Doomsday Cult Destroys 1980s Rock

Posted by Andy Baio

Back in the 1980s, a few thousand devoted followers of a religious sect called the Church Universal and Triumphant relocated to a 32,000 acre Montana ranch and began preparing for the Apocalypse. Claire Prophet, their aptly-named leader, predicted a devastating Soviet missile attack on the United States set for April 23, 1990. Responding to these doomsday visions, the sect began stockpiling weapons and creating fallout shelters to survive the attacks. (The church still lives on, albeit in a mainstream form.)

Audio recordings from internal church services surfaced sometime during the late-1980s and were released on Faithway International’s Sounds of American Doomsday Cults Volume 14. Unfortunately, the album’s out of print and unavailable through Aquarius Records, but I have several of the tracks in MP3 format (thanks Daryl).

The highlight of the batch is the Invocation For Judgement Against And Destruction of Rock Music (3 MB MP3), a three-minute roster of ’80s rock and pop stars sentenced to eternal damnation for various crimes against God. You might recognize it from Negativland’s “Michael Jackson” off of Escape from Noise, which samples it heavily. Follow the weirdness with this partial transcript.

“And we especially call for the judgement in this hour in the destroying of rock music directed specifically against children through the videos that were portrayed. And working specifically through these individuals for whom we call forth the judgement of the Sacred Fire at this hour before the Throne of Almighty God.

Michael Jackson, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, David Boowie, Van Halen, Madonna, Huey Louis And The News, The Cars, Herbie Hancock, Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Men at Work, ZZ Top, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, Weird Al Yankovic, Cyndi Looper, Pink Floyd, The Pretenders, Billy Joel, Billy Idol, Elton John, Neil Young, Sheena Easton, Patti Smith and Scandal, Fashion, Big Country, Morris Day and the Time, John Lennon, Appalonia 6, REO Speedwagon, David Gilmour, The Rolling Stones, Pat Benatar, Hall & Oates, Wham, Rebbie Jackson, Adam Ant, Bananarama, Christine McVie, Queen, Jack Cougar Mellencamp, U2, Fleetwood Mac, the Alan Parsons Project, Rick Springfield, the Thompson Twins, Missing Persons, Duran Duran, Police, Eurythmics, Culture Club including Boy George, Band-Aid, Relax, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, J. Iglesias and Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Dean Martin, KISS, Scorpions, Def Leppard.

And especially for the judgement of all movies including Beat Street, MTV, Street Beat, Miami Vice, Kid Video, Scooby Dooby Doo, Spinal Tap, Michael Sembello, Flashdance, 2010. And Andy Summers, Kenny Loggins, Phil Collins, Fire Incorporated, Olivia Newton-John, and the movie Ghostbusters.

And all other individual groups or individual artists who vibrate in consonance with them and with the vibration of the fallen angels and the demons of death and hell from the bottomless pit. We call forth thy flame now into the planes of Montair and for the full action of the will of God for the confounding and confuting of these images and this release of the plague of death and hell upon the planetary body. We accept it done now with full power according to God’s holy will through this, our decree.”

Comments

    ack, great post! I’ve recently been re-listening to tons of old negativland, as we just started putting their catalog online at the music site I work for (we signed seeland and a bunch of others through a mordam records deal). I am a major fan of the touchstones of sample and plunder music. The conet project escecially (got my copy through aquarius records, of course).

    I’d love to track down the source of the stuff MC 900 FT Jesus used to use, like the crazy lady on “baboon asses” and that freaky religious childrens tale, which seems to be played back at the wrong speed. Man whatever happened to him? Great albums that I still listen to.

    Dammit, you *had* to go and post this right after I missed a chance to see Mark Hosler of Negativland a few blocks from my office. Sigh.

    Great stuff. David Gilmour must be especially evil. He gets condemnation individually and with Pink Floyd. Of course, I can understand why Michael Jackson gets it twice.

    Great post. I was listening to it and I noticed there was a band in between U2 and Fleetwood Mac, so I looped and after a while I could understand how the monotone brainwashing voice could start to do a number on you.

