jmjiloveyou - The Sins of Memphisto(jmj)

jmjiloveyou
Aug 01, 2025 09:22am
<p><a href="http://www.jpshrine.org/wiseoldgeezer/Pulse292.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">From Pulse Magazine, Feb 1992</a>:</p><blockquote><br></blockquote><p>One of the best, if cryptically silly songs is “The Sins Of Memphisto,” which nonsensically conjures a slew of baby-boomer icons from hula hoops to Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. “This song goes to the heart of the record,” says Prine. “I had 12 songs done, and I was proud of ‘em. But then Howie sits down and says we need another song. I said, 'Are you crazy? I don’t have another song in me–you can do an autopsy and you won’t find anything.’</p><p>"So I locked myself away for a week, until I came from as far left as I could. Actually, I thought ‘Memphisto’ was a real word. I thought it was the city in Egypt that Memphis was named after. But it turns out that city was called Memphis. I decided I was confusing it with Mephistopheles, the devil. So I thought, ‘OK, it kinda makes sense–Memphis, the blues and the devil and all.”</p>