Rock Me, Asmodeus: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

The Devil grabs a guitar, or gives a musician some form of supernatural assistance ([[Deal with the Devil|at a price]], of course).

 

 

The trope name is a pun on the song "[[Rock Me, Amadeus]]" by the late Falco, [[wikipedia:Asmodeus|Asmodeus]] being a Talmudic demon king.

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* Inverted in ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'', where {{spoiler|Mara}}'s weakness is that rock and roll forces her to dance as long as she listens to it.

== Comic Strips ==

* [http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0034/0034_01.asp This] [[Chick Tract]] alleges that all rock music, including Christian Rock, is controlled by a certain [[Louis Cypher|Lewis Siffer]]. The sad part is, you're [[Poe's Law|supposed to take it seriously]].

* There's a comic called "The Devil's Trumpet" about a legendary jazz trumpet said to have been won off the devil and able to call him up with its music. A young musician kills its aged owner and steals it. He doesn't call up the Devil when he plays it, but he gets the next thing - the freaking [[Batman]] comes crashing through his window.

 

 

 

* ''Trick or Treat'' is a film that plays straight a lot of the "evil rock and roll" myths with a musician who does...something vague with his soul before suiciding in a fire. He is resurrected and summoned by someone playing his record backwards, and then proceeds to terrorize.

* In ''[[Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny]]'', the titular pick itself was crafted from one of the Devil's teeth, and was owned by some of the most famous guitar players in history. And then there's the movie's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJTYp1tvd3Q&fmt=18 final song], a rock-off against Dave Grohl as the Devil, who really does [[Satan Plays Lead Guitar|play lead guitar]] and drums.

* ''[[The Witches of Eastwick]]'', in which [[Jack Nicholson]]'s Devil and Susan Sarandon's repressed music teacher play a ''literally'' explosive duet for piano and cello. After this (and after a bout of wild sex), the music teacher finds herself in possession of supernatural musical talent.

* Averted in ''Repossessed''. The devil ''hates'' rock music, and it is this that eventually drives him from his host.

== Literature ==

* In ''[[Good Omens]]'', Crowley points out to Aziraphale that Hell has almost all of the good musicians. Oddly, even classical musicians. Including ones, like Bach, who dedicated all their work to God. Heaven has ''only'' Elgar and Liszt.

* Inverted in the first part of ''[[John Dies at the End]],'' where the extra-dimensional demonic Wigmonsters are disgusted by music. When the group sings "Sweet Child O' Mine" to distract them, they turn around and walk away. Dave (the one singing) notes that one even spat on him.

* Asmodean, one of the Forsaken in the ''[[Wheel of Time]]'' series, was a child virtuoso on multiple instruments, although he never really fulfilled that early promise (and turned to the Dark One in hopes that he'd eventually manage it if he were immortal). After Rand captures him, he spends a lot of time pretending to be a traveling entertainer.

* [[More Information Than You Require|John Hodgman]] notes that Steve Vai (in a reference to the "Crossroads" above) traded his soul to the devil for hot licks, then used aforementioned licks to try to kill Ralph Macchio, failing because his eyes were too doleful. It's that kind of book.

* Inverted in many of [[Lord Dunsany]]'s stories, perhaps most poignantly (and hilariously) in [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Fifty-one_Tales#A_MORAL_LITTLE_TALE A Moral Little Tale] (go read it; it's too short to be summarized).

 

== Live Action TV ==

* The short-lived series ''A Year At The Top'' with Greg Evigan and Paul Shaffer was about a band which had sold their souls to the son of the Devil for one year of superstardom. Sadly, it didn't last long enough for anyone to find out what would have happened had the series been renewed for a second year.

** G - A - B / G - A - B - A / G - A - B - B - A

* Inverted in a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch, where Garth Brooks sells his soul to the Devil (Will Ferrel) for a hit song, but it turns out the Devil's songs suck, coming up with such gems as "Fred's Got Slacks."

 

== Tabletop Games ==

 

== Video Games ==

* Emperor Doviculus from ''[[Brutal Legend|Brütal Legend]]'' [[Our Demons Are Different|isn't quite Satan]], but he's [[Demon Lords and Archdevils|a good enough substitute]], and he rocks harder than anyone else with his [[Awesome but Impractical|quadruple-headed guitar]].

* The trailer for the ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'' mod ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n0vmCqv5yo Lute Hero]'' is presented not by [[Satanthe|Lord of Darkness]] himself, but [[The Grim Reaper|Death]] fills his role instead.

* In the bonus ending of ''Warcraft III's'' expansion pack, The Frozen Throne, Arthas {{spoiler|the fallen prince and newly-crowned Lich King}} rocks out to [[Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain|L80ETC]]'s 'Power of the Horde'.

{{quote|"So it comes down to this, the attacks are not done by terrorists after all. They are demons here to take the world for the Lightbringer! The Bug has plagued the masses. Demons are attackin' on our streets. Death seems to be at every turn. We may live to see the end of days!"}}

 

 

== Web Comics ==

** It should be noted that the awesomeness of Rock (and Metal) is pretty much the only point that Jesus and Satan agree on.

* In ''[[Devil Bear]]'', Bearalzebub does this when challenged to a music duel (by some souls trying to get out of their [[Deal with the Devil]]).

 

 

* An episode of ''[[American Dad]]'' ends with a guy proving he went to hell because he came back with a guitar with a goat skull on it.

* ''[[Metalocalypse]]'' explored that concept: When Dethklok are forced to sell their souls to the Blues Devil for blues fame, they end up [[Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?|negotiating the contract]] so that he would get only a $5 gift certificate for Hot Topic. They end up destroying his car during a performance (having summoned a tornado with their music)...

* Robot Devil in ''[[Futurama]]'' loves music of all kinds.

* The ''[[Squidbillies]]'' episode "[[Deal with the Devil|Mephistopheles]] Traveled Below To A Southern State Whose Motto is Wisdom, Justice and Moderation" features the Squid Devil teaching Rusty how to play guitar, and this version of Beelzebub can rock pretty hard. He plays a song called "Hoofprints," which features the following line: "[[To the Pain|As I ram your carcass through an impossibly small hole into a sea of flaming hot human feces, when you can't draw a breath, yet your lungs are filled '''with that same flaming hot human feces'''.]]"

* On an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' where Bart goes to hell in a near-death experience, the Devil amicably advises him, upon leaving, to "lie, cheat, steal, and listen to heavy metal music!"

{{quote|'''Bart:''' Everyone knows all the best bands are affiliated with Satan.}}

{{quote|'''Homer:''' Oh, no, this really *is* Hell!}}

* In the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon "Three Little Bops," the trumpet-playing Big Bad Wolf finally find his place in Hell, and the Aesop is pronounced: "You gotta get hot to play real cool."

* Despite being the [[Anti-Anti-Christ]], Beezy on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' is apparently quite good at playing an ''invisible'' rock guitar.

 

== Other ==

* Subverted by an old ''[[Weekly World News]]'' article, which claimed that the Devil has switched to [[Gangsta Rap]] as his personal genre because he felt that rock music nowadays was for pussies.

 

[[Category:Just for Pun]]

[[Category:Music Tropes]]