And the three men I admire most
Don McLean: American Pie
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
Music can evoke powerful memories. I read that the music we like as adults is the music we were listening to when we went through puberty. That would explain my like for 1970’s rock. As I write this, the song “Take the Long Way Home” by Supertramp is streaming on my computer. I saw them in concert a few months before I left on my mission in 1976. I also was able to squeeze in an Eagles concerts a month before I left. This was before they did Hotel California. That came out during my mission, and today every time I hear it, I’m taken back to laying on a bed in Chile listening to Hotel California with a little cassette tape player, from a tape I’d confiscated from a newly arrived missionary from the States, telling him is was not approved music! (Being a District leader had its privileges. I later gave it back and told him not to listen to it.)
I’ve written before that I tear up easy, and cry when something touches me. The song “American Pie” by Don Mclean recently brought a tear to my eye when I listened to this rendition by the a cappella group Free, with Don himself lending a hand with the vocals. Click here to listen on youtube.
Even if you are not old like me you need to listen to this (and remember that there are only voices, no musical instruments). Why did it bring a tear to my eye? Was it the Holy Ghost testifying of the truthfulness of this song, or did He take the last train for the coast? Was it because it took me back to my high school cafeteria, with it playing on the juke box in 1972? Is this a song that would be frequently played in a honky-tonk?
What role has music played in your life?
What did you think of the song?
Wheat & Tares 
I think that being able to appreciate music is one thing that separates humans from animals. I grew up in a musical household and took piano lessons for 10 years and then a few semesters of private organ lessons at BYU. My trail running playlist is 19 hours of an eclectic mix of everyone from Elvis, the Beatles, The Who, Aerosmith, Pink, Lady Gaga, George Strait, Disney, The National Parks, etc etc. There is excellent music from every era and every genre.
I listen to Johnny Cash “Hurt” when I need to mope, Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond when I’m in a happy mood, and Poison when I need something loud. There is a song for every occasion.
I also love the Motab or whatever they are called now – Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing with the organ accompanying still gives me goosebumps every time. I relate to the phrase
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
When I feel like leaving the church I think of this verse and think “not just yet.” Getting teary now.
Thanks for this post.
I too am a music lover. Piano lessons for twelve years. Trombone in junior high. Acoustic guitar and choir in high school. Through necessity I fake the organ from time to time. I really love and find value in every genre, though my favorites are 80s music, modern musical playlists, and well-done mash ups. And yes certain music for certain moods. And yes to the Motab. That’s a piece or Mormonism I will always gladly retain.
My kids all play piano, sing, learn an extra instrument through our awesome school district, and have seen several age appropriate Broadway musicals. Even today we heard the Pacific Symphony play a tribute of movie songs. We no longer pay tithing to the church but one of our replacement donations is through a program that takes music to disadvantaged schools.
I love the soundtrack to Forrest Gump and often think about what would be my life’s soundtrack.
I think even as a teenager I never really bought the notion that feeling the spirit was the same feeling I got hearing the Imperial March from Star Wars. I knew that didn’t make sense. As they say, music really is powerful enough to tame the savage beast.
I was 6 years old in 1972 and “American Pie” was my very first “favorite” song! My brothers bought me the album (also titled American Pie) for Christmas that year and I listened to it over and over.
When I was 11 I discovered my older brother’s Sgt. Pepper album and that was it- I was on my path to being a music lover.
As far as church music goes I’m kind of old school in that I enjoy the LDS hymns- but I am regularly disappointed with the lack-luster singing that is the norm in Sacrament Mtg. Sometimes I remember my mission in Spain- everyone sang the hymns in unison because they didn’t know how to sing harmonies, but they sang with a gusto that was beautiful! I played piano in a couple of branches on my mission- and even though I made plenty of mistakes, the members treated me like a rock star.
One thing I’ve noticed is that a well done song or musical number in church (or anywhere for that matter) can often leave an impression on the soul that is remembered long after the talks given or activities of that day have been forgotten.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that music is how my brothers and I tend to relate to one another. We are not the best at talking to each other a lot, but when we do, the subject, more often than not, is the artists and kind of music we have been listening to lately. Two of my brothers closely follow indy music, which for me is more of a passing interest. My oldest brother (who’s almost 60) is now exploring the history of rap!
