Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky
SEATTLE -- Jimmy Hendrix worshiped at what he called the "Electric Church." He was talking about the positive spiritual effects that he believed psychedelic rock had on him and his fans.
I learned this as I toured Experience Music Project earlier
this month during my visit to Seattle. EMP is dedicated to a wide range of
music makers in a variety of genres, but there's no doubt that Hendrix is the
star of this museum. No surprise here: Seattle is where he was born and where
his legacy still lives through Experience Hendrix, the company his sister Janie
runs that controls Hendrix's intellectual property.
I was raised to believe rock was the Devil's music. My father fussed about my music choices -- which leaned much more toward pop, funk and R&B in my teen years than rock -- and while he never declared them sinful, he didn't hide his disgust.
The church, of course, was more pointed about the dangers of rock (or funk, R&B and jazz). In fact, the Shiloh S.D.A. Church youth choir of the 1970s created controversy because we sang gospel music that had bluesy chords and beats.
When I got to college, a man whose name I can't remember visited our campus claiming that hidden Satanic messages were embedded in popular rock and pop songs. He said the messages were recorded in reverse, which he called backmasking. Our conscious minds couldn't pick them up, he said, but our subconscious could.
Using turntables and other now-ancient technology, he would try to get us to hear the backmasked messages. At best, it was an iffy proposition. At worst it was bogus science and spirituality.
These days, it hardly matters whether backmasked messages infect popular music. Some rap and rock songs are openly so profane, misogynistic, and loaded with gratuitous violence and sex that the evil impact is quite clear.
Not that I think all rap or rock is spiritually corrupt. Far from it. In fact, I think Hendrix was onto something that is quite true and powerful with his electric church.
Certain chords, melodies and beats take me straight to church, even if God's name isn't mentioned once. I figured this out the first time I heard "Takin' It To The Streets" by the Doobie Brothers. Lead singer Michael McDonald's bluesy lead vocals and piano chords warmed my soul and elevated my spirit, making me feel a connection with God and man. And the lyrics -- "You don't know me but I'm your brother, I was raised here in this living hell" -- spoke an eternal truth about urban poverty, desperation and isolation in just a few bars that most gospel songs ignore.
As I type this, I'm listening to "Castles Made of Sand," a Hendrix song performed by the gospel choir Sounds of Blackness on a tribute album titled "Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix." The choir takes the hook -- "castles made of sand slips into the sea eventually" -- and builds it into a funky, rock-tinged shuffle. Can't help but nod my head to the beat as the liquid-metal lead guitar wraps itself around me.
There truly is something electric and spiritual about some secular songs. But no secular song has lifted my spirits as much as one of my favorite gospel songs, "Smile Again," by Kirk Franklin. If you know Franklin's work, you know it's hard to pin him down to one genre or musical influence. Lyrically, his songs are unambiguously Christian. But musically, you can hear rock, hip-hop, pop, jazz, funk, R&B and traditional gospel in his music.
"Smile Again" begins with a searing, soaring lead guitar line, very reminiscent of Hendrix. It's a song of longing and lost followed by hope that comes from a God who will "pick you up, hold your hand, ease the pain, so you can smile again." The rock guitar comes back in the bridge to punctuate the ending truth of the song, sung in shouts and gospel glissandos: "Keep your head up, smile again."
The power of "Smile Again" truly comes from the soul and speaks to my spirit.
Excuse me while I kiss the sky. (Thank you, Jimi Hendrix.)
 | David Person | David Person is an editorial writer and former columnist at The Huntsville Times. He hosts "WEUP Talk," a daily call-in talk show on WEUP-AM and writes occasional op-eds for USA Today. David graduated from Oakwood University where he majored in communication, and minored in theology. David's blog addresses current events and social issues from a Christian perspective, including looking at the two greatest commandments and social justice applications of our faith. He can be reached at weuptalk@aol.com. |
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Re: Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky
Perhaps the first time I've heard Hendrix Kudos from an Adventist, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I believe that we have not only drawn a line but have used the brush we drew it with to paint everyone south of it with the same dark brush. I believe there is a line and that there is appropriate and inappropriate music for Christians and appropriate and inappropriate musical styles for Christian music, but I certainly don't want anyone drawing that line for me. I have debated with my son-in-law the legitimacy of Christian hip hop, but I actually like some of it, and I have found that we are most critical of styles we don't like aand defend those we do. To me, most of the music of Bill Gaither and his ilk sounds like Polka music -- not morally wrong, but not spiritually uplifting, either. I want to put on my roller skates when I hear "Drinking at the Springs of Living Water." I must, however, remember that some in my congregation are blessed by it.
Some of the secular artists are so good I wish we could claim them, but we have usually used our energy to damn them instead. We teach our kids to try to look for the good in others, but we don't often practice what we preach. Quite honestly, there is some good out there.
By the way, the man's name was probably Bob Larson. I think he came to all of the Adventist colleges.
Re: Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky
Thanks for your refreshing balanced view on rock, blues, R&B even rap music. It bothers me so much to hear a certain genre of music referred to as "the devil's music". To me music is a format, its the words and appeal to the spirit that matter. I remember being at Andrews in the early 80's hearing about the backmasking - you don't even hear about that anymore. God's people should use all styles of music in order to reach the widest audience possible. To me music has cultural and generational appeal, and a particular style can't be classified as "evil". In fact to many Africans the way we sing our hymns reminds them of funeral music. Upbeat music has a joyful tone and is very much suited to the gospel message. Have you ever heard of the Jewish Orthodox rapper Matisyahu? (look on You Tube) He does not do concerts Friday evening. Wouldn't it be great if there was an Adventist version of him? There is a reason the devil has promotted gansta rap - it has such a bad message - but that still doesn't make all rap bad.
Dawn Schram
Re: Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky
The variables pertaining to musical genres and styles seem far too numerous for most Adventist Christians to define as 'fit for worship' or 'unfit for worship.' That being said, surely evidence provided us from former occultists-turned-Christians is available to help us better understand which genre is a blessing versus that which is harmful. Having been a student of music, this process of our church's self evaluation has become a most interesting study for me. For example, one fellow Adventist might certify that the form, rythm, harmonic altercation, and overwhelming volume of the hard rock genre is perfectly acceptable so long as the words coinside with Biblical principles; while the same genre may be used in witchcraft for the sole purpose of summoning familiar spirits. According to ex-Druid warlock, John Todd,* the practice of witchcraft is entirely dysfunctional without the use of rock music. Furthermore, professional hypnotists concead that appart from rock music, their practice is all but impossible.** These remarks should provide SDA Christians with ample concern that they might study for themselves as to what music the Lord might have us use in honoring Him during worship.
* Tape 1A http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/Rock-n-Roll/john_tod...
** http://www.virtuemag.org/issues/4/music-how-does-it-affect-you.htm
http://www.sdadefend.com/Standards/History%20Rock.htm
Re: Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky
David,
Thank you for sharing your views on the music of Jimmy Hendrix. I was around 13 yrs old when I first heard him and I was an instant fan of his magical guitar! Many have claimed his lyrics are celebrations of a drug culture etc. I do not agree. They were expressions of a rainbow of emotions and human experiences. I have all of his music on my itunes and never once did i fall for the Bob Larson nonsense that his music was that of satanic prose. Castles made of sand has a lot of spiritual overtones and was one of my favorite songs. My only regret was that Jimmy, like many of his contemporaries engaged in reckless drug use which claimed his life, needlessly at a premature age.