Fascinating- not only is Rihanna encased in an illuminated pyramid for this superior rock arrangement of "Umbrella" she's also dressed as Isis. Not the obvious Egyptian version, but the veiled Isis who conquered the Roman Empire.
Note how she descends to stage level, much like an Elizabethan deux ex machina.
This Black Madonna has been in the news concerning her alleged beating at the hand's of Chris (Ka-Horus) Brown. Note that her injuries were mainly on her face (ie., her head). From the Encylopedia of Myths:
When Horus became a young man, he fought his uncle Set. But Isis took pity on Set and allowed him to escape. Angry at his mother, Horus cut off her head. Thoth, the god of magic and wisdom, changed the severed head into a cow's head and reattached it to Isis's body. Some ancient statues and paintings of the goddess show her with a cow's head, and she is often linked to the goddess Hathor.Hathor was the goddess of sex, music and dancing.
UPDATE: It seems this version of "Umbrellas" is a bit of a mash-up with this song by British new wave revivalists The Klaxons. And as a reader informs us, The Klaxons are big fans of wicked ol' Uncle Al, and incorporate some of his writings into their lyrics.
UPDATE II: Asa the Comic makes You Tube's front page with his riffs on the Chris Brown/Rihanna fiasco.
UPDATE III: Rihanna's name is a variation on "Rhiannon." From the wiki:
In the Mabinogion of Welsh mythology Rhiannon is the horse goddess reminiscent of Epona from Gaulish religion. Rhiannon was a daughter of Hefeydd the Old. She was married to Pwyll, and later, Manawydan.From the wiki on the Fleetwood Mac song of the same name (released almost exactly 33 years before the Chris Brown incident):
Nicks discovered Rhiannon through a novel called Triad, by Mary Leader. The novel is about a woman named Branwen, who is possessed by another woman named Rhiannon. There is mention of the Welsh myth of Rhiannon in the novel, but the characters in the novel bear little resemblance to their mythological namesakes.
After writing the song, Nicks learned that Rhiannon was a Welsh goddess, and was amazed that the haunting song lyrics applied to the Welsh Rhiannon as well....
Nicks avoided wearing black clothing for "about two years" in an effort to distance herself from the witchcraft and dark arts associations surrounding her as a result of the lyrics to "Rhiannon" giving fans the wrong impression.UPDATE IV: You gotta love the Collective Unconscious. Some YouTube goofball did a parody of Rihanna's "Take a Bow" called "Don't Have a Cow."
UPDATE V: RihannIsis makes Yahoo's front page.
UPDATE VI: Chris Brown is top story on CNN.com. Did you know this incident took place near Hancock Park?
UPDATE VII: RihannIsis, like Will "Horus" Smith, has been the subject of frequent speculation on her sexual preference...
UPDATE VIII: Reader Andy Christ points out three lights bearing a strange resemblance to Orion's Belt appeared in the window behind Obama during his speech at the NBA All-Star Game. John Legend performed a song entitled "If You're Out There" which has no obvious weirdness in the lyrical content, but he did perform a little cosmic ditty called "So High" at the 2006 game.
Sample verse:
Maybe later we can go up to the moon
Or sail among the stars before the night is through
And when morning comes we'll see the sun is not so far
And we can't get much closer to God than where we are