For me the Beatles (and Bob Dylan) were sort of a springboard that led me to all types of music. My tastes have gone back in time through all genres of American music and I go through phases where I just want to hear stuff from the 1920’s & 30’s. I am currently working on a series of Spotify playlists of the great American singers. If you like the classic crooners like Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennet, etc. look for my playlist titled CROON 2. My Spotify handle is INTHEGROOVUS.
A bit of LDS trivia: (the artist formerly known as) The Mormon Tabernacle Choir actually reached #13 on the US Billboard chart with their rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in 1959. It also won them a Grammy for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus.
Music is almost everything to me. It’s one of the very few things that has consistently and beautifully connected me to other people and to the cosmos. In my experience, a lot of what Mormonism teaches is eternal is all too temporary, sadly. However, I have never once failed to experience feelings of sublime beauty and a sense of eternal connectedness every single time I’ve heard Freddie Mercury sing. Interesting, and relevant to this post, I think, is the ancient idea that beauty agitates the soul that resides in our bodies and that’s what produces our emotional responses to art; it’s what Longinus called “transport”. I can only offer my opinion here, but regarding the Holy Ghost, I think sometimes Mormon folks may tend to equate deep and profound emotional responses to feeling the Holy Ghost and, IMHO, I think that’s not the case. I keep returning to Benedick’s line in Much Ado About Nothing when he says “Is it not strange that sheep’s guts [meaning the strings of a lute] should hale souls from men’s bodies?” I think our bodies have such a capacity for depth of feeling that often we conflate the emotions and the “spirit” simply because of how powerful our emotions can be. And nostalgia and memory, as you imply in your post, can be incredibly powerful emotional catalysts. To answer one of your questions, it’s not my place to tell anyone definitively whether they are experiencing the Holy Ghost, but in my own life, I can say that I’ve rarely felt the HG (maybe three times unmistakably) but every day I feel incredibly deep and profound emotions, whether by listening to music or by communing with other people. And honestly, I feel like my emotions, subjective and “unreliable” as they are, are what have formed me the most, not my time in college, not the few times I’ve felt the HG, and not any wisdom I’ve accumulated along the way. So in that sense, I think emotions, perhaps even more than “spiritual” experiences (or religion) so-called, may be what really give our lives meaning. Maybe the reason we respond to a religion or a religious text has less to do with what we experience “spiritually” or what we think about it and more to do with what and how we feel about it.
Oh, and I love that song. My cousin played it for me when I was seven and it was thanks to that song that I discovered the music of Buddy Holly, one of many nearly lifelong musical passions.
I can hear an old song (whether it’s Fleetwood Mac or Van Halen or the a hymn) and it can stop me dead in my tracks. The memories. The feelings. It all comes back. It’s that powerful. Everyone reading this knows what I mean.
One thing I miss in my life is the power of music that I used to feel at church. It was particularly strong in the MTC. Then on my mission. But also as a child and an adult. The Mo Tab (I didn’t say “Mormon”) touched me.
I still respect some of those Church hymns even if they don’t have the same meaning anymore, especially the ones that make me feel sentimental about more simple times in my life when everything was so much more black and white.
Having been the youngest, I was introduced to what we now refer to as classic rock or classic vinyl at an early age. I still love it along with a variety of music since then. I can listen to American Pie and sing all the words after all these years. I don’t know if “music can save my mortal soul” but it sure can move me and has shaped my life in many ways.
Growing up my mother always played MoTab Christmas albums and they’re still my preferred holiday music. It really does transport me. As others have mentioned I also enjoyed singing the hymns at church. I have to say, I much prefer what I call the old Protestant hymns and don’t care for the majority of newer ones (there are exceptions). There is something that speaks to my soul when singing a 100+ year old hymn. I feel this connection with hundreds of thousands of other faithful believers across the globe as we all join together through the centuries in offering up this beautiful music. That is one thing I miss about no longer attending.
I agree with #moovusgroovus, a beautiful and moving music number sticks with you long after the meeting. Sadly, I was often pressed to recall even the topic of many a sacrament meeting once I got home.
Great topic!!
I remember all the mentioned great bands of the 1970’s listening to on 8 tracks. Easpecially Billy Joel, Elton John, Chicago. Not dealing with the LP because then get into playing music backwards. As previously mentioned, these are the formative years. I wonder if the new generation is forming to rap/noise? Their choices are much less.
