I had the opportunity to give a talk at the PSR Sacred Snapshots event in Berkeley on April 20th about John Lennon as a rock-n-roll messiah. This is a variation on a lecture I’ve given as part of my “Pop Goes Religion” course. The conversation with those who attended reinforced for me the intense spiritual [...]
Steve Sudeth with a post on the little-known Charles Bradley, a one-time James Brown impersonator who has now released his own albums rich with spiritual overtones. More after the jump.
Finally getting around to writing about some music I’ve been listening to for the last few months, here’s some brief reviews of three albums that have made the rotation on my iPhone. Has Matisyahu become “spiritual but not religious?” Matisyahu, the Chasidic reggae star, has evolved both in sound and spirituality. Just the picture should [...]
Occasional Pop Theology contributor Steve Sudeth shares his thoughts on “raising up a child in the way he should go” with particular attention to musical indoctrination. Hopefully, this is just the first in an on-going series of theologically compelling music around which parents and children can engage. More after the jump.
Very rarely does one come away from a movie musical with a new understanding of a theological doctrine. But, surprisingly enough, for all it’s melodrama and schmaltz, that’s where I ended up after seeing Les Miserables. I’ve made it clear on these pages that I have a problem with one important element of orthodox Christianity, [...]
Mumford and Sons are ready when you want to get serious. You can bop along to your bubble gum pop like “Call Me Maybe” and your international dance fads like “Gangnam Style.” You can listen ironically to your hipster bands like Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, and Fun. You can shake it to your dance divas [...]
New Pop Theology contributor Steve Sudeth brings us up to speed on some of his favorite music releases thus far this year. Let him know what you think he “missed” or should seek out.
This latest post is from Steve Sudeth, the newest Pop Theology contributor and a lecturer in religion, philosophy, and culture. Here, he talks about his Pop Music Canon and the importance of such music for our theological and spiritual development. Please feel free to share the pop music hymns that make up your own, and [...]
One of the great things about teaching a class on pop culture and religion is you can find out who’s good at writing about certain subjects, and then exploit their work. With that in mind, I’m happy to introduce Benjamin Griffin as a contributor to this blog. Benjamin is in the thesis stage of his [...]
In a recent bracket of favorite Jesus movies over at The Huffington Post, the final two “combatants” were Jesus Christ Superstar and Life of Brian. Go figure. Richard Lindsay shares his thoughts on the concept album that preceded one of the most famous Jesus musicals of all time.
