Day 151

I had a thought come to me when I sat down to draw tonight. I've always been a big proponent of free speech in music, movies, literature, and so on. When I was a teenager, there was a huge push toward labeling of music, especially rock and rap music. As any music fan knows, that particular initiative has come to pass and any music that could be considered even slightly objectionable has a "warning label" placed prominently on the cover.

There were some bands in the 1970s and 1980s who were considered "Satanic" because their lyrics included references to "Satan," "the Devil," or "demons." I don't place these words in quotes to take away from those who truly subscribe to those belief systems; rather, I do so because most of the musicians accused of this were completely innocent.

I distinctly remember reading an article on the 1970s heavy metal band Black Sabbath, who defended their lyrics as essentially story-telling, covering a wide variety of topics from good versus evil, to magic and wizardry, to general personal and social commentary.  My thought on the matter is, if this band is "Satanic" because they mention that concept in a song, then is Al Pacino a "Satanist" because he played Satan in a movie?  Clearly there is a double standard here!

Here's my point: I know a lot of people will look at today's self-portrait and wonder if I'm possessed by evil spirits, or that I was in a really bad mood when I made the drawing, or that I simply have a dark cloud floating over me. And the fact of the matter is, none of the above is true. I simply wanted to portray a character, just like an actor might do so.

And that's it - I really am in a great mood!

#151 March 20, 201,  Ink
Sounds:  Kiss, Creatures of the Night