I did use the "J" word
Cause I ain't too soft to say it
Even if DJ's don't play it..."
Ohhhh yeah.
DC Talk managed to combine radical, gospel-centred, Jesus-loving Christianity with all the 'coolest' elements of music of their time (nota bene, if you will, the smooth blues notes the synth is pounding out in the intro, the gritty distortion-guitar riff, the tongue-twizzling rap) in a way that reassures me even now, in times of doubt, that Christian music can be Very Cool.
My theory: if you do it right, singing about Jesus is The Winning Formula. If you want to be the cool, rebellious rocker/rapper type, nothing's going to get people's goat more than going on and on about Jesus. Observe the "I don't care" attitude in this song:
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it's true
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth"
(Jesus Freak by DC Talk)
If you're the soulful, heart-on-sleeve type, some of the Old Testament prophets mastered that genre long before Chris Martin. Believe it or not, this song - abounding in guitar-playing prowess, gorgeous harmonies and lyrics that make your heart swell - is straight out of the Bible. Yes, indeed. The reading for today is Micah 7.
I feel like a fruitpicker who arrived here after the harvest
There's nothing here at all
There's nothing at all here that could placate my hunger"
(Equally Skilled by Jon Foreman)
If you're making 'fun' music, there's no better joy-drug than knowing you're saved by grace - now that's something worth jumping up and down about.
The place everybody in the family's found
On that day we will all be happy people
When love, liberty, disco's in town"
(Love Liberty Disco by the Newsboys)
I mentioned earlier that it's important to get the balance right. In my eagerness to invite people who listen to my music into relationship with God, I need to be a real person, not someone who puts up a facade to make Christianity look good, because Jesus saves real people. Real broken people. That's why, in 'Songs of the Bride', I express both joyful worship and heartfelt anguish, and in 'Young and Free' (the 5-song EP of love songs for my beloved) I don't mention Jesus explicitly, but express, rather, a worldview shaped by my faith.
Suggestion 1: The words 'Christian' and 'cool' really shouldn't even be in the same sentence.
Suggestion 2: There's nothing cooler, really, than being a Christian.
Both are true. Go figure.
Songs on my tongue, guitar in my hand..."
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This is the third in a series. Read the others:
'Influences' Part 3: Deep Sea Creatures
'Influences' Part 1: The Music Of My Childhood
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