She’s a bad girl
I recently had the chance to see Erykah Badu live, in concert. The show was phenomenal on so many levels. I’ve been to hundreds of concerts and I hadn’t seen such ecstatic devotion directed towards a performer before in quite some time, especially by the same sex. Women and I mean women were falling out of the rafters, testifying at the church of Erykah. Unlike the same sex salvation that was part and parcel of the women’s music scene of the mid 80’s, these women were mostly straight from what I could see, their boyfriends/husbands in semi-mute witness to their riotous testifying, full-bodied-expressions of faith. Badu, even from my perch in the aeries of The Fox Theater seemed larger than life. I can imagine and project her presence being equal to that of Holliday, Garland and Streisand–a galactic diva.
She sailed through scales, past and future catalog, focusing on tracks from New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) the deliciously eclectic and eccentric release from 2008 and her equally beguiling and enigmatic current release, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh). In between tracks, she would pass her hand over a Theremin, invoking the sounds of waves emanating from ancient dynasties.
I left floating on a cloud of estrogen looking forward to my fusion with Cleopatra Jones later in the evening.
Badu recently did something hardly anyone else does. She took a risk. A big, fat, artistic risk. She walked through Dealy Plaza, stripping off pieces of her attire in the video for ‘Window Seat” from New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh). This is the type of thing that people like Marlon Brando and John Lennon used to do. It’s ballsy. It’s star stuff. And now she might get arrested by The Dallas Police for disorderly conduct.
In the video, Badu is making statement about artistic and personal integrity, blurring the lines of personal and collective history. Some might think it’s sensationalizing and denigrating the assassination of JFK, exploiting a national tragedy, but I would differ. I think what she is doing is re-opening one of the most crucial collective wounds in our social memory.
After the death of JFK, America went through a psychic fracturing as everything splits, from generations, races and sexes to classes, etc. While The 60’s represented the greatest counter cultural movement of our time, it happened at the expense of traditions, mores and values that might not have been totally tainted by the bathwater. By stripping herself bare, she brings attention to that raw and naked moment, where our innocence was assassinated and the insertion of new programing takes place in the void of a shared post-traumatic-memory.
Badu is driven by two main forces in her chart–a strong stellium of Mercury, Sun and Moon in Pisces and another equally powerful stellium of Neptune, Jupiter and Mars, all in Sag. Here we see someone that is in service to mysticism, art, spirituality, beauty, hope and truth. Balancing these two aspects/energies of Pisces/Sag is not easy as the stelliums square off against one another. Her latest video is a vivid example of her attempting to bridge these worlds. Manifesting truth though art seems to be where she’s at now. Transiting Jupiter is winging it’s way towards her natal Moon, which means that the ancient mysteries of woman, the temple of feminine mystery will open it’s gates to Badu in a deeply expressive and expansive fashion. In essence, it will give her a window seat to her soul. Look for yet another stunning video on the horizon that will capture this energy in all of her semi-contradictory and stunning glory.
I’ll be working on scopes for April tonight and tomorrow. Easter Sunday scopes special ready to hatch.
19 thoughts on “Pisces Swimming Upstream–Erykah Badu’s Window Seat To The Soul”
WOW!! I LOVE IT
wow…I strongly connected to that video. (Je te dirai pourquoi plus tard.)
I don’t know why but I feel grateful for her bravery. I feel like she took one for the team.
I dissent. With Merc Sq Neptune & Moon Sq Mars, she is at best, confused and channelling messages with a nice sounding R&B cover from the Dark Side and at worst, a dishonest, rebellious provocateur who likes pissing people off.
The video is meaningless, emotive junk. It vindicates those elites who laughingly insist that Americans are incapable of even recognizing what was taken from them, let alone effectively overcoming their chains by throwing off their trance and coming to the adult realization that the secret society coup d’etat that killed JFK still runs America — and runs her into the ground in service to an autocannibalistic utopian globalist agenda.
Moreover the video is self-degrading. There is not even a sense of the naked body beautiful, no sense of mission but there is a lot of self-indulgent feeling. Strutting of her individual rights — to re-enact a ritual murder. And masochistic impotent feeling that will go nowhere.
