I grew up in a fundamentalist subculture … both at home and at church … and it affected the way I viewed popular culture.
I didn’t see my first film in a movie theater until I was 19 years old, and even then, it was a Billy Graham film.
While we were allowed to watch Shirley Temple movies on television, the children of the fundamentalist pastor two houses down weren’t even allowed to watch those!
Even though I’ve always loved music, I didn’t listen to the radio on a regular basis until I was 14. The year happened to be 1968 … a great, great year for music!
I’ve never forgotten how I felt when I heard those first few songs on the radio: “Jennifer Juniper” by Donovan; “Love is All Around” by The Troggs; “A Beautiful Morning” by the Rascals; “Lady Madonna” by The Beatles; and “Everything That Touches You” by The Association, to name just a few.
And when I went to Hume Lake Christian Camp for the first time that summer, somebody smuggled in a radio, and all week long, we heard songs like “Indian Lake” by The Cowsills; “Tuesday Afternoon” by The Moody Blues; “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris; “Sky Pilot” by The Animals (a song about a military chaplain in Vietnam); and “This Guy’s in Love with You” by Herb Alpert.
But when we went back to church, we heard that all music on the radio was subversive, unchristian, and even evil, even though there wasn’t any contemporary Christian music at the time (unless it was sanitized folk).
Most Christian kids didn’t pay any attention to the warnings, although I started the habit of listening carefully to every song lyric and avoiding those songs which had lyrics that made me uncomfortable for spiritual or moral reasons.
Over the years, I have acquired a fair amount of vinyl albums (all gone now, including one signed by Johnny Cash) … cassettes (stuck in storage) … CDs (my wife bought my first one in 1991) … and mp3s.
I listen to all kinds of music: classical (especially Bach) … gospel (especially Johnny Cash but including George Beverly Shea) … Contemporary Christian (I love Delirious, Phil Keaggy, Twila Paris, Carolyn Arends and Kim Hill) … and yes, even secular music.
These are my guidelines for selecting secular music:
*I want the artists I hear to have lived reasonably good lives. Most secular artists have failed morally at times … sometimes very publicly … but some have also done a lot of good (like U2). Many of my favorite artists, like Bono and Justin Hayward (from the Moody Blues), have been married for decades.
*I want the music I hear to be 90% safe. Most secular artists slip in songs or phrases that don’t reflect my values, but one objectionable song on a 15-song CD isn’t going to ruin the other 14 songs for me. I just delete those songs on iTunes. I evaluate an artist as a whole, not just based on one or two songs.
*I want to hear music that makes me think, gives me a different perspective, or makes me a better believer. For example, I believe I’m a better person for having listened to U2 and Bob Dylan over the years. Both have heightened my social conscience.
*I want to see my favorite artists in concert and to feel good about being there. Over the past several years, I’ve seen Paul McCartney, U2, Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Justin Hayward, and next month, I’m going to see ELO at The Hollywood Bowl (and sit on benches at the very back). I’m always amused by the fact that although some Christians only listen to Christian music, the Christian artists they listen to hear and appreciate many secular artists! (For example, did you know that MercyMe did a cover of Tom Petty’s song “I Won’t Back Down?”)
If you’re interested in any of these albums or artists, I suggest you listen to their songs on iTunes or Amazon before you buy anything.
Having said all that, these are five very good secular albums that I think are safe for Christians … and in no particular order:
Someday by Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Hoffs is the former/sometimes lead vocalist of The Bangles, an all-girl band from the 1980s that played music rooted in the 1960s. This CD came out four years ago when I was in New Hampshire, and I listened to it practically every day for weeks. The ten songs on this album are relatively brief, but they have great melodies, wonderful arrangements, heartfelt lyrics … and hearken back to the Sixties. I have never tired of this album.
Hymns to the Silence by Van Morrison
Many people only know Van Morrison for his song “Brown-Eyed Girl” from 1967, but he has an incredibly rich catalogue of beautiful, complex music dating back more than 50 years. I bought this album in 1991 after a glowing review in Time that contained a quote from Bruce Springsteen that said that Van’s music was “way too spiritual.” This double album – only $9.99 on Amazon or iTunes – contains “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” “Be Thou My Vision,” and a song called “By His Grace,” as well as Van-rants like “I’m Not Feeling It Anymore” and “Why Must I Always Explain.”
