Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

In after Baud. Damn.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

The revolution will be supervised.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The National Guard is not Batman.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

When I was faster i was always behind.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

You are here: Home / Politics / Religion / I like the Christian life

I like the Christian life

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I had a long talk with a former Methodist minister last night at a wedding that I attended. His family had been heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement, and he had followed in his father’s footsteps as a socially conscious minister before ceasing his preaching after the church began, in his words, to tilt right, to force ministers to sign pledges, and to emphasize scriptural literalism (as opposed to a more enlightened, educated approach to scripture).

He seemed quite sad about it. I feel the same way sometimes about the Catholic Church. Although I’m agnostic, I vastly prefer a fiery “you’re going to hell if you don’t commit to social justice” form of liberalism to the calm “my conservative colleague has a good point blah blah blah” style of neoliberalism that is in fashion today among many serious people.

Anyway, sometimes on Sunday mornings I feel bad that I don’t go to church anymore, so I thought I’d start doing religious music on Sundays. I mean gospel music and that sort of thing, not the Bach stuff that all you totebaggers love. Any good recommendations? A friend has me listening to Sister Rosetta Tharpe these days.

Reader Interactions

114Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh35

    You can never go wrong with some Mahalia Jackson if you’re into classice Black gospel.

    If your into white evangelical gospel music, then I’m stumped.

    If your into a more modern take on gospel (with more R&B/hip hop twist) you should check out Mary Mary.

    And of course you can’t go wrong with modern gospel artist like Yolanda Adams

    I’m at work though, so I can’t link to all the videos, but someone else surely can.

    Oh and Whitney Houston’s “Preaher’s Wife” soundtrack has a good bit of gospel music where she sings with Shirley Ceasar and some big AA church choirs.

  3. 3.

    Mark S.

    sometimes on Sunday mornings I feel bad that I don’t go to church anymore

    I don’t. Though I am a tad curious because I’ve heard Pope Benny has changed the Mass a bit.

    But not curious enough to go.

  5. 5.

    Santa Fe

    If you want to sample some seriously old school Christian music, dip in to the Orthodox Christian music offerings streaming from Ancient Faith Radio.

    ancientfaith.com/

    The Orthodox do know how to chant.

  6. 6.

    Fluke bucket

    Maybe this will help smooth over the rough patches caused by the Sunday morning dick pictures.

  7. 7.

    Aaron Cohen

    I’d definitely recommend The Caravans, Clara Ward, Marion Williams, and a new compilation of Chicago’s finest: The Gay Family, “God Will Take Care Of You.” I also recommend a recent book on Aretha Franklin’s “Amazing Grace” album (full disclosure: I wrote it).

  9. 9.

    MikeJ

    Al Green. Let’s Stay Together.

    Used to go to his church every now and then when I lived in Memphis.

  10. 10.

    ColleenMary

    Tom Conry–his CD “The Fire Within the Night” is one of my favorites. Also Bernadette Farrell–her “God Beyond All Names” is quite wonderful. And check out the Iona Community–they put out some very neat peace-and-justice music, much of it drawn from around the world, lots of African and South American stuff. VERY cool.

  12. 12.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    @Santa Fe:
    The Orthodox are no better than the RCs at being reactionary with regards to social issues. Just prettier with incense and icons.

  15. 15.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    Seriously, why not Bach or Palestrina? Its like you’re trying too hard to align your personal tastes with your political views. Lots of non totebaggers who’ve never heard of David Brooks like “traditional” classical/religious music.

  16. 16.

    mij

    hey. in addition to Mahalia, try sam cooke & the soul stirrers or cece winans/donnie mcclurkin for more recent stuff.

  19. 19.

    karl

    “not the Bach stuff that all you totebaggers love” — F&@# you, A$$#@&%!!!

    That said, the Five Blind Boys are excellent (Mississippi or Alabama, it doesn’t matter, as long as they are blind and there are five of them) the older the recording, the better. Also (not too), the Soul Stirrers with R.H. Harris singing (pre-Sam Cooke) and the Jubilee Golden Gate Quartet.

    These are pretty basic offerings, you may want to find some old live concert or compilation albums to get a sense of different performers and styles.

    Good luck you Bach-hating bastard. I hate you but I forgive you.

  24. 24.

    danielx

    I’ll Fly Away…as recorded on Mahoney’s Last Stand by Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood. A capella.

  26. 26.

    Jewish Steel

    1) I don’t think you are using neoliberal correctly here.

