Songs That Tell the Truth About Abortion

by Jonathon Van Maren

Indeed, political propaganda can deceive—but art derived from experience rarely does. Continue Reading »

1 Sep 2022 0

How U2 Betrayed Rock ’n’ Roll

by John Waters

The band U2 has announced it supports the pro-abortion side in Ireland’s upcoming referendum on abortion. Continue Reading »

7 May 2018 0

The Theology of Patti Smith

by Stephen H. Webb

Patti Smith is known as the “godmother of punk,” but she always had higher goals than trying to make rock sound dangerous as the hippy era came to an end. I once almost lost a friendship because I suggested that her voice was not strong enough to sustain the passion of her angrier songs. “She’s too frail to be a punk Janis Joplin,” I said. “And too New Jersey.” Maybe that wasn’t fair, especially the part about New Jersey, but I do think she sounds better when, like Bob Dylan, she works with her vocal weaknesses, not against them. She’s sometimes called the female Bob Dylan, but Dylan is a songster whose lyrics are poetic, while Smith is a poet who also sings rock and roll. Because she’s not a natural singer, melancholy fits her tonal range, and when she goes for pretty, without erasing the edginess of her tone, she sounds downright sublime. Continue Reading »

13 Jan 2015 0

In Praise of Praise Music

by Stephen H. Webb

Praise music gets no respect, even among Christians. It is not hard to figure out why the unchurched don’t care for it. They can sing “Stairway to Heaven” with gusto because they don’t believe that the stairs are really going anywhere, while it is hard to sing “Here I Am to Worship” without doing exactly that. But Christians are people of praise. That’s what we do. So why do so many Christians have such a condescending attitude toward praise music? Continue Reading »

17 Jun 2014 0