Singing For Satan

 In the comments section of my post two weeks ago, I mentioned how in the early 1990s I had done an informal study of rock and popular music. Several of my readers expressed an interest in my findings. Therefore, this will be the first of a rotating series of posts (one per month), about my discoveries during the roughly five years (1991-1996) when I did this on my spare time. Why did I perform such a study? When I was a young teenager, I wanted to be a radio DJ. Back before satellite radio and iTunes, your favorite DJ was spinning the records you wanted to hear with commentary that would make you laugh or think. He/she became like a family friend whose voice you'd frequently hear on your favorite frequency! In my twenties, I actually was on a smaller radio station here in New York, reading the news as a part time gig. I got to know the radio business rather well, and although I never pursued a career in radio, I learned a lot about the music.

   My favorite radio station was WPLJ-FM, New York City, which from 1968-1983 played an AOR ("album oriented rock") format. Tony Pigg (real name Anthony Pignotti) was my favorite DJ with the most awesome and distinctive on-air voice I've ever heard to this day. His banter was witty and you could tell he loved his job; speaking and playing rock music to the largest city in America. Upon becoming a Traditionalist in 1981, there were certain messages in rock music that disturbed me, and I avoided those bands. There were those who sang openly about Satan, such as the band AC/DC and their songs Highway To Hell and Hell's Bells. On the cover of one album, a band member sports devil horns. (AC/DC was also street lingo in the 1970s for being bisexual).

 I stopped listening to the overtly evil music above. Of course, AC/DC claimed Highway To Hell was a song about how touring as a band on the road can be living "hell." A nice try to deflect criticism, but the lyrics to the song say something different:

No stop signs, speed limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Nobody's gonna mess me around
Hey Satan, paid my dues
Playing in a rocking band
Hey mama, look at me
I'm on my way to the promised land, whoo!
I'm on the highway to hell

"Hey, Satan, paid my dues" is about life touring on the road? Please. Hell's Bells proclaims, "Satan's gotcha, Satan's gonna getcha." People will also say "it's a gimmick, they don't really worship Satan;" perhaps in this case, but some musicians (like Marilyn Manson and King Diamond) are professed Satanists. So, I thought to myself, if I just stay away from the evil wackos, the rest of the music is OK.

 Something didn't feel right. The music I was listening to was leaving me feeling slightly depressed afterwards. In 1989, I met someone with whom I am still good friends today. He was a DJ on a small station in NY, playing CCM ("Contemporary Christian Music") which included "Christian Heavy Metal"! I learned quite a bit from him. He told me that the problem with secular rock and pop music are the lifestyles of the artists and the lyrics. He did not condemn all secular music. He does not claim that everything is evil unless specifically religious. He did bring out the need to beware and use discernment.

 As a father, he was vigilant as to what his children listened to and encouraged CCM. He told me what I already knew, that we are at war with the devil, the flesh, and the world. He reminded me that  not only was the overtly Satanic King Diamond evil, but so were those who (perhaps) used Satan for "shock value." Their lyrics and lifestyles tend to corrupt listeners because they send messages that are for the world--- and the values of the world--- which oppose God. I was fascinated. I began to research not just overtly Satanic (or Satanic-like) bands, but the ones considered "tame" and "good." I found many to be neither when I examined how they live and what they sing. There is power in words. Professional research now backs up what my friend knew decades ago. According to Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed articled appeared stating,
"Parents often are unaware of the lyrics to which their children are listening because of the increasing use of downloaded music and headphones. Research on popular music has explored its effects on schoolwork, social interactions, mood and affect, and particularly behavior. The effect that popular music has on children's and adolescents' behavior and emotions is of paramount concern. Lyrics have become more explicit in their references to drugs, sex, and violence over the years, particularly in certain genres. A teenager's preference for certain types of music could be correlated or associated with certain behaviors." (See http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/5/1488)

 So I began my research project with gusto, thinking that perhaps I'd put out a booklet warning people, and especially parents, about the dangers of rock, rap, and popular music. Life so often gets in the way of our plans, and I've amassed a lot of information, but no booklet. Now, I'm going to look over what I learned in the past,edit my notes and present it in a once-per-month post.  As the Vatican II sect does nothing to warn people of modern dangers (indeed, they even promote them), I feel it my duty as God's unworthy instrument to sound the alarm. Please, if you have a moment, leave a comment and let me know if you think continuing this series would be worthwhile.