Although he’s dabbled in various faiths at times, there’s a Christian undercurrent in much of his music (especially in songs like “Whenever God Shines His Light”) and even Phil Keaggy covered Van’s song “When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God.” If you like this album, try Down the Road and Magic Time as well. I took my wife to a Van concert more than twenty years ago, and his booming voice filled the auditorium. Van definitely marches to his own drummer, but when he’s good, he puts out some of the most beautiful music you will ever hear.
Home by The Corrs
The Corrs are a sibling-only band from Ireland. They write their own songs and sing and play on their albums, and usually have a Celtic/pop sound all their own. This CD … their last for ten years until last November’s White Light … is a collection of traditional Irish tunes with both traditional and contemporary arrangements. The Corrs are better known in Europe and the rest of the world than in the United States … although I hear their songs in public places all the time … possibly because they aren’t wild or vulgar and have a sense of decency about them. (I once stayed after a Phil Keaggy concert at a church and the roadies played their album Talk On Corners while cleaning up.) This is one of the albums I play whenever I need to relax because it’s so soothing.
Spirits of the Western Sky by Justin Hayward
I like haunting music, and Justin Hayward has mastered the genre. His compositions like “Nights in White Satin” and “New Horizons” still send shivers up my spine. My wife and I recently saw him in concert and his voice still holds up fifty years after he began with The Moody Blues. While The Moodies tour America every year, they don’t plan on putting out any more albums, but thankfully, Justin Hayward put this terrific one out early in 2013.
Many years ago, I read that the Moodies’ bass player/vocalist John Lodge is a Christian, and I recently stumbled upon a ten-year-old interview where journalist Paul Du Noyer asked Justin Hayward, “And where has this search brought Justin Hayward in 2006?” Hayward replied, “I would have to say Christianity. I came from a family with a very strong faith, I moved away through all sorts of Eastern religions, through meditation, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, anything else. It was reading C.S. Lewis, books like Mere Christianity, that helped me to define what I really felt and finally decide. So I came full circle.”
Justin Hayward doesn’t make any overtly Christian statements in his music, and if he did, his career would be marginalized and his audience might dwindle significantly. I do love the Moodies’ Christmas album December – even though it’s 13 years old – because it’s held up very well over time, but again, there are no overtly Christian statements in the songs. But this album is full of great music – mostly featuring acoustic guitars – and you just might like it.
How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb by U2
I once read a journalist who claimed that U2 was too secular for Christians and too Christian for secularists. U2 writes and sings their songs in parables: if you’re a Christian, you get it, but if you’re not, you can enjoy the music anyway.
Although I love much of their music … “One” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” are two of my all-time favorite songs … U2 occasionally disappoints me lyrically … but not on this CD.
When this album came out in 2004 – and it won a host of Grammy awards, including Album of the Year – I bought a bunch of them and gave them away. But although U2 can compose and sing a prayer like “Yahweh” … the song that ends the album … they can also indict Christian churches on a song like “Crumbs From Your Table” and wonder what’s beyond this life in “One Step Closer.”
Although Bono and other members of the band are Christians, their songs are difficult to do in church because they often question faith rather than affirm it. Bono loves the Psalms and wishes that Christian writers today would compose more authentic lyrics … as do I … but it’s hard to sing the lyrics to “Vertigo” on a Sunday morning, even though the songs ends with, “Your love is teaching me how to kneel.”
My favorite lyric on this album is from the hard-rocking song “Love and Peace or Else” where Bono sings, “As you enter this life, I pray you depart, with a wrinkled face, and a brand new heart.” Christian references abound on this album, but it’s not packaged like the typical CCM stuff.
U2 toured behind this album in 2005, and several weeks before my birthday, my wife asked me what I wanted, and I told her, “I just want to see U2 in concert.” Fortunately, they were playing ten minutes from our house, and she went online and bought tickets. We sat behind the band … off to the side … and the large letters on the back of Bono’s jacket spelled out SINNER … a reminder that even when the audience is wildly applauding the singer, he knows who he really is.
I will recommend five more albums next time … and would love to hear about your favorites as well!