    The Sirens? I don’t know.

    super post – thanks! there used to be (back around 1997-8) a simple site that catalogued (or tried to catalogue) the source of all samples used in “industrial” music (skinny puppy, front 242, etc. – the first wave of dance industrial, maybe, is what you’d call it….) i gotta go find that site. i bet MC900FJ has some songs in it.

    I love the CUT “songs”, do you have more than the 2 from the website?

    The one “..decend now into this forcefield, let god’s will be done” is sampled somewhere, I thought it was current 93, but I have not been able to figure it out and it bothers me.

    Evil Commie Baddies destroying the United Christian States of America by 1990!?

    Destroying all rock-and/or-roll-music and it’s related paraphenalia ’cause it makes your brain hurt!?

    I’m sure glad I woke-up to the brain-washing nonsense of the church a long time ago. I prefer living in the real world! With any luck, this “Church Universal and Triumphant” did us all a big favor and sealed themselves inside their bomb shelters. Hopefully, they’re still down there!

    (Oh, by the way: I could understand their dislike for most of the above mentioned rock performers, but you think they could have done just a wee bit of research and learned how to spell the names right! Or at least GET the names right! IE: “Relax?” “‘Jack’ Cougar Mellencamp?” “Cindy ‘Looper’?” And why is Dean Martin on there list and not Frank Sinatra (You can’t spell Sinatra without SIN!) or Sammy Davis, jr. (That no-good satanist!)

    You Can’t Kill Rock-and-Roll!

    Thanks to your neverending efforts, eighties rock is soon to be wiped off the face of the earth! My master plan is soon at hand! Hehehe…

    …this record is a classic, allways have it with me when i go out to play a set…

    the rock condemnation track is great but my fav is where they’re praying/singing the evocation for 2012, its chilling, a great mix track and most people think it’s some avantgarde type thing

    btw…youcan find the complete album on “soulseek”,maybe not the easiest stuff to find but thats where i got my copy 3 months ago…

    I am part of this religious organization. Its funny whenever I hear people call it a cult. I heard a newscaster call us a dangerous cult once and that was pretty crazy. I remember hearing stories about how some of the recordings of prayers got out and were used in rock songs. I think they are a little fanatical about rock although I can see where they are coming from as lyrics of songs in any genre are often pretty destructive. However Stevie Wonder, Pat Benetar, that’s a little over the top. I was raised in this church so I am not as crazy about it as my parents, I definitely don’t follow it closely, as I listen to many of the artists listed above. It was still part of my upbringing though so I hold a certain respect for it, especially how tolerant it is of other religions as it is basically a mergining of religions from all over the world. Labeling it a doomsday cult is inappropriate. That part of its history has been blown out of proportion. It is basically nothing more than someone building a bomb shelter except on a communal level. I go to Montana every year and the shelters are pretty cool. If something ever does happen they will come in handy. Anyway, just thought I’d post my comments. CUT isn’t as crazy as it sounds, although there are fanatics that make it more “cultish,” but that’s not really all that different from any religion. Peace.

    Due to the actual death of rock music by way of the pop-corporate machine , this 80’s audio clip of the various pop stars being sworn to judgement has been sampled over and over in a hat tip to post-modern irony in many new electronic music songs. The most famous is of course Fatboy Slim’s hit ‘Michael Jackson’ which sold over 5 million albums.

    Mylo’s smash album “Destroy Rock and Roll’ was completely derived from this clip. The song “Destroy Rock and Roll” has the full audio list of names from this sermon looped accompanied by spliced up instrumental samples of different pop songs.

    Shame about the comment spam… Also, this sample was used on Mylo – Destroy Rock & Roll. Fun to hear the whole sample. Thanks for sharing.

    this is funny, some idiot who knows fuck all about music trying to destroy music cus he dont like it really nowt to do with any God IMO.

    I have just been listening to destroy rock n roll by Mylo, great song. The combanation of samples from some crazy guy with power and Steely Dans aja go well together

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