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A brief pause (again)
I’m taking another break from publishing new stories. Don’t worry, the hopper is overflowing with great things but I’m spending time working on my novel for the next few weeks.
As I write, I’ve assembled a few non-sequiturs that are on my mind…
Non-Sequiturs
In Dreams -
recently shared a fascinating story about a recurring dream she has in common with J.R.R. Tolkien—one where a massive flood nearly engulfs her. I had heart palpitations reading her description. But it seems she’s in good company with other writers who face these nightmarish images, sometimes turning them into a works of art. Mary Shelley, for instance, famously dreamt of her creation in Frankenstein, recalling how she "saw the hideous phantasm of a man" come to life. Similarly, William S. Burroughs noted how dreams influenced his writing, describing them as filled with “the threat of something unknown, just out of sight.”
Psychologist and writer Carl Jung had many thoughts on the topic of dreams but I like this quote for the imagery:“The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic night that was soul long before there was a conscious ego.”
I’ve had my own dreams—perhaps less dramatic, but still marked by a feeling that reverberates the next day. One recurring dream that I had late into adulthood has me on the playground in 2nd or 3rd grade, racing up the ladder of a giant slide while others glide down. The closer I get to the top, the further away it feels. In that dream-like way the ladder is extending every time I look to the top. Just as I’m about to take my turn, the teacher’s whistle blows—recess is over. I stand there, torn. Should I risk defying the teacher, the rules? In the dream and the subsequent re-issues of it, I always climb back down without taking my turn on the slide. My therapist and I are still working on this one.Mythos Lost - If you’re familiar with my writing you’ll know that music plays a huge part in my creative process. Unlike a “music to read by” my novel-in-progress is filled with overt musical references. The story has me delving deep into music from the mid 70’s through its setting in 1986—essentially a writerly excuse to listen, create playlists and read lyrics. With this dalliance, I think I’m in good company.
As I’ve been listening, something intriguing has surfaced: explicit references to folklore, fantasy, and mythology became less prevalent in mainstream pop music by the mid-80s.
This shift parallels some of the themes I’m exploring in my story: what happens when legends fade over time. At first, it felt like a loose thread I was following without much direction—just a whim. But the more I noticed this pattern, the clearer it became.Between 1983 and 1986, something changed in the musical landscape, pulling these once-dominant mythological themes from our collective imagination. It’s as if the fantasy world, in all its forms, simply stopped mattering. Grand epics like Led Zeppelin's “Achilles Last Stand", Iron Maiden's "Flight of Icarus", and Rush's "Xanadu" were ancient history (tongue firmly planted in cheek). Even Kate Bush's very subtle nod to Arthurian legend of 1985’s "Ninth Wave Suite"1 echoed a shift towards more nuanced and personal integration of mythical themes. These themes became darker and less overt, with minor exceptions, in the music from acts like Bauhaus, The Cure and Siouxie and the Banshees.
Was it MTV? Could be. With its rise in the mid-1980s, MTV played a significant role in shaping pop culture, and its focus was often on catchy, visually compelling music that appealed to a mass audience. As a result, musical themes shifted away from the grandiose, mythological, and fantasy-heavy subjects that had dominated earlier decades.Perhaps the narrowing of topics was a reflection of the times—society was shifting toward more modern, immediate concerns, and music followed suit, reflecting more personal, urban, and contemporary themes. By 1986, pop music had become more about individual narratives and real-world experiences than the abstract, epic stories drawn from mythology or fantasy.
, whose thoughts about music keep me on my toes, opines that public schooling might be an “unindicted co-conspirator”. By this he means, partially, standardized instruction in the US shifted from teaching humanities and classics broadly to what could neatly be packaged for testing at each grade level. In other words, why delve into Beowulf’s battle with Grendel, dissect the layers of Dante’s hell, or analyze the heroic archetypes of Homer’s works when a “just the facts, ma’am” approach to education will do?
My friendOr maybe, by contrast, we had already read, absorbed, and fully explored those mythological and fantastical ideas ad nauseam. After all, the grand tales of gods, heroes, and ancient worlds were deeply mined during the 1960s counterculture and the prog-rock heyday of the 70s. By 1986, perhaps there wasn’t much left to say—or maybe audiences just didn’t need those larger-than-life stories anymore. It’s as if our collective imagination shifted, leaving mythology in the background, no longer the beating heart of pop music.
I’d like to think the culprit is more to a central thesis in my story: legends still exist, we’ve just forgotten how to look for them.
As an aside, in printed literature the opposite is true. While mythology faded from the music charts, it flourished on bookshelves. From the mid-80s onward, fantasy publishing skyrocketed—new works, re-issues of classics, and entire worlds were reimagined. So, while music may have left myth behind, readers continued to wander through those timeless stories, proving that some realms of imagination never fade.Wha? - I’ve been introducing my nearly 4 year old son to music — in the car, around the house we usually have something playing. He now knows to ask for (but perhaps doesn’t know why): Blue Monday by New Order, One by Harry Nilsson and just about anything by Weird Al. I can’t tell you what a sea change this is from the Raffi music we’ve listened to the last couple of years2.
By-the-by, while listening to his latest favorite, Banana Puddin’ by Southern Culture on the Skids, I mentioned how funny it was that someone wrote a song about a dessert. My son’s face scrunched up, twisted, and he looked at me sideways, “Wha??”There was something in my comment that seemed so alien to him…someone wrote that song? Someone played the instruments? I think he’s been living with this notion for the last few weeks, silently lolling it over in his head, trying to make sense of the idea.
This weekend members of the regional symphony were scattered around playing and explaining their different instruments. I saw a different look on his face when he returned, one of informed recognition, as he described the different instruments—the abstract becoming real. To boot, he got to hear the Indiana Jones theme performed live…and loved it. That’s my kid.
Music
Road Runner - Bo Diddley
The Feast of St. John - Glen Hansard
A New Star In The Sky - Air
Other stories on Tiny Worlds
Words
Don’t look for one track, it doesn’t exist. The Ninth Wave Suite consists of the songs found on side 2 of Hounds Of Love : And Dream of Sheep, Under Ice, Waking The Witch, Watching You Without Me, Jig of Life, Hello Earth, The Morning Fog [citation]
It’s entirely possible we’ve handicapped his creativity by playing Raffi for so long. Time will tell.
Always love checking these out for finding new stuff. Thanks so much for putting these together!
…raffi an absolute scourge to sound…