Songs of Inspir--... Songs that Rock - Mortal

In 1993, a group named Mortal released their sophomore project, Fathom. At the time, there was a term used with Christian audiences which went something like "If you like (enter secular band name here), then you'll like (enter Christian band name here)". These guys were compared to Nine Inch Nails. I felt they transcended anything NIN had done with this album.

It's difficult to pick one song from this project, because I could pop in the CD and listen to the whole thing, including the cool and hilarious bonus track. You could tell they poured everything they had into this album, even in the cryptic messages written into the cover art. They did not want to be compared with a secular band (comparisons were drawn to Skinny Puppy because of 1 song on their first album).

One song off the album that hits you in the gut is Rift, which deals with sexual abuse. How do you explain to a victim that they are loved by God? How does a person recover after such a life-altering experience? The song had a haunting feeling to it, and was hard and beautiful all at once:

You say you'll lift me up
you say you'll cover me
you say you'll fill my cup
before it empties
you say you're never far
you say not far from me
you say that where you are i'll
always be
and i believe you
you say that when you love
you love with all your might
you say you trust by faith and
not by sight
and i believe...you
i believe you, i believed you
you said you'd lift me up
you said you'd cover me
you said you'd nurse my cuts
you stare and watch me bleed
your eyes have seen The Glory
but your body's on hold
your lips have kissed The
Story
but your story's leaving me
cold
sometimes our lives depend
on that which we place faith in
and sometimes faith relies
in Whom we are depending
sometimes our broken hearts
are healed the moment we
Believe Again

I always felt that Mortal was one of those groups that, had they not been on a Christian label, would have drawn the attention of the industrial and hard music world at the time.

Inspirational Song #5 - not so inspirational

I'm posting faster than usual because I have songs playing on my PC as I work. This one just played a few minutes ago.


Mike Roe, independent artist and front man for the aforementioned The 77's, came out with the Safe As Milk album in 2000. I don't know much about Mike Roe, but if his lyrics say anything about the man, he has deep-seeded struggles, inner turmoil, confusion, and intermittent pain... actually, that sounds a lot like me.

I first heard It's For You on a live album, then picked up the "uncurdled" version (as he calls it). Even though this song came out in 2000, it still falls in category of the brutally honest songs released from mid-80's to mid-90's. For obvious reasons, this "uncurdled" version didn't make it to Christian bookstore shelves.

It's For You

it's a fishbowl fry
it's small potatoes
its some tough tomatoes
when the shit hits the fan
from the fire to the frying pan

so go on, stake a claim
but the lease is a little lame
'cuz the land is a little locked
to any borders or boundaries
it'll leave you in a quandary...

it's a wake-up call
'cuz the thrill of it all
isn't worth the punch
drunken binges only blow your lunch

yes you shot your wad
when you named yourself "God"
but your nickname is "chump"
blowing chunks out your mouth
wisdom out your rump

it's a belching gas
it's a treacherous trip
on a mountainous pass
it's a warning
it's a block
you're the cock 'o th' walk
but you can't walk your talk

it's for you and you and you

it's a freeze-frame still
full of whiskey and bitter pills
it's a catwalk crawl
through one barroom brawl after another
(it's a mother)
so don't look down
'cuz you won't like the drop
it's fun while you're flying
but it's bad when you're lying there
bleeding and dying

it's for you and you and you

it's a bath of sin
with no way to clean up
and no way to win
it's a hardened heart
that attacks when it stops
and you can't make it start again

yes, you're laboring under the law
with all of your foibles
and all of your flaws
you can cut 'em all loose
and save yourself from the hangman
there's no need to be damned
but do you give a dang, man?

whether fortune and fame
or rank poverty
we all rank just the same
'cuz every knee has to bow
to some god of some kind
which one will you choose now?

is it you and you and you?

Once you get past the realization that yes, in thought or in print, Christians do say 1 or all of the 5 words you can't say on television, and look deeper into the song, you will note that the last verse sums up the song nicely, and is a reference to Phillipians 2:10,"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,".

