This is kind of funny coming from Stephen Colbert who is a practicing Catholic although I suspect with some cafeteria tendencies.
But I can't help but wonder when a comedian mocks the style of music that most of us who are now in our 50's and 60's remember from the good old days of the 1960's and 70's if there is not a correlation between the silliness that this music inspires and the loss of Catholic faith of so many today of my generation and their children who have loss the faith too.
Who would take the Catholic Church seriously with this kind of music that leads to this kind of caricature, funny as it is. Funny is the answer and reverence and funny do not really walk hand in hand.
Now the music isn't that bad if it wasn't in a liturgical setting. In fact I had forgotten the Our Father song that was sung as a popular song on the top 40 charts back in the 1970's. Many were glad to hear a religious song on rock and roll radio stations. But then we started singing it at Mass where the melody just didn't belong. But I haven't heard it in years, but hearing it here brought back a flood of memories both warm hearted and yucky:
4 comments:
"Now the music isn't that bad if it wasn't in a liturgical setting."
Father. It is that bad. It's terrible. Most of this music is performed at a level far below what you get at a coffee house or bar, were people who are terrible have the wits to not ever even attempt to play. I led a worship band and played out for a decade, and turned down many "musicians" in that time. It had to be done.
I can picture (the late) Robin Williams having a field day with the subject.
Along with the gee-tar there is sometimes bass, drums, flutes, horns, chimes. The possibilities are endless.
Walk A Mile In My Shoes - Joe South
Put Your Hand In The Hand - Ocean
Jesus Is Just Alright - Doobie Brothers
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
One the other end of spectrum:
One TIn Soldier - Coven
I guess at one time during the early 70's there was quite the Christian/religious influence in secular music.
I think disco music and the disco culture swept much of that influence away and it never returned.
I'm a big fan of a cartoon called King of the Hill. This makes me think of an episode where the main character, Hank Hill is coping with his son, Bobby, hanging out with some "Contemporary Christians", which includes a Christian Heavy Metal Rock/Rap group. Anyway, Hank is mortified by what he sees and hears and makes this brilliant observation:
"You're not making Christianity better. You're just making rock and roll worse!"
I didn't just hear that music in the 1970's, I heard it last week.
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