The Evil Elements In Rock and Popular Music

   I don't need to state that as Traditionalists, we live in an unprecedented time of near universal apostasy.  Music exerts a powerful influence on listeners, as I found out on my own from personal experience. There are seven elements that pervade today's music:

1. Violence/Murder/Suicide

2. Nihilism/Despair

3. Drug and alcohol glorification

4. Adultery/ Fornication and sexual perversion

5. The occult

6. Rebellion against lawful superiors

7. Blasphemy against God, Jesus Christ in particular, and the Church

These elements are present in most of today's secular music in the form of the lyrics and lifestyles of the artists. Please remember these points:

• No one is without sin except Our Lord and His Blessed Mother. It's one thing if a singer was an alcoholic or drug addict and now repents, as opposed to someone who glorifies it by their songs or thinks it's "no big deal" in their own life.

• You must discern what is appropriate music for you once you have the facts. Would you feel comfortable listening to a song you like while Jesus and the Blessed Mother were sitting next to you? If not, you might want to re-think what you allow yourself to hear. 

• Don't delude yourself that YOU are not affected by the music because you are an adult. There's a reason advertisers are willing to spend $5 million dollars for a half-minute during the Super Bowl. People are persuaded through the media. Now consider the HOURS per week the average person listens to music. 

• "I only listen because I like the beat." Yes, but subconsciously, your mind hears the lyrics. You might even sing them to yourself without taking into conscious account what those lyrics really mean.  When lyrics are depressing, you can become depressed. When lyrics glorify what is wrong, you might come to regard it as less of an evil than it really is, thereby giving an opening to temptation and sin.

• CCM is Protestant, but most of it is general in theology (love of God and neighbor). If the lyrics are theologically heretical, avoid that particular song. I'm not advocating CCM, nor am I condemning it, since it is a viable alternative (especially for kids) to the secular music. It certainly does not belong in Church, but it is (for the most part) a wholesome alternative that makes us think of God.

• There is no such thing as an "evil beat." My spiritual father, the late, great Fr. DePauw was once accused by someone in the congregation of playing "an evil hymn"--Holy God We Praise Thy Name!  Father devoted a sermon (as only a former professor of Moral Theology could do!) to the topic. God allows us to make music. There is no "intrinsically evil" music. It is the lyrics that make it good or bad. There is the Catholic Holy God We Praise Thy Name, and the Protestant version which corrupted the lyrics! We, of course, used the Catholic hymn. 

• This is information, not a booklet. Use it to learn and teach others of the pitfalls in music. Some are going to have an emotional reaction, much like when I wrote a post against teaching kids about Santa Claus because it involves parents lying to children about a God-surrogate which could weaken trust in parents and belief in God.

• I will present the artists/groups in no particular order. Most are from circa 1964-1996. However, as this is an interest of mine, I also have added information over the years on more contemporary artists and kept up with developments of those who still perform. It's funny how some of the groups considered "hard rock" in the 1970s and 1980s are now played on Adult Contemporary "Lite Music" stations--once reserved for elevator muzak! 

• Remember the inspired words of St. Paul, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. –Philippians 4:8

Let the exposing of the music groups and artists begin!

A Journey You May Not Want To Take

 Considered one of the "tame" groups, Journey was among the super-groups of the 1970s, hitting superstar status in the 1980s. They still put out albums today, and every lead singer must sound like the legendary Steve Perry whose incredible vocals made them world famous. Perry was ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as # 76 of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time." Journey is tainted by two elements: the occult and promotion of sexual sins (adultery, fornication). 

