A Discussion Of Christian Rock In Three Parts (II)

II.

I’ll phrase the question again: Is the mediocre quality of Christian rock thanks to Christianity or to rock?

Er…it’s rock n’ roll’s fault a little more than Christianity’s?

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Think about it this way: arguably, more than any other genre of music in the modern era, there are certain unshakeable assumptions about rock music. There’s a reason that the Rolling Stones’ manager introduced them as “the greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world”—with their often booze-, drug-, and sex-fueled songs, they embodied the radical, rebel spirit of rock ’n’ roll. Ever since Chuck Berry was duck-walking and Elvis was hip-swinging, rock music has been what young people love and old people are scared of.

While rock music has aged well—almost no one takes issue with “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” as a drug song or “Satisfaction” as a sex song any longer—that does not mean that its spirit has at all been distilled. Since its incarnation as a fusion of blues, country, and gospel more than 60 years ago, rock has always maintained a wild edge.

But that wild edge doesn’t just connote a good time; rock can also be angry and cathartic music. Anyone who’s bothered to listen to Nirvana past “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or heard even a single note of music from Rage Against The Machine knows that much. At least in our culture, rock has been conceived as an outlet for our collective id. If Freud’s ego is represented in these songs as pulling us back from the abyss, the only time we ever see the superego is as “the man” holding us back. Almost Famous—a filmic ode to rock music if there is one (overlooking This Is Spinal Tap)—presents that struggle between superego (Frances McDormand’s superb mother figure Elaine Miller) and the various ragtag army that makes up the id (Kate Hudson’s jubilant groupie).

So this is where rock music brings us. I ask you: what place does Christianity have in any of this? The only conceivable place for me to slot Christianity is in the guise of the superego—the overpowering Elaine Miller, who, let’s be honest, really did need to let it up a little.

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I don’t think I can adequately make the argument that God never belongs in rock music. After all, He has made some awfully inspired appearances over the years. And, no, I don’t mean in the John Lennon “God” sense, where “God” is a concept that allows Lennon to dissect both social psychology and himself at the same time. But that doesn’t mean God can’t happen in rock music. Another Beatle, George Harrison, more than proves that point:

Despite its appropriation from The Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine,” Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” stands as one of the greatest rock songs of the 1970s and, certainly, one of the most spiritual rock songs ever. So why does it work?

One answer is that, well, it’s not straight “Christian rock.” With all the “hare krishnas” and “gurur brahmas” tacked tastefully onto the end of the song, the song becomes less “Christian” and more generally religious and spiritual. The real reason, I suspect, why this song hasn’t been tossed off as shameless praise-God music is because George Harrison wrote it.

That may sound like a silly, obvious hypothesis, but it holds some water once you consider the song in light of what you probably know about Harrison. Even those of us not born in the Beatles’ or Harrison’s heyday probably know about him. Harrison was the silent Beatle…later on the Beatle who introduced religious influences…the philanthropic Beatle…the “spiritual” Beatle. We don’t judge the song as a Christian rock song; we judge it as a song coming from one of the Beatles...specifically George. It was exactly the song we would have expected from him—the same way that “Imagine” is exactly the kind of song we would have expected from John. (As a side note, I doubt that there has ever been another as obviously atheistic song holding the number one spot on the charts [first line? “Imagine there’s no heaven…”]).

Okay…but let’s test the waters with another song—“Shine” by Collective Soul:

How did this happen? Why do I...*gasp*...like this song so much when it deals with such explicit Christian themes? 

I’ve come to a bit of an interesting impasse in trying to explain away this issue. The lead singer of Collective Soul, Ed Roland, is admittedly Christian and has certainly injected a lot of his work with Christian themes and imagery, but Roland himself in no way considers Collective soul a Christian rock group. From a Popmatters article dating from 2005:

“Roland seems especially upset by the Christian label not because it necessarily clashes with his personal beliefs, but because such a tag suggests that the band is united by a particular brand of faith. ‘We’re five individual guys with five individual beliefs. No one person in the band can speak on behalf of the band. We all believe in a higher being, but we’re not out to profess what it is.’

While he may bristle at the Christian tag, Roland doesn’t deny the spiritual nature of the band’s lyrics. ‘Our father was a minister, and he still is. He’s a southern Baptist minister and those are my family’s roots. It’s how I grew up—the way I was taught and how I learned to speak, if that makes sense.’ Hence, the scattered religious references across their albums, from prophecies to salvation.”

[from “A Return to Having Fun: Collective Soul Remembers Why It Makes Music” by Jonathan Garrett]

Not that this quote gets my argument anywhere, but it does reveal an important dichotomy between Roland’s band and other Christian rockers out there. How about returning to my friends Sanctus Real from the first part of this essay? Here’s an excerpt from an interview with the band’s frontman Mark Hamitt with Wrecked.org:

“The song ‘Forgiven’ came out of a time when we were really fighting this and realized that ‘God's strength is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).’  No matter what we are or what we've done; what we truly are and will always be is ‘a treasure in the arms of Christ.’”

Not quite Roland-speak…but how about looking earlier in the interview when, in explaining the band’s early history, he says:

“When we were teenagers writing songs for other teenagers, we wanted to give our peers a fun and positive alternative to some of the other music out there.”

Hamitt claims that he wanted to give other teenagers an “alternative to some of the other music out there” (my emphasis…duh!). In fact, the word “alternative” is probably the best way to describe Christian rock. Christian rock artists have created one of the most impressive niche markets out there. As one YouTube comment so astutely observed in response to angry comments on one Christian rock compilation video (yes…I’m drawing on YouTube again),

“…if you're not a Christian, don't look up Christian songs, that's all there is to it. The music is amazing and it would really be nice if you kept your insulting comments to your self.”

[comment from user TheBroken159 on “Top Christian Rock Songs”]

So how can I possibly attack a niche market? There are thousands upon thousands of artists out there tucked away into niche markets; they have no desire to move beyond their tidy, little spread. They’re got their little corner set up and they’re just fine where they are, thank you very much! What’s really so wrong with that? Why can’t I have my little band and my pleasant praising-God-and-Jesus music and just live my life? Why can’t I just please my sheep-like fanbase? Why must all these angry wolves interfere! (It seems as if I’m getting into character…)

The fact is that these so-called wolves of the not-so-fold-like Internet can’t help but interfere. My take on it is that Christian rock artists have their approach—not just to rock ’n’ roll—but to music flat out wrong. I think Christian rock asks the audience to bring a little too much to the table; no one should need to believe in God in order to appreciate a song. Christian rock, in short, disrupts my expectations for a universal artistic experience on the part of listeners.

So are there any songs out there that require belief…if I want to enjoy them?