Indie Christ

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

Thinking about freakytigger's recent discovery of Sufjan, and how he did not really understand the Jesus stuff, he is English. 80 per cent of Americans are Xian’s, and most suburban indie saddos are as well--Sufjan and the others are an attempt to find the genuine message of Christ, an earnest exploring of tender religious devotion... (And its two days before Christmas, the occasional reminder of why some of us find the holiday important is all right, amongst the Santas and hippos, I figure)

It is hard to explain to Europe, North America's obsession with Jesus. It is even harder to explain the popularity of young and smart creative types wrestling with a neo-orthodox Jacob, parental rebellion and dissatisfaction with the culture only go so far.

I cannot explain it, because I feel so much--and others who have tried, have been bogged down with variations of pop anthropology (the excellent Anne Powers on the alternative worship services at Mars Hill.) But to understand it, is to listen to it--and while I am sure that he has heard the Danielson Familee, and Sufjan, and he has gone into the freak folk missions in the 60s, through Gareth Lee, and I will not inflict praise and worship here, I want him to listen to this.

Page France, I know nothing about, and it is much better then the other update of Chariot symbolism this year (Gretchen Wilson). This song, about the rapture, and about the end of the world, is so tender, hopeful, optimistic, and free of fire and brimstone. It is about what people feel in the heart of hearts, to use a cliché.

In Matthew Christ tells us to go into the closet, and close the door to pray--there is something so hard about this...it is easy to mock lo-fi emo boys with their 4 tracks, singing love songs to girls who will never really love them, imagine finding a girl who will love you forever, all of that trepidation about adolescent desire remains, but their is a surety there too.

MP3: here

Comments

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

i gakked the ysi, could someone help

[boyofbadgers.livejournal.com]

You've left an extra slash on the end. If you click on the little pen icon you should be able to edit the post and remove it.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

who is the mp3 by? I'm going to hate it, aren't I?

[anthonyeaston.livejournal.com]

its indie folk, its jesus stuff, and its by page france.

im pretty much assuming its the anti martin

[sticklebrick.livejournal.com]

I loved reading this

[anatol-merklich.livejournal.com]

Anthony, I'm totally a European atheist-type person etc etc etc, but may whatever powers or Powers that be or alternatively not be to such a fuckingly ridiculous degree bless you.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I thought it was pretty horrible - as you say, very much not me at all.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I've downloaded and will report back after the holidays. Happy Christmas Anthony!