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Straight to Video
Rock Art Rock
PJ Harvey
SXSW, Austin TX
March 21, 2009
By Brian Birzer "The PJ Harvey photos I took on Saturday night, March 21st, in a lot of ways were the payoff for the week of chaos that was SXSW 2009..."
Chhom Nimol from Dengue Fever
(and her dress collection)
Austin, TX
April 27, 2009
By Brian Birzer "Chhom Nimol is the singer of Los Angeles based Dengue Fever..."
Raymond Pettibon
Santa Monica, CA
March 1, 2009
By Brian Birzer "I met Raymond Pettibon at the Rock Paper Scissors show in Santa Monica on May 1st of last year..."
Scott Weiland
Austin, TX
January 16, 2009
By Brian Birzer "I took an assignment from Rolling Stone to cover the opening night of Scott Weiland's solo tour a the beginning of 2009..."
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Sweet Jesus! Where Rock Meets Religion
If you Google the words “rock magazine” the first result of that search is for This Rock magazine, which “has established itself as the definitive magazine of Catholic apologetics and evangelization.” For posterity, the next search result is Revolver: the World’s Loudest Rock Magazine!
I can’t help but imagine that these Catholic evangelists knew what they were doing when they called their magazine This Rock. Perhaps not, but it’s weird that it shows up first, right? When considering for a moment that rock music was something that Christian fundamentalists fiercely fought to extinguish in the past and how subversively Christian values have slipped into popular rock music, it makes me want to pay attention real close and draw the line to make the distinction between when it’s cool and when it’s not cool to bring up Jesus.
It all starts with blues music, the origin of rock music. Those juke joints that blues music was played in became a place the church vehemently despised and conspired against. Only later was it apparent that blues music took shape at the same period of time as emancipation between 1870 and 1900, and is now widely considered a major catalyst in setting slaves free. Then came along rock ‘n’ roll: a.k.a. the Devil’s music. Remember the backlash the Beatles received with they said Christianity was dying and that “we’re more popular than Jesus now”? The churches got organized and burned their records, and Lennon was made to publicly apologize and a million kids saw that and signed up with the Church of Lennon. Then, uh, there was the awesome movie Footloose where Kevin Bacon, a city kid, moves to a small town where dancing and rock music is outlawed, and eventually the kids all fight the system and they all dance to “Let’s Here It For the Boy”… I could go on and on, but the point here is that the backbone of rock music is really found in its anti-establishment guts.
Then someone came along and challenged this notion that only good music could be for the morally corrupt. It was the 1970s, his name was Larry Norman, and the song was “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?” Isn’t envy one of the seven deadly sins, Larry? In Dante’s Purgatory, the envious were punished by having their eyes sewn shut with wire because they had gained pleasure by seeing others brought low. Dude! That’s so metal.
So why should the Devil have all the good music? Let’s just say it’s the price you pay for a good time on planet Earth when you say fuck all to the consequences. Let’s say it’s because the Devil has a musical interval named in his honor (the restless one known as the tritone, which was nicknamed in the 18th century “diabolus in musica” or “the Devil in music”), and God does not. I could also answer that question by arguing that rock music makes folks shake their hips, which includes their loins, and urges them to feel certain kinds of buried energy and emotion through tempo alone, things that the church would normally teach one to repress—basic human instincts that are built into our design that, if repressed and controlled, will somehow lead those righteous enough to a greater form of existence and ultimately to heaven. Rock music doesn’t want you to repress your desires, and therefore, rock music is surely the gateway to all things unholy.
However, by the early ‘90s, Christian rock was on a fast track to mainstream acceptance, which was, not surprisingly, inspired by sounds most readily available at the time—grunge rock and also metal, rap, punk—bands like Jars of Clay and Creed and P.O.D hit the charts and, whether you knew it or not, you could be driving along in your car blasting the latest jam full of pro-religious undertones. So subtle and subversive were these bands attempts at sneaking bits of Jesus talk in their rock songs that no one had an outright reason to label them an outright Christian rock band, that is, unless the band stated that they were. In fact, it was in the band’s best interest to straddle that line and not claim one or the other, because Christian rock certainly meant less popularity because, let’s face it, the sanitizing of the rock sound by talking about how great God is, by default, is stepping on a different kind of sacred ground: honesty. And, like, fuck that.
