The Razor’s Edge

“The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; ..The path to Salvation is hard”

https://youtu.be/rD6y7aOS0NA?si=HLU0Dq0Tp4WEqU6n

What’s the greatest band name of all time? I think “Yes,” and “The Who” are up there for the sheer sarcasm. The Rolling Stones, cool. But “No Doubt.” I mean, c’mon..

You know what’s not a great band name? “The Beatles”… Like the bug? “Beatles” just screams get these guys some acid. And the funky Maharishi did just that. The greatest band with the worst name – “The Beatles” were razor’s edge.

I recently watched The Razor’s Edge (1946), per my dad’s recommendation. The novel was late Jeopardy host, Alex Trebek’s favorite. It is about a clean-cut American WW1 veteran who becomes disillusioned with high society and drops out to become a spiritual seeker. The lead actor, Tyrone Power is from my hometown.

Per the quote from the book/film, Razor’s edge describes the barrier to spiritual enlightenment. What that barrier is depends on the hero. Razor’s edge is becoming initiated, experienced. Like smallz in The Sandlot or Sandy in Grease. It’s the Jawbreaker makeover montage. The awkward fawn learning to hunt like a tiger. It’s Colonel Kurtz realizing the war is a racket. All examples of characters crossing their respective threshold. “You’re a wizard, Harry!”

Something I did not expect from writing and art is that over time you start to see these long-term patterns emerge. The Razor’s Edge motif is perhaps the most prominent pattern to emerge from my own art. Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons; Dark Knights, Screaming Lambs… Each of these identities stands in relationship to the razor. Some have passed over. Some slither along the top. Some are waiting for something– “your next life maybe, who knows.” Where are you now, hero? What hinders your journey? Prevents your wellbeing? What separates you from God? Before you go and rack your brain for answers to these tricky questions just remember our water is poisoned.

-Experience Film

https://youtu.be/KdG1HRc8eW0?si=cz5ASZBJGRcdD85s

21 thoughts on “The Razor’s Edge”

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  4. I watched ‘The Razor’s Edge’ decades ago and that’s how long since I’ve listened to The Beatles; I think they are HUGELY over-rated: they are ‘soft’ sugary with pretty melodies ‘and yes, I had a few Yes albums when I collected and am a huge fan of The Who: my fave song of theirs? ‘Baba O’Reilly’ —

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    1. “Baba O’Reilly” I had named as ‘Teenage Wasteland’ by mistake for years in middle/high school. I downloaded my first copy illegally from Napster or Limewire in the early 2000s. The album, “Quadrophenia” changed my life. That’s when I switched college majors from business to psychology✌️🇬🇧

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      2. Oh yeah I was Windmilling the air guitar in a sear sucker suit all that summer of 2012. You got me listening to them again just yesterday. Those albums must have just liquified people when they first dropped.

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  5. The Razor’s Edge is a great classic genre movie I watched in my youth. This movie is about living a meaningful life, I might say. As I remember, there were many funny-named music bands in the ’60s, like the Monkees, The Byrds, Animals, the Hollies, Lovin’ Spoonful, the Turtles, etc. Therefore, the name The Beatles also fits the model!
    It seems that choosing a funny name is suitable for the market!!😉🤙🖖

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  6. I thought this would be about the Bill Murray version of “The Razor’s Edge”, which came out way back when he was still considered to be “just a comedian” from Saturday Night Live. I remember all the critics being very puzzled that he would even attempt a dramatic role. And well just look at him now! 😁

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    1. I almost mentioned Bill Murray in the post but I have not seen that version yet. I can see how he was pigeon-holed as a slapstick comedian by examining SNL and his Caddyshack and What About Bob roles, for example. Well, Hollywood, turns out he contains multitudes. Ghostbusters! Lost in Translation! And Broken Flowers, which he said in an interview he felt it was his best performance.

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  7. Beautiful. Yeah… Hendrix, Eddie Hazel, Jefferson Airplane… But the greatest band of all time played a 120dB drone in the basement of a Japanese yakitori shop across the street from Koenji Station in Tokyo. It sounded like… peering into the depths of an impenetrable void at the razor’s edge of an ephemeral moment of existence. It’s all about the… experience.

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    1. That must have been something else to experience!.. The Drone… It’s so hypnotic, transcendent, isn’t it?… I now listen to solfreggio frequencies daily as therapy. I’m listening to 285 Hz right now actually – this particular soundtrack is a deep bellowing drone sound and I find it so relaxing and healing.

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      1. Interesting. I had to look up some information about “solfreggio frequencies”. Reminded me of listening to the chanting monks at the Narita Temple.
        Perhaps not exactly the kind of meditation I was thinking about. Though I came across the band at the end of a “career change” at the turn of the millennium that involved three-years in Southeast Asia. It’s possible to be happy with nothing… or unhappy with anything.

        Back then, the band played in stuffy Tokyo red-light district dives. Nowadays, they tour such places all over the world.
        Broken link (replace the “[DOT]”):
        youtube[DOT]com/watch?v=AHHn-wtA8CY

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