Grunge, Gangsta-rap & Gregorian Chant
Gen-X's Search for Transcendence
William R. L. Haley
January 1, 1997
As the music is, so is the people of the country. --Turkish Proverb
Is this the part when everyone
gets on their knees for you?
I always wanted to believe in you
but you never gave me half a
chance or half a reason to.
Are you fragile too?
God, I'd love to make you proud
but I still have my doubts.
Perhaps it's all the ones
who say they know,
they sure put on a show
and man they say it loud.
They're not my crowd,
and if I can't believe in you
it doesn't mean I don't.
I'm fragile,
don't let me fall alone.
--"Fragile," The Caulfields
Music is the language of the soul. We sing when our deepest and darkest emotions need expression. See the Psalms, those revealing Scripture songs to which we turn when weary. Archbishop Sheen notes that "the only time that our blessed Lord Jesus ever is recorded having sung is the night that he went out to his death." Not merely the voice for our pain, we sing when our highest joys need release. See the angelic chorus in John's Revelation. Hear the high soprano of Mary's voice as she sings her Magnificat on the heels of Gabriel's good news. As the Turkish proverb directs us, to hear the heartbeat of a country, listen to the rhythm and rhyme of her people. To tune in on the heart of Generation X, turn on the radio.
Tim Celek and Dieter Zander, both successful pastors to Gen-X, write in Inside the Soul of a New Generation, "Music is much more important to Busters than it ever was to other generations." Have you ever looked through friends' cd collections to learn more about them? In that act we assume that people's musical preference offers an insight into their hearts and minds. A young woman just out of college once told me, "Offend my music, and you offend me." The bands and genres we choose as individuals become ...
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