Music

As the story goes, the frequently-belligerent Irishman/slightly successful rock singer Bob Geldof saw a report on the BBC about ongoing famine in Africa and became so incensed that he immediately took action, rounding up a passel of British rock and pop stars, writing a song, recording the thing and having it out by Christmas, wherein it immediately became the biggest-selling single in English music history. It has since been surpassed by that dreadful Elton John recycled-Diana-tribute “...

I was going through a difficult few weeks not long ago. In an attempt to cheer me, a good friend sent me a link to a song via an online chat. I appreciated the gesture, but I was also skeptical. Once, when pressed by an icebreaker game at a retreat, I rated my friend’s taste in music as a 3 out of 5. And because it was a retreat, I was being kind.

“Am I going to like this?” I typed.

“It’s a God song,” she wrote back. “And it’s apropos.”

In 1956 the Jesuit editors of America lambasted Elvis Presley for the sexually provocative performance style he exhibited on television. Now, almost 60 years later, I am writing for the same magazine on the spiritual significance of rock and roll music. Clearly, the way society looks at rock music has changed dramatically. Rock music has also changed significantly, evolving through multiple permutations, expanding globally and splitting into more subgenres. Rock as a musical...

When the St. Louis Jesuits, one of the most popular singer/songwriter groups in the post-Vatican II church, began playing their music, they were often perceived as aspiring rock musicians, said Dan Schutte. “Before the Mass started, the congregation would say, ‘Oh, my gosh, they’re bringing the guitars in!’” he said. “People’s whole image of contemporary music was connected with what they had seen on TV, like the Beatles or the Grateful Dead.” Schutte, a member of the St.