Peter Bebergal returns (previously on episode #180 with his book Strange Frequencies)  to discuss magic, witchcraft, and the occult and how those things impacted the world of Rock & Roll music.  Check the attachment to this episode for a bunch of music links relevant to the show and Peter's book Season of the Witch.   Speaking of books - Karen has a new one and I made an easy to remember shortcut to it on Amazon:  http://bit.ly/OnTheOffensive (The lettering case in that link does matter.) Discussed in the episode: Image of David Bowie in "Diamond Dogs" album (MOMA) Made for TV Movie: Devil Dog - The Hound of Hell The George Harrison "documentary" Karen mentions - Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison (There is a lot of mixed messaging out there on whether this is a serious but wacky documentary or a silly but confusing mockumentary. It was originally released as a documentary but the filmmaker has since reclassified it as "mockumentary" - was this for legal reasons?) FYI: The narration is not by George Harrison. The UFO Club in London was a short-lived hub of early lights & sounds and psychedelic imagery. It only operated over a two-year span but had a tremendous impact on music culture - and on posters for bands. Peter's original SOTW Spotify List (link) Song/Album Notes Fire (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown) Starts with the iconic (and parent-frightening) "I AM THE GOD OF HELLFIRE..." Sacred Songs (Daryl Hall) Daryl Hall (!?) album inspired by the work of Aleister Crowley Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson) While the legend of the blues musician at the crossroads is often applied to Robert Johnson, it has earlier roots with... Cool Drink of Water Blues (Tommy Johnson) Tommy Johnson, not related to Robert, was the focus of an earlier version of the crossroads legend Anthology of American Folk Music (via archive.org) A partial selection of the 6-album (3, 2-record ea) set of American Folk Music curated by Harry Smith. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Pink Floyd) The Syd Barrett-led Pink Floyd would change a lot after Barrett's descent into mental illness, but there are psychedelic and occult themes in this eclectic early Floyd album. Interstellar Overdrive is a good long instrumental track to read Bebergal's book to. My Sweet Lord (George Harrison) Perhaps the most public of the musician seekers, Harrison's ode to the search for a connection to the numinous was very successful - and also (accidentally?) directly copied He's So Fine by The Chiffons. Shankar: Dhun (Ravi Shankar) Sitar would meet Guitar when the Beatles went to India and met gurus and traditional Indian musicians, most famously Ravi Shankar. Lucifer Rising soundtrack (Bobby BeauSoleil) The soundtrack to occult filmmaker Kenneth Anger's movie Lucifer Rising was supposed to be done by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, but things happened. (This complicated story is covered in Bebergal's book.) War Pigs (Black Sabbath) The Ozzy Osborne led band would take its name from an Italian horror film, but like Alice Cooper, the "occult" aspects of Sabbath appear to be entirely performative. Consider Ozzy's paean to Aleister Crowley in which he fails to pronounce the old occultist's name right. (Crowley rhymes with holy.)  Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones) The Stones' "wicked" song - was it inspired by Baudelaire or Kenneth Anger? And how many times do the band sing "who? who?" in this 6-minute treat? Misty Mountain Hop (Led Zeppelin) Combining elements of Tolkien fantasy and drug-fueled psychedelic experiences, LZ music combined many elements of fictional and authentic occult imagery. Jimmy Page's interest in Aleister Crowley is legendary with him even buying Crowley's Loch Ness adjacent home Boleskin. Mephisto Waltz (Misfits) The punk band Misfits took their imagery and themes from horror movies and the occult as well. Jack Parsons (The