On Praise and Worship Music: An Essay to its Cultured Despisers
“Praise and worship” music is one of the most oft-evoked and heavily contested markers of evangelical Protestantism in the United States. Its most vocal advocates herald praise and worship and its meteoric rise since the 1960s as nothing less than the rebirth of Western Christianity, citing its unique ability to attract an entire generation of “lost sheep” into... Read More
Theologians Don’t Know Nothing: A Thought for the Day from Wilco
Now that I have a daughter, I can look forward to some day standing in front of a puzzled class of Grade One students on Career Day explaining that I am not a doctor, lawyer or carpenter but a “theologian.” (Or better yet, a “theologue.”) I’m the first to admit that it’s a strange career choice. It sounds like I spend each day meditating on obscure... Read More
CCM, Heavy Metal, and the Lure of Possibility
Just last week, I was reading Deena Weinstein’s landmark 1991 study Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology and I was nearly stopped in my tracks by the final chapter, which deals with metal’s “detractors” from across the political spectrum. While conservative criticisms of heavy metal are well-known through the work of groups like the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC)––most... Read More
James Blake and Marks of Specters
The idea of “deconstruction” has achieved a somewhat surprising ubiquity in our current culture. In addition to relatively long-standing applications in literary and cultural criticism, deconstruction has also found a home in political punditry and haute cuisine (what does it mean to “deconstruct” a meatloaf anyway?). But perhaps most enamored with the idea... Read More
The MTV VMAs: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime
According to reasonably reputable sources, this year’s MTV VMAs (the annual Video Music Awards, broadcast live on Sunday night) were watched by over 12 million people. I imagine the majority of viewers tuned in to see what extravagant outfit Lady Gaga would turn up in, and were instead confounded and perhaps exasperated by her lengthy opening monologue as a male greaser named... Read More
Lady Gaga: Monstrous Love and Cultural Baptism
Over the past few years, the enigmatic Lady Gaga has emerged as the ultimate pop icon. Her outrageous antics (such as arriving at the Grammys in an egg) and avant-garde fashion sense (a recent development seems to be prosthetic protuberances on her forehead) have made her the larger-than-life, symbolic figurehead of the modern cult of celebrity.... Read More
Can Moving Music to the Cloud Drive Bring Christians Closer to Heaven?
Music has interacted with other media for decades—from film scores to television theme songs, radio music stations to news stories and podcasts—music rarely stands alone. When music does stand “alone,” as in perhaps the case of music for the sake of music such as with live symphony or rock music performances, it remains ever mediated. Jeremy Begbie, who has written much... Read More
Songs For the Life of Faith: “Sigh No More” by Mumford & Sons
It is not impossible to go out and find pop music with a distinctly Christian message. The Contemporary Christian Music scene has plenty of artists who are doing just that. The medium however can be somewhat confusing. The sound of many songs seem drawn explicitly from the Top 40 list. It seems Christians want to listen to popular music without the negative messages, the... Read More
Just Like God, Indie Rock is Resurrected
One year ago, Paste Magazine’s associate editor Rachel Maddux wrote a provocative article that asked the question, “Is Indie dead?” Comparing the question to the one TIME writer John T. Elson wrote forty five years ago concerning the more existential question, is God dead?, Maddux ties the theological question to the musical one: Elson wrote of some believers... Read More
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