Song of Inspiration #4 - Strong Hand of Love

The late Mark Heard wrote the song, Strong Hand of Love. It was recorded by Daniel Amos, and later covered on a tribute album by Bruce Cockburn:

Down peppers the rain from a clear blue sky
Down trickles a tear on a youthful face
Feeling in haste and wondering why

Up struggles the sun from a wounded night
Out venture our hearts from their silent shrouds
Trying to ignite but wondering how

We can laugh and we can cry
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows
We can dance and we can sigh
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows

Young dreamers explode like popped balloons
Some kind of emotional rodeo
Learning too slow and acting too soon

Time marches away like a lost platoon
We gracefully age as we feel the weight
Of loving too late and leaving too soon

We can laugh and we can cry
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows
We can dance and we can sigh
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows

This song is so poetic, you can hear it over and over again and capture something new each time. The funny thing is, as with most of the songs you will see on my list, it never got any air-play on Christian radio (at least in South Florida).

One interesting piece of information; Bruce Cockburn is said to have frequently called Mark Heard his favorite song-writer. Bruce Cockburn has in turn been lauded by Bono, and had some of his songs performed on stage by U2.

If you would like to add Mark Heard to your collection, check out pastemusic.com.

Song of Inspiration 3

Okay, this looks like its turning into a top 10 type list of great rock songs by Christian artists. But why not? It's good mindless fun (for me anyway).

Why spend time on this list? In the sea of mass marketed mediocrity, it is good to know that there actually are artists in the Christian music scene, who write songs from the heart expressed honestly and with passion.

("Pray Naked" Album cover - note, the 3 naked guys are NOT the 77's. Also, you think a "Christian" rock group could get away with this today?)

The 77's were a rock band out of California. If you want their discography or more info on the band, just Google them and you'll find them. All I have to say about them is that they were one of my favorite bands. The first album I picked up was "Drowning With Land In Sight", which had the best cover of Zeppelin's Nobody's Fault But Mine I've heard to date.

The song I picked for this blog is "The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes, and The Pride of Life". This song beautifully portrays the pull of the world on man. It's not only a great song lyrically, but has a very catchy guitar hook throughout.

Well, I feel
Like I have to feel
Something good all of the time
With most of life I cannot deal
But a good feeling I can feel
Even though it may not be real
And if a person, place or thing can deliver
I will quiver with delight
But will it last me for all my life
Or just one more lonely night

Chorus
The lust, the flesh
The eyes
And the pride of life
Drain the life
Right out of me

Well, I see something and I want it
Bam! Right now!
No questions asked
Don't worry how much it costs me now or later
I want it and I want it fast
I'll go to any length
Sacrifice all that I already have
And all that I might get
Just to get
Something more that I don't need
And Lord, please don't ask me what for

Chorus

And I love when folks
Look right at me
And what I'm doing
Or have done
And lay it on about
How groovy I am
And that I'm looking grand
And every single word
Makes me think I'll live forever
Never knowing that they probably
Won't remember what they said tomorrow
Tomorrow I could be dead

Chorus

Songs of Inspiration - Hide The Beer

This song, released in 1989, isn't really inspirational. But it's a good example of what Christian musicians used to get away with. It's fun, and my favorite song from the Swirling Eddies. Notice the brutal truth hidden in this campy song.

Hide the Beer the Pastor's Here!

the straw runs down his arm and leg
under the carpet out to the keg
a secret party tonight at Point Loma

and the hate in your heart you're hiding well
but the booze on your breath is easy to smell
there's a six-pack to hide
on the Oral U side
let's drive to oklahoma

hide the beer, the pastor's here
hide the beer, think of your career
he might find out that we're human beins'
and bring us all down to the rack and the ruin

she had a beer as an evening snack
when the 'scripture man' planned a sneak attack
suspension's the buzz out at Wheaton
as she packed her bags and gathered her books
'scripture man' gave her that lustful look
yes lust is his brew but no one sees through
his minty fresh breath ain't reekin'

