Tuesday
Mar062007
The Definitive 200 Albums -- Let the Debate Begin
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 03:27PM 
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, here is the list of the 200 "definitive" albums that all music lovers must own.
Click here: The Definitive 200
Looking over the list, I can tell you that I own (on vinyl or CD) most of the albums dating from before 1975, a few from the late 70's and 80's, fewer yet from the 90's and virtually none of those from 2000 on. I am also proud to say that I own not one "Country" or "Rap" album on the list! I do have one or two disco albums, but they were part of my wife's dowry (along with a Gordon Lightfoot album--which I hate). Long live rock!
Reader Comments (54)
How is Cream not on this list?
What about Dylan's last 3 albums. All have been classics.
Glad to see Rush snuck in at 198. Neil Peart's drums and lyrics alone deserve a nod.
Midnight Oil's "Diesel and Dust" should be on this list as well.
Sorry I'm not sure what you're accusing me of, could you please just come out & say it.
No offense taken. I'm always up for a good scuffle when it comes to music, film, and art in general.
I didn't understand the "spoil-sport fundies".
All is fair in love & message boards ;-)
Thanks for understanding. It's actually my first time contributing to a message board, so go easy on me. ;-)
No worries.
Welcome :-)
What did you think of my comment though? Should Christians be listening to the likes of The Beatles, Van Halen, Michael Jackson, Guns & Roses, Meatloaf (etc.)? God's Word teaches us that we should do all things to the glory of God. Can listening to this kind of music really be to the glory of God, especially if you consider the lyrics and the worldview these artists bring to the music?
IE: Eating a meal by a great cook who is not called, enjoying a painting by an artist who is not called, listening to music by musician who is not called.
Their talents are still God given even if they are not Christians.
If I know a piece of art I'm viewing is from someone who is not a Christian, my appreciation for his or her work doesn’t get altered.
Art is there to be enjoyed.
In your post you said:
"I have no problem with enjoying someone’s art even if I know God does not call him or her."
Does that mean you enjoy any and all art, or do you make a distinction? What would you consider "great art"? Can the use of a God-given ability in order to oppose and blaspheme the God who gave that ability ever qualify as "great art" (no matter how aesthetically pleasing it may be to the hearer)?
Eating a meal by a great cook is not exactly in the same class as someone singing filthy lyrics or blaspheming God. A good meal will almost always glorify God, but the lyrics and philosophies represented in the music mentioned above certainly do not.
David Lynch, Merchant & Ivory, Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese have made films that have moved me to tears.
Joy Division, The Ramones, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Muddy Waters, Lustmord have all created music that has inspired me.
Gary Oldman, Merryl Streep, Robert Deniro, I will see any movie these actors are in.
I don't know if any of these artists have made a profession of faith. Some, I know are not fans of the church.
But I'm moved by the fact that they have used their amazing talents to create moving art.
Even more moved knowing where their talents came from.
You mentioned "filthy lyrics or blaspheming God", well if they are instrumental done by artists that have not been called does it make it less "filthy lyrics or blaspheming God" because the music is an instrumental piece.
I’m sure there are people in the Culinary Arts field that have blasphemy philosophies. But since it’s not voiced because we are eating a meal, is it now okay to enjoy their work if we know they are offenders of our Lord?
In some cases some of these artist have shown the depravity of man & I am reminded (trivially as it may sound) by their work of how low man can get.
Take a movie like “Schindler's list”. The horrible images in that movie should not be hidden just because of the behavior of these awful acts.
The sun will rise & fall on those called & not called. I am thankful to know where these wonderful talents come from & pray for those that have not been called that God would have mercy on them.
I was involved in the “Christian” music scene for many years. I saw as many sinful acts as one would see in a “secular” music scene. The difference……the secular scene typically has better art & defiantly more original work.
I would encourage you to pick up Francis A. Schaeffer “Art & The Bible” or (yes I know Frankie Schaeffer is now a Greek Orthodox) “Shame Pearls For Real Swine” by Frankie Schaeffer.
Excellent books on art & the Christian.
If you don’t want to invest into these artists, then don’t. That’s cool.
But I have had many years of enjoyment from artist whom I believe to not be Christians.
It's the same with movies. God's Word teaches us that He is zealous for his Name and that no-one who takes his Name in vain will go unpunished. How then can we take pleasure in movies where God's Name is used as a curse word every second sentence? It's not that God does not allow us to watch such movies, but rather that, if we love God, we should be so grieved by the blasphemy that it spoils the whole experience for us. Christians, if the feel the same way God feels about sin and consider the price that was paid, should not enjoy watching movies in which God’s name is blasphemed, or which contains violence for pleasure, or sexual immorality, or occult practices etc..
The question we must ask ourselves is not "Are the artists Christian?" or even "What are the motives of the artists?" but rather: Is what they're doing or saying right and pleasing to God or not? If one considers the works of Spurgeon, Tozer and many of the puritans and how they warn Christians about what many of us today would consider ‘innocent entertainments’, one must wonder how greatly Christianity has conformed to the world that even blasphemy and gross immorality will not stop Christians from enjoying the entertainment the world offers.
props, bro.
rock and roll ain't noise pollution!
zrim
ps. walt, you are letting your politics hamper your enjoyment of music! dixie chicks are only abominable because they are country singers. :)
Yeah!! And we shouldn't eat food sacrificed to idols either!!
It is funny that before, when I thought I was earning merit with God for only listening to music performed by Christians, I hardly ever cared about theology. Now that I realize that I have freedom (Romans 14) to listen to non Christian music I care so much about theology that I really don't spend much time with music any more. Isn't that interesting?