Even some church music falls here from the forced primary recitals, to Saturday warrior and My Turn on Earth. John Dehlin in many of his podcasts reflects this by singing the songs to this day.
On the mission in C. America music was every where : streets, bus, TV, impossible to avoid. I had no contraband or broke rules. In my mission the rules were so strict. Only MoTab. And even with that during the week, NO WORDS, only instrumental. Then on Pday could have MoTAb with words.
Well the music of the strret was absorbed into me for those formative years. Got home and literally only listened to Spanish ballads and rock for 4+ years. 30 years later I listen to more Spanish music than English. I will never know all the songs as a native, but I am pretty close.
Everyone in a while Spanish or English the song takes you back to a place from your past and the memories.
I am often moved to tears with music. “You are my sunshine” reminds me of my late wife and I often tear up. Some hymns, if conducted properly by a “feeling” conductor, will stir the spirit. Perhaps one reason congregational singing seems bland and lifeless is because the conductor doesn’t have the skill or feeling enough to make changes in the tempo or the volume during the singing. All too many only have the skills to just follow the organ rather than lead the organ and congregation.
Back in the 70s I played “Amazing Grace” on my clarinet with organ accompaniment. It was incredibly moving for many in the congregation and for myself. I just listened to this version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsCp5LG_zNE and was moved once again.
Music has immense power to move people when sung with love and feeling. I feel some of that feeling has been lost in our congregational singing.
Music can be a source of spiritual inspiration. But only if it comes from the right source and is listened to in the right place.
Unfortunately, many younger people are listening to the wrong music in the wrong place. It is indisputable that listening to raucous music in honky tonks as the beer flows freely will not lead to greater spiritual strength.
And what about the lyrics of modern music? The lyrics of Dua Lipa and Cardi B are so foul that they would send a nun into cardiac arrest.
What is even worse is that many young people listen to these sexually explicit lyrics while playing violent video games. The great religious thinkers of past ages never engaged in this sort of musical debauchery.
So let us praise music. But let us praise the right kind of music in the right kind of settings. That is irrefutable fact.
I’m deeply moved by music and am an extremely musical person. I always have a tune in my head. I regularly whistle and create sounds and rhythms. I’ll make up songs and tunes that I whistle all the time. I’ve played piano, oboe, saxophone, and guitar. I still play the guitar. I also sing.
I was a teenager in the 90s, and that is when I began to develop a taste in music. It was the height of the grunge movement and that was among the first types of music I gravitated towards. The first album I purchased with my paper route money was Soundgarden’s Superunknown. I didn’t realize at that time what an amazing album I was buying and the legend that Chris Cornell (the lead singer would become). Lots of haunting, dark lyrics and sounds, but so profound they continue to just penetrate my soul every time I listen to them. And Cornell has an inimitable raw, edgy, powerful yet folksy and touching voice, with insane range, that makes you feel every word he says. I find oddly that dark music that deals with depression, suicidal thoughts, sadness, anger, grief, etc. actually helps me cope with sadness in its different forms. Alice in Chains’s album Dirt was another penetratingly deep, almost disturbing on some songs, album from that time period. In the songs, Layne Staley poetically describes his battles with drug addiction and depression. He has a song on there, “Hate to Feel” that as a teenager I couldn’t understand. “Hate to feel what?” I always wondered. It dawned on me as an adult that Layne was saying that he hated actually feeling anything and hence he would repeatedly return to drugs to numb all sense of feeling.
American Pie is an absolute classic. Love the song.
Faith, “I wonder if the new generation is forming to rap/noise? Their choices are much less.”
I can’t speak for Gen Z. New music nowadays has gone to pot. There is very little innovative interesting stuff. You have to search hard to find it. Music is so easily available now. You can listen to anything with just the click of a button. You used to have to invest money to buy an album and the device to play it on. You used to have to find a special time when parents weren’t home to listen to that music. Music used to be more special because of its scarcity.