The biggest contradiction between Christianity and rock music is that Christianity is about working towards perfection and rock music is about embracing imperfection. If you’re Christian, you are supposed to use God and his son Jesus Christ as models for your own behavior. In rock music, perfection should only be attempted in the recording process. We all know the best moments in rock ‘n’ roll are the unpredictable ones… the, dare I say, dangerous ones.
For all intents and purposes there is a certain religious aspect to rock music. It can catch you at your most disgusting and sorry and weak and confused and angry and pick you up and ready you for the fight again. If you really feel the rock, it can possess you, make you shut your eyes and shake your head uncontrollably and dance outrageously. Hell, even when you want to sing a song but don’t know the lyrics it’s sort of like talking in tongues. Basically, it can make you throw a fit. On the flip side of that, I remember visiting a hippie progressive church in Maine with a friend of mine and people were dancing around and waving colorful flags and basically rockin’ out to the band on stage, rockin’ out for Jesus, Son of Man, and it felt like I was at a freakin’ Phish concert or something. I felt like these people had taken drugs before coming to church. But no, they were only high on the power of Jesus, summoned to rejoice and fall at his proverbial feet. Type “Jesus” into a Rhapsody title track search and you’ll get over 11,000 results. There’s no lack of Jesus talk in whatever kind of songs. Clearly the lines between religion and rock music, now more than ever, are being blurred.
However, there’s no mistaking that there are only certain instances where a person can mention the King of kings in a song and make it cool and real upfront and still carry the grit and the guts of rock ‘n’ roll. I’m gonna go ahead and say it’s better that I hear Jesus talk coming from a band that, like me, is full of flaws and fuck-ups. I don’t want to hear it from some sanctimonious performer that becomes a foul caricature of himself (think Scott Stapp). Although, that band Danielson seem like people I’d hang out with. Anyway. Shooting Jesus, metaphorically or otherwise, through a real prism, instead of puking out fundamentals from the Bible, is the only time it’s acceptable for Jesus to show up in rock music, because, in all truthfulness, it’s when the discussion of Jesus is the most honest. At the end of the day that’s all us puny humans are looking for, anyway.
In light of this discussion, here’s my Top Ten Acceptable Rock Songs Featuring Jesus:
10. The Sound: Spaceman 3
The Song: “Walkin’ With Jesus”
Classic example of mixing Jesus references with drug references… the idea of the religious experience… always works in rock songs. “Well I got around to thinking ‘bout what Jesus said to me / ‘Cos if Heaven’s like this, then that’s the place for me / Long, long time between now and my death / And I gotta have my fun so I’ve chosen what’s best.”
9. The Sound: Velvet Underground
The Song: “Jesus”
There are only a few lyrics to this slow tempo s
ong: “Jesus, help me find my proper place / Jesus, help me find my proper place / Help me in my weakness, ‘Cos I’m falling out of grace.” Aw, it’s a little prayer from heroin-loving Lou Reed. You could trick your grandmother into liking this one. In the clip someone took the liberty of setting this song to scenes from that Passion movie.
8. The Sound: Morrissey
The Song: “I Have Forgiven Jesus”
The words “Do you hate me?” are repeated several times at the end of the song, and well, we get to see Morrissey dressed up like a priest in the video.
7. The Sound: Clem Snide
The Song: “Jews for Jesus Blues”
Clem singing about Gentiles and their Jesus, featuring the line “but I only felt guilty that he died on the cross / now that I’m found I miss being lost.”
6. The Sound: Tom Waits
The Song: “Chocolate Jesus”
I’ll just let him explain it himself, because it’s pretty self-explanatory.
5. The Sound: Flaming Lips
The Song: “Shine On Sweet Jesus”
The Flaming Lips are obsessed with Jesus, with songs like “Plastic Jesus”, “Shine on Sweet Jesus – Jesus Song No. 5”, “God Walks Among Us Now – Jesus Song No. 6”, “There You Are – Jesus Song No. 7”, and an album titled “In a Priest Driven Ambulance.” Phew! They also balance it out with songs like “Evil Will Prevail” and “Lucifer Rising.”
4. The Sound: Lou Barlow
The Song: “Mary”
Basically, someone finally wrote about how all of this “immaculate conception” stuff might be nothing more than a bored housewife that did it with the guy next door, from the perspective of the guy next door. Brilliant.
