World Gone Cold Shines a Bit of Light: Self-Titled EP Review
World Gone Cold seeks to “warm the blood and soothe the soul” in light of society’s isolation and chilly feeling.
On the Importance of Sad Christmas Songs
Many of our most beloved secular and sacred carols have sorrowful connotations intrinsically wrapped up inside them.
What Keeps Us Up at Midnight
Taylor Swift’s latest album accurately shows we are not the sole culprit for our sleeplessness.
Why Kanye’s “White Lives Matter” Provocation Is Wrong
Messages need to deal in facts and the consequences of history—two things Ye is willfully and utterly unconcerned about.
Nothing but the Truth: The Enduring Appeal of Loretta Lynn
Instinctively, Loretta Lynn seemed to sense that music goes even deeper than hopes and dreams and ideals.
Finding Treasure in a Broken Land: America’s Best Songwriter, Thirty Years On
An antidote to both hopeless secularism and blind, unreflective faith, Mark Heard’s songs grab listeners by the lapels and shake them awake.
“It’s an Old Song, and We’re Gonna Sing It Again”: Hadestown, Sir Orfeo, and Music for the End of Time
There is indeed an affinity to the classical pagan tale in Hadestown, one that tells us much about our own day—especially when compared to the medieval poem Sir Orfeo.
When Violence Is Not the Answer but Certainly the Question: Bruce Cockburn’s “If I Had a Rocket Launcher”
The question of the dissemination of dangerous ideas through art is always a contentious one.
Does Evil Have a Sound? Reflections on Vecna’s Playlist, Black Metal & the Banality of Evil
Is Vecna’s evil really exemplified best by the tumultuous sounds of black metal artists like Darkthrone and Mayhem?
“Hold Me Jesus ’Cause I’m Shaking Like A Leaf”: Anxiety and the Eucharist
I wish I could say that Christians are exempt from the effects of fear, but to say so would be a lie.
That Melody above the Herd: Pilgrims, Punk Rock, and Love in U2’s Songs of Innocence
In U2’s Songs of Innocence, the artist can participate in this reality of love, but only if he can first humbly admit the poverty of his own soul.
On Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar Finds Peace with Self by Accepting Conflict
Instead of simply preaching his thoughts on those controversial topics, Lamar shares his experiences and resulting perspectives on the matters.
“We’d Still Worship This Love”: Desiring God with Hozier, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber
Three hit songs offer three different perspectives on what it means to worship.
Natalie Bergman’s Mercy Is an Exquisite Expression of Grief, Faith, and Love
These songs may be deeply sad, but the album serves as a stirring reminder that death doesn’t have the final word.
“Everything Is Alright”? Self-Loathing and Salvation through Commit This to Memory
Seventeen years later, Commit This to Memory remains a visceral account of one man’s search for that reality, an empty bottle ebenezer reminding us that self-actualization is a messy, painful, and ultimately impossible process. Without help, that is.
1981 vs. 2021: Searching for Salvation
Reviewing the products of 1981 and 2021 reveals our desperate search for salvation from death… and salvation from modern daily life.