As a millennial (tail end, born in 1980) I can speak to the so-called “noise.” Metallica was about the loudest most aggressive group you could hear in the 1980s. Formed in 1981, they had no formal support of the music industry (no radio play, no MTV), until 1988. They promoted themselves through relentless touring and connection with fans, and meticulous attention to how they crafted their songs. They poured in every last amount of creative energy they had to making sure every song was of utmost quality. In their formative years they built a bond with their listeners that lasts to this day. I attended a Metallica concert at the Vivint arena in Salt Lake City in 2018. It was a spiritual experience that brought tears to my eyes multiple times. They sold out the entire arena, to the fullest it had ever been up until that point. The show was so magnificent and powerful, I can’t even put words to it. Their song Master of Puppets is incredible. I easily place it with Bohemian Rhapsody as one of the greatest rock songs ever written. You should check out trained opera singer and vocal coach Elizabeth Zharoff’s reaction to the song on her YouTube channel called The Charismatic Voice. She does a detailed 30-minute analysis of the song and is blown away by it.
On rap. I used to not like it. Until I listened to a documentary about the life and career of Eminem and listened to his first three albums. A truly amazing story and person who has performed and written rap music on a completely different level that I highly doubt could ever be matched. A pure musical genius and lyricist that you find only once in a generation who can sell out to this day any arena on the planet. Incredibly deep connection with fans and tens of millions of devotees and admirers. I derive deep inspiration from his music and personal story and regularly listen to his songs.
Toad,
The Mormon Tabernacle choir, Motab, is now the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Thankfully you don’t need to use the full name at every reference. You can use this handy short form that avoids that offensive slur Mormon, TABby CaTS. I’m sure the restored gospel news room will be updating their style guide shortly to reflect this preferred usage.
I was raised with the idea that music and particularly the hymns could bring peace and understanding to life’s problems. When I got divorced though not a single hymn spoke to me but a lot of country songs did like “She Just Started Loving Cheating Songs” or “She Can’t Say that Anymore.” I always have loved many forms of music and have often been brought to tears by the message or composition of a song. The older I’ve gotten the more I’ve come to realize that music is a way to speak to the soul. I’ve also found that so much of the music that the church (I should say members of the church in their highly esteemed opinions) actually have very deep and profound messages of good and positivity. It doesn’t matter the genre of the music is, musicians talk about issues that affect us and many times their outlooks magnify our own. Granted there is music I don’t relate to but I’ve come to a point in my life where I’m not going to say that my way of looking at it is the only way and allow others to feel the spirit when they listen to their music.
There are a few songs that I deeply love. It is a pretty mixed bag.
“Highway to Hell” by AC/DC; “Losing my Religion” by REM; “Off the Rails” by ??; “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi; “Africa” by Toto; “We Won’t Be Fooled Again” by The Who; “Image” by John Lennon; “Think of Your Fellow Man” by Jackie DeShannon; and “Desperado” by the Eagles.
My all time favorite is “Something in the Air” by Thunderclap Newman. And I like a “Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harem, although I have no idea what it’s about.
To me, each of the above is deeply spiritual. And not boring.
I am not really surprised that there is little mention of classical or serious modern music in any of the comments so far. The inspiring music of great old and modern composers seems to be totally ignored. The church now requires the use of LDS hymns and very little other approved religious music in sacrament and other meetings. The truly inspired works available to hear by all are just not considered by the church or (for that matter) the majority of members. In the real world, the trashy and sometimes decadent music of late seems to dominate listeners’ preferences. The young grow up mostly unaware of a multitude of truly inspiring works performed by real artists. That’s not to say there isn’t wholesome and inspirational music and lyrics that speak to our times and emotional needs being available today and well worth the time to enjoy. Guess it comes down to values and choice.
The singing of hymns in many of our congregations is bland and uninspiring by design apparently (https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V34N0304_103.pdf)
The idea that we should be giving our very best to the Lord with our singing is/was apparently anathema. Oh no.. we are meant to be more concerned about not making a show of ourselves, making sure we aren’t “performing”, or otherwise causing a “distraction”. It’s distressing to me that this is so, and I am grateful to attend a ward where the singing happens, and is not lacklustre. But I am aware of a ward chock full of music teachers and those with amazing voices where the singing in sacrament meeting is horrible for all the reasons I just gave. If the people who can sing won’t give of their best in worship what incentive is there for the rest of the congregation.. whenever we attend there, it makes me want to weep.
It seems change will require a real cultural shift.
