SOUNDS OF AMERICAN DOOMSDAY CULTS VOL. 14 The Church Universal and
Triumphant Inc. feat. Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Faithways / Mighty I Am
Presence) lp 17.98
It's hard to believe this is real. In fact, it took a lot to convince Andee,
who was sure this was some Gregg Turkington prank. But it's one of those
things that just makes you proud / sick to be an American. Only in the United
States of Assholes. Elizabeth Clare Prophet purchased 24,000 acres in
Paradise Valley, Montana and started The Church Universal and Triumphant, a
creepy new age doomsday cult in which Prophet channeled spirits such as
Jesus, Buddha, K-17, Morya, Quan Yin, Afra, Hercules, Mighty Victory, Astrea,
Shiva, Pope John XXIII, and more. (Sort of like J.Z. Knight of Yelm,
Washington and her channelling of "Ramtha" except even more scary.) Prophet
and her husband stockpiled arms, built giant bomb shelters, and co-erced
their devotees to purchase their own survival equipment at exorbitant
markups. Throughout its existence CUT was indicted for kidnapping, lost
custody of the children who belonged to the church, were investigated for tax
exempt status and firearms violations. In 1995 former member Joeseph
Pietrangelo Jr wrote a book condemning CUT entitled "Lambs to Slaughter: My
Fourteen Years with Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Church Universal Triumphant".
But the thing that really puts CUT on the map for us is their way of
conducting their religious services, and the fact that someone managed to
tape it. The tapes of this service have been floating around for years
already. Those of you familiar with Negativland's 1989 album "Escape From
Noise" will already be familiar with an excerpt of one of the tracks on this
album, as they used it for the track "Michael Jackson", and Steve Fisk has
been using these tapes for years as well. This record features live
recordings of Clare Prophet 'speaking' out against the evils of rock music.
She sounds perfectly normal as she introduces her 'psalms' or 'songs' or
'speeches' or whatever they are. But when she gets going, it's amazing. And
so goddamn funny. Her rapid fire high pitched testifying sounds a bit like an
insane mix of an auctioneer, a yodeller, the guy who sings the directions at
a square dance, Neil Hamburger huffing helium, variations of baseball's 'hey
batter batter' chant only faster. It's like that sound you make when you sort
of hum/breathe out and move your finger up and down between your lips making
a sort of 'bebubebubebubebubebubebubebubebu' sound. It's one of the most
amazing things we've ever heard! A must for all cult fanatics, new age
withdrawal victims, seekers of the truly strange, and fans of extended vocal
techniques. Ever so highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Invocation For Judgement Against And Destruction of Rock
Music"
RealAudio clip: "Decree"
RealAudio clip: "Dedication To The Tackling Of The Beast And The Dragon-The
Momentum Of Rock And Roll"
SOUNDS OF NORTH AMERICAN FROGS (Smithsonian Folkways) cd 15.98
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