(This may seem like it was written in fast forward mode.)
I was scrubbing my dirty bathtub with Clorox bleach cleaner on Saturday. I had a good start to my day with two cups of Arabian Mocha Sanani and my compartmentalized time with God.
I had a rock station playing while I scrubbed. A dark, pulsating industrial tune began playing and I recognized it as "No. 1 Fan" by Garbage. " I would die for you...I would cry for you...I would crawl on hands and feet until I bleed." The words were acidic, gothic and disturbing but the music was entrancing.
I remembered then how much I like darker music like Garbage, Linkin Park or any other secular band that honestly devles into the darkness of this life. I can't get enough of this darker music. I confess that most of my regular digest of music now is not produced by someone who follows Christ. And I'm okay with that.
Naturally, there are dangers to such a diet at this. The constant hopeless messages or depressing conclusions could easily begin to convert one's ways of thinking. A friend of mine realized this and is fasting from secular music for his health (see Trent's blog on the list of links further down the page).
But there is a tendency in Christian music to be afraid of the dark. Afraid of those honest but dangerous expeditions into the treacherous land of human emotion and experience. Sadly, there are followers of Christ who have adopted the ancient idea that the spiritual life should be more important the physical or human life. The messy, the torturous , the mindfield that is our God-given emotions are ignored or suppressed with zeal. And much to the detriment of a person's entire being.
I know this lifestyle all too well, having zealously pursued it for a period of time. But thankfully, I matured in my understanding of theology, humanity and where and how those two things intersect. I am thankful for a high school english teacher, with his long hippie hair and his own rock band, for getting me hooked onto Led Zeppelin. I am thankful for those trepidations first steps of buying a Moby CD and a Radiohead album. I am thankful for the realization that my human emotions need to be included in my spiritual life and should be explored in order to benefit my spiritual maturity.
And not all of my bridges from the world of Christian music have been burned; only about 81% percent of them. Those 81% were bridges that led me away from music that simplified too much; that formulaized too much; that was too afraid to venture out into the unknown territory of emotions. The remaining passages still receive traffic when a band can creatively or honestly sing of the spiritual life and man's eternal crusade to be redeemed.
Christian music that isn't afraid of the dark sits right beside other musicians, like Ben Folds or Ray Lamontagne, who aren't either.
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9 comments:
Would you be willing to give any specific recommendations of Christian artists that you find thoughtful and talented and worth listening to?
Caedmon's Call, Derek Webb, Waterdeep, Over the Rhine, U2 (depending on your point of view), Chevelle, Switchfoot, just to name a few.
Thanks. I gave up on Christian music years ago (with the exception of some of the less conventional bands like Sixpence, Over the Rhine, Pedro the Lion) but have recently found myself more open to re-exploring some of the terrain that I so hastily abandoned in my frustration. I really appreciate your suggestions.
It depends on your musical tastes. There is some really good christian stuff out there... and some really bad christian stuff out there. It mimicks the secular world. Some kick ass. Others suck. If you like darker Christian music, it's out there. Check out Pillar, Jonah 33, Grand Prize, Day Of Fire, Anberlin, Inhabited, Flyleaf, 1000 Foot Krutch... I like Kutless. Falling up has the electronic-meets-alternative sound of say, Linkin Park. If you like just plain cool music, check out the new David Crowder Band CD, Robbie Seay, Shane and Shane, and Apt.Core.
The only thing missing from the Christian scene is techno. It's just not out there.
As far as my musical fast goes, it's coming to an end soon. The whole reason I did it was to experiment... to see... to check it out. I had to know, ya know? And I slipped up the other day. I heard a Cranberries song on the radio... and turned it up. When Fuel came on after that... well, after Fuel I turned it off. I'm determined to make it 21 days, although I already know the outcome of this experiment.
Eric, what side of Christianity do you see as being afraid of the dark? Which subset?
Hey Eric,
I completely hear you on this, but sometimes I even forget, its okay to be happy too. When Paul says to be joyful, he means it- rejoicing in the Lord is a serious thing. It can be done- there are times of darkness, but it doesn't have to be our identity. And I don't think that was your point in your entry, but the feeling came through.
The subset which seems to be afraid of the dark would be any with fundamentalistic tendencies. The kind of tendencies that would write of psychology, that would oversimplify a person's spiritual life by saying any struggle is only the result of sin and nothing else. That kind of subset.
I wouldn't define myself as being dark, although I probably make it seem that way. I guess I'm just comfortable with it and sometimes can appreciate something that's dark over something that's lighter.
Dark indeed. The Beach, the background you chose for your blog is decidedly....dark. But I like the post. I'm trying to hack through the British Red Tape Forest, and having a better day of it today.
Yo, son of a milkman! :-]
I keep checking by here to see if there's a new post.
So, without wanting to apply pressure . . .
your audience misses you
But no pressure. Pressure ain't cool.
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