    2) Bach sails over the heads of totebaggers. I think they’re more into Diana Krall or similar ear slurry.

    3) Not that you deserve it for dissing my man JS, but here is the second best Sea Walking Jesus by Skip James. Folks should seek out the Arhoolie Hear Me Howling version if their interest is piqued. It’s transcendent. You xtians like transcendent, right?

  27. 27.

    Eileen

    For an introduction to classic gospel music, including Sister Rosetta Tharpe, there’s a Thursday night gospel show on wfmu.org called “Sinner’s Crossroads” (also available as a podcast). There’s also a great box set that came out in 2003 called “Goodbye, Babylon.”

  29. 29.

    divF

    Linda Tillery. Some of the songs she has recorded with the Cultural Heritage Choir are traditional African-American gospel.

  33. 33.

    Schlemizel

    I grew up in that same socially conscious Methodist environment. The Rev that confirmed me was arrested with Dr. King shortly after my confirmation. That caused a rift in the church between the socially aware & the ‘old guard’. It cost him is job.

    I ran into the same thing later when I tried to bring my family up in the church (more for a societal standard than a deep belief). There was a huge effort to distort the bible so as to exclude gays. This was when I really learned how much the wingnuts hate that I knew more about the bible than they did & it was not good news for them.

    Still, its growth from the days when Mark Twain labeled the Methodist church as “the secular arm of the KKK”

  36. 36.

    Schlemizel

    BTW – if you find yourself near Minneapolis on a Sunday Please do yourself a favor and have breakfast at Hells Kitchen. Not only do they have live gospel music (usually Blues on Saturday if thats more to your taste) but the food is out of this world.

    Try the Mahnomen porridge or the bread pudding and get a side of the Buffalo sausage bread. You’ll scarcely be able to walk (particularly if you try to eat the very rich bread pudding) but you will be satisfied and hear some great singing.

  38. 38.

    red dog

    Just listen to the soundtrack of “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” if you want to hear some the “Old Time Religion” music.I’m an athiest and yet enjoy this very much, particularly “Down By the River”

  39. 39.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Metrosexual Manichean Monster DougJ:

    HA! I never thought of it- by the time I started listening to Willie, Peace Is Flowing Like a River had been erased from by mind. But now that you mention it…They are very similar.

    So did you have Father Bill, too, the younger priest who gathered all the kids up to the altar during the sermon?

  40. 40.

    Heliopause

    Any good recommendations?

    Yes. If you’re shutting out Bach because of some imagined socio-political association you are cheating yourself.

  43. 43.

    Nina-the-first

    Sorry about the links mess in #30: A closer walk with thee–
    The first is from Coolhand Luke and the second is the full version by Mahalia Jackson.

  46. 46.

    BGinCHI

    Great post title. I can’t get the Gram Parson vocals from that song out of my head now.

    Such a great song, and if you don’t own Sweetheart of the Rodeo shame on you.

    Louvin Bros original is great too, and they have some cool gospel bluegrass.

  49. 49.

    lamh35

    The father of the late Ambassador Chris Stevens pleads for his son’s death not to be exploited as part of the presidential campaign.

    From Bloomberg …
    “The father of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya who was killed in the attack in Benghazi last month, said his son’s death shouldn’t be politicized in the presidential campaign.“It would really be abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue,” Jan Stevens, 77, said in a telephone interview from his home in Loomis, California, as he prepares for a memorial service for his son next week.
    Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, has criticized President Barack Obama for not providing adequate security in Libya, saying the administration has left the country exposed to a deadly terrorist attack.”

  50. 50.

    BonnyAnne

    after joining the Catholic church rather spontaneously in my first year of college, I stopped attending it (or any other church) for years and years because what I heard and saw made me too angry. Just in the past month, I’ve discovered my local ‘anglo-catholic’ church — a combination of smells-and-bells Catholic liturgy and music with an Episcopalian mindset. Beautiful chanting, choir, and organ music, and weekly reminders from the married, female head priest (“Mother Margaret”) that the church supports WA state’s gay marriage referendum.

    I can’t believe I’m going to church again — hell, I’m going in an hour and I’m looking forward to it — but it seems to be working so far, so I’m running with it out of curiosity as much a anything else.

  51. 51.

