early in my graduate career and making it possible for me to do exactly the
kind ofwork I had envisioned.He provided a larger theoretical context for
this work and his brilliant problematizing always pushed me to new levels
of insight and perspective.I am proud to be part of an intellectual lineage
of religious studies scholarship that I can trace back through him to his
teacher,Joachim Wach,and through him to his teacher,Rudolf Otto.I am
grateful that he saw my Ph.D.process through to completion even after he
left Santa Barbara to return to North Carolina.
I would also like to thank Catherine Albanese for her strong on-the-
ground involvement with this book. Her close reading of my drafts, her
surgical use of the red pen, and especially her insistence on my doing
fieldwork have contributed immeasurably to enhancing the quality of this
project. My appreciation as well to Dwight Reynolds for his accessibility
and musician’s perspective, and to Douglas Daniels for his expertise on
African American music.
I want to thank my parents,Irwin and Sally Sylvan,for their enormous
and unwavering support,both psychological and financial.Simply put,my
academic career would not have been possible without them and I hope I
have done them proud. Thanks also to my brother, David Sylvan, whose
sage advice on the arcane machinations of graduate school helped me at
numerous stages along the way. Gratitude to my friend and mentor,
Kenyth Freeman, for his ongoing support and for being my only reliable
link between the academic world and the other worlds I inhabit.
I am very thankful for my close friends and fellow scholars Darryl
Caterine,DaveMcMahan,andKatieKomenda.We’vebeeninthetrenches
togetherandhelpedeachotheratmanypointsalongtheway.Itreasurethe
spirit of cooperation and mutual support we created and the lasting con-
nections we’ve forged. To all my nonacademic friends in different com-
munities up and down the West Coast—in Ojai,in Santa Barbara,in the
vii
viii | Acknowledgments
BayArea,andinBellingham—mythanksaswell.Iknowthattherigorsof
academiatooktheirtollonmeasahumanbeing,andIappreciateevery-
one’spatienceandsupport,particularlywhenIwasnottheeasiestperson
tobewith.
Much gratitude to the great people who helped me with my fieldwork,
both in West Africa and in the Bay Area,especially Samba Doumbouya in
Dakar, John Collins in Accra, Patti Clemens in Oakland, and James
Romero in San Francisco.Thanks to all the interviewees for their time and
energy; I learned something from each session and was impressed with
everyone’s depth and integrity.I hope that I have done justice to the spirit
of the sessions, the people, the music, and the respective scenes. Best
wishes to all in their musical and spiritual endeavors.
Finally,I am thankful for the gifts ofmusic and spirit that have touched
me in my life in so many profound ways and I am grateful for the oppor-
tunity to give something back.Ifthis book makes some small contribution
to a greater awareness and deeper understanding of the spiritual and reli-
gious dimensions of music and/or inspires anyone in work of their own,
then all the effort will have been worth it.
Introduction
Traces of the Spirit: The Hidden Religious
Dimensions of Popular Music
I had an experience ofthe most complete identity with the Creator.
...and experienced—it’s hard to describe,but there was an under-
lying sensation ofa giant wheel and sort ofa picture ofa mandala.
But it wasn’t a visible picture;it was kind ofan underlying feeling
and it was also a visceral sensation at the top ofmy head,opening
up,and ofjust complete identity with all life and creation and unity
with people.
I felt the presence ofthe Creator ofall,and identity with,in other
words,immanence ofthe presence.And looking through my eyes.
Itturnedmebackontolife,becauseIhadreallykindofgiven
up[on]thepossibilityoflifebeingfulfillingandjoyfulandexcit-
ing,youknow,beingcompletelyalive.It’slikeIfeltsocompletely
aliveinareallyunadulteratedwaythatIrememberedwhatIfelt
like,whatIwasherefor,Iremembered“oh,okay.”We’reheretobe
likethis.
It approaches more closely the sacred than anything else I’ve ever
experienced.1 —Bill Lyman
I really did feel like at times I was subtracted from the individual
and became part ofthe whole.Maybe blending into the field which
binds all ofthe molecules ofthe universe,...the energy that binds
the entire world together....[I] experienced things from a higher
plane ofexistence.
There were definitely times where I felt like I was existing ...as
everything all at once.
I would blend into the cosmic mind....I felt like I was a part of
that....
I consider it to be a very spiritual experience.In fact,I can say
that prior to doing that,my sense ofspirituality was pretty weak,
pretty undeveloped,pretty dormant in me....But I definitely felt a
very strong sense ofspirituality and mostly the spirituality was kind
1
2 |Introd uction
ofa personal transformation into just understanding that oneness,
that concept ofthe one.
At that point in my life,things really transformed in me.I really
started feeling like I had a more noble purpose in life.2
—JeffTaylor
It was like a whole new world that I walked into.And it was a world
I wanted to stay in for the rest ofmy life....It was just amazing....
The feeling was an arrangement ofexcitement,self-love.Being
myselfmeans I love myself....My social life,my family.I found a
love.I found a positive attention.I found a release....
That’s where I built my definite structure on “this is what it’s all
about”and it was a great night.I’ll remember it for the rest ofmy
life....
My life did shift,I would say,to the positive,at least.Because ifI
had kept going the way I was,I would either go and kill people or I
would kill myselfor both....It made me a stronger person.It made
the depression go away....I would have to say it’s a positive reli-
gion,what I believe in....I live a pretty positive life.3
—Lance Ozanix
It’s the ancients.It’s definitely the ancients....[It] just called my
soul.It would make my soul jump out ofmy body,literally....It’s
just a link.Something touches you one day,just sparks your whole
consciousness....
I look around at everything,and everything I absorb is God and
I can express that,literally....It’s like praying.It’s like being with
God,literally,like being with God.
It just gives you a purpose.It shows you why you’re here....[It’s]
a spirituality.And it’s everything that I can think of....It just links
and connects to all that.It knows that I know God every day.
It’s in my day-to-day every day....It’s not different from my life.
It’s what I do.It’s just what’s in my life.Every day I’m hearing it.I’m
always shaking like that.4 —Jorge Guerrero
These four quotations read like classic descriptions of reli-
gious experiences of a profound, life-changing nature. If one did not
know the specific circumstances which gave rise to these experiences,one
might assume that they took place within the framework of traditional