7 ms·
The Unlikely Return of Cat Stevens
- ScottBurson 9y agoMy theory has always been that the Yusuf Islam thing was a reaction to a bad acid trip. (Based on no evidence whatsoever, to be clear :-)
- Clubber 9y agoThere was a lot to it but the catalyst I believe is that he nearly drowned. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens Bad acid trips won't lead someone to change their life that drastically. (or so I've heard, not that I would know anything about that sort of thing).
- nes350 9y agoI'm not sure whether it's comparable, but Chris Squire from Yes spent months "hibernating" in a hotel after a bad trip with homemade acid: “I’d had lots of good acid trips prior to that. But I made the mistake of trying some acid some friends of mine had homemade. That knocked me back, and I did sort of hibernate in an apartment in Kensington and spent quite a few months — maybe as much as a year — just playing bass.” Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11706204/Chris-Squire-bass-guitarist-obituary.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11706204/Chris-Sq...
- trumpisyourdad 9y agoif you believe this, you are retarded.
- ScottBurson 9y agoAh, thanks. I didn't know the story.
- ourmandave 9y agoFirst album came out in 1967, so I was surprised to learn he's only 69. That's young-ish in Rolling Stones years. I guess it was either tour again or run for US President.
- kazinator 9y agoBorn 1948, so he was 18 or 19. Stones' first album was 1964; Jagger and Richards were 20 or 21, born in `43.
- anotherbrownguy 9y agoI have noticed that there is a tendency in people coming from Jewish culture to have a deep seated hatred of Islam and even the rational sounding ones will bake up very elaborate rationalizations to justify hatred anything that has to do with Islam. It may have something to do with their culture. Speaking of irrational hatred, Sam Harris comes to mind. I have read Sam Harris' books on Islam and he comes across as very shallow petty and judgemental towards a religion which is not centrally controlled and has as many variations as there can be... but thanks to the US interest on oil in the middle east and people looking for reasons to blame the victims, his ideas took off. (If you're not convinced that Harris is highly driven by feelings and tries to rationalize them, you should listen to his podcast with Scott Adams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAVMbuETnX0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAVMbuETnX0) In this article, the author, also Jewish, focuses on his Islamic side of Yusuf and tries to convey the idea that he was lost for a while and is coming back again as his "original" self. Never mind the fact that "Cat Stevens" is not his real name either. It was just a stage name he picked for himself. He converted to Islam influenced by his brother, a Jewish convert and a founder of Peace Child Israel, an organization dedicated to improving relations of Jewish and Arab people through the arts. I would argue that he was not happy being Cat Stevens because it is not normal to live the "rock and roll" life; many performers of his era have perished because of the lifestyle. Conversion to Islam might have very well saved his life. Even though he had to take a lot of shit because of it, I think he played the character very well. Now, he's trying to sum up his life and find the "middle way"; which is why he goes by Yusuf/Cat Stevens. Good for him. Looking forward to his new album.
- dang 9y ago> people coming from Jewish culture to have a deep seated hatred of Islam Whoa, yikes, no way, you can't sling religious/racial flamebait around like this on HN. These topics are divisive enough even when people are conscientious about not doing that, let alone when Molotov cocktails are thrown. Since we've asked you repeatedly to stop, I assume you don't mean to use the site as intended and have banned this account. Please don't create accounts to break HN's guidelines with. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- moomin 9y agoContemporaries* of Cat Stevens, Richard and Linda Thompson also converted to Islam. In their case, however they continued to make music. Notably the first album produced after conversion is pretty much all about God and its cover art is a picture of Richard wearing a turban. I find it interesting to contrast the joy of a track like "Night Comes In" with how humourless Cat Stevens became. *although they never met to my knowledge
- DataWorker 9y agoRichard Thompson converted to Sufi Islam, which might as well be a different religion.
- ern 9y agoIf I'm not mistaken, Sufi Islam was pretty much mainstream Islam until the Saudis started pushing Wahhabism with their petrodollars.
- sparkzilla 9y ago...with our petrodollars
- macspoofing 9y agoNo. __Their__ petrodollars. It's their oil. The demand for their oil doesn't just come from America. In fact, America isn't even the largest individual buyer of Saudi crude and constitutes a small percentage of total destination of their crude.
- chiph 9y agoI think he was referring to OPEC pricing oil exclusively in US dollars. There is pressure by some oil-producing countries (notably Iran and Venezuela) to sell in a currency other than USD for political reasons.