Gerald, some classical pieces I love:
Stravinsky – Pulcinella, Jeu de Cartes
Finzi – Terra Pax, Intimations of Immortality, Eclogue
Bernstein – Chichester Psalms
Butterworth – Idylles
Barber – Adagio for strings, Sure on a Shining Night
Tippett – Child of Our Time
Schwantner – New Morning for the World, Mountains Rising
Takemitsu – In an Autumn Garden
Schubert – Symphony 9
Dvorak – Symphonies 7&8
amongst other things …
Hedgehog, these are absolutely beautiful and inspiring works though I have to admit there are a couple that I’m not familiar with. Namely Finzi and Schwanter. I probably have them in my library so I will conduct a search. Thank you for sharing.
Geraaldo, it’s only if you love classical music that you can attend a really good Rach concert. LOL
I don’t remember a single Primary lesson, but I can sing every one of those old songs. Is that the Spirit speaking to me, sealing my heart to God? Is it strong emotion? I don’t know. At this point, I’m not sure it matters. Music is one of God’s greatest gifts!
Re: the get-off-my-lawn energy in some of these comments… music is subjective! The music you love? It’s awesome! So is the music that your nephews and nieces love that you think is vapid and mind-numbing. If you only enjoy the music you listened to as a teenager, that’s fine! I bet your grandparents thought that it, too, was vapid and mind-numbing. There’s no such thing as real music. It’s all real as long as someone finds beauty in it.
Beethoven, Billie Holiday, Elvis, Tupac, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish—they’re all geniuses in their own way, painting emotions with rhythm, texture, and harmony that connect deeply with millions of people. And they all scared the heck out of the older generations who didn’t understand what they were trying to say.
My seminary teacher was showing how inappropriate our music was by playing ACDC’s Helps Bells in class. When it was over he , “I’ll admit that’s catchy, but . . . “. Your damn right its catchy.
😦 I wish I loved and appreciated music. I get very envious as I read about all the great experiences and feelings you have around music.
The word tone-deafness gets thrown around a lot in jest, but I truly meet the criteria for tone-deafness. If you google “Amusia” the Wikipedia article describes me pretty accurately. I can tell the difference between a high note and a low note on a piano- but in a range of 3-4 notes I literally cannot distinguish them or tell you which one is higher or lower. So matching my voice to any particular note is a foreign idea, and just isn’t going to happen (and I wouldn’t know it if it did or didn’t happen). It’s a genetic thing, my father is tone-deaf, I am, and so is my son. You can think of it like someone who has bad vision, but doesn’t have access to glasses. They can get the general shape, but they can’t appreciate fine paintings, or be able to re-produce them like someone who can see clearly. (I guess one small plus side for me, is that if someone sings “badly” or is off by a couple of notes, I don’t notice and it all sounds “fine” to me.)
Unfortunately for me, there is a lot of music at church. I’ve always hated it (as do my father and my son). Especially on Sundays like Christmas or Easter when we just sing hymn after hymn after hymn. And musical fireside are a special kind of torture. It’s heretical to say, but I’ve always hated the MoTab Choir/TABCATS. I’m familiar with the hyms to know what they sound like, but to me, they always butcher them by changing them up and doing weird things to them. It’s terrible. (If I were in charge, I’d have 1 song max at each church meeting, but I’d prefer 0).
I realize that this is a pretty specific ME problem, and not a church problem. I’ve tried to improve my attitude by learning more about music (without much success). But one thing I found interesting is that when people sing together, they breathe together at the same spots. And when they breathe together at the same spots their heart-beats will sync up. So we literally become of one-heart as we sing hymns in church. So for that reason I still sing along at church (even though I’ve been told that I’m not singing the right notes) I’ll unite with the rest of my branch in singing hymns of praise.
If there was one thing about myself that I could change, it would be this. I am hopeful that in the next life I’ll have musical ability and be able to experience what seems to be so moving and meaningful to everyone else. I am glad that it’s so great and moving for everyone else though.
