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
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
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
6/5/12 – I’m not much of a monarchist, but it was hard not to get caught up in Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee celebration. Hearing the gathered crowd sing “God Save The Queen” made me think that (if they missed it last fall) some readers might be curious how my European history students and I judged that … More God Save The Queen
Summer break has finally begun at Bethel University, and while that means that I’ve got all sorts of scholarly projects underway, it also means that I can take time for some decidedly unacademic pursuits. Like, say, listening to some of the hundreds of albums that I accumulated in the years before becoming a parent of … More Albums A to Z: Aftermath
One of my favorite blogs is Past Imperfect, produced by the Smithsonian Magazine and featuring terrifically well-written stories about a fascinating array of historical subjects. (A piece on female pirates won one of the last Cliopatria awards for historical blogging before Cliopatria closed down.) Well-researched but accessible, I’ve taken to recommending several of its best posts … More Nazi Jazz
I don’t even know how to begin to explain this: Okay – first, I’m co-coordinator of GES130 Christianity and Western Culture (CWC), a course on Western Civilization, church history, philosophy, and theology that about two-thirds of Bethel students take in their first year. In addition to a team of 8-10 professors, the course is taught … More My MTV Unplugged Moment
I haven’t imposed many blogging rules on myself, but here’s one I think I’ll honor more in the observance than the breach… “Any sanctimonious post must be followed by one that embarrasses the blogger” So, having spent yesterday’s post up on my high horse defending denominations less by pointing to their virtues than by decrying … More Guilty Pleasures
I had planned to write a recap of our Pietism colloquium this weekend, but… Well, I’m Pietism-ed out for the moment. So I decided I needed a palate cleanser of a post, to write about something or someone that couldn’t possibly be connected back to Pietism. So… My favorite Martin Scorsese movie is Goodfellas. Mine … More The Last Waltz
There are few people in the history of the world whom I respect more than the late Dietrich Bonhoeffer. But even he was bound to be very, very wrong about something: Because it is bound wholly to the Word, the singing of the congregation, especially of the family congregation, is essentially singing in unison. Here … More Live (and Sing) in Harmony with One Another
The Pietist Schoolman 