30
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
in
MET
KARISHMA D'MELLO
At face value, rock and
Christianity seem glaringly
dissimilar and almost
uncomfortably incompatible.
The two share a complicated
history marked with conflict,
dismissiveness, resignation
and somewhere in between
perhaps, reluctant embrace.
You’d be hard-pressed to
find a pairing that provoked
the reactions it did,
especially during that time.
Fundamentalist Christians
were adamantly against
the evolving genre that
reinforced their beliefs of a
“devilish” music, every time
it hit a new landmark. But the
unlikely pairing of Christian
musicians and electric
guitars created an interesting,
and to some a conflict of
grotesque proportions.
Elvis Presley himself was
a Christian, with a love for
gospel music as much as
rock ‘n roll. His release of
“He Touched Me”, earned
him his second Grammy.
In fact, he was not on his own.
Rock ‘n roll, particularly in
its earliest eras saw a deep
connection between gospel or
the music of the churches. The
Pentecost churches of Southern
America, are regarded as
key influences on prominent
musicians of the time. This, of
course, was not well received
by the church, who perceived
it as an almost parodical
display of music. Randall J.
Stephens’ The Devil’s Music:
How Christians Inspired,
Condemned and Embraced
Rock ‘n Roll is perhaps, the
most comprehensive literature
available on the subject.
The conflict arises where on
the one hand, rock ‘n roll is
almost always prefixed with the
glorious “drug, sex” to create
an infamous adage popularized
by the media. And on the
other end of the spectrum, you
have Christian ideology that
makes no secret of its rejection
of promiscuity or willful
intoxication. How then could
there ever be “Christian rock”?
A preacher was once quoted
saying “If you really want to
get turned on, I mean, man,
where the trip’s heavy, just
pray to Jesus. He’ll turn you
on to the ultimate trip.” The
spread of similar ideology
along Sunset Strip spawned a
revival of what would then be
called “The Jesus Movement”.
After the release of “Upon
this Rock”, by musician Larry
Newman, it officially set the
ball rolling for Christian
rock. However, even couldn’t
match up to the expectations
of extremist Christians at
the time. They despised his
work; rock was and would
always be the devil’s music.
Which funnily enough brings
us to “Why Should the Devil
Have All the Good Music”,
whose title alone makes a
fair, thought-provoking point
in itself, G. A. Thornbury’s
biography on the life of Larry
Newman and his struggles
with the catholic church.
The problem with Christian
rock lies in the perceived
conflict of sound and message.
With Gospel music, its own
signature style of music and
lyricism are created to match
each other in their nuances.
And so when the message of
Christianity sounds through
snarling guitars, heavy bass,
and unforgiving percussions,
the major criticism becomes
that the message of faith
is lost in all the noise.
While there do exist, bands who
embrace the labeling like Petra,
Servant and Third Day, other
bands despised it. Because with
it came the dreaded probability
of being “pigeonholed” or
pressured to promote a specific
message through every song.
Some bands do feel the pressure
of spreading “Christian
propaganda” and choose to
steer away from the label.
Although their music may
center around their personal
faith, social issues and
morality, they do not actively
channel anything that could
be perceived as religious
propaganda. A few may identify
themselves with the genre,
but on the whole, they choose
to remain more about “rock
with a message” than “rock
with a Christian message”.