Edgar Allan Poe's Tell Tale Heart...Holy crap!

Originally posted by 2nd Hand Thoughts
I got the ALan Parson's Project: Tales of Mystery and Imagination at a library today.

It's cool. I like the mix of styles from rock to the orchestra pieces. The Orsen Wells bits are icing on the cake.

Glad you enjoyed! Good driving music for foggy days in the mountains.

Ambient Sound:

I'm about to pick your brain.

My stomping grounds is comfortably punk, but like all kids during the time, I grew up on early 80s (and late 70s) pop and rock radio (which was hands down the best time for radio IMO...pop, trucking tunes, stadium rock, old country, storytelling songs, back when you could hear the Curly Shuffle followed by The Devil Went Down to Georgia and Elvira and the Clash and Johnny Cash and Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin just by turning the dial)and slowly broadened over time to include the noisiest and angriest to 8-bit nintendo pieces and old country and somehow developed an Anne Murray fetish along the way. Lately I discovered George Antheil's symphonies (including sirens, airplane propellers, multiple player pianos, etc) and have jumped feet first into Zappa and Dylan (just never got around to it I guess). (I like the longer "experimental" or soundscape with samples stuff of Zappa especially...Help I'm A Rock!)

Can you recomend other selections that fall into a"concept", "free-thinking", "experimental", or greatly unique category I could check out?

[edit on 13-10-2005 by 2nd Hand Thoughts]

Originally posted by The Parallelogram
Edgar Allan Poe did more for the short horror story than any author that has come after him.

While i agree that Poe was masterfull.. i belive that H.P. Lovecraft was far more horrifying... and far more under aprreciated

but regardless of that.. The Tell Tale Heart is a wonderfull story.. the breakdown of a guilty mans mind in the face of the truth in his crimes is a wonderfull theme for a story, and Poe did wonderfully here

back in 93, i was in my junior world lit class.. and we did 6 weeks on poe.. the test was a 30pt mutli choice and a full page essay.. i ripped through that test like a meth junkie racing to get to a baggy left on the table... finished in about 6 minutes... essay included.. and got 100%

The essay was on "TTTH" (tell tale heart), it was to be written as a police report from the perspective of one of the two officers, and just like poes work grabs you and pulls you in.. so too was i inspired in this essay.. Poe was such a fantastic writer and such an influence on my lit interests that the words flew from the ink of my pen and i found in my mind the very thoughts of this constibule as he watched this guilty murderer break down under question and confess his crimes to two peace officers that merely wished to ask a few simple question... i really wish i had a copy of the essay to share with you all.. it was the first peice of fiction that i was truly proud of for writing, and i can only thank Poe and a such a fantastic teacher for inspiring it in me

on a side note.. the little sister of a friend of mine took his class several years later (3 years ago if i remember right) and mentioned me once in the class.. and it was the story of this test and essay that he told the class about when he told her what he remembered of me.. that and the fact that i would sleep in class but never miss a beat of what was being taught

sorry if this all sounds like bragging to any of you.. but this story brought about one of the most important moments in my education, and i wanted to share it with you all

Hi Becon

You bring up some good points especially about how one book, one positive educational experience or one teacher sometimes, can make a world of difference in our lives.

What you say about Poe vs Lovecraft is to some extent true - Lovecraft was far scarier - but consider this: good literature is often not so much about the plot or end result, but about the underlying themes within.

While Lovecraft was spookier and wrote a very tangible imaginative fear; Poe's darkness has contains many human traits and emotions that appeal to us equally - we feel 'empathy' with his pain.

There is an ongoing heated argument in fiction with 'Literature' (with capital L) verus genre writing - good genre sometimes getting the shaft in the process. Lovecraft in many ways, is a result of this academic and critical movement of demoting genre writing as subpar or beneath 'true' or 'pure' Lit. With the result being many frustrated readers of so-called classics going, 'Huh? What the...? This book is about absolutely nothing!'

