Lately, it seems Jesus not only rocks, but He’s also a movie star too. The Jesus Music, a documentary written, directed, and produced by The Erwin Brothers (“I Can Only Imagine,” “I Still Believe,” “Woodlawn,”) traces the roots of Contemporary Christian Music back to the Jesus Movement of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s via archival footage and new interviews with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Kirk Franklin, Michael Sweet, Toby Mac, and scores of other Christian artists and insiders. Electric Jesus is the fictional story of a Christian heavy metal band and the young ingenue that stows away on their RV and manages to steal the show. Starring Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone of NBC’s The Office) and Judd Nelson of The Breakfast Club, Electric Jesus has billed itself as “the 80s Hair Band Music-Comedy You’ve Been Saving Yourself For,” as it has crisscrossed the US on a tour of film festivals. (True Tunes featured the cast on an earlier episode and produced an entire special podcast series on the film as well.)
True Tunes’ founder and host John J. Thompson is featured in The Jesus Music as an interview subject and historian and served Electric Jesus as Music Supervisor and as a historical consultant. On this episode of the podcast, Thompson brings Andy Erwin (Director of The Jesus Music) and Chris White (Writer and Director of Electric Jesus) together for a wide-ranging conversation about their films in particular, the subject of Jesus Music in general, and the challenges surrounding faithful art-making in the marketplace today.
And on the Jukebox, we contemplate a slew of Jesus Music that did not come from the Evangelical underground and did not stay put in the Christian marketplace. This look at “Jesus On The Mainline” seeks to expand the conversation about just how influential Jesus has been in popular culture over the last fifty years – especially as far as music is concerned. Was CCM music the only, or even most obvious path for people of faith to take?
(Don’t miss the companion article for this episode: Jesus Music Rediscovered? A Reflection by John J. Thompson at TrueTunes.com)
Full Show Notes available at TrueTunes.com/JesusMusicMovies
Michael Bloodgood: A Long Obedience in a LOUD Direction
@45RPM The Prayer Chain: Backstage in ’18
Chagall Guevara: Revolutionary Art, Halcyon Days, & Long-Play Redemption (+ a Squint Jukebox Meltdown)
The Cornerstone Festival: 10 Years Gone (and counting...)
Walking St. Paul’s Blvd with Michael McDermott (+ Peter Himmelman on the Jukebox)
Michael Roe Did It For Love (Pt.2) [The Lost Dogs, 77s, Kerosene Halo]
@45RPM - Character Witnesses for Michael Roe (Terry S. Taylor, Jimmy A, Randy Layton, A-Train, & Jan Eric Volz)
Michael Roe Did It For Love (Pt. 1) [77s, Lost Dogs, Kerosene Halo, Etc,]
@45RPM - Listening Carefully w Buddy Miller & Ian Fitchuk
Coffee w Propaganda: World Building, Critical Thinking, & History Healing (+ Midnight Oil on the Jukebox!)
@45RPM - Steve Scott & The Gospel of John as Creative Cultural Critique (pt 2)
Eric Earley (Blitzen Trapper) + Sacred Psychedelia on the Jukebox (w David Bunker)
Keyboard Warriors: Ronnie Martin (+ Steve Fairnie / The Technos on the Jukebox)
Steve Scott on the Missional Purpose of Art (pt 1)
Meet Doe! (+ Aaron ”A-Train” Smith on Stevie Wonder in the 70s on the Jukebox)
@45RPM - ROEMER on Knowing Our Role (Pt. 2)
Royce Lovett’s Unlikely Journey (+ The Roots of Gospel Rap w Soup The Chemist & Chris Williamson on the Jukebox)
@45RPM - ROEMER on Bonhoeffer, Marx, and Missiology (Pt. 1)
Andy Zipf, Achtung Baby, and the Power of Place
@45RPM - Andy Zipf Knows He’s A Ghost! (Special Live Performance)
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