Sunday 22 January 2017

Progressive Thoughts - Day 22


Today’s song is another by British prog rockers  Arena. The song is called The Butterfly Man and is the song that introduced me to the band.




When I first heard this song, a cold shiver ran down my spine and I was struck by its spooky nature. 
My mind ran amok because the subject matter fits perfectly within the darker recesses of my imagination, the menacing section where I conjure up weird monsters that would scare me shitless should I ever be unfortunate enough to encounter them.
Such a creature is The Butterfly Man, presumably so-called because he (or it) is a collector.
Unfortunately, rather than gathering insects, the target of his collection are human souls, imprisoning them in a place from where there is no escape. 
Nobody is safe.
The implication is that the creature is not human and waits in the dark catching people when they least expect it.
I love this kind of stuff and it pushes all the buttons that put me on edge. Ironically that kind of excites me because although I am scared, I love the concept of a monster kidnapping people and effectively locking them away forever.
It’s a terrifying prospect and it would make a great book and/or movie.
I have a bit of a love hate relationship with creepy films to be honest. I love to watch them and be terrified by them but later, when I go to bed, they have ingrained themselves in my subconscious mind and consequently I sometimes struggle to sleep as my weird imagination elaborates on an already terrifying premise. 
Even if I do eventually sleep, my dreams are invaded by the monsters I have witnessed, only this time they are magnified to the point where I wake up in a cold sweat.
Basically they induce nightmares and I hate that.
“You’re looking tired,” people will say.
“Yes – I watched  scary film last night and didn’t sleep very well.”
“You utter wimp!”
One of my favourite wacky conspiracy theorists, David Icke, believes in a variation to The Butterfly Man. If you listen to the lyrics of the song, the Butterfly Man lies in wait in the dark on the edge of your consciousness, waiting to strike like a snake.
According to Icke, there are interdimensional beings that can exist just outside of our perception. If you have ever been alone and suddenly had an intense feeling that someone or something is there with you then the chances are that you have encountered one of these beings. Icke says that sometimes these creatures accidentally reveal themselves to us.
So if you are alone and have a crawling sensation something being present and, maybe, catch a glimpse of something as you turn around, just before it vanishes, then you have met one of David Icke’s interdimensional, alien, illuminati lizards.
Or it could be a ghost.
Or it could be The Butterfly Man.
Or, most likely, it could just be your vivid imagination having just read this post. If I cause this to happen, dear reader, then I apologise.
The truth is that David Icke is just a crackpot or, quite possibly an amazingly clever con man who has somehow identified something within his fans that he can exploit to pander to their own wacky conspiracy theory ideas.
As I’ve said, I am a weird fan of David Icke but not because I believe his crackpot theories. As far as I am concerned, he is a walking novel, a talking creepy horror story, a man who is entertaining most of us with an elaborate and totally incredible plot, set in the real world, embracing existing conspiracy theories in a way that entertains me.
He is not telling the truth; he is spinning a yarn – and a very entertaining one. In many ways, I believe he is just a prolific story teller and long may he continue to do so.
I love crazy, weird stuff like this.
Actually, I am alone as I type this and I have a feeling I am being watched.
Ah – I am being watched.
My big fat cat wants his dinner!


2 comments:

River said...

Not a song for me, probably something I wouldn't rush to turn off, but definitely too long for me. I haven't gone back through all the other days yet, I've been quite busy away from home.

Plastic Mancunian said...

Hi River,

Yes - it is a bit long - but those are the kind of songs I love. With prog it's sometimes difficult to find shorter ones.

:o)

Cheers

PM