What is independent music? Where did it come from and why does it matter? Can creative choices about the production and distribution of art be spaces of cultural & social change as powerful as the works themselves? What would Gustavo Guiterrez

When the Last Days Come - Micah Lott

Apr 13th, 2009 26m 24s

Over the past two decades, John Darnielle of the The Mountain Goats has crafted a remarkable collection of songs, distinguished by lyrics of high literary quality. One notable feature of Darnielle’s song-writing is his frequent use of eschatolo

"Don't Let Me Explode" - Matthew Carillo-Vincent

Apr 13th, 2009 49m 20s

In linking our struggles in faith with the rigid demands of gender, The Hold Steady’s 2005 album Separation Sunday offers a conversation about ethics and empathy as a new way of thinking through the politics of masculinity at the beginning of t

Hot Soft Lights - Erin Keane

Apr 13th, 2009 18m 38s

The Hold Steady’s songs explore the struggles of ripping highs and exquisite, sketchy lows of clever kids, townies and a host of apocryphal characters in their hungry—and often violent—search for grace, their fatal flaws and dubious virtues giv

Hell Yeah! - David Horace Perkins

Apr 13th, 2009 33m 51s

For creators and performers of American or Southern Gothic music, symbols of stereotyped Southern religion—emotionally charged revival, errant preachers, the amen corner, mourner’s bench, serpent handling, curses, damnation and divine retributi

I Be's Troubled - Stephen J. Nichols

Apr 13th, 2009 27m 2s

Blues music, with one foot in the church and the world of the African American spirituals and another foot in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta, exhibits a profound theological interpretation of life. The music of Muddy Waters, Charley

Music + Faith + Commerce? - Trey Many

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 39m

In this workshop, Trey Many discusses the odd impact of having one’s faith associated with their music career, mainly focusing on Christianity and its role in popular music. Topics include the demonization of secular music within the church, th

The Language of Faith - Tim Regan-Porter

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 2m

How do we talk about faith to those outside the faith community, as well as within it, in ways that promote understanding? It’s not just the vocal firebrands of “the religious right” that alienate. Too often, the language we use in everyday con

Music & Meaning - Robert Nordling & Benita Wolters-Fredlund

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 15m

We are saturated with music, and not only from what we intentionally listen to. Advertisements, sound tracks, commercials, car radio, our iPods set on shuffle as we work out…all these sources of music feed (force feed?) us an almost constant st

Gender Inequities, Community and Change in Electronic/Dance Music - Rebekah Farrugia

Apr 10th, 2009 1h

This workshop will examine the everyday assumptions, language, actions and texts that situate women on the margins of electronic/dance music (E/DM) culture. Drawing on five years of interviews with female DJs and producers, Farrugia explores ho

How to Write a Great Song in Five (Not So) Easy Steps - Over the Rhine

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 6m

Every songwriter has to determine some criteria for doing his or her best work. How do you know if your own songs are approaching what you actually care about as a writer? Detweiler and Bergquist talk about what they're most drawn to as songwri

Junkyard Orchestration - Nathan Johnson

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 2m

This workshop provides a behind-the-scenes look at composing music for independent film. Using audio clips and images from his recent original scores for the acclaimed neo-noir film Brick and the upcoming The Brothers Bloom, Johnson explores sp

“Clenched Fists, Black Eyes” - Mary McCampbell

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 6m

In this session, Mary McCampbell examines the role of anger and lament in the music of The Sex Pistols, The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, The Psalters and Sufjan Stevens. McCampbell also explores whether a punk rock aesthetic/message

Worshiping Worship (Worshiping Ourselves) - Lenny Smith

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 17m

A young college student is walking across campus, holding hands with his sweetheart. “I am beginning to think you really don't know me. After all, I have needs. I study all week and by the weekend, I need a break! Let me just go hiking on Satur

Kenneth Thomas Interview by Chris Mills

Apr 10th, 2009 51m 57s

In a conversation moderated by local DJ Chris Mills, Thomas talks about his story, spirituality, his work as a DJ and the communal nature of dance music.

A Junkyard Journey - Julie Lee

Apr 10th, 2009 57m 51s

Julie Lee is a visual artist as well as a singer and songwriter. She studied painting from the age of eight, but has found her voice as a collage artist in the junkyard, taking from the old and discarded to make something new that redemptively

Radio Gaga - Jude Adam

Apr 10th, 2009 59m 15s

Is radio still the key to getting music to the masses, or a dinosaur killed off by the digital age? Tips on how to get your songs heard (and played) by taste-makers and radio programmers and how to keep your audience coming back for more.

Loving Christ, Hating Christian Rock - Jessica Hopper and David Bazan

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 10m

Music journalist Jessica Hopper and David Bazan (Pedro The Lion) discuss his lyrics, coming up in and out of the Christian music scene, reframing his faith in music and what it's like to be an artist straddling secular and non-secular worlds.

Taking It to the Streets - Jacque Rhodes

Apr 10th, 2009 1h 3m

Would you be surprised if you picked up the latest Snoop Dogg CD, flipped it over to read the titles and found a track called, "Jesus Is My Lord and Savior?” It is common practice, and even expected, for a bona fide pop musician or rap artist t

Can "Christian" Music be Saved? - Grant Elgersma

Apr 9th, 2009 54m 10s

One might argue that words are ill-equipped to capture what music is, which is the reason people are drawn to musical experience in the first place…so why try to stamp music with any kind of label or category? Well, it seems we just can’t help

Thank God the Music Industry is in Trouble - Charlie Peacock

Apr 9th, 2009 1h 22m

Long time recording artist, and former music industry executive Charlie Peacock reflects on the seismic changes in the music industry and their effect on the creation of music. Peacock contrasts old music business models with new models of musi

Is it Really so Strange? - Bifrost Arts

Apr 9th, 2009 1h 3m

This workshop critically examines the relevance of sacred music within popular culture, and in particular, pop music. Pensak and Wardell briefly survey the history of hymnody and sacred music with a focus on the deep roots of the sacred in popu

Church--But for the Grace of God, There Go I - Baby Dee

Apr 9th, 2009 1h 1m

An interactive, musical conversation with Baby Dee moderated by Adam Wolpa, professor of art at Calvin College.

Spare Change in a Stradivarius Case - Joan Van Dessel

Apr 9th, 2009 53m 45s

The primary objective of this workshop is to offer leading questions that encourage musicians to explore how they might further integrate practical aspects of their faith with their artistic interests. Discussion includes intersections between

Creation, Fall, Redemption, CCM - Terry Mattingly

Apr 9th, 2009 1h 17m

Want to start a war? Try to work out an authoritative definition for this all too common term, "Christian music." Nearly two decades after Amy Grant recorded "Baby, Baby," Christians can still work up a lather in the culture wars, and worship w