- mcguire 9y agoWow. An article about Cat Stevens with no mention of Salman Rushdie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Oienjf0GK8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Oienjf0GK8
- boxerab 9y agoYes, I found that quite strange too. I would not consider him actually returned until he apologizes for his support for the death sentence on Rushdie.
- e40 9y agoThere is this http://www.newshub.co.nz/entertainment/yusuf-islam-get-over-my-salman-rushdie-comments-2015010910 http://www.newshub.co.nz/entertainment/yusuf-islam-get-over-... where he doesn't seem to want to apologize. I'm not buying it, either.
- coldtea 9y agoOr, you know, whether he has returned or not (and dismissed his old beliefs or got over them), is orthogonal to whether he has the courage (or even the will) to apologize. He can return, but don't feel comfortable to apologizing. He can return, but feel like that's all behind and no apology is necessary, or that that was done by a different person. And several other possible cases -- a lot of which don't leave out the possibility of having regretted it. Like we can regret something in private and internally, the same holds true for famous people, artists etc. They are not moral playthings that the public has some right to demand of them public repentance and submission outside their creative roles.
- camus2 9y ago> Or, you know, whether he has returned or not (and dismissed his old beliefs or got over them), is orthogonal to whether he has the courage (or even the will) to apologize. Or you know, maybe he doesn't feel the need to apologize because he still believe people should be killed for writing books, especially when these books have very little to do with Islam and when the people calling for murder didn't even read the damn book. I bet Yusuf didn't even read the Satanic verses either.
- jacquesm 9y agoWhy all the association between Islam and death? Some paths are harder than others and whatever path the man chose to walk it seems like he was conscious all throughout it and quite possibly richer because of that. You don't need an artists permission to enjoy their older work, even if they themselves disavow it, especially not music. Ever since I was six I loved his voice and it never bothered me that he tried another life. Better that and to embrace it by choice than to live by default.
- oh_sigh 9y agoI dunno. Perhaps living the default life is better than switching to a belief system where you think it is appropriate to call for the murder of a man who had the audacity to write a book.
- gkfasdfasdf 9y agoAs a Muslim, I (and my kids) really enjoy the songs he created as Yusuf Islam. I didn't even learn about Cat Stevens was until much later.
- jacquesm 9y agoNow you get to enjoy him all over again!
- isr 9y ago+1 to that. Music aside, as a counterpoint to what looks like some carefully choreographed character assassination at the beginning of this thread, I'll add that I've been impressed by the calmness of his demeanour and what comes across as an open-hearted mindset, in the interviews I've seen of him (over the years). The whole Rushdie thing was in one of the first big waves of Islamophobic in Europe, where latent prejudices (perhaps on both sides) were laid bare. Thats when I first heard the term "the Muslims are the new Jews of Europe". When geo-politics became enmeshed (Iran, at a time when Iran was being widely prepped as "world most evil actor" by mainstream press), then positions on all sides became entrenched. Not that I have any right to put words in his mouth, but I'm guessing thats something Yusuf Islam also fell into. Certainly his stance on that doesn't jive with everything I've heard him say, on many other topics, since. Whats lost in this current retelling of the tale is how many (Christian) writers condemned Rushdie for what they say as a callous and calculated bid to insult for publicity's sake, and how many (Muslim) imam's went out of their way to condem both Rushdie (for his insults), the fatwa (for its incitement to commit a crime), and offered their own homes as a refuge. All of that probably doesn't come across so clearly to Americans looking at things from afar. Feel free to downvote away, but I just thought I'd a slight measure of context to whats looking like a very one-sided picture.
- jacquesm 9y agoThank you.
- drdeadringer 9y agoLast night I watched "Guardians Of The Galaxy 2", which featured a Cat Stevens song I knew well. I was surprised that such a song would be offered. I was, in fact, distracted by the song lyrics against the movie dialogue due to this and I'm not complaining about that. It was just so surprising, because Cat Stevens. And I'm glad for it. The last I heard of him was getting stopped by TSA Theatre because of his life-change in name and perhaps religion change over a decade ago. Hearing his music in "pop culture" in "current year" is refreshing.
- ryan_w 9y agoI was first introduced to Cat Stevens through "Harold and Maude" and I fell in love! "Don't Be Shy" never fails to comfort me.
