My favorite album of all time is Mezzamorphis by the British band Delirious?. I don't think many people know this. But now you know. And knowing is half the battle. (Usually whenever anyone asks me who my favorite band is, I respond with Radiohead.)
For a while, back when I was younger, I was quite a music elitist. If I had gone to more concerts regularly (and worn skintight jeans and flannel shirts), I have would probably been classified as a hipster. Yeah. It was like that. I would check Pitchfork every day for the latest news and listen to all the bands that no one's ever heard of and feel proud about it. I was more concerned about my indie rock street cred than the actual music I was listening to.
Nowadays, I just listen to what I like. Or what I love. And I still love Radiohead. OK Computer, The Bends, Kid A - all three of them among the greatest albums of my generation. OK Computer, in particular, has always been an album that resonated with me. I could listen to that over and over without skipping any tracks.
I came across an insightful article the other day, about Radiohead, and why they matter, from a Christian's perspective. Here's the link:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2011/03/27/see-what-radiohead-sees/
I think it's a great read, especially if you are familiar with Radiohead's work. I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with the writer's observations and reflections.
I also started thinking about "Christian" music and what kind of impact that area of music has had on me. There really aren't too many "Christian" bands or artists that I like. Other than a few worship albums here and there, I don't pay any attention to the world of Christian music. Call me cynical, but I just feel that Christian music is generally just a watered-down imitation of secular pop music trends, with embarrassing lyrics. It's a sonically decrepit landscape.
(I say all that with the full authority of a man who has absolutely no musical talent himself. But, y'know what they say... Those who can't create always turn to the second best thing: we critique. Actually, I don't know who says that. I just made it up.)
Mezzamorphis, out of every piece of Christian music I've ever encountered, is the album I go back to time and time again. It probably is the "OK Computer" of Christian music.
Similar to OK Computer, Mezzamorphis isn't exactly a concept album, but its songs are tied to one another thematically, which makes the album as a whole stronger because it has a coherent message.
Also, I think Mezzamorphis is one of the best-produced albums in Christian music. It's definitely got its own sound. You can hear how Delirious? broke away from the U2 comparisons that accompanied their previous album. Sonically, Mezzamorphis is lush and rich, brimming with a subtle aural intricacy that tends to be missing from most Christian music. There's a nice, natural-sounding reverb to the drums. Their basslines pretty melodic, too. It's definitely a nice "headphones" album. I feel that even now, something like 11 or 12 years after this album first came out, I'm still discovering new sounds when I listen to it.
Mezzamorphis is about something I think about often, even if not consciously. It's about the daily struggle that any believer faces: the struggle between finding contentment in this worldly kingdom of comfort and finding solace in Christ, because our citizenship is in heaven.
The album opener, "The Mezzanine Floor", begins with some soft/loud, start/stop dynamics before settling into a simple but elegant, vibey groove. It's a song about being in this sort of intermediate stage of life, and knowing you have something better to look forward to in the future. As the album progresses, this longing becomes more and more clear and explicit, though there are still occasional hiccups that remind us that the flesh is weak.
Delirious? made their rep as a worship band. "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" is probably their most famous song - it's a song more well-known than the people who created it. Mezzamorphis isn't a worship album, but there are still moments of intense worship to be found within it. The song "Follow" brilliantly keeps in line with the theme of heavenly citizenship while offering a pledge of worship to the Lord. The shimmering accompaniment gives it a really ethereal quality.
Other songs on Mezzamorphis, like "See The Star" and "Gravity", highlight the pursuit of Christ in a world where sinful idolatry threaten to derail us from the path God has called us to follow. Any Christian can relate to that... But it helps to have rocking tunes to back up the words. And what we really do to try and stay on that path of righteousness? Well, it helps to pray... Which is what the song "Love Falls Down" is all about. The album sequencing is very effective in portraying a realistic Christian life, with its ups and downs and the ultimate acknowledgement of our need for Jesus Christ to save us, and the knowledge that we can't make it to heaven on our own volition.
I love how the album's two closing songs finish things off with that story. "Blindfold" starts off as a sort of brokenhearted, dreary, desolate song about not doing such a great job of living for Christ. Then the narrator cries out to the Lord to remove the metaphorical blindfold, and eventually the song metamorphoses into a simple, but stirring, worship of God. The final song, "Kiss Your Feet", summarizes the narrator's realization that he knows he is not really trapped between two worlds. Heaven's gravity well, God's calling and election, is far more powerful and irresistible than the world. As a result, the narrator proudly proclaims his life's purpose: to glorify God with everything he has in this life.
(The U.S. edition of Mezzamorphis has two bonus tracks, which are a nice encore.)
The other day, on the radio, I heard an advertisement from Kaiser Permanente. They were saying how listening to music has some mental health benefits or something. I don't know if that's medically proven or anything, but it sure sounds nice.
Sometimes, when I feel downcast, I dig out Mezzamorphis and listen to this classic album. (Yeah, I still listen to CDs. I'm old-school like that. If only I had a vinyl player...) It's a reminder to me that this world is temporary. The God I worship, the God who mercifully extended salvation to sinful me, is eternal. The comfort I find in the things of this world are ultimately powerless. To think about how hard I often cling to my comforts, to think about how I can be consumed with sinfulness or even just things that have no eternal bearing - thoughts like that only shame me. I pray that God removes my manmade blindfold so I can recognize His majesty over me.
And I think of heaven's gravity well, tugging at my soul. I think of the love that was displayed to me when the Lamb laid down His life, only to rise again, so that I might have eternal spiritual life. Salvation. When I think of it long enough, hard enough, I'm moved to tears because I have no other adequate means to express my thanks and worship.
Happy Easter.
