Music big source of motivation and inspiration.. and wisdom,
Please add your favorite enlightening musicians : )

Cynthia Alexander - Guitarist/Folk/Rock
John Frusciante - Guitarist/Rock
Q Zoo - Dance/Electronic
Alanis Morissette
Metallica (Not really but somewhat because their guitarist is a meditator/buddhist)

I have always liked this one:

Zen Gospel Singing
(Mark Graham)

I once was a Baptist and on each Sunday morn
I'd be in church praying just as sure as you're born.
We'd sing there like angels in sweet harmony
But sin and salvation are no longer for me.

Cause now I'm a Buddhist I chant my mantra each day
But I miss that good singing in the old Gospel way.
We sing of old Buddha and the wonders of Zen.
We'll meet in Nirvana, yes we'll be there then.

Now my old friends don't like me since I shaved my head
and they all talk about me as if I were dead.
My good old Zen buddies they think I'm ok,
But I can't get them singing more than one note a day.

We sit here cross legged eating brown rice and cheese
and we chant out our mantra in four square harmony.
We don't sing of salvation or a heavenly home.
It's Zen gospel singing, just Om Om, sweet Om.

Copyright Mark Graham
LZ

today:


More Than a Feeling. Boston. Rock.

Say Hey (I Love You) [feat. Cherine Anderson] Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Rhythm Is a Dancer (Original Mix.) Snap! Dance.

Pump Up the Jam. Technotronic Pump Up the Jam. Electronic.

Boogie Oogie Oogie (Single Version 2.) A Taste of Honey. R&B/Soul.

Jam On It 8:15 Newcleus Destination: Earth

Whenever God Shines His Light. Van Morrison with Cliff Richard. Avalon Sunset. Rock

This isn't a favorite of mine or anything but I found it interesting that Leonard Cohen's "Love Itself" is, apparently, based on teachings of Sasaki Roshi: youtube link

when I get stream entry I'm gonna this is what I'm gonna have in my head:

the boys are back in town - thin lizzy

spread the word, the boys are back in town!! yeah!

Enigma - electronica/ chill-out / world

Matisyahu - Reggae (Kabbalah)

Incubus - Rock (not that much a fan. dont know that many songs. but from the songs i know - all related. also, i know he has om mani padme hum and crop circle tattoos)

Dead can Dance - world - (not so related, however their music is quite spiritually inspiring. Also have many trance inducing songs like "Yulunga spirit dance", "Cantara"

Karmakanic - Rock/progressive Rock/Fusion - ( They have 2 albums i know, "Wheel of life" & "Enter the spectra". Many dharma themed titles, lyrics & songs.)

Lots of stuff from the 60's/70's... "Tommy", by The Who comes to mind. Probably the most explicit would be old YES. Songs like Close to the Edge and Awaken, if you can decipher the lyrics, are all about the mystical or enlightenment experience.

Growing up in the 80's was like living in a musical desert. Not until Nirvana (the band... not making a personal claim here ) came along did music start to get interesting for me again. Pearl Jam has a song (Given to Fly) that sounds very much like a Jesus type experience (got enlightened and now am going to go teach to the unappreciative). Reminds me of an old Peter Gabriel song, Solsbury Hill.

Somehow Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) always seems to hint at enlightenment.

Great topic

Hello dark night
Nick Drake - Pink Moon

Great soundtracks to the progress of insight
Sweet Billy Pilgrim - We Just Did What Happened and No One Came
John Frusciante - Empyrean
Mia Doi Todd - Gea
Southern Tenant Folk Union - self titled

Deeply spiritual music that moves the soul
Sara Hickman - Spiritual Appliances
Jon and Vangelis - everything

TOOL- Most of their songs delve into an aspect of awakening.

Neil Young - My My, Hey Hey

My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away
My my, hey hey.

Out of the blue and into the black
They give you this, but you pay for that
And once you're gone, you can never come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black.

The king is gone but he's not forgotten
This is the story of a johnny rotten
It's better to burn out than it is to rust
The king is gone but he's not forgotten.

