Body Piercing Saved My
Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock
Andrew Beaujon
The phenomenon of "Christian
rock" is unavoidable in certain modern circles. Take, for example, the very Dutch, very
conservative, and extremely religious West Michigan environment in which I was
raised, an environment so steeped in the Christian rock scene that I am
disappointed in the easy-listening, non-ska qualities of local Christian radio
offerings in a much larger market (Detroit ).
Though my religious beliefs do not generally jive with those who represent
evangelical Christianity's most, er, vocal supporters (to keep it vague and
respectful), living in an area so sympathetic to the sometimes-genre that author Andrew Beaujon visited a college
about five minutes away from my childhood home certainly influenced my teenage
years, and I maintain a fondness for the Superchic[k]s, Supertones, Newsboys,
Switchfoots, and other fundamentally religious artists who shaped, and continue
to influence, my musical tastes. Though Beaujon worked on this book during my
early college years, when I was liberating myself from the closet (and, perhaps
not unsurprisingly, the Christian scene with it), I nonetheless hold a not-entirely-grudging
respect for Christian music and its makers, and I am glad to report that
Beaujon, though not a Christian, maintained the same respect for this easily
typecast parallel universe that I do. Body
Piercing Saved My Life is an outsider's look at a very fervent movement
based almost purely on a specific set of religious values, so much so that a
slightly non-sequitur section on anti-abortion protestors found its way into
the book. That Beaujon managed to operate with only a limited amount of
(usually deserved) snark and skepticism is a testament to his character, and
that the book is filled with the utmost respect for the musicians and other
industry professionals is both a credit to Beaujon and a subtle reminder,
encoded in the book but not plastered upon it, that to paint with a wide brush
is a dangerous folly indeed.
That said, however, the book isn't
quite a landmark work of investigative journalism or, sad to say, excellent
writing. While Beaujon's ability to evoke a setting is truly captivating at
times, his parenthetical asides tend toward the distracting, with unrelated
passages thrown in at times to shake things up, rarely for the better. The
book, like some of its chapters, seems to lack a cohesive sense of direction.
For example, Beaujon certainly has the right idea in periodically including discrete
interviews with several important industry figures, but these sections of the
book seem to jump in at random, without tying into the text at large. Better to
bunch them at relevant points, perhaps, than to scatter them and lose a
potential story. Yet aside from an early chapter that traces the history of
contemporary Christian music in the United States , narrative is
difficult to come by in this book, aside from some framing devices and festival
stories that read more like a memoir than like journalism. While some chapter
distinctions are obvious, such as the industry-heavy section focused on Tooth
& Nail Records, much of the book seems nonchalantly organized, a collection
of discrete articles more than a single, focused look at Christian music. There
are times, as well, where Beaujon's outsider status works against him, and he
often leans heavily on a few pivotal figures where alternative options proved
difficult to convince
By the end of the book, it is
difficult to come away feeling like Beaujon exposed a full range of opinions
and views on, and inside, the Christian music industry. He should indeed be
commended for scratching the surface of such tricky questions as "What
makes Christian music Christian?" and for delving into- and recognizing
the uniqueness of- the modern worship movement, but serious exploration seems
just beyond the scope of this particular volume, for better and worse. While he
discovers doubters and lifts the lid on the extremely diverse types of faith
and belief that drive Christian musicians, the books feels repetitive, like a
catalog of meet-and-greets instead of a lengthy exposition. In this way, the
book feels like a beginning, a timid dip of the toe into an ocean of
conflicting musical, political, and religious worlds. Body Piercing Saved My Life only scratches the surface of its subject,
perhaps necessarily, but as a brief secular foray into the world of
contemporary Christian music, Christian rock, and evangelical Christianity's relationship
to popular culture, it is perfectly adequate.
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