There are two secular albums that are changing my attitude in this regard: Radiohead's In Rainbows and The Killers' Sam's Town. (Warning to parents: Sam's Town has some mildly offensive material.) Many of the songs on these albums actuall have no real meaning. Rather, they are trying to convey emotions and situational feelings.
One great example is Radiohead's Wierd Fishes. There's not a real story or a situation. It's more like something we encounter all the time. At the beginning of the song it's like we're following something exciting. Chasing a dream maybe. And the more we go after it, the more exciting it becomes. We chase it faster. Then all of the sudden: we're stranded. And things become very akward and uncertain. You will probably experience the song a little differently. You might think of it as a person rather than a dream. Or a journey. Or you might think of fishes. But chances are that the emotions will be similar.
At the end of Sam's Town is a song called "Exitlude" that starts like this:
Agressively
We all defend the role we play
Regrettably
Times come to send you on your way
We've seen it all
Bonfires of trust
Flash floods of pain
It doesn't really matter
Don't you worry it'll all work out
No, it doesn't even matter
Don't you worry that ain't what it's all about
So... when listening to music... sometimes you need to chill out and just experience it. And for Christian artists... sometimes we need to write a few pieces that convey something of the emotion and maybe a little less logic. Even in a worship piece. Now, that's not to say that we should be cavalier about truth... and allow untrue things into our worship songs. No, instead I'm giving you permission to write worship songs that aren't exactly clear in what they are talking about or what they are getting at. Pieces that are getting at the experience of God and the oly rather than the truth of God.
3 comments:
Thanks for the "permission" lol.
Hmmm... yeah... that didn't come out quite like I intended it. :-) You know what I mean, right? How do you rephrase it?
Hey this has nothing to do with your post but I thought of you when I saw it.
Four Engineers and a Broken Car
There are four engineers travelling in a car; a mechanical engineer, a chemical engineer, an electrical engineer and a computer engineer. The car breaks down. "Sounds to me as if the pistons have seized. We'll have to strip down the engine before we can get the car working again", says the mechanical engineer. "Well", says the chemical engineer, "it sounded to me as if the fuel might be contaminated. I think we should clear out the fuel system." "I thought it might be an grounding problem", says the electrical engineer, "or maybe a faulty plug lead." They all turn to the computer engineer who has said nothing and say: "Well, what do you think?" "Ummm - perhaps if we all get out of the car and get back in again?"
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