The JFK assassination, orchestrated by satanic secret society power, represents the death of American cultural optimism. The ritual killing of the king coincident with the death of Aldous Huxley and a warning to all who follow. The last time a President successfully bucked the orders of the hidden hand’s military-industrial-financial establishment and stood up to the CIA and white shoe, blue bloods & international bankers. Thereafter no-win, endless cabinet warfare, and diminishing opportunities for one and all save the insiders and their servants. No more echoes of FDR’s New Deal and New Frontier peace through development.
A coup d’etat that H W Bush was well-rewarded for serving. The initiation of a 49-50 year ritual to transform the USA & usher in utopian world govt. The video reinvokes the trauma without resolution while reinforcing the secret society threats to our current President should he chose to break from his marching orders. Or worse, presents a foreshadowing of what may be intended for the President regardless of his successes on their behalf in fooling the broad public, because the New World Order usurpers intend a further deeper traumatizing of the nation to force her to accept the North American Union straitjacket. Therefore, I suggest that we look elsewhere for leadership, let alone guidance. And pray for President Obama and the world at large because of what is directing them against their better natures into a 2012 kick-off to the latter days of Atlantis revisited.
“Moreover the video is self-degrading. There is not even a sense of the naked body beautiful, no sense of mission but there is a lot of self-indulgent feeling. Strutting of her individual rights — to re-enact a ritual murder. And masochistic impotent feeling that will go nowhere.”
I disagree. I think it’s unsettling, though certainly not perfect, but I give Badu props for at least doing something. Again, most artists are incredibly conservative and feign outlandishness and rebellion–I think the degrading aspect actually works.
I will say this. I thought the ending was hackneyed and forced and it doesn’t entirely communicate what she was getting at or at least trying to get at.
But hey, I posted something about it. You disagreed, posted your own version of events and guess what? We’re talking about JFK, so no matter how confused or misguided the video was, people are talking and you’re one of them.
I remember the first time I heard her voice back in 97/98…It was so distinct and identifiable. I had to find out “who” was that singing because I knew she was going to be around for a long time.
I saw the video and I totally get your take on the fracturing that happened during that time. But I also heard people saying “if that was a man…” . And that is true. If it was a man, all kinds of people would be freaking out. I watched the video with my 12 year old boy with no problems.There are some things that women can do in society that men cannot.
lol…Abra, it’s funny…when I first heard her, it was on Much Music, and I was 15 at the time. Laurin Hill was really popular and I figured she was another Laurin Hill. (To be clear, I am from a very white, french, catholic, rural background…) Her music was very alien to me. I remember thinking that she reminded me of Nefertiti. She wasn’t mainstream and none of my friends listened to her so she totally escaped my radar. When Robert brought her back unto said radar, I was like ‘whoa! she’s still around!’
I don’t know why but that video stuck with me for an entire day after viewing it. Something shifted in me and I don’t know what…it’s annoying! The whole thing is completely outside of my cultural sphere.
Hey Katrina, I was born in DC and grew up just outside in the burbs….My dad (who is Greek) has kind of dark skin of which I inherited. I grew up wondering why my knees were always dirty….scrub scrub…Anyway, I love music. It is food for my soul and when I hear something that strikes a nerve I have to have it…Back in the day, I bought her cd…now I have the internet (thank Goddess!). You want to hear alien…listen to Miles’ Bitches Brew…pretty freakin’ alien.
I wrote what I did, unsolicited, in order to help her, you, and & your readers awaken to what the video is clearly channelling: she sings beautifully and then according to the death curtain call, the cue from unseen entities [i.e. oligarchy intending to a mass re-enactment of the death of the optimistic, promethean America], disintegrates, on a solipsistic irrational walk. Strips naked. Collapses. Bleeds blue.
Instead we would be better served by a woman celebrating her life with others — all in service to posterity. Sounding the alarm about the intentions of the malevolent elite — coherently. And inspire calm abiding that yields a mass no consent to microchipping and herding, depopulation under the cover of vaccines & health care, and no win wars with black ops, and false flags to stir fake patriotic fervor. So no more mumbling and deliberately obscure lyrics. That is what John Lennon did. That is what I would hope any would be leader would now stand up and say and sing. And pray — in public for us all to do.