3. The Sound: Any cast of Jesus Christ Superstar
The Song: “Heaven On Their Minds”
The best rock opera ever is about Jesus. With a badass riff that boils the blood in my veins, this song is sung by Judas, a guy with valid reservations toward Jesus about them taking their game public. This lyric alone captures the problem with religion fanaticism even now: “You’ve begun to matter more than the things you say.”
2. The Sound: Neutral Milk Hotel
The Song “The King of Carrots Flowers Pt. Two and Three”
Blaring this from your speakers as he sings “I love you Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ I love you!” makes many of its listeners uncomfortable. Others find it fantastic, and it’s not because they love Jesus Christ too. In the liner notes for Aeroplane, he says he’s not so much talking about Jesus as he is a white light. In the clip, just wait for it… especially all the rocking out.
1. The Sound: Mojo Nixon/Jello Biafra
The Song: “Are You Drinking With Me Jesus”
Best lyric that seals the deal for the number one spot: “I know you can walk on water, but can you walk on this much beer.”
27 Comments
“Christianity is about working towards perfection and rock music is about embracing imperfection.”
In my experience, Christianity is the exact opposite. It is embracing your imperfection, and accepting Christ’s forgiveness as the only way to eternal life.
Christians who are in it for behavior improvement can go read a self-help book. There’s more to following Christ than “trying real hard to be good.”
How about Depeche Mode “Personal Jesus” – great song.
I also remember the Jars of Clay song “Flood”. It was a huge song on alt rock radio until it came out that they were a Christian Rock band. I have heard nothing from them since.
Depeche Mode is still putting out music and at least one song was getting fairly decent air time on the radio last year. I’ve never heard that they are a Christian Rock Band. That’s news to me – am I just out of it on this one?
Jocelyn, I would suggest trying out a different church. There’s nothing bad about doing your best, but that’s not the central aim of Christianity. It’s about a God who loves us no matter how “bad” we are.
On a side note, Jars of Clay is still making amazing music (better than “Flood” IMHO). Check out some live stuff at myspace.com/jarsofclay – you might be surprised.
For the record, I’m not Christian, but I do appreciate the story of the Bible. I just went to church with my mom, you know, because I’m open-minded like that and like hanging out with her. My mom goes to a progressive non-denominational church, and it’s one of the best churches I’ve ever been to. Even a skeptic like me can get something out of being there.
Man, it’s amazing how all these evangelists come out of the woodwork saying how nice and wonderful Christianity is when you say the least little thing about Christianity. Try asking the Native Americans who got smallpox-infected blankets from the Methodists about it and you might get a different answer. Oh that’s right, you can’t. They died. Might want to ask all those senile old ladies and disobedient women who were burnt as “witches” during the Inquisition. Oh, that’s right – you can’t. Maybe you could ask the Jews who died in the concentration camp while Pope Pius XII looked the other way. Oh, that’s right – can’t ask them either, they’re dead. Hey, what about all those women’s clinic doctors – oh wait, they’re dead too. Yeah, Christians, nice folks.
A couple more rockin’songs featuring Jesus…
Doobie Brothers: “Jesus is Just Alright”
Ministry: “Jesus Built My Hotrod”
You have such a jaded perspective of what Christianity is. After reading this article its apparent that you enjoy mockery and take everything at face value.
Jocelyn, we talked about this. #1: “We Rule the School” by Belle and Sebastian.
Also: dude, Jars of Clay?
“After reading this article its apparent that you enjoy mockery and take everything at face value.”
Who the hell doesn’t enjoy mockery?
And why such constant hatred for the face value of a thing? It’s all we’ve got, really, and if one were so inclined to argue about religion over the internet, one might make the argument that maybe, just maybe, people would be a bit better off having taken just a few more things at nothing more than face value.
I’m not excusing what people have done in Jesus’ name, nor do I feel like I’m proselytizing. If you read my original post, I used the words “in my experience.”
Ba’al zebub, I believe you’re confusing Christianity as a religion with who Jesus was and what it means to align your life with his. Jesus would never have condoned any of what you listed. People often use the same kind of logic to write off Islam. I know and have profound respect for many Muslim men and women who, like me, wish not to be lumped in with their extremist, “fundamentalist” counterparts.
I also find it interesting that people like you call “us” reactionary when up until your tirade, we were having a respectful discussion.
Anyway, I find Jocelyn’s article insightful. It’s interesting to hear an “outsider’s” opinion on Christian music with more substance than the usual “Christian music sucks” schtick.