when the coast is clear, you can kiss me, dear
together we'll have hell to pay
so wear a beard, the pastor's here
put the "R" rated movie away

yeah, hide the beer, the pastor's here
hide the beer, think of your career
he might find out that we're human beins'
and bring us all down to the rack and the ruin

hide the beer (biola!)
hide the beer (bethel!)
wear a beard (west mont!)
hide the beer (calvin college!)
hide the beer (azusa pacific!)
hide the beer (liberty baptist!)
hide the beer (san jose bible college!)
hide the beer (bob jones!)
hide the beer (taylor u!)
hide the beer (california baptist!)
hide the beer (gordon college!)
hide the beer (calvin klein!)
hide the beer!

george fox, moody bible institute,
seattle pacific, baylor, smu, pacific christian,
jimmy swaggart u, john brown,
anderson, eastern mennonite, fort wayne bible,
grand rapids baptist, greenville, grove city, nyack,
travecca nazarine, multnoma school of the bible,
inland empire school of the bible, philadelphia college of the bible,
whitworth spring arbor,
and south & north western. . .
northwestern!

I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good!, and other songs of inspiration

Okay, so I've read and heard over the years about how badly music labeled as "Christian Rock" sucks. From "God Is Doing a Nu Thang!" (emphasis on the Thang) by DC Talk, to Stryper (and whatever songs they sang that people liked... I wasn't one of them), we've heard the vile criticisms. The latest great criticism came from South Park, the episode where Cartman decides to form a Christian band called "Faith Plus One". His secret? He takes songs from popular secular songs, and just switches some words of affection for more spiritual word (i.e. - Jesus for love).

However, rather than sit here and high-brow my way through yet another critique about how Christian rock is a business, and it's all bad copies of secular music (can you say Barlow Girls ala Evanescence?), and they're all in it for the money -- by the way, YES all of these criticisms are true -- I decided to highlight some songs that stood out in a time when Christian Rock was considered, well... just too gosh darn stinkin' controversial.

It is my opinion that the best era in Christian rock lasted from the mid' 1980's to the mid' 1990's. Back then, Christian rock music performers were on the fringe of both the secular world and the Christian music world. In other words, they were not widely listened to and were, for the most part, forced to seek distribution through independent labels. The result? The kind of freedom allowed to many indie artists to express themselves without the restraints usually placed on artists on major labels to fit the Jesus mold. The music was fresh and creative, and the lyrics had a depth and honesty that sometimes made the listener feel uncomfortable.

Over the next few blogs, I want to highlight some of the great songs, and their lyrics, that came out during that golden age of Christian rock.

The first song I picked was written by Steve Taylor, from his album "I Predict 1990". The song was later covered by rock duo Flemming and John, which was the first time I heard (their version is actually better, but props to Steve for birthing the song). The song was inspired by Flannery O'Connor. The original recording was done in London with a chamber orchestra.

Harder To Believe Than Not To

Nothing is colder than the winds of change
where the chill numbs the dreamer till a shadow remains
among the ruins lies your tortured soul
was it lost there
or did your will surrender control?

Shivering with doubts that were left unattended
so you toss away the cloak that you should have mended
don't you know by now why the chosen are few?
it's harder to believe than not to
harder to believe than not to

It was a confidence that got you by
when you know you believed it, but you didn't know why
no one imagines it will come to this
but it gets so hard when people don't want to listen

Shivering with doubts that you left unattended
so you toss away the cloak that you should have mended
don't you know by now why the chosen are few?
it's harder to believe than not to

Some stay paralyzed until they succomb
others do what they feel, but their senses are numb
some get trampled by the pious throng
still they limp along

Are you sturdy enough to move to the front?
is it nods of approval or the truth that you want?
and if they call it a crutch, then you walk with pride
your accusers have always been afraid to go outside

They shiver with doubts that were left unattended
then they toss away the cloak that they should have mended
you know by now why the chosen are few
it's harder to believe than not to...

I believe