Why Music Becomes Part of Who We Are: Memory, Identity, and Fan Culture

Music does not stay outside of life for very long. A song may begin as something we hear in the background, but over time it can become attached to a year, a place, a person, a season, or a version of ourselves we no longer fully recognize. That is [...]

Geezer Butler’s Lyrics: The Human Fear Behind Black Sabbath’s Darkness

Read the lyrics of early Black Sabbath apart from the album covers, the crosses, and the old rumors around the band, and something becomes clear quickly: the darkness is rarely empty. Geezer Butler was not only giving Black Sabbath frightening words to match Tony Iommi’s riffs. He was giving [...]