Listening to you (I get the music)

Well, I already admitted to having my own sacred cows, so I thought I might as well confess one that has been big in my life. Music. "My only friend through teenage nights." (Okay, Queen was talking about radio specifically, but back then I figured radio *had* had its finest hour, and mix tapes were the way to go.)

I was raised on the arena rock of the early 70s and early 80s, with my tastes leaning decidedly toward progressive sounds, thanks to Rush's "Tom Sawyer." (Well, technically I was raised on the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack by my parents, but I say it doesn't count until I started doing the picking). Through the rest of the 80s, I glommed onto Heavy Metal and Alternative with equal glee, then was enchanted when Grunge seemed to meld the two in the early 90s. My fascination wore off quickly, though, as Alternative music crushed the emerging Blues Metal scene I loved and became the behemoth genre I still like to refer to as "No-Alternative." In frustration, I flirted briefly with Brit Pop, then met Jesus and threw myself into CCM.

The mid-90's were sort of my years of walking in the musical wilderness. There were times when I felt led by the Holy Spirit to give up secular music entirely. What I had been listening to just felt antagonistic to everything I was trying to learn about my new faith. I listened to bands like King's X and The Ocean Blue, whose music had overtones of faith, as well as The 77s, the black sheep of CCM. But mostly I tried very hard to like bands like The Newsboys, D.C. Talk and Jars of Clay. Meanwhile, I took vacations away from my beloved blues metal bands, and sometimes turned the stereo off entirely, so I could listen to God better. Now I know that what I was going through was a season of fasting.

After growing in my faith and listening to different perspectives, I became convinced that I had the freedom to listen to secular music -- but that music in general resonated with me so much, that I had turned it into an idol at times in my life. I resolved to enjoy music thenceforth with gratitude, thanking God for the gift but recognizing it as a created thing.

The late 90s influx of indie (and quasi-indie) bands helped me fall in love with music all over again. Plankeye is about the best-known band I love from that period. When I first heard Dumpster's "See Through Me," I didn't think much about it... but then I listened to it with headphones. Oh. My. From then on, I didn't see any point in listening to music I couldn't absolutely freakin' love. Next came Dear Ephesus, and then the musical love of my life, Puller. (*NOT* to be confused with Pillar. Don't you dare.) What the heck is post-hardcore? I have no idea, but I have heard the term used to describe Puller. Lush lo-fi. Garage rock sounds, used to atmospheric effect. Yep, I like it. And when interesting music is combined with powerful, authentic lyrics about the not-always-pretty life of following Jesus... wow. Just wow.

Of course, all my favorite bands broke up in the early 2000s. But that's okay. Interesting bands keep on coming out. Mew and Death Cab for Cutie are simply amazing. And now Pandora helps me find new favorites all the time. Maybe a form of radio *has* yet to have its finest hour.

All this, not to say that sacredcowtipper consistently displays the musical taste of teenage boys through the decades, but that music gives human beings a chance to revel in the creativity God gave us as His image-bearers. And as one who is definitely more a reveler than a creator in this particular art form, I'm off to compose a Top Albums of All Time list...

Love,
sacredcowtipper