BOC: Imaginos, part 2 - WoTT

[Jon Jarrett]

On Sun, 17 Sep 2000, Johnny Firic wrote:

> I am a sailor on the raging depths
> And I know a thing or two
> Back to the corner, mates, and over the side
> Yes, I know a thing or two
>
> mates=his friends; over the side = ?
>
> heh. Are you referring to Del Rio, *before*, or Desdinova, *after* the
> resurrection? Either way, it seems to me excessive to devote an entire song
> to such explanation. *Before*, there was so much unknown, unclear to him,
> that not much could be 'explained'; *after*, so much is explained in "Blue
> Oyster Cult". What's more, there was the BOC Reprise, which, as I've been
> told, is really only another version of BOC. I take this was an attempt to
> 'underline' BOC (the song), thus making the additional explanatory song even
> more unnecessary.

        Well, I was meaning Desdinova shortly after the revelation - on
the way to the mirror maybe. If the mirror is as you suggest implied by
telescope then perhaps it is indeed Dee, but Desdinova in the opposite
role. Or perhaps you're right and I'm right and Desdinova is Drake! Hey,
we could do this for years :-)

> But I may be wrong of course. Actually here's the FAQ listing:
>
> Act One: The Imaginos album we're familiar with.
> Act Two: Bombs over Germany
>                Workshop Of The Telescopes
>                The Girl That Love Made Blind *
>                ME 262
>                The Red And The Black
>                Cities On Flame **
>                Shadow Of California
>                Half-Life Time +
>                Veteran Of The Psychic Wars ++
>                Career Of Evil ++
> Act Three: The Mutant Reformation
>                Take Me Away ++
>                The Vigil ++
>                ETI
>                R. U. Ready 2 Rock
>                Heavy Metal
>                Flaming Telepaths
>                Gil Blanco County *
>                Redeemed
>
> Note WoTT at the beginning of Act 2, and Flaming Telepaths toward the end.
> If we take this to be a *trilogy* in a strict sense, then each unit (Act)
> must be to some extent self-sufficient. In that sense, WoTT might be placed
> there (at the beginning of Act 2) to sort of explain the background of the
> story, for those who haven't heard Act 1. I've just thought of this. But I
> don't know, things sorta fall into place my way. In the other FAQ listing,
> for the 'full' version of the 1st act, as intended by Albert, there's no
> mention of WoTT. In that listing, however, the 1st act includes also Gil
> Blanco County, The Girl that love made blind, and Half-life time. Maybe in
> that case there is more need of 'explanation' at the beginning of Act II? I
> haven't heard these songs yet, but I'm planning to, via a fellow boc-l-er.
> So I may have more on those later.

        Yes, I've always taken, from Al's posts, that `Girl That Love Made
Blind' and `Gil Blanco County' were meant to be on the actual album but
didn't make it. The position of WotT at the beginning of Act II _is_
interesting. I'm reminded of the screed from the _Secreta Treaties_ sleeve
about pacts made with supernatural forces. If you're right and WotT is
a dialogue (which I'm still not convinced of) then there's another
possible place for it.

> As for Flaming Telepaths: towards the end of his life, in the second half of
> the 20th century, he realizes how pointless everything's been (see the end
> of my bit on Magna), and he says to himself, or imagines the gods saying:
> "and the joke's on you!"
>
> Doesn't it tie in nicely?

        Yes, but I prefer to take your reading my way :-) The Desdinova of
the now, scarred and tracked from attempts to sorcerously realise
immortality, laughing at his crowds of believers for whom he has no
answer.

> >And isn't Haiti referred to as the world's
> >axis in the _Imaginos_ sleeve notes?
>
> I don't remember! Is it?

        Well, now I check, only sort of. In the summary of the songs at
the end, it reads: `Les Invisibles': Haiti, still a dream world, the seat
of Les Invisibles; "along the world axis/the empress lay sleeping/to the
rhyme/of the star clock; this world is their world..."' I'm pretty sure
the latter half of the quote isn't actually lyrics from the song but the
association seems to be there.

> but it can't be the same mirror! His mirror is in the British Museum.(And
> when I was in London, I forgot I was going to go and see it!)

        Sorry, I didn't mean it was the same mirror, I just meant that
it's finding a mirror to susbtantiate the one in the story with. Drawing a
connection which probably isn't there but sounds pretty spooky, like most
of _Illuminatus!_ :-)

> I've also said (I think in "Imaginos") that there's no real connection
> between the 16th century episode and the 19th century episodes. Basically we
> only have "Salamander Drake" to go on. The only explanation I see for this
> is the one I've written.

        Could it be "`drake', as in, short for mandrake? All the
salamander stuff sounds pretty tonuge of bat and eye of frog to
me. Perhaps WotT is Desdinova and Dee in communication across time
through the mirrors...

> Again: I may be wrong, Johnny

        You've definitely got a case, as long as there _is_ actually a
coherent story in mind, but I like some alternatives you don't, and vice
versa :-) Fun this, yours,
                           Jon

--
 |  Jon Jarrett (01223 741219)           jjarrett at chiark.greenend.org.uk
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