I have been pinned as a “Christian songwriter” in the past, and I have recently decided to disown the term. Anymore, “Christian music” is little more than a marketing term used to deceive people into buying poorly made music. I’d rather be considered legitimate because of the quality of my songwriting and not because I mention x number of tenets of faith in my music.
The Church (not the classic Australian band) has always exhibited control over its masses and like any control freak free thinking is not allowed. My picks would have to be
Jesus was way cool and Personal Jesus
That’s funny because I was just in church a few weeks ago with my mom, and the whole entire thing was about trying to always do better, be better no matter how good you are, using God as your role model.
Awesome article; I always feel betrayed when I’m bopping my head to a sound just to find that it’s by a Christian rock band. I don’t want organized and antiquated religious ideas in my government and I certainly don’t want it in my rock n roll.
Great article. I would have loved to hear a little bit about Gospel music which I would describe as you did Rock:
“rock music makes folks shake their hips, which includes their loins, and urges them to feel certain kinds of buried energy and emotion through tempo alone…”
Although I might leave loin-shaking out of the definition.
Personally I love “Jesus in a Camper Van” by Robbie Williams. I don’t even know what it’s about really, I just think it’s fun to sing:
Jesus in a camper van, he says,
‘Sorry to leave ya,
but I’ve done all I can,
I suppose even the son of god
gets it hard sometimes’
And “Jesus on the Radio” by Guster. I don’t know if it’s really about Jesus, but all the Guster guys are Jewish :)
Hey, Ba’al…try asking the millions of people who’ve been helped and whose lives have been changed by Christian ministries worldwide. Try asking the millions who’ve been helped and healed by thousands of hospitals established worldwide by Christians. Try asking the multiple millions who lost their lives at the hands of Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Chairman Mao, Hussein, Genghis Khan, Zulu, Pinochet, and even King Herod…oh, that’s right, you can’t. They’re dead. Were mistakes made by some who call themselves Christian? Sure. We live in a fallen world. It’s a world ruled by sin. And whether those folks were true believers or not, I don’t know. It all comes down to Jesus. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. As CS Lewis put it, He’s a liar, a lunatic, or the Son of God. You choose. I did, in 1973, and He changed my life. I invite you to make the choice now, before you meet Him face-to-face.
Whoa whoa whoa. People. Let’s not get off the topic too much here, which is supposed to be rock and religion.
This article isn’t so much about defining what Christianity is or isn’t, but about what kinds of songs that include Jesus that make for a good rock song. I think it’s great.
“I turned to Jesus and stayed there with him. I fell in deep but deep but I learned how to swim”—who sings this one?
Love the article by the way!
The Brain Jonestown Massacre
Jason,
Totally agree, although it was hard picking out just one of their songs. Although, come to think of it, they have one specifically titled “Jesus” don’t they? On the other hand they have the Committee to Keep Music Evil, so I could probably write an entire article on them in relation to this topic. Hmm… part two???
Ah well, a great song nonetheless.
Jesus Christ… Get a Grip!!!
I was a little surprised by your change of heart at the end.
Although, we did grow up in the decades where Carman and MC Hammer fused the RAP and CHRISTIAN genres. (Who could forget “Who’s In The House” and “Pray”, respectively?)
Once that happened, I realized ANYTHING was possible!
It’s interesting how a band like MXPX was sort of brought down by their christian affiliation… yet, a band like Underoath really celebrates it. Emo and Christian made an unlikely marriage it seemed… but hey, if kids are feeling more in touch with their emotions, why not be more in touch with their spirituality too? I suppose the future generations could be going in a worse direction.
“Jesus done left Chicago” and an iconic guitar named Pearly Gates; the Reverend Billy calling “take me with you Jesus” before digging into the most righteous-sounding Les Paul ever made. Can’t see how that one was skipped — it’s almost too perfect. Unless merely “acceptable” is the criteria.
What a one-sided, repressive article. Honestly.
this article could have been written by a 5th grader for all its (lack of) charm and depth. sorry, but this seems like something that would be on a blog and not included in “rock journalism”.
as for my vote regarding best Jesus song, it would have to be r.e.m.
“i can’t say that i love Jesus
that would be a hollow claim.
‘judge not lest ye be judged’
what a beautiful refrain”
How ’bout “Plastic Jesus” from Cool Hand Luke
“I don’t’ care if it rains or freezes long as I got my plastic Jesus riding on the dashboard of my car…