Read Full Post »
Restoring Kingdom Builders 
Ten Secular Albums for Christians
Posted in Christian Music, Personal Stories, Please Comment!, tagged Justin Hayward, Secular albums for Christians, Susanna Hoffs, The Corrs, U2, Van Morrison on August 4, 2016| 2 Comments »
I grew up in a fundamentalist subculture … both at home and at church … and it affected the way I viewed popular culture.
I didn’t see my first film in a movie theater until I was 19 years old, and even then, it was a Billy Graham film.
While we were allowed to watch Shirley Temple movies on television, the children of the fundamentalist pastor two houses down weren’t even allowed to watch those!
Even though I’ve always loved music, I didn’t listen to the radio on a regular basis until I was 14. The year happened to be 1968 … a great, great year for music!
I’ve never forgotten how I felt when I heard those first few songs on the radio: “Jennifer Juniper” by Donovan; “Love is All Around” by The Troggs; “A Beautiful Morning” by the Rascals; “Lady Madonna” by The Beatles; and “Everything That Touches You” by The Association, to name just a few.
And when I went to Hume Lake Christian Camp for the first time that summer, somebody smuggled in a radio, and all week long, we heard songs like “Indian Lake” by The Cowsills; “Tuesday Afternoon” by The Moody Blues; “MacArthur Park” by Richard Harris; “Sky Pilot” by The Animals (a song about a military chaplain in Vietnam); and “This Guy’s in Love with You” by Herb Alpert.
But when we went back to church, we heard that all music on the radio was subversive, unchristian, and even evil, even though there wasn’t any contemporary Christian music at the time (unless it was sanitized folk).
Most Christian kids didn’t pay any attention to the warnings, although I started the habit of listening carefully to every song lyric and avoiding those songs which had lyrics that made me uncomfortable for spiritual or moral reasons.
Over the years, I have acquired a fair amount of vinyl albums (all gone now, including one signed by Johnny Cash) … cassettes (stuck in storage) … CDs (my wife bought my first one in 1991) … and mp3s.
I listen to all kinds of music: classical (especially Bach) … gospel (especially Johnny Cash but including George Beverly Shea) … Contemporary Christian (I love Delirious, Phil Keaggy, Twila Paris, Carolyn Arends and Kim Hill) … and yes, even secular music.
These are my guidelines for selecting secular music:
*I want the artists I hear to have lived reasonably good lives. Most secular artists have failed morally at times … sometimes very publicly … but some have also done a lot of good (like U2). Many of my favorite artists, like Bono and Justin Hayward (from the Moody Blues), have been married for decades.
*I want the music I hear to be 90% safe. Most secular artists slip in songs or phrases that don’t reflect my values, but one objectionable song on a 15-song CD isn’t going to ruin the other 14 songs for me. I just delete those songs on iTunes. I evaluate an artist as a whole, not just based on one or two songs.
*I want to hear music that makes me think, gives me a different perspective, or makes me a better believer. For example, I believe I’m a better person for having listened to U2 and Bob Dylan over the years. Both have heightened my social conscience.
*I want to see my favorite artists in concert and to feel good about being there. Over the past several years, I’ve seen Paul McCartney, U2, Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Justin Hayward, and next month, I’m going to see ELO at The Hollywood Bowl (and sit on benches at the very back). I’m always amused by the fact that although some Christians only listen to Christian music, the Christian artists they listen to hear and appreciate many secular artists! (For example, did you know that MercyMe did a cover of Tom Petty’s song “I Won’t Back Down?”)
If you’re interested in any of these albums or artists, I suggest you listen to their songs on iTunes or Amazon before you buy anything.
Having said all that, these are five very good secular albums that I think are safe for Christians … and in no particular order:
Someday by Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Hoffs is the former/sometimes lead vocalist of The Bangles, an all-girl band from the 1980s that played music rooted in the 1960s. This CD came out four years ago when I was in New Hampshire, and I listened to it practically every day for weeks. The ten songs on this album are relatively brief, but they have great melodies, wonderful arrangements, heartfelt lyrics … and hearken back to the Sixties. I have never tired of this album.
Hymns to the Silence by Van Morrison
Many people only know Van Morrison for his song “Brown-Eyed Girl” from 1967, but he has an incredibly rich catalogue of beautiful, complex music dating back more than 50 years. I bought this album in 1991 after a glowing review in Time that contained a quote from Bruce Springsteen that said that Van’s music was “way too spiritual.” This double album – only $9.99 on Amazon or iTunes – contains “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” “Be Thou My Vision,” and a song called “By His Grace,” as well as Van-rants like “I’m Not Feeling It Anymore” and “Why Must I Always Explain.”
