Music

Gareth Higgins 9-02-2008

Randy Newman might be surprised to see himself mentioned on a progressive spirituality blog. In his five decades of making music that is alternately brilliantly satirical and elegant (and sometimes both), he hasn't often smiled on religion or religious people. In spite of his skepticism about spirituality, he also has written some of the most beautiful love songs I've ever [...]

Administrator 7-23-2008

[... continued from part one]

Rene MarieAnd that is my back door into discussing the recent exploits of Rene Marie, an artist based in Denver, Colorado. (I wanted you to understand my presuppositions and how I define my terms.) Rene Marie was [...]

John Potter 7-02-2008

Low: You May Need a MurdererLow is a band that defies easy characterization. Over their 15 years as lauded pioneers of the minimalist brand of indie rock they're so closely identified with (they're not crazy about the oft-applied term "slow-core"), the husband-and-wife team of guitarist Alan Sparhawk and drummer Mimi Parker -- plus a [...]

Phyllis Tickle 6-29-2008

Summer Sundays with Phyllis Tickle

In the days of my childhood, summer was the season of the big-tent revivals. More than any other of the myriad things that summer could be and was, it was the revivals that were for me the major descriptor of what a complete and proper summer was. This rather [...]

Daniel Ra 6-25-2008

Sometimes it's hard to hear justice at first ...Yet we are asked to diligently seek it ...

When you take your big prize home, be sure to tell me
You won it with your bag of tricks, flicks, and candy

And I'll be sure to tell you, you've done a good job
For making yourself [...]

Eugene Cho 5-28-2008

I don't want to assume that readers automatically know who Steven Curtis Chapman is, but if you've been surfing the Web recently, it's very likely you may have seen the name. Chapman is one of the most visible and influential figures of the Christian music genre. As of 2007, he has sold more than 10 million albums, has nine gold and platinum albums, and won five Grammy awards.

Chapman [...]

Logan Isaac 5-13-2008

My fingers have been tapping out of control for more than a month and a half now. Don't worry, though -- I am not falling to the symptoms of my own PTSD just yet. At the completion of the Winter Soldier event, all Iraq [...]

Jarrod McKenna 5-13-2008

If you thought socially conscious music in the mainstream was a thing of the past, turn your ears to what Australia is listening to. A song about justice and reconciliation in Australia was the highest new entry in the charts two weeks ago - starting out at #2 on the Australian charts and #2 after Madonna on the digital track charts - and remains in the top 50. As The New York Times reported:

Administrator 4-22-2008

In my ongoing quest for music that can enact positive social change, I came across the Black Gospel Restoration Project, a project spearheaded by Robert Darden, associate professor of journalism at Baylor University. Following is a [...]

Becky Garrison 3-06-2008

On Jan. 22, 2008, I headed down to Joe's Pub in New York City to celebrate the launch of Quaker singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer's CD The Geography of Light. Newcomer's lyrics, grounded in her faith formed by a Midwestern sensibility, reminded me of

C. McNair Wilson 3-01-2008

Calling Ken Medema a singer-composer is like calling the Yankees a ball club. For his latest CD, Sea Change, Ken is also orchestrator, back-up vocalist (and choir), and percussionist.

Beth Newberry 2-01-2008

Ben Harper is known for songs that are either personal or political, and in Lifeline, his latest release with the Innocent Criminals, the songs embody both.

Becky Garrison 1-23-2008

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview John Sayles about his movie Honeydripper, a multilayered and complex account of the birth of rock and roll in the Deep South. Following is an excerpt from our conversation. (The full interview with John Sayles will be published in a forthcoming issue of The [...]

Steve Thorngate 1-01-2008
The Trumpet Child, by Over the Rhine.
Ryan Rodrick Beiler 12-14-2007

Jim wrote a piece a few weeks back about the new Bonhoeffer-quoting Aussie PM Kevin Rudd. Well, another fun fact is that he has appointed Peter Garrett, rock star turned environmental activist turned Member of Parliament, his new Minister for Environment. That's the Aussie version of putting Bono in charge of the foreign [...]

Ed Spivey Jr. 12-01-2007
Someone foolishly suggested I should actually play in public.
Molly Marsh 9-01-2007

Race Matters

True to Our Native Land, edited by Brian Blount, describes itself as the first African-American commentary on the New Testament.

Singing the songs of a bygone world.
Kimberly Burge 7-01-2007

Lucinda Williams' singing voice inhabits at least a dozen personalities, sometimes within one song.

Brian Bolton 7-01-2007

Every artist knows the pressure to "shut up and sing." But with the injustices of our nation made evident in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and in the midst of a disastrous war waged on false prete