1. The Scarab Beetle

Most of Journey's album covers feature a scarab beetle. The Evolution album and subsequent work depict the "winged globe" which signifies the omnipresence of the false sun "god" Ra. The album Captured shows the scarab beetle in a mirrored image. According to McClung Museum, " By far the most important amulet in ancient Egypt was the scarab, symbolically as sacred to the Egyptians as the cross is to Christians. Scarabs were already known in the Old Kingdom, and in the First Intermediate Period the undersides were decorated. They were probably sacred in the Prehistoric Period and had a role in the early worship of animals, judging from the actual beetles that were found stored in jars buried with the deceased and from those found in graves during the time of King Den of Dynasty I. A scaraboid-shaped alabaster box from Tarkhan seems to confirm that the scarab was already venerated at the beginning of Dynasty I. Scarabs are the most numerous amulets and were produced well beyond the dynastic periods." (See museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Egyptian_Sacred_Scarab/egs-text.htm--Emphasis mine). 

Beetles of the Scarabaeidae family (dung beetle) roll dung into a ball as food and as a brood chamber in which to lay eggs; this way, the larvae hatch and are immediately surrounded by food. For these reasons the scarab was seen as a symbol of a "heavenly cycle" and of the idea of rebirth or regeneration. This explains their presence in being buried with the deceased.  The world of Egyptian magic has long been embraced by secret societies condemned by the Church, including Rosicrucian orders, Freemasonry, Theosophy, and the Golden Dawn. According to Perry, on his FB page, "Apparently, the scarab beetle appears on the majority of the Journey album covers because the band's former manager, Walter "Herbie" Herbert decided upon using this artwork for Journey's album covers, although there seems to be no explanation for why this was done." No one from the band ever questioned it? It seems to be an interesting way of getting the image of a false god introduced into your house; especially before iTunes. Would you want a pagan Egyptian "god" introduced in your home along with beautiful and proper images of Jesus, Mary, the angels and saints?

Remember what Deuteronomy 7: 25-26 says: "Neither shalt thou bring any thing of the idol into thy house, lest thou become an anathema, like it. Thou shalt detest it as dung, and shalt utterly abhor it as uncleanness and filth, because it is an anathema." "Detest it like dung"-- what an appropriate condemnation for a filthy dung beetle with false ideas of reincarnation and an associated symbol of Ra.  

Jonathan Cain, the original keyboard player, now claims to be an "evangelical Christian," and his wife is a minister. He got into a public dispute with member Neal Schon who wants not to "mix religion and the band." Too late, Mr. Schon! See the picture of the album Captured below. 

2. Glorification of Sex in the Lyrics

 The song Lovin,' Touchin,' Squeezin' tells the story of a man cheating on his wife, while the wife's lover is also cheating on her:

Lovin', touchin', squeezin' each other

When I'm alone all by myself

You're out with someone else

Lovin', touchin', squeezin' each other

You're tearin' me apart

Every, every day

You're tearin' me apart

Oh what can I say?

You're tearin' me apart

It won't be long, yes, till you're alone

When your lover, oh, he hasn't come home

Cause he's lovin', who he's touchin',

He's squeezin' another

The song Anyway You Want It is about a nymphomaniac who needs sex "all night," and the man willing to give it to her.

Any way you want it

That's the way you need it

Any way you want it

She loves to laugh

She loves to sing

She does everything

She loves to move

She loves to groove

She loves the loving things

Ooh, all night, all night

Oh, every night

So hold tight, hold tight

Ooh, baby, hold tight

Their multi-platinum selling album Escape (1981) features the ubiquitous power ballad Don't Stop Believin.'  The song has been used on the successful TV series the Sopranos and young couples have (unfortunately) used it as their wedding song. It tells the story of a one night stand between two strangers. Not exactly the theme you want at your wedding.

Just a small town girl

Livin' in a lonely world

She took the midnight train

Goin' anywhere

Just a city boy

Born and raised in South Detroit

He took the midnight train

Goin' anywhere

A singer in a smokey room

The smell of wine and cheap perfume

For a smile they can share the night

It goes on and on, and on, and on (Emphasis mine)

Conclusion

There are many who knowingly or unwittingly sing for Satan. Some, like Marilyn Manson, are avowed Satanists. Others, like Journey, do Satan's work as his "useful idiots," or perhaps covertly.  In any case you must learn to discern--especially if you have young children and teens. Don't place your faith in this rotten world and its evil music. Rather, don't stop believin' in the One True Church of Jesus Christ.