Hendrix was also amazing to look at. He played guitar with his teeth, behind his back, with his crotch, with his amp, and finally with a can of lighter fluid and a match. For the mythically minded, Hendrix’s performance was a pornographic adaptation of the Christ story—mysterious birth, blessed life, violent death, and glorious resurrection. His musical influence on subsequent hard-rock and metal acts is incalculable, but his showmanship truly set him apart as a rock god. Any time a band blows shit up onstage, it’s a callback to Hendrix offering his guitar as a fiery sacrifice to the dark
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