The mid-Nineties were a strange time in lots of ways, but few stranger than the rise of the musical movement known as “alt-country.” Hard as it is to believe nowadays, but as grunge began its inevitable but too-rapid descent from Mudhoney, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam into Candlebox and thence to a band fronted by the … More Albums A to Z: Dog Days
We’re one of those households that gets by without cable or satellite. Most of the time, that’s fine with me: Hulu, NetFlix, and digital broadcasting provide more than enough entertainment/information options. But that does mean that I’m missing out on the first of two terrific sporting events to happen in Europe this summer. The London … More The Cold War Continues… in Sports
On Monday one of my colleagues, joking about the growth of “Leadership Studies” programs, suggested that we should probably offer a “Followership Studies” minor. From his mouth to God’s ear. Or, at least, to David Brooks’… Maybe before we can build great monuments to leaders we have to relearn the art of following. Democratic followership … More David Brooks, Erasmus, and Luther Walk into a Bar…
Surely one of the most absurd-sounding titles in the brief history of this blog, but no, I’m not just trying to grab attention. (Well, that too, but…) This question came up in researching the article I mentioned in my Carl Lundquist post yesterday morning (which, coincidentally, also mentioned our 37th president). As part of my … More Richard Nixon: Pietist?
So far in this alphabetic tour of my music collection, I’ve discussed a blues-rock album with a great folk-rock track released in 1965 and a folk-rock concert with clear blues influences recorded in 1966. We’re stuck in the mid-Sixties for one more week, but at least we take a break from the roots-music family… The … More Albums A to Z: A Charlie Brown Christmas
John Turner, one of the contributors to the new Patheos blog The Anxious Bench, wrote last week about the 40th anniversary of Explo ’72, which brought over 80,000 youth together in Dallas’ Cotton Bowl for several days of preaching (Billy Graham six times), evangelistic classes, and music. A closing festival drew an even larger crowd … More Evangelicalism and Youth Culture, 1967-1972
I probably won’t get through all of these before classes start up again, but expect to see posts inspired by these books on my summer reading list: Peter Englund, The Sorrow and the Beauty: An Intimate History of the First World War Adam Hochschild, To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 … More My Summer Reading List
Here • Musing about what it means to say “I believe…” about the Trinity… • Two down, twenty-four to go: an alphabetical sampler of my CD collection started with the Rolling Stones (Aftermath) and Bob Dylan (Bob Dylan Live 1966). • “Moral histories” of the Second World War from novelist Alan Furst and historians Don … More That Was The Week That Was
I’m still eighteen months away from teaching my new World War II history course for the first time, but I’ve been thinking about it this week after reading an interview with master spy novelist Alan Furst (whose new book, Mission to Paris, will surely appear on my summer reading list when it comes out next week). … More Moral Histories of World War II
I don’t have the singing, playing, songwriting, or performing abilities the job requires, but I do know one thing about being a great musician: if in doubt, title your album something starting with the letter B. By my count, I own twenty-five ‘B’ albums. While that’s two behind ‘S’ for the lead (and the fact … More Albums A to Z: Bob Dylan Live 1966
The Pietist Schoolman 