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFuujExs03A

Good old Van Morrison has a lot to offer. Enlightenment, an all-time favorite of mine:

[indent]Chop that wood
Carry water
What's the sound of one hand clapping
Enlightenment, don't know what it is

Every second, every minute
It keeps changing to something different
Enlightenment, don't know what it is
Enlightenment, don't know what it is
It says it's non attachment
Non attachment. non attachment

I'm in the here and now, and I'm meditating
And still I'm suffering but that's my problem
Enlightenment, don't know what it is

Wake up

Enlightenment says the world is nothing
Nothing but a dream, everything's an illusion
And nothing is real

Good or bad baby
You can change it anyway you want
You can rearrange it
Enlightenment, don't know what it is
Chop that wood
And carry water
What's the sound of one hand clapping
Enlightenment, don't know what it is

All around baby. you can see
You're making your own reality. everyday because
Enlightenment, don't know what it is

One more time

Enlightenment. don't know what it is
It's up to you
Enlightenment. don't know what it is
It's up to you everyday
Enlightenment, don't know what it is
It's always up to you
Enlightenment, don't know what it is[/indent]

Stuart Davis is a great Buddhist musician.

Already Free:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG1EijWB6zI

Smoke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6C-LIPGhjA

Universe Communion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPA1lMegxE0

Jimi Hendrix.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izB85LUlygE&feature=related

Hi everyone,

This is my first post! These guys are called Akron/Family and the song is Gone Beyond. Check it out - it's simple and lovely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5PXxK1Ub90

Peace,
Alvaro

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - A Qawwali singer from Pakistan, his voice was like a divine fire during his performances. Strictly Islam but I think the passion and devotion to his art transcends religious boundaries.

I consider some of the more surrealist and dadaist influenced artists to be, whether intentionally or not, communicating from the same non-rational and intuitive level that we become aware of through practice. People like Captain Beefheart in particular always make me think of some crazy old Zen monk if he'd been raised on the blues.

John Cage was very much influenced by the Dharma, particularly Zen as demonstrated in pieces like 4' 33" and his ambient works. He had an entire compositional system based around the I Ching and incorporated Buddhist elements into his work.

John Zorn has been using more magick based inspiration in his recent work with the Moonchild trio, mainly based around Aleister Crowley's writings and theory.

"Secret Chiefs 3" have a lot of Middle Eastern symbolism in their music, titles, artwork and every single aspect of their performances too. Their guitarist and main composer, Trey Spurance formerly of Mr. Bungle and Faith No More, is steeped in Arabic mysticism and mythology and appears to know his stuff when it comes to enlightenment.

This thread's got me thinking.....expect a report back with an exhaustive list.....Ha!

Nice post DNY!

Maynard James Keenan is, last I heard, a paid up member of the Ordo Templi Orientis and I'm sure I heard something about Danny Carey setting up his drums according to sacred geometry, although that's probably just Tool taking the piss out of their fans.....Ha!

Listening to Nick Drake's Pink Moon raises a sort of interesting question for me: was he likely a Dark Nighter unable to bear the well-known effects of what that entails, or was he just someone who was depressed? Nobody can answer that for sure now of course, but it's still interesting to speculate.

Also, Sufjan Stevens' song Chicago sounds suspiciously dhammic:

I fell in love again
all things go, all things go
drove to Chicago
all things know, all things know
we sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
in my mind, in my mind
you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go
I drove to New York
in a van, with my friend
we slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
in my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
in my mind, in my mind
you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go
if I was crying
in the van, with my friend
it was for freedom
from myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go
you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
(I made a lot of mistakes)
all things know, all things know
(I made a lot of mistakes)
you had to find it
(I made a lot of mistakes)
all things go, all things go
(I made a lot of mistakes)

There's an awesome band called OM whose sound is tottally trancelike, they have kind of a sludgy stoner rock sound, really spacy and tripped out and most of they're lyrics are multi tradition spirituality based. I sometimes have their melodies stuck in my head while meditating and their vocals sound kind of like mantras of some kind, I'm trying to incorporate that kind of vibe into my little band which is kinda challenging and fun cause we have more of a sporadic punk / metal / "my ears are bleeding" kind of sound, cool stuff though.

Another cool trancelike band is Animal Collective they're kind of electronica meets beach boys meets folk type if thing, but when I listen to them I always feel like I'm slipping into a neat little mini meditation, they're lyrics are usually pretty positive and intelligent too.

Also "This too shall pass" by Ok, Go totally sounds like a hint to impermanence,just look at the title.

Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNj2BXW852g

This song has left the solar system.

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html

Fingers Inc. - A Path


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf8KnPHbViU

Kultiration is a reggae band from, I think, Norway. All their songs seem to be about yoga and meditation. Some feature chanting. Not bad.

Some older stuff:

The Rolling Stones - quite a few gems buried in their work - random ones: "(I can't get no) Satisfaction" and "Dancing with Mr. D".

Peter Gabriel - "Solsbury Hill".

