The Original Freak Folk
April 13, 2007
Charles Manson, known more so for his murderous direction of his followers, than for his musical career and connection to The Beach Boys Dennis Wilson. What finer a day than Friday the 13th to put on your favorite Manson Family album? Today I have two tracks from his now infamous demo tape recorded in 1968 by Phil Kaufman and more commonly known as Lie. What’s most unsettling about them I think occurs after one listens to them. The songs have a sense of hope and sincerity to them and without knowing what was to follow their recording, one could easily mistake them for any other endearing folk artist. Play them for a friend without first telling them who they’re by and I’m sure you’d be hard pressed to find someone that didn’t think they have nice melodies to them. Having read about the Manson Family murders beforehand, it actually took me a little bit of time before I worked up enough courage to listen to them and once I did I was (begrudgingly) pleasantly surprised. I would never try to make light of the murders he was involved with but try to cast all of that aside for just a moment to give the songs a listen. I find the psychological aspects and deep history to it all fascinating. It’s difficult to say what would of happened if he had been signed instead of rejected by the music industry. To read more about Charles Manson before - and after “The Manson Family” head over to CharlieManson.com. Check out these two tracks from Charles Manson’s album Lie: The Love & Terror Cult
May 1, 2007 at 5:03 pm
your blog is beautifully written and the selections of music you share are perfect.
so nice to stumble upon something new and refreshing.
and… yes, such a good idea to trick friends with the music of manson. strange and say to say, but his music really could have been loved.
May 5, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Thanks for sharing the mp3s to the world. I wrote up about your entry in my blog.
May 5, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Edvard,
Thank Dementia for directing me here via her Blog, Coffin Conversations…
http://www.coffinconversations.com/charles-manson-murderer-and-musician/
I’ll write to you what I wrote to her about Manson:
What a sad tragic waste of a life full of potential, creativity and raw talent …
David …
May 6, 2007 at 12:46 am
Dementia is a treasure.
June 4, 2007 at 6:36 pm
mansons a darker leary.. and i love it. and i think devendra looks so much like charles
July 23, 2007 at 3:23 am
Being sober about it, the campfire style folk songs are pretty plain and sparsely written. He does have a raw folksy talent but the poverty of too many years in prison has stymied and disfigured it channeling it all into narrowband. His muddy guitar playing really shows a lack of development, a lack of training and practice, and a lack of any serious musical ability beyond family-night karoke around the campfire. I think what shocks people is that given his notorious reputation he can do this at all. But don’t be too generous as its really mediocre. Apparently Hollywood wasn’t impressed either as these recordings are absolutely impoverished and barely audible with zero tonal quality. Didn’t they have tape recorders and tube amplifiers in Hollywood in the late 1960’s? The recordings sound worse and more ameuteurish than if a highschool kid with a pocket tape recorder did them. Heck for the kind of money the family was spending to get high it seems they could have gotten it together to purchase a decent used tape recorder and a few microphones and put a little effort into it. If they were even slightly serious they could have done so much better. They lived with Dennis Wilson and how hard would it have been to use some of his simple home entertainment equipment laying around to do their own recordings. Over all they were totally dysfunctional in the music world, so I have no idea why they blaimed others for their own abysmal efforts. What they have here is no effort, a retarded residue some generously call product, and a musical vacuum. They had no belief in their product and it shows. So why should we? Its a scam.
November 10, 2007 at 3:28 am
I think that the songs are interesting and from what I have read the music industry passed on him more for his bizarre and violent behavior than anything else. If he had actually been signed they probably would have propped him up with some studio musicians, but this just wouldn’t have worked out. There would have been fights and violence in the studio (kind of like with the WHO only with a higher body count and less music to show for the grief).
I guess character is destiny.
February 24, 2008 at 11:03 pm
fucking crazies
March 16, 2008 at 5:12 pm
“Apparently Hollywood wasn’t impressed either as these recordings are absolutely impoverished and barely audible with zero tonal quality. Didn’t they have tape recorders and tube amplifiers in Hollywood in the late 1960’s?”
i think mr. stewart altogether misses the intentions, conventions, and tenets of the folk music genre and what it’s all about. some of the most beautiful music is laid down on a single track, spur of the moment. Mr. stewart, really, how many of your favorite musicians are truly ‘talented’? how many ham-fistedly masturbate on their guitars?
i’m not sayin manson was a great musician, or even a good one, and i’m not neccessarily saying i really enjoy the songs posted above (they are ‘nice’ though). i’m just saying you have missed the point altogether in your myopic rush to discredit this dude.
March 17, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Very pleasant tone to his voice. But then again, what did I expect, guttural, angry screams?
April 11, 2008 at 3:09 pm
marilyn manson used his last name,or I made a mastake?
April 15, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Yes, Marilyn Manson used his last name. When he created his band, he had the members use the first name of a female actress or stripper and the last name of a killer. Thus, Marilyn (Monroe) + (Charles) Manson = Marilyn Manson.
May 28, 2008 at 5:54 pm
charles manson is god