My opinion is that both have their place. Lovecraft IS a master fear meister and Poe deserves the accolades he gets for tapping into guilt, desire and aching loneliness turned madness.

Where would modern horror writers of today be, if not for people like Poe AND Lovecraft?

You will be happy to know that a new writing trend has emerged which aims to blend the better parts of both Literature and genre fiction. Maybe this will help future writers trying to tell a good story and also deal with the larger themes. The cynical me thinks there will always be elite critics telling us what is and what isn't.




[edit on 19-10-2005 by nikelbee]

Originally posted by 2nd Hand Thoughts
Ambient Sound:
I'm about to pick your brain.

[snip]

Can you recomend other selections that fall into a"concept", "free-thinking", "experimental", or greatly unique category I could check out?

2ndHT, I wish I could be more helpful to you, but I'm actually fairly limited musically. I became an adult in the late 70s with all the decadence and cheapening of culture that that implies. Heh, I won't dance in public due to fear that I wouldn't be able to keep disco moves out of it. Nobody wants to see that, I promise.

I found Alex, Neil, and Geddy (Rush!) pretty early on and enjoyed the many literary links and homages in their music, as well as the very positive messages in their later works. I can't recommend them enough. They had some very "concept" type stuff with their early albums, 2112 being best known. Its actually a retelling of an Ayn Rand story.

Music is more of a soundtrack for me than a pursuit. I rarely listen to music just to be listening to music anymore. It's usually as background enviorment as I've gotten older. As such, I've gotten away from my harder roots like Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, and the rest of that era.

For something different that may interest you, you might want to check out Enigma: The Cross of Changes. No, its not religous, but it is spiritial.

I've also enjoyed Tangerine Dream and Vangelis, but I listen to stuff like William Topley, Angie Aparo, Three Dog Night, and Alice Cooper too, so I'm not very consistant. But you can't trust my taste. Hell, I think Moby is good.

Like I said, I'm probably not very helpful. There is a lot of noise out there passing itself off as music. I probably don't get exposed to very much of it.

Originally posted by nikelbee
Hi Becon

You bring up some good points especially about how one book, one positive educational experience or one teacher sometimes, can make a world of difference in our lives.

What you say about Poe vs Lovecraft is to some extent true - Lovecraft was far scarier - but consider this: good literature is often not so much about the plot or end result, but about the underlying themes within.

While Lovecraft was spookier and wrote a very tangible imaginative fear; Poe's darkness has contains many human traits and emotions that appeal to us equally - we feel 'empathy' with his pain.

There is an ongoing heated argument in fiction with 'Literature' (with capital L) verus genre writing - good genre sometimes getting the shaft in the process. Lovecraft in many ways, is a result of this academic and critical movement of demoting genre writing as subpar or beneath 'true' or 'pure' Lit. With the result being many frustrated readers of so-called classics going, 'Huh? What the...? This book is about absolutely nothing!'

My opinion is that both have their place. Lovecraft IS a master fear meister and Poe deserves the accolades he gets for tapping into guilt, desire and aching loneliness turned madness.

Where would modern horror writers of today be, if not for people like Poe AND Lovecraft?


[edit on 19-10-2005 by nikelbee]

True on all account Nike, Lovecraft was just a freak of nature (both in good and bad ways), able to strike terror with but the mention of the dark gods of his Mythos.. but Poe was masterfull in using the flaws of the human condition to create dark sad tales that stirred angst and agony in the soul

but regarldess of who was better or more influencial.. atleast they are both better then king... whom in my eyes only wishes he could be so terrifying as either one, i honestly cant sit through more then 3 or 4 pages of any of king books.. save for the Dark Tower series.. which for me.. is not only a fantastic series.. but is without a doubt kings best work

Oh and fellas.. i love music.. i love rush and zappa and everyone inbetween.. but this isnt the thread for that.. and as i have discussed with one mod.. there is to much "non-topic" talk on most thread.. that having been stated.. start a music thread.. you'll probably see me there

Anyone who doesn't like Zappa can go and soak their heads, on-topic or no

I'm still looking for the album, Ambient Sound, but I've listened to more than my share of Jefferson Airplane and I'm sure the results will make this whole effort worthwhile. Thanks again for the recommendation!