Although he’s dabbled in various faiths at times, there’s a Christian undercurrent in much of his music (especially in songs like “Whenever God Shines His Light”) and even Phil Keaggy covered Van’s song “When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God.” If you like this album, try Down the Road and Magic Time as well. I took my wife to a Van concert more than twenty years ago, and his booming voice filled the auditorium. Van definitely marches to his own drummer, but when he’s good, he puts out some of the most beautiful music you will ever hear.
Home by The Corrs
The Corrs are a sibling-only band from Ireland. They write their own songs and sing and play on their albums, and usually have a Celtic/pop sound all their own. This CD … their last for ten years until last November’s White Light … is a collection of traditional Irish tunes with both traditional and contemporary arrangements. The Corrs are better known in Europe and the rest of the world than in the United States … although I hear their songs in public places all the time … possibly because they aren’t wild or vulgar and have a sense of decency about them. (I once stayed after a Phil Keaggy concert at a church and the roadies played their album Talk On Corners while cleaning up.) This is one of the albums I play whenever I need to relax because it’s so soothing.
Spirits of the Western Sky by Justin Hayward
I like haunting music, and Justin Hayward has mastered the genre. His compositions like “Nights in White Satin” and “New Horizons” still send shivers up my spine. My wife and I recently saw him in concert and his voice still holds up fifty years after he began with The Moody Blues. While The Moodies tour America every year, they don’t plan on putting out any more albums, but thankfully, Justin Hayward put this terrific one out early in 2013.
Many years ago, I read that the Moodies’ bass player/vocalist John Lodge is a Christian, and I recently stumbled upon a ten-year-old interview where journalist Paul Du Noyer asked Justin Hayward, “And where has this search brought Justin Hayward in 2006?” Hayward replied, “I would have to say Christianity. I came from a family with a very strong faith, I moved away through all sorts of Eastern religions, through meditation, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, anything else. It was reading C.S. Lewis, books like Mere Christianity, that helped me to define what I really felt and finally decide. So I came full circle.”
Justin Hayward doesn’t make any overtly Christian statements in his music, and if he did, his career would be marginalized and his audience might dwindle significantly. I do love the Moodies’ Christmas album December – even though it’s 13 years old – because it’s held up very well over time, but again, there are no overtly Christian statements in the songs. But this album is full of great music – mostly featuring acoustic guitars – and you just might like it.
How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb by U2
I once read a journalist who claimed that U2 was too secular for Christians and too Christian for secularists. U2 writes and sings their songs in parables: if you’re a Christian, you get it, but if you’re not, you can enjoy the music anyway.
Although I love much of their music … “One” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” are two of my all-time favorite songs … U2 occasionally disappoints me lyrically … but not on this CD.
When this album came out in 2004 – and it won a host of Grammy awards, including Album of the Year – I bought a bunch of them and gave them away. But although U2 can compose and sing a prayer like “Yahweh” … the song that ends the album … they can also indict Christian churches on a song like “Crumbs From Your Table” and wonder what’s beyond this life in “One Step Closer.”
Although Bono and other members of the band are Christians, their songs are difficult to do in church because they often question faith rather than affirm it. Bono loves the Psalms and wishes that Christian writers today would compose more authentic lyrics … as do I … but it’s hard to sing the lyrics to “Vertigo” on a Sunday morning, even though the songs ends with, “Your love is teaching me how to kneel.”
My favorite lyric on this album is from the hard-rocking song “Love and Peace or Else” where Bono sings, “As you enter this life, I pray you depart, with a wrinkled face, and a brand new heart.” Christian references abound on this album, but it’s not packaged like the typical CCM stuff.
U2 toured behind this album in 2005, and several weeks before my birthday, my wife asked me what I wanted, and I told her, “I just want to see U2 in concert.” Fortunately, they were playing ten minutes from our house, and she went online and bought tickets. We sat behind the band … off to the side … and the large letters on the back of Bono’s jacket spelled out SINNER … a reminder that even when the audience is wildly applauding the singer, he knows who he really is.
I will recommend five more albums next time … and would love to hear about your favorites as well!
Share this:
Read Full Post »