I'm, sorry. I was thinking of normal people. I should have realized the cellar in not the appropriate venue. My mistake;)

     No, dude, it's cool. I think your point about people being social creatures is pretty valid. I just wondered where you were going with the loner thing.
     And yes, the sense of 'belonging' that a cult can provide is obviously quite powerful.
     Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder if there's a connection between people that don't really need that feeling of belonging and loners? I say this because while I'm mildly social, even though my friends bitch that I only show up if I'm specificaly invited, belonging has never been a big thing for me. I especialy hate formal groups of any sort. They always want me to talk to people about the group or lead something or another. Why the hell would I want to do that when I could be happily eating a pizza, watching a movie, playing a game or BSing with a friend? Sorry, I was using myself as an example and went off a little...
     Still, I think the point is interesting. And even somewhat connected to the topic...

I share your dislike of formal groups. You mentioned friends a couple times in your post. You seem to prefer when and where you interact with them. That's a far cry from what I would consider a loner that won't or can't have friends at all. I would say your nearer the middle of the spectrum. xoxoxoBruce now practices his duck and cover drill from grammer school...;-))

     So, where do things stand on this thread?
1. You have the answers
2. Opposition aka "The Other"
3. Family or group togetherness, making followers feel a part of something.

     Is this accurate then? Does everyone agree on these? Can anyone think of any more?

Abdicating any control or sense of control on the part of the follower is a more comforting and seductive aspect of cult joining than you might expect ... you don't have to make ANY decisions. The leader has made them for you.

(okay, so this is kind of an extension of the family thing, but to an extreme degree)

Maybe a refinement of Wolf's point.

In the parlance of "Philosophy of Religious Thought" the word for it is Fideism ... abjurning rational thought in favor of an irrational faith. Believing, contrary to evidences, that the person who is leading is right and true, and therefore has the authority to dictate anything and everything.

"Drink the Kool-Aid"
"The Celestial Comet is coming"
"Give us all your earthly posessions"
"Norah Jones is the new Ella Fitzgerald"

You see how this sort of thing can easily get out of hand.

-sm

please tell me no one actually believes this. i dont think i could live in a world like that. :)

~james

Let's see how her second record does. Everyone raved about Fiona Apple too, and her second record didn't fare so well. Where the fuck has she been?

(Don't get me wrong...I like Norah and all, but compared to Ella? Not even close...just remember, when you're happy, you listen to Ella. When you're sad, you listen to Billie.)

     So, where do things stand on this thread?
1. You have the answers
2. Opposition aka "The Other"
3. Family or group togetherness, making followers feel a part of something.
4. The freedom to not think or make your own decisions.
5. Norah Jones is no Ella Fitzgerald.
     I guess that sums it up then.

I caught an interview with Oscar Peterson, man Billie was a sad case. He was descibing this gig they did where Billie brought down the house in the first set and the band was feeling pretty pumped up. Then they tried to start the second set. They repeated the intro five or six times but Billie had gotten a fix between sets and she just stood there. Oscar said he promised his Mom he wouldn't do any drugs, it stood him well even though not using in jazz circles was considered a pretty quaint idea.

Billie Holliday lived an incredibly short and tragic life...hooker, singer, junkie, etc. "Strange Fruit" is easily one of jazz's greatest and most disturbing tunes.

Like Janis Joplin. Now before you get your panties in a bunch, I'm not comparing talent just tragic lives.

Who would get riled over that? Both were incredibly talented.

i think janis was a very talented songwriter, but i (personally) cant stand her voice. billie, on the other hand, had both. but thats just me. ive known a lot of people who love joplins voice. its kind of like a cult (see? ontopic).

~james

     In our cult-mindset search it seems we have come across a small group of the native wild life. It would appear they are fervently discussing what many people would call, "Old people music."
     Let's see if we can get a closer look. Careful now, some of these specimens have been known to flame...