- Life
- 1952-2001
- Works
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
- Themes
- humor/satire, philosophy, science fiction, absurdity/joy, language
The muses
Ideas you can feel. Songs for a world gone bananas.
The muses
196 thinkers, fools, poets, and troublemakers who inspired the songs.
Showing 30 of 196 muses.
- Life
- c. 620 BC-c. 564 BC
- Works
- Aesop's Fables
- Themes
- wisdom, poetry/language, humor/satire, philosophy
- Quote
- Gratitude turns what we have into enough.
Inspired the song 'The Great Naked King'.
- Life
- 1805-1875
- Works
- The Emperor's New Clothes
- Themes
- storytelling, childhood, satire, fantasy, social criticism
- Life
- born 1947
- Works
- Heart of a Dog ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_a_Dog_(2015_film)
Originally inspired 'Rainbows in the Clouds' and 'Rainbows in My Clouds (Merci)'. Dedicated to Sri.
- Life
- 1928-2014
- Works
- Rainbows in my clouds
- Themes
- gratitude, hope
- Quote
- Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.,Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing.
- Life
- 1880-1918
- Works
- Alcools, Calligrammes, Zone
- Themes
- poetry/language, creativity, love/kindness, modernism
One of my deepest intellectual touchstones. The banality of evil is the lens I use to understand how ordinary people enable catastrophic...
- Life
- 1906-1975
- Works
- The Origins of Totalitarianism, The Human Condition, Eichmann in Jerusalem
- Themes
- authoritarianism, truth-telling, philosophy, democracy, resistance
- Quote
- The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.
- Life
- 1901-1971
- Works
- What a Wonderful World
Male Fantasies' is a direct Atwood lyric quote-turned-song. Her work on how democracies slide into theocracies is the blueprint for...
- Life
- born 1939
- Works
- The Handmaid's Tale
- Themes
- authoritarianism, feminism, resistance, democracy
- Quote
- "Another belief of mine; that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise."
- Life
- 1947-1985
- Works
- Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) Notes of a Native Son (1955), Giovanni's Room (1956)
- Themes
- poetry/language, truth-telling
- Quote
- "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."
- Life
- 1821-1867
- Works
- Les Fleurs du Mal, Paris Spleen, Intimate Journals
- Themes
- poetry/language, death/grief, love/kindness, beauty/aesthetics
- Quote
- The devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.
- Life
- born 1965
- Works
- So Broken
- Life
- 1757-1827
- Works
- Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
- Themes
- poetry/language, spirituality/agnosticism, resistance, creativity
- Quote
- To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wildflower.
- Life
- 1956-2018
- Works
- Kitchen Confidential, Parts Unknown, Medium Raw
- Themes
- humor/satire, truth-telling, absurdity/joy, philosophy
Inspired the track 'New Normalcy (Planet Earth To Higher Grounds)'.
- Life
- 1947-2016
- Works
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, Heroes, Space Oddity, Blackstar
- Themes
- music, identity, performance, transformation, art
La Quête is the Bananasutra anthem I didn't write. 'The Quest' remake is my love letter to him — accordion and all. He understood that...
- Life
- 1929-1978
- Works
- Ne Me Quitte Pas, La Quête, Amsterdam
- Themes
- poetry/language, love/kindness, philosophy, music
- Quote
- To sing is to pray twice.' | 'I want to die on a Tuesday, so I'll have the rest of the week to recover.'
- Life
- 1896-1966
- Works
- Manifesto of Surrealism, Nadja, Mad Love
- Themes
- surrealism, dreams, creativity, revolution, poetry/language
- Life
- born 1965
- Works
- Daring Greatly, The Gifts of Imperfection, Braving the Wilderness
- Themes
- vulnerability, courage, empathy, personal growth, love/kindness
- Quote
- I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness—it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.
Bukowski made lowbrow high art. His BLOW energy is visceral — no pretense, no polish. A whiskey-soaked mirror held up to the circus.
- Life
- 1920-1989
- Works
- Women
- Themes
- humor/satire, social criticism, poetry, urban life, authenticity
- Quote
- "America is a circus, full of clowns and freaks parading themselves as serious leaders"
- Life
- 1729-1797
- Works
- Reflections on the Revolution in France, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful
- Themes
- philosophy, democracy, tradition, politics, resistance
- Quote
- "The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.",The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Inspired the Fanana Club covers and 'What's F-A-S-C-I-S-T?'.
- Life
- born 1990
- Works
- Welcome to the Internet, What's Funny, F*CK
- Themes
- humor/satire, mental health, social media, performance, absurdity/joy
Inspired the song 'A Man's A Man for A' That'.
- Life
- 1759-1796
- Works
- Auld Lang Syne, A Man's A Man for A' That, To a Mouse
- Themes
- poetry/language, love/kindness, democracy, Scottish identity, nature
Butler wrote the FLOWsutra as speculative scripture — 'God is Change' is literally her theology. Parable of the Sower is a survival...
- Life
- 1947-2006
- Works
- Parable of the Sower, Kindred, Wild Seed, Bloodchild
- Themes
- change/adaptation, science fiction, power, race, evolution
- Quote
- All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change. God Is Change.
A map for understanding the internal journey. Inspired tracks like 'Joseph Campbell's Truth Metaphors' and 'Metaphor's Edge'.
- Life
- 1904-1987
- Works
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces, The Power of Myth
- Themes
- mythology, storytelling, hero's journey, philosophy, psychology
- Life
- 1913-1960
- Works
- The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus
- Themes
- philosophy, existentialism, absurdity/joy, resistance, truth-telling
- Quote
- "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.","The evil that is in the world almost always comes from ignorance, and good...
7 Dirty Words' is a direct Bananasutra homage — banjo folk about his Supreme Court case. His line 'I would never want to belong to a...
- Life
- 1937-2008
- Works
- 7 Dirty Words, Jammin' in New York, Brain Droppings
- Themes
- humor/satire, truth-telling, resistance, democracy, spirituality/agnosticism
- Quote
- I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.
Carson invented environmental activism — Silent Spring woke the world up. BOW energy as fierce protection of beauty. BLOW as righteous...
- Life
- 1907-1964
- Works
- Silent Spring, The Sea Around Us, The Sense of Wonder
- Themes
- nature, ecology, wonder, activism, science
- Quote
- Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Inspired the track 'Where Hope Expires'.
- Life
- 1932-2003
- Works
- Ring of Fire, Hurt, Man in Black
- Themes
- music, death/grief, redemption, authenticity, americana
No quotes — she is a warning. Cassandra's Lullaby' is me. Cursed to see the truth and not be believed. She is the patron saint of...
- Works
- Greek mythology — Trojan prophetess
- Themes
- truth-telling, authoritarianism, resistance