    Kay Eye

    Iris DeMent’s “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” True Grit soundtrack, youtube.com/watch?v=anhPfU3WGXk; and “Let the Mystery Be,”her great sorting-out of her fundamentalist evangelical childhood; and “Mama’s Opry,” which explores the profound influence of that gospel music upon her life. Any Iris DeMent gospel song reaches beyond a literal meaning of the lyrics in a deeply human longing for that ineffable need for solace.
    You take your comfort where you can.

  53. 53.

    Amanda in the South Bay

    What Doug is doing is no different than what conservatives do
    When they interject politics into discussions of art. Like conservatives ascribing Catholicism into Tolkien, National Review’s list of the top conservative movies, etc. Or the conservative fetish for Mad Men.And it also sets up the hierarchy of “true progressive who cares about social justice listens to folksy gospel.”

  56. 56.

    Bruce S

    Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Gospel Harmonettes are about as powerful as classic gospel gets. Also close to MLK and the southern civil rights movement. Specialty Records was the essential label. A major influence on Little Richard – and her gospel songs – 99&1/2 Won/t Do, You Can’t Hurry God (Love), and That’s Enough were re-done as secular songs by Wilson Pickett, The Supremes and Ray Charles respectively.

    youtube.com/watch?v=7emqvkt0T-Y

  58. 58.

    TOP123

    Billy Bragg & Wilco’s Woody Guthrie tunes had a couple, and the line “Jesus Christ for President” seems appropriate to this discussion…

  65. 65.

    Johannes

    As a progressive Episcopalian, I do social justice, but not gospel music. (i leave that to la Caterina, who has a southern background.) No love for Benjamin Britten? Try “Rejoice In the Lamb.” Good for what ails you, and pro-cat, too.

  66. 66.

    forked tongue

    I would suggest instead that you stop feeling bad about not believing in invisible superheroes who live in outer space, and personally, no matter how good the music is, gospel just pisses me off and makes me sad–not because I don’t believe, but because so many good people have put so much energy into a mass delusion. Yes, a lot of the music is good, but there’s always other also-good music to listen to.

  70. 70.

    forked tongue

    All due respect to Woody Guthrie, but Jesus wasn’t all that, actually. What he said that was good was not unique to him, and what he said that was unique to him was not good.

    I like taking rich people down a peg too, but it must be admitted that “Sell all that thou hast and give it to the poor” is a lot easier to say when you believe the end of the world is around the corner. And the “Unless you believe in me, you’re going to hell” stuff was Not Edifying.

  73. 73.

    forked tongue

    Yeah, that “Christian Life” song is great. You won’t lose a friend by heeding God’s call, because what is a friend who’d want you to fall?

    Similarly, you won’t lose a real friend by heeding L. Ron Hubbard’s call… Reverend Moon’s call… Charlie Manson’s call… etc., etc.

  80. 80.

    I_D_Inuse

    MMMDougJ,

    As a long time Catholic, married only because I joined the church, and a believer in the value of Religion as an evolutionary necessity, I am here to say you cannot be a Catholic without being an agnostic…ask the Jesuits, Zen Buddhists, Episcopalians,Sufi’s on and on as we catalog the world history of religion.

    Arlen Specter just died so I am going take a moment to reflect on a man who tried to keep his country from extremes, was he right, I do not know but he did what he thought right for his country,wrong he may be but he tried, which is more than most opportunistic politicians do.

    May he rest in peace.

  83. 83.

    Spike

    I’m a hardshell atheist, but I’ll happily pile onto the “I’ll Fly Away” bandwagon with this rendition by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band, performed live on David Letterman’s show:

    I’ll Fly Away

  85. 85.

    burnspbesq

    Even in the 20th Century, the best choral music was sacred.

    Check out the Poulenc Gloria, the Penderecki St. Luke Passion, the Golijov St. Mark Passion, and the Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms.

    Here’s a taste of the Poulenc. Not my favorite recording of it, but still good.

    youtube.com/watch?v=K2S5BguaZCA&feature=relmfu

  86. 86.

    hilzoy

    (1) Aretha. In addition to (possibly in preference to) ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism’ has some absolutely killer versions of wonderful gospel songs: ‘Packing Up, Getting Ready to Go’ is just amazing. Also, backup (??!!) by Mavis Staples and Aretha’s sisters.

    (2) Staple Singers. Freedom Highway, and Glory! It’s the Staple Singers!

    Lots and lots of other good ones. Clara Ward, for instance.