Paralellogram: Have your local library get it from their regional system. My local library doesn't even have a music section but I got the cd in only four days.

I am a big Poe fan too, in high school long time ago, I had a t-shirt with "The Raven " on the front and "E.A.Poe" on the back. Most of my friends didn't know what it meant. Besides all the the great stories he wrote,his poems were nothing if short of fascinating. For those of you that said you checked out Alan Parsons Project )Tales of MYstery and Imagination)note on the album/cd Alan Parson was the producer for Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. If you get a chance reading some Poe check out The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather, quite the read.

A really cool cd called "Closed on account of Rabies" came out in 1997. I still listen to it now. It has a great reading of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Iggy Pop. Christopher Walken's Reading of "The Raven" is really good too. Diamanda Galas reads "The Black Cat".

Since we've mentioned Lovecraft in addition to Poe on this topic, I'd like to recommend a videogame I played the other day. In addition to music and dramatic readings (I'm interested in the Christopher Walken and Iggy album now), games are another immersive way to get the Poe and Lovecraft "vibe".

It's "Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requeim" for the gamecube. It outright mentions Poe and Lovecraft in the opening and it's great. Dark and dusty secret rooms full of ancient artifacts and otherwordly books of "magick" and so on. Extradimensional beasts and secret societies and so far one surprise that actually made me jump (and I'm not easy to scare).

I don't know if anyone's mentioned it previously, but if you're a fan of Poe, reading some Nathaniel Hawthorne or Herman Melville might be an idea. Though not as utterly creepy, they were other individualistic writers from the same time frame who didn't believe in happy endings either.

Holy crap is right, and you haven't even seen the movie!! When we were studying Poe my teacher took "The Tell Tale Heart" off the shelf and put it in the VCR and it was the FREAKIEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!
Its suspensful, the narration is excellent, the plot is superb, and its in black and white, just for the effect!
That movie is the only movie thats ever sent chills down my spine.

Is that the short animated feature narrated by James Mason? Man I loved that.

Edgar Allan Poe is wonderful, isnt he ? I recently brought a book of his collected works - it should keep me busy for a few months !

What I love about Poe is the way his mind works..I read some of his stuff and think "Oh dear what type of person thinks this way ?". He just has this amazing writing and thinking style.

Originally posted by Beelzebubba
A really cool cd called "Closed on account of Rabies" came out in 1997. I still listen to it now. It has a great reading of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Iggy Pop. Christopher Walken's Reading of "The Raven" is really good too. Diamanda Galas reads "The Black Cat".

Ohh Ill have to track that down. Diamanda has such a beautiful voice. I saw her in concert either this year or the end of last and she was stunning.

Originally posted by The Parallelogram
Anyone who doesn't like Zappa can go and soak their heads, on-topic or no

Zappa !

I'm a huge Poe fan. Have you ever been to his grave?
Very interesting. The cemetary is very haunted and the
church is even built on top of the cemetary. His grave
(the new one, not the old one) is on the corner, next
to the roads. Baltimore. If you are ever there .. go!!

My favorite Poe poem -

The Lake

In spring of youth it was my lot
To haunt of the wide world a spot
The which I could not love the less -
So lovely was the loneliness
Of a wild lake, with black rock bound,
And the tall pines that towered around.

But when the Night had thrown her pall
Upon that spot, as upon all,
And the mystic wind went by
Murmuring in melody -
Then - ah then I would awake
To the terror of the lone lake.

Yet that terror was not fright,
But a tremulous delight -
A feeling not the jewelled mine
Could teach or bribe me to define -
Nor Love - although the Love were thine.

Death was in that poisonous wave,
And in its gulf a fitting grave
For him who thence could solace bring
To his lone imagining -
Whose solitary soul could make
An Eden of that dim lake.

I had to memorize that short story and I've read it so many times... That's a good one, indeed.