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Serious
Thinking about Rock and Soul
by
Steve Beard
It
has become an annoying cliché to be reminded how much
things have changed in the United States since September
11. Be that as it may, it seems that for a little while at
least, we were a nation that had been shaken into
reexamining and rethinking its priorities. How important
are day-timers when you can't make time to kiss your kids
goodnight? What can we be sure of in this life? When was
the last time you got right with God? In light of some of
these probing questions, I was watching a country music
awards ceremony on television not long ago when Alan
Jackson stunned the audience with his tribute to 9-11,
"Where Were You (When the World Stopped
Turning)." "I'm just a singer of simple
songs/I'm not a real political man/I watch CNN/but I'm not
really sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and
Iran," sang Jackson. "But I know Jesus and I
talk to God/and I remember this from when I was
young/Faith, hope, and love are some good things he gave
us/and the greatest of these is love." Some might
find Jackson's song an understandable breech of protocol
(after all he mentioned Jesus) since country music has
always been fertile turf for a guilty conscience and a
dash of sawdust religion. But that is not the kind of
sentiment you would expect from a well-worn rock star.
"We
need to go back to the way it was 30 years ago, when
everybody had Grandma and Grandpa, and we were willing to
pass moral judgments about right and wrong," said
Steven Tyler, 53, the lead singer of the famously
hedonistic rock band Aerosmith. Tyler is aware that his
comments will be shocking coming from someone who has
partied hard with the best of them. "But (September
11) brought me to my knees," he responds. "It
made me change. When that second airplane hit the
building, we all changed. We need to get back to some
serious thinking," he told the Detroit Free Press;
serious thinking, indeed.
One
is invited to do some serious pondering about the new solo
album from Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the
world-famous Rolling Stones. One of the best songs on the
album is a duet called "Joy" that Jagger sings
with U2's Bono (with guitar from The Who's Pete Townsend).
"And I drove across the desert/I was in my four-wheel
drive/I was looking for the Buddha/And I saw Jesus
Christ." Jagger says that Jesus smiled at him and
told him to make some noise, jump for joy, and remember
what He had said. "My soul is like a ruby/And I threw
it in the earth/But now my hands are bleeding/from
scrabbling in the dirt/and I look up to the heavens/and a
light is on my face/I never never never/thought I'd find a
state of grace." Without wanting to make too many
unnecessary inferences, it would be safe to say that St.
Paul could not be faulted for believing that Jagger's
lyrics conjured up memories of his experience on the road
to Damascus. Rolling Stone magazine asked Jagger about the
intriguing song and his state of spirituality. "Of
course, I have a spiritual side. Everyone has one. It's
whether they're going to lock it up or not," Jagger
stated. "Our lives are so busy that we never get any
time to be, first, reflective, and then afterward, to let
some sort of spiritual light into your life." He goes
on to clarify the meaning of the song : "It is about
the joy of creation, inspiring you to a love of God. Not
that I want to explain my songs, really." It would be
a mistake to make too much or too little of Jagger's
seeking/knocking/finding song (it is followed later on the
album by "God gave me everything I want").
Nevertheless, those who have eyes to see should be aware
of the way in which our culture is searching and probing
and praying under its breath. So how does one account for
the sentiments expressed by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and
the Rolling Stone's Mick Jagger? Midlife crisis? Latter
life realism? That is not always clear. After all, it
seems as though our entire culture has a thirst for
transcendence.
When
MTV was looking for a band to perform at their televised
New Year's Eve bash, P.O.D. (Payable on Death) got the job
to rock around the clock at midnight-the highest profile
slot. The turbo-charged band of pierced and tattooed
believers sold one million copies of their new album
Satellite in one month after its September release. P.O.D.
even prayed and fasted before they began recording the
album. "The purpose of fasting was for focus, and-to
tell you the truth-nobody was even supposed to know we did
that...We just wanted to experience something together, as
a band. But that was not supposed to be public
knowledge," confessed bass player Traa. "We're
not a religious band-we're a spiritual band. Yes, we have
a personal relationship with God, but we're not trying to
convert anybody to live like us. We're just a rock
band." Perhaps, but there is much more to it than all
that. "There's so much going on in the world,"
observes singer Sonny Sandoval, "I don't think the
kids want to be yelled at and cussed out. People want to
come together. They're searching for answers. We learned
how to express our faith and our love in a way that kids
could embrace, that wasn't preachy." P.O.D's
high-energy hit "Alive" touches upon the
universal spiritual longing we have to know and be known
by God: "Sunshine upon my face/A new song for me to
sing/Tell the world how I feel inside/Even though it might
cost me everything/Now that I know this, so beyond, I
can't hold this/I can never turn my back away/Now that
I've seen you/I can never look away."
