What CD's Are you Playing Right Now? Top 5

[Rick and Roll]

Originally Posted by Michael Rawdon

I don't object to it, but music with lyrics coming from a substantially different worldview from mine can obstruct my enjoyment of the whole package.

I do own some Christian music. I enjoy Iona, for instance, and heck, I even own an Amy Grant album! (Lead Me On, if you're curious. It fits right in with Clannad's Sirius, Bruce Hornsby's early stuff, Don Henley's solo work, and other late-80s semi-folky AOR, which I have a bizarre weakness for.)

Morse's compositions had put the lyrics in a much more central position on his last two Spock's Beard albums, so if he continued that trend but went lyrically in a direction I couldn't relate to, I'm not sure I'd enjoy them. But I'll probably give them a try sometime.

I just don't get it, maybe I'm just heartless. When Ozzy sings "Would you like to see the pope at the end of a rope, do you think he's a fool" in Sabbath's "After Forever", he's not advocating anything. He's stating one view. If anything, it's a pro-religion song. I didn't realize this until much later, but it had zero effect on my enjoyment of the song.

When I saw Salem Hill in October and they did "The Future Me", I almost was lifted off the floor. It didn't matter what the words were, they could have said "seven virgins lick my toenails" and it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference. I get most lyrics wrong on the first listen anyway.

Sonus Umbra has a 180 degree view on religion than Neal Morse. In fact, "Snakes and Ladders" on Spiritual Vertigo is "dedicated" to him. I like both artists. Personally, I don't care for either view, but I respect it. Mostly I ignore it.

A lot of times I will play a CD like the first Rage Against The Machine or the Smithereens 11. Lyrically, they coulndn't be more polarized. Musically, they both hit me just right.

Although Hornsby played with the Dead (sorry that didn't sound right ) and did a cut with Don Henley, his music is a thousand times more interesting.

I didn't know Iona was Christian music. I thought it was music that had some Christian lyrics in it. Moses played me a cut by the guitarist from Iona when I visited him, I said "this sounds like "Iona" because it was musically similar.

Orphan Project, a local band, is very much into Christianity. But everytime I get a chance I'll see them. They don't expect me at the next service, and I don't expect them to be something they're not. In fact, I think young people like them should be applauded, not pigeon holed.

The reason I personally don't like Snow is because I thought Neal ran out of music ideas within Spock's Beard. There's some Nick stuff that just bores me, and the repetitive musical themes didn't excite me. I mean, what does Ryo's solo have to do with "Wind At My Back"? However, I'm very happy someone like sharc loves it. I do own Snow. Maybe I'll listen to it again.

Oh well I do this when I'm tired. Goodnight.....