Happy Music Monday! Today we celebrate the seasonably warm weather with a salute to the dark force of the hottest place in the Universe: The Devil! In music, of course, The Devil means something very different than in religion. In fact, the devil doesn't always mean the same thing between different songs! One Devil isn't always the other Devil, if you follow us. And if you don't, you will when you finish today's Music Monday.
Iron Maiden - Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden's Devil is the Devil from a horror story. This the the jump-scare Devil that comes from camp-outs and old wives' tales. Even though they took flack for being scary Satanists, this song is really more cautionary. There are bad things in the woods, and if you get too close, you might be taken against your will.
More Deviltry to come!
Charlie Daniels - The Devil Went Down To Georgia
If you haven't enjoyed this classic you might not have a soul. This crossover hit hits rock, country, religion, folk, and there's probably even been a dance club remix. The Devil in this story is a comic book villain like Doctor Doom, a super bad guy who gets his plans wrecked and runs saying "Curse you, Johnny!" as he flees. But if you're really into over-reading a text, here's something for you: was the self-described "best that's ever been" tempted by the Devil into committing the deadly sin of Pride? Was Johnny tricked into Damnation just to get a trophy? Who actually won this battle in long term?
Van Halen - Running With The Devil
The Devil of Van Halen's lyrics is more of a metaphorical blues Devil. It's something that's being embraced without being addressed as a deal thing. The Devil here is objects, focus, time, choosing to walk away from things society considers good in favor of short-term joys. For a band that now kinda hates each other, it's clear that this particular Devil eventually got it's due.
Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil
In 1968, the Devil was omnipresent. The ideas of peace and love turned into addition and hate, freedom turned into battles, not everyone knew what they wanted but everybody knew what they didn't, and what was cool was the darkness. Jagger's Devil was political, and human, and existed in all of us. This is the Devil of potential, what we can do if we don't listen to the angel on the other shoulder. It's maybe the most human devil of them all.
The D are known for being great while also making fun of the sort of band they are. It's a rare way to have your cake and eat it too. This Devil is a Devil made of irony. It's a Devil that makes fun of Jagger's seriousness, while still reminding you that Devils exist in us all. Pretty cool, right? Maybe that's why Tribute is so beloved.
Find your own Devil-song and get to sharing. Also let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use. See you next week.