P.O.D.
is one of those rare rap-n-metal acts that has taken the
hard rock scene by storm. In its review of their album,
Rolling Stone said: "If P.O.D.'s religious devotion
inspired them to turn out the most soulful hard-rock
record so far this year, then maybe more new-metalheads
should get down with God." The world's greatest band,
during their halftime performance at the Super Bowl in New
Orleans, U2 gave fitting tribute to the Americans lost on
September 11. As the names of the victims were displayed
over a huge backdrop, the lead singer Bono began to pray
Psalm 51:15: "O Lord, open my lips, so my mouth shows
forth thy praise. O Lord, open my lips, so my mouth shows
forth thy praise." U2 then launched into a stunning
version of "Where the streets have no name."
Their recent album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, has
garnered praise from every quarter of the music scene, but
many observers are also noting epiphanies at their live
shows. In writing her review of a U2 concert for the
Chicago Sun Times, Cathleen Falsani observed: "I
drove 200 miles this week to go to church in a gymnasium
at the University of Notre Dame, with 11,000 strangers and
one Irish preacher with a familiar face." She goes on
to confess, "in light of recent events that have sent
me-like so many millions of others out there-diving back
toward a place we call faith, the lyrics [Bono] sang were
imbued with new meaning. It was sacred, joyful, healing.
Like how church is supposed to be." What an utterly
fascinating observation found within the culture section
of a mainstream newspaper.
Some
Christian observers have also testified to similar
mystical experiences. "I found myself singing the
songs, very aware of God's gracious presence,"
testified Randy L. Rowland, a pastor from Seattle, about
his time at a U2 concert. "At times during the
concert, I found myself praying in the gaps between songs
or during instrumentals." "When the concert was
over, I realized that I had been involved in worship even
though I hadn't really expected to worship," related
Rowland in the pages of Worship Leader magazine. "I
hadn't been all that conscious of what I was being caught
up in, but there I was, worshipping the risen Lord at a
rock concert."
According
to the Barna Research Group, a majority of people who
attend Christian worship services leave without feeling
that they've experienced God's presence. Less than
one-third of the adults feel as though they truly
interacted with God. Stunningly, one-third of the adults
who regularly attend worship services say that they have
never experienced God's presence at any time during their
life. According to George Barna, "The research shows
that while most people attend church services with a
desire to connect with God, most of them leave the church
disappointed, week after week. Eventually people cease to
expect a real encounter with God and simply settle for a
pleasant experience." So what happens when people
settle for the pleasant experience at church and discover
the real encounter at a rock concert? I am no theologian,
but I would say that God is up to something very
interesting. Taking the time with a friend The London
Sunday Times Magazine ran a fascinating article not long
ago about Noel Gallagher from the mega-huge British band
Oasis. When the subject of his friendship with Bono of U2
came up, Gallagher confessed that he peppered the rock
legend with questions about religion. "Look, you
believe in it all," Gallagher said to Bono. "I'm
Catholic same as you. Can you explain it to me?" He
told the Times that Bono sat down for two hours and
explained his faith. Gallagher was bold and wise enough to
even ask how a wealthy rock star prays. I am not sure what
Bono said during the conversation, but Gallagher remarked
that, "He made tons of sense." According to
Gallagher, Bono sent a package a few days later to Noel
and his girlfriend Sara that included Philip Yancey's
book. What's
So Amazing About Grace? "And [Bono's] dad had just
died," Gallagher remarked. "How difficult must
that be? Takes time out because two people were
interested. What a guy." What a guy, indeed. It all
comes down in the end-no matter if you are a rock star,
business executive, mother, teacher, or youth pastor-as to
whether or not we are able to take some time out and
entertain the questions of a longing heart. It can make
all the difference to an anguished soul, especially when
it seems like the world stopped turning.
__________
Steve
Beard is the editor in chief of Good News. For more on
faith and pop culture, check out his website at www.thunderstruck.org
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