“I grew up in an alternate dimension where Nirvana didn’t exist”
Poor Old Lu “My World Falls Down” (from the Sin LP, Alarma Records)
You mention John Goodmanson in your book, and if you look at his recording résumé, you will see this band’s Sin album as his 20th credit. It is a gem from beginning to end, albeit a rough, unpolished one. Scott Hunter’s asthmatic rasp remains one of the most unique voices I have heard in rock’n’roll to this day.
You will note that this is the first of the three songs I have shown you that actually mentions God by name. These bands were not trying to sell Jesus. They were not out to pad Pat Robertson’s bank accounts with bills bearing Benjamin Franklin’s face and flowing hair (even though we Christians like to imagine Jesus with flowing hair). These songwriters were making meaning out of their experiences as human beings, and singing about them just as any other artist does. Their messages, whether cloaked in allegorical garb like L. S. U.’s Grape Prophet, or expressed more explicitly in this case, are religious only because the band members found hope and meaning in the person of Jesus Christ. It is what these songwriters meant to convey that matters to me, which is why it is important to listen to these songs with biases checked at the door.
(continues overleaf)
Share this post:
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
- Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
- Click to print (Opens in new window)
21 Responses to “I grew up in an alternate dimension where Nirvana didn’t exist”