This is a great analysis of the book. I was looking forward to reading it as I grew up on Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill and the Solid Rock gang that were early "Christian rock" musicians. Their music was hugely important to me in my teen years as a Christian and yes, I can still sing almost all the words to all their songs. I agree with a lot of Payne's critiques about the music and was brokenhearted that most of the Christian musicians that followed Norman seemed to swerve towards being a branch of one party and culture. Even as I was reading, I realized I kind of "knew" this but had also kind of ignored it. All this to say that I saw Payne as mostly negative about the industry without acknowledging that the music also had a hugely positive impact on many kids. A mixed blessing for sure and important, once recognized, that we proactively rethink about the music we use for worship.
Thanks so much for reading and supporting my writing Bethany! Your experience of “knowing” this but not articulating it or even ignoring it is true of many people’s experience with this. I get where your coming from with the mostly negative frame that Payne is using, though I don’t think that is a testament to her personal feelings towards much of the industry she still has many friends in. There is a footnote in the introduction that I think is important to understanding her overall approach in this book. She’s essentially arguing that sociologist/philospher Max Weber’s “Protestant Ethic” is deeply entrenched in what is going on in the industry, which is why it feels so negative. I may do another post in the future unpacking that angle and its relationship to Weber, but I’m doing a little more reading in that area first.
This is a great analysis of the book. I was looking forward to reading it as I grew up on Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill and the Solid Rock gang that were early "Christian rock" musicians. Their music was hugely important to me in my teen years as a Christian and yes, I can still sing almost all the words to all their songs. I agree with a lot of Payne's critiques about the music and was brokenhearted that most of the Christian musicians that followed Norman seemed to swerve towards being a branch of one party and culture. Even as I was reading, I realized I kind of "knew" this but had also kind of ignored it. All this to say that I saw Payne as mostly negative about the industry without acknowledging that the music also had a hugely positive impact on many kids. A mixed blessing for sure and important, once recognized, that we proactively rethink about the music we use for worship.
Thanks so much for reading and supporting my writing Bethany! Your experience of “knowing” this but not articulating it or even ignoring it is true of many people’s experience with this. I get where your coming from with the mostly negative frame that Payne is using, though I don’t think that is a testament to her personal feelings towards much of the industry she still has many friends in. There is a footnote in the introduction that I think is important to understanding her overall approach in this book. She’s essentially arguing that sociologist/philospher Max Weber’s “Protestant Ethic” is deeply entrenched in what is going on in the industry, which is why it feels so negative. I may do another post in the future unpacking that angle and its relationship to Weber, but I’m doing a little more reading in that area first.