Comments on: Soul music for the Black Dog

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:51:37 +0000

When I’m feeling low, I listen to old time Gospel – Dixie Hummingbirds, Mahalia Jackson, Swan Silvertones, Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Never fails to cheer me up and reminds where all those fantastic soul singers like Gloria Gayner came from

By: Lisa Watkinson

Lisa Watkinson — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:27:57 +0000

And for me in solitude when driving it’s David Gray, I find some of his songs/music allow me to reflect and that’s no bad thing. I should add I also own a substanstial amount of Worship CDs but as David has implied sometimes they are not what you need.

By: David Keen

David Keen — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:06:12 +0000

I like your description of ‘in your face, fighting music’. Like you I either go for moody stuff, or music with energy and passion – my favourite is ‘Zoo Station’ by U2. Strangely, Coldplay gets me dancing with joy much more readily than worship CDs.

By: Christopher Shell

Christopher Shell — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:30:00 +0000

I so agree. G K Chesterton spoke of those who are comforted by long words (or, might I add, by objective/unemotional-sounding prose, or by writing under a high-status, beautifully-produced imprint) being shocked when precisely the same content is delivered in one-syllable words.
There’s no merit in simply sounding clever (or impenetrable): quite the reverse.

By: Doug Chaplin

Doug Chaplin — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:33:00 +0000

A fair point, with which I entirely agree. I was attempting a little irony in my ending – but obviously misfired

By: Charles Read

Charles Read — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:20:45 +0000

This post is eerily relevant at the moment for a reason that I cannot divulge in public, but it is so true! (Except the Barth quote is I think an urban legend – but it does sum Barth up well!).
I have certainly encountered the attitude that if the students understand you, then you are not a proper scholar! This is often coupled with the idea that if you publish popular stuff aimed at helping the church at grassroots level, this is not worth anything because only peer-reviewed rarification counts!
While I would be the first to defend, advocate and promote the ‘traditional’ academic research (and have done some of it myself), in ministerial training colleges and courses we need the popular stuff too. And we certainly need lecturers who are subject specialists who can teach clearly and with enthusiasm – and so inspire students.
In my current post, I am responsible for quality control of teaching – so I am on my hobby horse here!