Uriah Heep - "Lady in Black".

Aerosmith - "Livin' on the Edge".

Lou Reed - "Dime Store Mystery"

(Many cover versions, I like the one by The Clash) - "I Fought the Law and the Law Won".

Dead Kennedys - lots of good stuff, such as "Drug me" or "Religious Vomit".

Steven Vai - the entire "Sex and Religion" album is great: an insight map you can listen to (if you like that kind of music).

Die Toten Hosen - lots, such as "Put Your Money Where... (Buy Me) Lyrics" (They have some English stuff, mostly German)

Some slightly newer stuff:

Die Fantastischen Vier - "Geboren" (German)

Die Ärzte - "Deine Schuld" and lots more (all German)

Evanescence - "Bring me to life"

Mumford and Sons (they are said to pillage Shakespeare; if so, they do it well) - "Roll Away your Stone" seems to be well-known

The White Stripes - "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues" or "I'm Slowly Turning into Your" for example.

Cheers,
Florian

I hail from the realm of electronica, so my suggestions (individual tracks that have been inspirational to me) aren't likely to be massively lyrical, if at all.

That said; how can you be transported to the realm of "that which cannot be described using words", using words?

Ott - Blumenkraft Jack's Cheese and Bread Snack

Ott - Blumenkraft Splitting an Atom

Lemon Jelly - lemonjelly.ky Page One

Talvin Singh - Ha Sea Breeze

Danny Byrd - Supersized From Bath With Love

Lelonek - Reflections 1 Connections

Up, Bustle and Out - Light 'Em Up, Blow 'Em Out Emerald Alley - Indian Morning Theme

Eat Static - Back to Earth... Lo-Ride Sloucher

Zero One - Psy-Fi Megalomania

Troubleman - Time Out Of Mind Change Is What We Need

There's a nice sample at 2:10 of some guy talking about the God's eye view and a bug in a rug...
Hex - Cold Krush Cuts Harmonic

The best spiritual music:

John Coltrane
Olivier Messiaen
Hildegard von Bingen
Steve Coleman
Arvo Part
Henryk Gorecki

This has some merit; I can't find the article but I read a really good piece analyzing Drake's lyrics in terms of William Blake's visions and how Drake was obsessed with the nature of perception. I think he was just a hyper sensitive, quiet guy who was vulnerable to depression AND had a temperament naturally suited to heightened spiritual awareness.


For me, Coil are the band that, lyrically and sonically, have opened many doors of perception, often without chemicals on my own part, and I keep coming back to their "moon musick" phase, when they mellowed out a bit. Their anti dogma English paganism is very inspiring, and when I find myself in dark places their music can horrify, uplift and cause laughter in the space of a few minutes. John Balance was always an interesting lyricist, "Are You Shivering" especially evokes the sensation of experiencing a deeper awareness while surrounded by nature:

"Our life has grown weary
The stars have grown old
Are you still shivering?
Are you still cold?
Are you loathsome tonight?
Does your madness shine bright?
Are you loathsome tonight?

In the oceans of the moon
Swimming squidlike and squalid
This bright moon is a liquid
The dark earth is a solid

This is moon music in the light of the moon"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRHoMdo6o-w

Another artist who touches on extreme states is Justin Broadrick of Godflesh and Jesu. Godflesh may seem at odds with dharma because of its aggressive, hateful qualities, but I think they were about deeper explorations than most of the bands that copied them. Listening to the "Pure" and "Selfless" albums, it strikes me that GF were about transcending negative emotions as much as reveling or being crushed by them. But my favorite moments were when he went all melancholy with his next project Jesu, and brought in more dream pop influences and started singing "like a pussy". He's one of those artists who often convey more through tone and texture than lyrics, but "Old Year" is a great song ( I like that most Jesu lyrics could be simultaneously about a relationship, an inner struggle and humanity self destructing):

"Spend your time waiting
All the wasteful hating
Now who are you blaming?
Are we worth saving?

Is this how it's always going to be...?

Now you're stuck in our old year
But I believe in the new year
Now who are you blaming?
Are you worth saving?

Is this how it's always going to be...?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR8-tCkJryg

Every song by Radiohead.

How about Moody Blues, "In Search of the Lost Chord"
Beatles , "Across the Universe"
The Who, "Tommy"

Pretty much. And explicitly the most recent album, The King of Limbs, is steeped in Buddhist references. This makes sense because Thom Yorke, after claiming for many years that he "just couldn't meditate," finally learned how, for now says he meditates daily.