As for what America did wrong to the Africans: truly horrifying. I can not imagine what it would be like to grow up in some wretched ghetto in the midst of the still unresolved aftermath. So I urge her to do the very best and I applaud her beautiful music. And urge that music to serve peaceful reconciliation and the making of amends in celebration and mutual forgiveness. May the reluctant, even recalcitrant whites be led to somehow, find it within themselves to freely make up for all that has so far, been taken from others. And so far, taken from the opportunities of others in the would be land of the allegedly free and brave to give a tiny elite ungodly, sickening splendour that drains the hope of so many and fits us all for envy rather than rejoicing in our way of life.
The song to write is about the future overcoming of the death ritual that culminates with 2012 & the London Olympics and Prince William’s 30th Bday on the Solstice. The future of 2031 when Pluto is far into Aquarius and the towers of Babel have been destroyed. The black ops, black iron prison grid broken, permanently.
“I wrote what I did, unsolicited, in order to help her, you, and & your readers awaken to what the video is clearly channelling: she sings beautifully and then according to the death curtain call, the cue from unseen entities [i.e. oligarchy intending to a mass re-enactment of the death of the optimistic, promethean America], disintegrates, on a solipsistic irrational walk. Strips naked. Collapses. Bleeds blue.”
So, besides Muse and maybe Ian Brown, who else is doing music or writing tracks that attack the oncoming freight train? Give us some solid examples. Or maybe you can actually put those words and feelings into a piece of music–bust it out. But when it comes to bringing a message, it’s difficult not to be didactic. I hated most of the protest music of the 60’s because it lacked a sense of art and was mainly sloganeering.
I’ll try this one more time.
It may not have worked the way the way she did it, nor the way you wanted it to, but who else is actually taking an artistic risk and falling short, but at least taking one? I can’t think of too many. Most commercial artists are either pimping “The Game” or they are sucking up to Pols, starting IMF cloned NGOs that look cool.
Maybe I’ll drop some Immortal Technique next time.
phintias is right. Thank you for having the guts to write it.
I encourage guts and dissent as long as it’s backed up by a good argument. Thanks for dropping by as well.
What I see is an inevitability, now that the crazy screaming sound, Pandora’s box has been opened is that the mass wave will run its lawful course: increasingly intoxicating, culturally disintegrating, psychologically shattering, postmodern primeval primitivism, dionysian pop cult precursors to a one world religion pantheon — for the mass of would be slaves who do not know and can not recognize that they are slaves:
The crowd likes works which impose their melody, which hypnotise, which hypertrophy its sensibility to the point of putting the critical sense to sleep. The crowd is feminine; it likes to obey or bite. (Opium: The Illustrated Diary of His Cure, Cocteau, 1930.)
Within this medium, the solution and true freedom may not be possible. I think that John Lennon came to suspect that this was the case and stumbled badly for years. Similarly, I think that once it was too late, the Clash came to this understanding after intense well meaning experimentation and activism.
For now, I myself, am infected and weakened by my listening habits and passivity in the face of the lessons of music and its effect on sound, freely chosen decision making and life creation. I would guess that the renewal might have to come outside the center of the system in new forms that we can not yet fathom. But my intuitive sense tells me that it would come from some form of deep shamanistic insight, ancient ritual forms free from machines & gadgets that might be combined with the best of beautiful western forms, whether they be negro spirituals, gregorian chants, sacred music, and the work of J.S. Bach. If I could now die and return immediately in a new healthy body, I would love to return to become a musician and mathematician immersed in and grounded by sacred and holistic health practice rooted in a rejection of the technological a priori and machine driven music for the lonely crowd.
“Similarly, I think that once it was too late, the Clash came to this understanding after intense well meaning experimentation and activism.”
The Clash were more or less Bernie Morrison’s puppets and Joe Strummer’s desire to be Elvis Guthrie.