My dad is a baby boomer. I grew up listening to a lot of the Beatles and Beach Boys and a couple of decades beyond. New Age (New Adult Contemporary now?) music was something I was fond of when I was younger—mainly Ray Lynch and Enya, and I still listen to it regularly. I took nine years of piano lessons. I regret not practicing as much as I should have. Never was an extremely proficient sight reader, but can do some decent stuff by ear. I love Schubert and am close to mastering a couple of his pieces. His Impromptu in E-flat Major is one of the few classical/romantic pieces I feel I can really “rock out” to. His third piece of “Drei Klavierstucke” has the most beautiful chords of any piece I’ve ever heard. I started learning the trumpet in sixth grade and picked up a couple of other brass instruments along the way. About the same time I got into Jazz music. I mostly enjoyed West Coast and Cool Jazz, like the Dave Brubeck Quartet, but also came to appreciate the Big Band Era and branched out to other jazz genres upon making Jazz Band in high school. I think Jazz is a genre in which catchy beat and melodic beauty intersect very often.
Our band actually got to see Dave Brubeck perform at the Salt Lake Hilton in the late 90s. We were hoping to get a picture with him, but found out due to altitude, he had to be on oxygen for thirty minutes prior to the performance, the entire intermission, and thirty minutes afterwards. You would not have known it by his performance. He told us we were one of the best audiences he ever had. I had assumed he probably said that to all audiences, but my dad worked in an industry that allowed him to meet multiple musical artists who said the same thing upon coming to Utah, and he felt their sentiment was genuine. They more or less explained that a lot of audiences come to a performance with an attitude of “Prove to me I’m getting my money’s worth today,” while Utah audiences generally give off a vibe of “I’m just happy you came and happy I could be here for it.”
Lately, I’ve enjoyed some harder rock pieces. I think art is ultimately in the eye of the beholder, and some of them actually have some pretty positive messages behind them. I don’t think all of them “chase the Spirit away” with the vigor many of us were taught. The only genres I typically avoid are Gospel, Rap, and Country, though I do make exceptions for certain songs.
I’ve never been a huge fan of the Tabernacle Choir, but their “What Shall We Give to the Babe in the Manger” is one of the most moving things I’ve ever experienced. The Orchestra deserves a lot of credit on that one.
I thought American Pie was okay. Of that time, I’ve found myself fascinated by some Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin pieces lately.
One double-edge sword of receiving some musical training is that I can’t just listen to a piece. I have to analyze it as well. When I discover a song I like, I can spend up to thirty minutes a day listening to it on repeat, for about one or two weeks. I generally have about three I do that with at any given time, then they basically move to a three or six month rotation. It only occurred to me a few years ago that for the sake of my family, this was an activity better done with headphones.
I do think the Spirit can accompany music in certain situations, but mostly serves to convey intelligence and meaning. I think the emotional experience with music is universal, and a harmonizing aspect of humanity.
I love this quote from Bono (U2) –
“when Elvis was upset and feeling out of kilter, he would leave the big house and go down to his little gym, where there was a piano. With no one else around, his choice would always be gospel. He was happiest when he was singing his way back to spiritual safety.”
My 25 yr old daughter has left the church but we recently watched the trailer for the Elvis movie together and both had tears in our eyes…
I am the ward organist and try to push boundaries where I can, a tribute to Van Halen RIP 2020 during prelude, etc. I have a MASSIVE vinyl collection that I started only five years ago which runs from Henry Mancini and Glenn Miller to Def Leppard, Charley Pride, Merle Haggard, and Simple Minds.
This post inspires me to pull out my CD of Songs of Simon & Garfunkel performed as Gregorian chants. Will definitely give a listen to this version of American Pie.
Like others in prior comments I also took piano lessons but I was never good so i quit that endeavor. Music is still an important part of my life. My tastes run all over the map. from 60’s rock, Beatles. Rolling Stones, Moody Blues. 70’s rock, Led Zeppelin, ELP, Yes, Jazz New Age Classical Soundtrack scores and so forth. I was able to participate in the last MIA June Conference Choral Festival in 1972, my HS graduation year which dates me. I still have the recording from those performances. Because of the memories bound up in that event, I have not seen many Mo Tab recording that equal that. Listening to that recording still brings much joy and enrichment. Music can bring a lot to worship services but compared to what I remember experiencing during my growing up years , my views on music in the church services today echoes the views that others have expressed which means it sucks. The music we heard in sacrament meeting included vocal solos, choral and instrumental music. the music performed was more uplifting than what I am hearing now, even the congregational singing was better. Maybe that because my memory is not as good as it used to be and maybe the good old days were not as good we thought they were. When the new new hymn books do start coming out I am afraid of what we will be getting in terms to the quality of the hymns that will be presented. In response to the comment immediately to this one. I do enjoy Gregorian chants because to the quiet prayerful feeling they bring over to me.
