Gods and Guitars

Michael J. Gilmour is the author of Call Me the Seeker: Listening to Religion in Popular Music and Tangled Up in the Bible: Bob Dylan and Scripture. He lives in Manitoba, Canada, where he serves on the faculty of Providence College.

Introduction: Spirituality in Post-1960s Lyrics Track 1: Religion on Record: Popular Music's Anxiety of Influence Track 2: Church in a Guitar Case: Comfort and Compassion in Popular Music Track 3: Outrageous Religion: Sex, Defiance, and Obsession with the Sacred Track 4: Looking Beyond the Steeple and Menorah Track 5: Fade Out: Stealing from the Sacred and Rewriting Religion

"With analysis that throbs with rhythm and passion, Gilmour demonstrates why rock 'n' roll is the sacred text of postmodern spirituality." --Stephen H. Webb, Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Wabash College "A fascinating caress and collision of rock music and Scriptures that displays a huge library of theological and art wisdom." --Steve Stockman, author of, Walk On: The Spiritual Journey Of U2 and The Rock Cries Out: Discovering Eternal Truth in Unlikely Music What do Salman Rushdie and literary criticism have to do with rock music? For Gilmour (Call Me the Seeker: Listening to Religion in Popular Music), these things are very much related. The author believes that song lyrics can sometimes stand on their own apart from music, and moreover, they can reveal something about an artist's religious and spiritual views. This may not appear at first to be an enlightened perspective, but the author's artful use of Rushdie's fiction clearly shows how it is possible. The usual suspects in the religion and rock conversation (U2, Springsteen) are not as prominent, leaving room for more obscure but equally vital musicians like Daniel Lanois and Burton Cummings. Especially constructive is the chapter "Outrageous Religion," about the influence of sexuality and the occult on some styles of rock music, such as heavy metal. The author also ventures into Hindu and Muslim influences on rock music, a foray that few scholars have attempted. His treatment enriches the dialogue between religion and rock well beyond the usual Judeo-Christian interpretations. Tune in, read on and enjoy. -- Publishers Weekly, 2009