This book highlights how the diverse nature of spiritual practices are experienced and manifest through the medium of popular music.
At first glance, chapters on Krishnacore, the Rave Church phenomenon and post-punk repertoire of Psychic TV may appear to have little in common; however, this book draws attention to some of the similarities of the nuances of spiritual expression that underpin the lived experience of popular music. As an interdisciplinary volume, the extensive introduction unpacks and clarifies terminology relating to the study of religion and popular music.
The cross-disciplinary approach of the book makes it accessible and appealing to scholars of religious studies, cultural studies, popular music studies and theology. Unlike existing collections dealing with popular music and religion that focus on a specific genre, this innovative book offers a range of music and case studies, with chapters written by international contributors.
Contributor bios Acknowledgments Introduction by Mike Dines & Georgina Gregory Chapter 1: Beatified Beats, Ritualized Rhymes: Intersections of the Popular and the Sacred in Music by Antti-Ville Kärjä Section One: Personal Spirituality Chapter 2: Leonard Cohen, the ‘Sufi’ Mystic by Jirí Mesíc Chapter 3: Hank and Jesus: The Integral Roles of Religion and the History of Country Music in the Lives and Careers of Contemporary Country Artists by Gillian Kelly Chapter 4: Above the Clouds: Discourses of the Spiritual and the Religious in the Lyrics of Paul Weller by Paul Spicer Section Two: Christianity Chapter 5: ‘Embracing the Divine Chaos’: Transcending the Sacred-Secular Divide in the 1990s British Rave Church Movement by Lucy Robinson & Chris Warne Chapter 6: Pop Goes to Church: Taste, Class and ‘Chav’ Christianity by Georgina Gregory Chapter 7: ‘The Time Has Come, Exodus!’: Congo Natty and the Jungle (r)evolution by Shara Rambarran Chapter 8: ‘Between Hipsters and God There is Sufjan Stevens’: Sufjan Stevens & His Fans by Katelyn Medic Section Three: Alternative Religions Chapter 9: ‘Save my soul from the poisons of this world’: Straight Edge punk and Religious Re-Enchantment by Francis Stewart Chapter 10: ‘Message From Thee Temple’: Magick, Occultism, Mysticism and Psychic TV by Mike Dines and Matt Grimes Chapter 11: I am god! The transference of musical fandom as religion to worshipping the self by Javier Campos Calvo-Sotel Index
Georgina Gregory is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. She is author of Relocating Popular Music (2015) and Send in the Clones: A Cultural Study of the Tribute Band. Mike Dines is Co-Pathway Leader for Popular Music at Middlesex University, UK. He is Co-Editor of Punk Pedagogies (2018), Punk Now!! (2020), Postgraduate Voices in Punk Studies (2016), and The Aesthetic of Our Anger: Anarcho-Punk, Politics and Music (2016).
Reviews for Exploring the Spiritual in Popular Music: Beatified Beats
Whether expressed by the artist or felt in the heart of the beholder, the often ineffable qualities of the spiritual and divine (perhaps even satanic), are materialized in the studies assembled here. As all good books of this kind do, the scope of engaging scholarship prompts further reflection and action. In so doing, it will provide an important touchstone for any of us who continue to have faith in the power of popular music. * Paul Long, Professor of Creative and Cultural Industries, Communications and Media Studies, Monash University, Australia * Popular music in its ever-evolving forms continues as a space for religious experience, or a gateway to it. With appropriate reverence for music once called anathema, this book takes scholarly interest in the intersection of self, sound and soul. Familiar pathways benefit from fresh perspectives and illumination falls on new trails. * Scott Calhoun, Professor of English, Cedarville University, USA, Director of The U2 Conference, and Editor of U2 and the Religious Impulse: Take Me Higher (Bloomsbury 2018) * This is a valuable collection of research into the relationships between popular music and various spiritualities. Well written and covering a great deal, it will be a key source to anyone working in this field. * Rupert Till, Professor of Music, University of Huddersfield, UK *