I think you would really like my friend Alan Tower’s take on music and sound. He’s deeply into natural resonance and holds some of the same opinions that you do in terms of popular music. Alan performs/teaches with didj, huaca and hang. Most recently he has immersed himself in “Sound Stones” and the work of Alexander Lauterwasser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCXZF3NiPIk
I agree with phintias, that is why I haven’t even watched the video. I can see where people are coming from when they say that this is gutsy and whatever other compliments they pay her for her creativity but I mean I just have a real hard time seeing anything today’s mainstream celebrities, musicians and “artists” churn out as valiant and NOT self-serving. I’ve seen too much and I’m not buying it, sorry.
P.S. To me music from the likes of Muse and such is just another means of controlling the opposition or cointelpro.
Interesting discussion everyone. What’s up with that picture? What is she supposed to be, a dreidel? I also thought the video was degrading. A beautiful diva doesn’t need to do “performance art” like that. The whole thing smells of Masonic ritual. On Saturday night, Ms. Badu appeared on the Wanda Sykes show. In a top hat. Just sayin’.
The best thing about this post has been the interactivity and level of discussion taking place. Pardon the pun, but I originally saw the video as a trigger to revisit JFK’s assassination, and while we touched on it a bit, it turned into something else, which is fine. I’ve watched the video a number of times since this thread broke out and it has caused me to re-think some things about it, which is hopefully what a good discussion will do. I’m thinking of revisiting this in another post in the next day or so. Thanks to everyone for jumping in. It’s not about who is right or wrong or about taking sides, because that shit is old school, more divide and conquer crap. It’s about seeing a bigger picture and allowing others perspectives to torque our reference points or not if the case may be,
I just really don’t get why a woman, by stripping down naked, is degrading herself. I’m not American and I am not (psychologically) affected by the JFK assassination, so I cannot take part on that aspect. It was the artistic aspect of the video that struck a chord with me, not the political. I did not find it self indulgent but naive. Naive in a good way. It seemed like she didn’t want to get naked, but did so because it was her mission. I felt like there was some sense of urgency in the way she was acting and exposing herself and her course/discourse was abruptly terminated at the moment of truth. Perhaps the video also sought to transmit a personal/transpersonal message to the viewers and not just a political one…
The following is in response to the above article connected to my own published on Friday 22nd November 2013.
This date being the exact day 50yrs since the murder of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Tx [USA].
Mentioned article is on-line at:
http://www.planetxlive.co.uk/planet-x-blog-x/7-blog-x/3227-did-erykah-badu-possibly-reveal-the-real-reason-why-jfk-was-assassinated.html
Again, this is my own opinion of the Music Video – ‘Window Seat’ by Erykah Badu.
The Music Video has two separate messages that are hidden & can ONLY be known if you read along with being aware of subtext used
in Art.
These themes are…
1). How the Black Woman is special in terms of Human Evolution.
2). The murder of JFK was tragic as to Badu he was a ‘King’ taken out before making America great.
Badu, being African-American comes out of a White 1950’s Classic American Car.
This to me is showing she is now gained awareness of the control system or as she sings “a chance to fly” this meaning
freedom.
Badu is wear Black & Purple these colours can mean Ethnicity (The African Diaspora) represented by Black then Purple
is about Royalty (Black Woman/Mitochondrial Eve/JFK being America’s King).
Badu pays for Parking could this mean she’s now view her time unaware as being complete, paid in full, no more debt?
She takes off Sunglasses this is easy to understand showing new awareness of reality… past, current & future.
A figure in Red follows her blurred collecting her clothing or her attachment to material world could the figure be a representation
of a sinister unseen force?
Badu has the words ‘Evolving’ on her back this was a key to my Mitochondrial Eve theory yet in a 21st Century version.
‘Eve’ in The Bible wears clothes due to being ashamed of her nudity after eating that apple yet in the Music Video – Badu does the
opposite. This shows inner-strength but awareness.
Now, a ‘Window Seat’ is what everybody wants when flying as it’s about looking at life from a not normal angle also you connect with
creation as you can see it for miles.
Conclusion:
In, my own opinion of which am allowed to express as am NOT promoting Hate or Violence, Erykah Badu isn’t mind-controlled MK Ultra
in-fact she’s the complete opposite.
I got on this a couple of years ago, when Professor Griff praised Badu for the Song & Music Video but didn’t elaborate why but now due
to this JFK over-load in the Media… I think I got it.