On their last two albums, the Killers continue to circle around faith and eventually grasp it—if not in completely solid form.
Music
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Fame, fortune and falls from grace in the 1960s music scene
In his new book, British novelist David Mitchell affirms the irreducible and vivifying goods of the human soul.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
The K-pop band BTS spoke at the United Nations—and sounded a lot like Pope Francis
Maybe in this time of uncertainty, fear and doubt, it would be worth recruiting some young people like BTS, Greta Thunberg or Malala Yousafzai to officially join the pope in his fight for the future of our planet.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Sinéad O’Connor longs for transcendence in ‘Rememberings’
At the heart of Sinéad O’Connor’s new memoir is her sense of transcendence and her longing for it, as well as the depth of her religious imagination since childhood.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Mandolinist and singer-songwriter Chris Thile writes psalms for those who struggle to believe — or belong
In “Laysongs,” mandolinist Chris Thile lays theatrics and sea captains aside and sings simply and honestly about his struggle to believe.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
‘Donda’ review: Kanye West is our generation’s Richard Wagner
Like it or not, Kanye is our Wagner—a master architect of pure spectacle and a man whose unhinged brilliance confronts us all.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Covid-19 took music from our Masses. Now it’s (slowly) coming back.
As vaccination rates permit the lifting of some Covid-19 restrictions, congregations are easing back into singing. Here’s what music ministers have learned over the past year.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
A new book examines Sting’s enduring Catholic imagination
Evyatar Marienberg, a historian of religion at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, has written a book about Sting’s Catholic imagination and how it fueled his creativity.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Whatever and ever Amen: Two Gen-X Catholics remember classic retreat songs.
Did the singer-songwriter era come about specifically to fill a demand by retreat directors for a poignant soundtrack to accompany the spiritual epiphanies of 16-year-olds?
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
St. Augustine meets America’s Got Talent: The spirituality of Nightbirde’s viral hit “It’s OK”
Nightbirde recognizes the habit of trying to fix things on one’s own. She sings, “Don’t know why I take the tightrope and cry when I fall.”