Si vas para Chile, te ruego viajero, que pases por donde vive mi amor…..That’s a song that I would sing on my mission in Argentina (1966 and 1967) and I was delighted when my wife and I later served as missionaries in Chile. On my mission, I had my mother send me a copy of Sgt. Pepper that I listened to often. I had graduated from college by 1971 but my Army buddies and I loved American Pie. I still sing with Don McLean when it comes on Sirius Radio.
Love music too. Parents and grandparents were musicians and there was always music in the house live or recorded. In older times church music was more common and more diverse and better quality than in the last 20-30 years when limited to hymns mostly. My mother was chorister and led ward choirs in the Messiah in the 50s 60s. I played classical piano well and organ at church and loved popular rock music of all decades. Elvis, beachboys, Beatles, Freddy Mercury, Alisha Keyes, jazz of the 30s and 40s, African American in an AA churches, Aretha Franklin Gospel as well as her popular music, Bach, Mozart requiem and operas, Beethoven’s ninth, Rolling Stones, and just heard Paul McCartney live in Los Angeles for 2.5 hours both of us at rest home age. Schubert Ave Maria was my LDS grandmothers favorite musical piece along with anything Scott Joplin and she often played Ave Maria on her LDS ward organ and was criticized for it. She collected sheet music of Many genres throughout her life- no boundaries for her taste. So the Motab is good but confining and should be more inclusive of other religious music. And have solos, small groups, and highlight solo instrumentalists. The nonstop conference hymn arrangements after 70 years in the church are boring me to tears. But newer LDS music compositions don’t do much for me either well maybe a shout out to Paul Cardall.it’s just that we have almost no new LDS music to listen to and sift thru. For uplifting and comforting happy religious try AFrican American in person Gospel or Hawaiian music or watch the ArethaFranklin movie that is all gospel-then try Tosca and Mozarts Magic Flute. The latter made me think of the temple. Lots of inspiration in all kinds of music. I have not made the jump to rap enjoyment but appreciate the skill of M andM .
I am on board with this year’s Grammy judges – Jon Batiste is where it’s at!! I enjoy listening to whichever song comes up next in YouTube’s mix. Jon’s videos captivate the littles in my life. I’m in awe of Jon’s piano playing, Jon’s dance moves, Jon’s shoes. His 1-O-Fun tutorials with Stephen Colbert are just funny – never forget the snack!
All that, plus his music is moving. Deeply.
Curtis Burdett, I also sang “Si Vas para Chile”, but I was in Chile (76-78) when I sang it. Also, those Chilean Saints really knew how to sing in Church. I especially remember “Battle Hymn of the Republic ” as a rousing song in church!
Check out my old posts from a few years back on my mission.
Yesterday, I stopped at a 7-11 to get 32 ounces of now approved caffeine, sugar, and fizz. I had been listening to oldies rock. But as I got out of my Jeep I could l hear music blaring, Italian opera. Seemed like a strange choice for a food mart.
I asked the cashier what the loud operatic music outside was about. She said it was dictated by corporate and designed to repel indigents. So music is not just for inspiration. Unfortunately, this is not a very Christian application of music.
Which reminds me of the movie “Apocalypse Now,” with the helicopters blaring Wagner to help disorient the enemy and inspire the American troops.
Additional songs that inspire me: “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds (words by Ecclesiastes and Pete Seeger); “The Weight” by The Band; and “Times They Are a Changing” by Bob Dylan.
Music is still important part of my life even after “Losing My Religion” while on my mission in France and Belgium. Now I’m on the “Highway to Hell.” But after all, “It’s My Life.” And I can tribute my 10 percent to whomever and whatever I want.. My friends and I can truly “Think of Your Fellow Man.” We can not only “Imagine” a better world, but actually help make it so.
While acting as a over-the-hill “Desperado” and singing my favorite hymn “Turn, Turn, Turn,” I can pretend I’m making the world a better place. I’m not turning that personal responsibility over to the Q15. “Pass out the guns and ammo because the revolutions here.” Actually, I’m a bit of a pacifist.