  88. 88.

    hilzoy

    Aha! Youtube of Aretha, “Packing Up”: youtube.com/watch?v=mlwL3CjeJdw&feature=relmfu

    On that page, there are links to a lot of the rest of the album. ‘Surely God is able’ and ‘Jesus hears every prayer’ are excellent.

    Staple Singers are less well-represented on Youtube. (Their gospel, at any rate; there are apparently infinitely many versions of ‘I’ll take you there’.) If you like gospel with beat: youtube.com/watch?v=G7hrruXF7K8

    If you like rawer, older gospel: youtube.com/watch?v=qhtgZKC9tts

    In neither case are these the best off the albums, but they’ll do in a pinch. ;)

  92. 92.

    Another Halocene Human

    Steeplejacking. It was all planned. It didn’t just happen. And they’ve destroyed the church in the process. Young people are turning away not just from organized religion but from Christianity itself in droves.

  93. 93.

    Another Halocene Human

    Steeplejacking. It was all planned. It didn’t just happen. And they’ve destroyed the church in the process. Young people are turning away not just from organized religion but from Christianity itself in droves.

  96. 96.

    eemom

    Farther along. Heard a cool a cappella version of this recently on XM which I haven’t been able to find, but this one is a trio of Dolly, Emmylou and Linda, and you can’t really go wrong with them.

    Lyrics most a propos for teh politics. “then do we wonder why others prosper, living so wicked year after year.”

  97. 97.

    forked tongue

    @eemom: Yes, that song is totally politically right on, if you think the answer is to wait until you pass the heavenly gate and see your dear loving savior.

  99. 99.

    East Coaster

    The group Sam Cooke sang with was The Soul Stirrers – excellent. I also highly recommend the Might Clouds of Joy – Joe Ligon is an amazing and far too unrecognized singer. If you want interesting white gospel (and are properly repelled by the Bill Gaither enterprise), look for the Cox Family, especially their releases with Alison Krause. And if you actually miss good preaching, I’d start with Rev. C. L. Franklin (Aretha’s father), especially his The Eagle Stirs Her Nest.

  106. 106.

    Patricia Kayden

    I see others have recommended Mahalia Jackson. “Move On Up A Little Higher” is one of my favorite Gospel songs. And you can’t go wrong with Rev. James Cleveland’s “God Is” or “Peace Be Still”.

    For more contemporary Gospel singers, try Yolanda Adams or Oleta Adams.

  107. 107.

    Bruce S

    @karl:

    Saw R.H. Harris sing with an original Soul Stirrers reunion (filmed for a documentary by Bruce Conner but never finished or released in any form unfortunately) about 25 years ago, and not to take anything from Sam Cooke who is my favorite male vocalist, but it was obvious that Cooke had learned most of his chops from Harris. It was kind of eery, but amazing to see the old master.

  109. 109.

    Svensker

    Late late to the party but:

    Staple Singers. And Mavis Staples singing Hard Times Come Again No More. Absolute chills.

    I recently discovered Lining Out Psalm Singing. Primitive Baptists doing it.

    And here are the Scots Gaels doing it.

    Absolutely haunting stuff.

  111. 111.

    Forked Tongue

    @eemom:

    No, I’m not dumb about it, I just despise it, that’s all.

    Seriously, I am pretty dumbfounded that I seem to be the only one who finds singing the praises of Jeezus quite revolting, no matter how soulfully one does it.

  112. 112.

    forked tongue

    @eemom: Hey by the way, dumbass, I wasn’t the one who extolled the political relevance of a taken-from-context line of a song the punchline of which is that injustices may never be corrected in this life but at least in the next one it’ll all be clear. You enjoy songs like this, fine, just don’t pretend that only dumbasses take issue with them.

  114. 114.

    maurinsky

    Gospel music is great, but I can’t believe you dissed Bach like that!

    Nice to see the mention of Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb. I am a paid singer in a Catholic Church even though I long ago left the church as a participating member, this is one of my favorites to sing.

    Just this week, we sang Vaughan William’s “Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Refuge”, which is also fantastic to sing, so exciting.

    We will be singing a gorgeous arrangement of “How Can I Keep From Singing” which is probably my favorite hymn ever, in a couple of weeks (arr. by Edward Tyler).

    Other favorites: Bainton’s “And I Saw A New Heaven”; Gawthrop’s “Sing Me To Heaven”; “O Magnum Mysterium” by either de Victoria or Lauridsen, and pretty much anything for the organ by Herbert Howells or Olivier Messiaen.

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