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Rating: 
Summary: The Lyrics of Civility - A great way to learn about music
Review: This is an excellent book - informative, well written and very interesting. The lyrics of civility are inoffensive words of popular songs that embrace Biblical tradition, enabling the listener the choice of meaning. The work is thorough and exhibits the author's vast knowledge of music. The progression of music with Biblical images through this century is quite revealing. In the beginning of the century it was quite natural for popular music to be based on religious themes. Then during rock and roll, which Dr. Bielen reminds us was the greatest upheaval in popular music history, religious images became more vague. In fact, some songs totally rejected Christian tradition and made light of people who believed in it. Dr. Bielen reminds us that as the decade of the 60s came to a close, young Americans began to look outside traditional religious orders for meaning in life. Spiritual gurus were adopted by popular musicians. In the early 70s there were songs that spoke of an individual being significant to a person, instead of God. Then, by the mid 70s contemporary Christian music began to emerge. Stevie Wonder had quite a few songs with powerful Biblical messages. Dr. Bielen wrote a chapter following the path of Dylan through the 80s after his born-again experience. The popular music of the 90s has personal religion as a common thread. Dr. Bielen gives numerous examples of particular artists in addition to Dylan, and covers his subject completely. Dr. Bielen was at Woodstock, owns several thousand albums and is well qualified to speak about the subject of popular music. He teaches the subject at Bowling Green State University. I recommend this book to any one interested in music. And if you are not interested in music, this is a good place to start to learn about it.
Rating:
Summary: The Lyrics of Civility - A great way to learn about music
Review: This is an excellent book - informative, well written and very interesting. The lyrics of civility are inoffensive words of popular songs that embrace Biblical tradition, enabling the listener the choice of meaning. The work is thorough and exhibits the author's vast knowledge of music. The progression of music with Biblical images through this century is quite revealing. In the beginning of the century it was quite natural for popular music to be based on religious themes. Then during rock and roll, which Dr. Bielen reminds us was the greatest upheaval in popular music history, religious images became more vague. In fact, some songs totally rejected Christian tradition and made light of people who believed in it. Dr. Bielen reminds us that as the decade of the 60s came to a close, young Americans began to look outside traditional religious orders for meaning in life. Spiritual gurus were adopted by popular musicians. In the early 70s there were songs that spoke of an individual being significant to a person, instead of God. Then, by the mid 70s contemporary Christian music began to emerge. Stevie Wonder had quite a few songs with powerful Biblical messages. Dr. Bielen wrote a chapter following the path of Dylan through the 80s after his born-again experience. The popular music of the 90s has personal religion as a common thread. Dr. Bielen gives numerous examples of particular artists in addition to Dylan, and covers his subject completely. Dr. Bielen was at Woodstock, owns several thousand albums and is well qualified to speak about the subject of popular music. He teaches the subject at Bowling Green State University. I recommend this book to any one interested in music. And if you are not interested in music, this is a good place to start to learn about it.
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