- faramarz 9y agoThere's a good documentary/biography on Cat Stevens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opt2cL5DTqA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opt2cL5DTqA
- rev_null 9y agoHe performed at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, playing peace train across from Ozzy Osborne playing crazy train.
- grecy 9y agoAfter reading the Koran, he liked it so much he converted to Islam and changed his name. A bit later, he was denied entry into the United States. [1] The FBI diverted the plane and had him escorted off, then sent him packing. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/22/usa https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/22/usa
- eastWestMath 9y agoWas that before or after the fatwa?
- DataWorker 9y agoWell after.
- eastWestMath 9y agoSeems like denying entry was pretty reasonable.
- pg_bot 9y agoFor those who've never heard it, I would suggest listening to his song "Father and Son" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-7c4VNGOgU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-7c4VNGOgU
- duncan_bayne 9y agoFrom "Peace Train" to clamouring for Rushdie to be burned alive is a pretty big fall. I've never seen any evidence that he's changed his mind about his support for the fatwah of death against Rushdie. But then I occasionally enjoy some Rage Against The Machine, too, so I think it's fair to say I don't filter my music based on the ideology of the performer. Maybe I should, though? Still thinking this one through. Edited: fixed autocorrecto.
- grzm 9y agoI'd say in general you're better off not looking for ideological purity or perfection, here or in many places. We're human. We have foibles. We can, and sometimes do, change. Sometimes we don't. Sure, there are some things that we really can't — and shouldn't — tolerate. Yet if we only surround ourselves with people and things that we completely agree with, that doesn't leave much room for change, in ourselves or others. And no room to grow. And I have both Cat Stevens and Rage in my collection. Some Rush, too.
- duncan_bayne 9y agoYeah.... the question is if you agree that there is a line to be drawn, where do you draw it? Also there's a matter of money. Orthogonal to the question of whether it's possible to separate some art from the particularly awful philosophies of their authors, there's the issue that paying them for that art is almost certainly supporting the philosophy I find so abhorrent.
- grzm 9y agoI don't think it's an easy question to answer, and one that I think will be answered differently for each person. I do think right now there seems to be a tendency to draw black and white lines too quickly and without really understanding where other people are coming from. And I don't need to agree with them to understand them. I do know that I don't hold the same opinions and beliefs of a lot of people. It's unrealistic — and inhuman —that I would dissociate myself from all of them. People have many beliefs and weigh them differently. Trying to figure out a single line or lines to separate myself from others is clearly not going to be an easy task. I'd rather find things I have in common with people and build on those. Then hopefully we'll be able to come to terms on those that we don't. It seems hard to imagine that we could do the latter without at least some of the former.
- nickbauman 9y agoTalent is judged at its height. Character is judged at its depth. If you write a great novel and then write a bunch of mediocre ones you are judged by the great one. If you help the poor, walk old ladies across the street, save a person's life but molest a minor, you're judged as a pedophile. I think I forgive him for King of Trees alone. Anyone who wrote that can't be that bad.
- roceasta 9y agoAgree with your first paragraph but isn't it his talent that you are judging in the second (and therefore forgiveness is not applicable)? Myself I'm starting to question the sense of judging people for their 'beliefs'. Two reasons: (1) most people deeply desire to gain social status and consequently will profess anything to secure it if we judge them in this way, (2) what are beliefs, anyhow? Do they even exist? If they do, why is it necessary to 'believe' things (i.e. to try not to question or criticise certain ideas, which is impossible in the long-term even if you stick your fingers in your ears).
- nickbauman 9y agoBeliefs are narratives (myths) people hold with the intent to enact. Even atheists have beliefs. So I don't think they're easily dismissed. The story you're enacting might be the most consequential thing about you. As far as forgiveness of CS, well, whether I'm supposed to forgive someone or not, I prefer forgiving because I want to live in a world where we can be forgiven.
- roceasta 9y agoAre all beliefs fictional? What's the difference, if any, between holding such beliefs and attending a Harry Potter convention in costume?
- katastic 9y agoHe was bound to be reincarnated sooner or later.
- firasd 9y agoNice description how of Cat Stevens set the soundtrack to the writer's teenage years. I was listening to some music I haven't for a few years and it struck such a chord with me that I realized I should appreciate musicians more on a philosophical level for the joy, sorrow, and other feelings they evoke in us. It's interesting to consider that this experience of having personal records, especially listening to music in your headphones and having such a close relationship with an artist, is such a relatively phenomenon in human experience--barely a century old.