Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine
Meltin' in a pot of thieves
Wild card up my sleeve
Thick heart of stone
My sins my own
They belong to me, me
People say "beware!"
But I don't care
The words are just
Rules and regulations to me, me ~ Patti Smith
This is enough to get the Evangelical fur flying. You are looking at the words of Rimbaud-influenced, Patti Smith, punk-rocker extraordinaire, just inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.
I am actually a bit of a punk myself. And I am sure a rebel. I also share with her a bedrock of atheism in my psyche, for I once fancied myself an atheist-anarchist. Ah, sweet youth.
But did I detect in her a certain punk self-righteousness? I understand the fury, the angst, the passion for three chords and the prayer to end all war. Don't sweat it, Patti. It's coming.
One thing the punks had that is hard to find in Christianity and that is the unfettered ability of expression through art. Modern Christianity almost seems allergic to it.
I remember when Jimmy Swaggart railed on Contemporary Christian Music as demonic. The main guy behind that music once said in an interview that there was a time when Jimmy's music ~ ragtime ~ was considered demonic. I concluded: Music is a vehicle of expression for anything, but Handel took it somewhere Mick Jagger can never go.
I tend to prefer the secular artists for some reason: and I think that is sad. But, of course, I don't always care for the message. But we Christian artists can also glean from them, and try to break out of formula in art. Still, after all, even punk rock has its formulae. And the Christian market is not only predictable, but not large enough to support artists who are outside the conventional box.
But the music industry is changing. The pioneers have new possibilities opening up to them. Someday the Patti Smith of "inspirational" music will arise to bloody the noses of all hypocrites and heathenists. And maybe even with three chords slashing madly and voice wailing like a banshee with a toothache.
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6 comments:
Music that says" me me me" is not the music of Heaven. Enough said.
It should be "mi, mi, mi" and then fa sol la ti do. And yes, this great invention of God will one day be redeemed.
Well we know how that artist feels! Music is so strange... it takes people to places in their head... brings out emotions positive & negative... it affirms their thoughts... it can be soothing, energizing, agitating... so the "music" portion of any song can be very therapeutic... the same music that makes me feel "good" is not the same rhythm as say my 17 yr old's, I can respect that... The lyrics, as well we all know, can play a very positive or negative role too... if you keep listening to the same song over and over because you like the beat and you are taking in "crap" lyrics, it will come out of your mouth somewhere... and any type of music can become addictive... are you and I addicted to praise & adoration lyrics, or the worlds??? (which is almost ALL about personal relationships in some way... longing, sex, inner desires, something missing) Music has a huge impact on my life, I am addicted to Christian lyrics... I have to admit that I get tired of the "sad" songs artists keep turning out, I look for and listen to the more upbeat songs that remind me of how marvelous God is, of how fortunate I am to have Him, of how He is in control... of how I don't have to worry He has a plan... So now that I am done rambling on, I guess my motto is the same as it has been for many years... don't put THINGS in your head that are not positive... There is enough stuff going on in there... feed your brain the better things...
...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Philippians 4:8 I think now more than ever this applies to music. Just a thought...
La and 7k,
I was reading a book this morning about some spectacular meetings in 1913 in Connecticut. The presence of the God was so intense that it took the worship in to levels rarely seen. The Holy Spirit would take over the voices and songs and sounds would come out not written nor played on the earth. The pitches were as high as a violin and as low as any pipe organ. There were no violins or pipe organs in the meeting. Worshipers would play on invisible instruments making sounds only heard in heaven. They called it the heavenly Choir when it came in the services. It was truly being caught up into a heavenly realm in out of body experiences. Only this was a whole group of people. Oh what a foretaste Glory divine
I want to suggest a great old song written by George Mathison a couple hundred years ago. "Love that would not let me go" He was a minister who went blind. His wife left him and all he had was God.
Great input, both of you. Would you believe I heard that heavenly choir myself twice? Once in the Isle of Wight. I was singing my own version of Psalm 23 in the loft room of an old English couple.
That's when I heard it. The old lady asked me the next day if I had a bunch of girls up there singing the night before. She could have sworn there were many up there singing.
The second time was standing outside one of Terrell's tent meetings. It was this choir and the voices were ethereal, going up and down. Very strange.
I know what you mean about lyrics, la. For me, as a person who writes lyrics, of course I've written many spiritual songs and experimented. But I am curious about what other people write about, but even more if it is really creative. I don't mean to say I prefer bad, naughty lyrics to spiritual, uplifting ones at all. I just mean that it is sad that the church can hardly compete in this era. Not so long ago, the best music written was in the church. There are many prophecies out there that it will happen again. The church will return to the arts. Maybe that girl is a sign of this.
I should nod to charismatics as well. No matter what church I visit, they are singing our songs, it seems.
But, also, with my blog, I hope to be able to connect with someone out there. I don't want them to perceive me as a cookie-cutter Christian. I know I don't want what they think they have. But I also want them to know I'm freer than they are. Not free to do what they do. But free to think, to enjoy, to create, to be spontaneous, to be funny, to be what I am in Christ. And to think outside the box. I don't want to do what they do. Like Paul Revere and the Raiders sang: "That road goes nowhere."
Bravo Alan, you are far from the "cookie cutter" I guess I like to think I am too... Thanks be to heaven that we don't all wear green shoes....
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