On Songs & Albums

Soap A makes your hands smell fruity and fresh. Soap B has no scent at all. Which one makes your hands cleaner? And what does this have to do with movies?

Joe Henry, who recorded my favorite record of 2014 (Invisible Hour), was the guest on the latest installment of the excellent podcast "On Being," with Krista Tippett.

I may have sensed, on some level, the dissonance between such prejudice and Jesus’ own teachings. But if I did, I suppressed it. That sense of superiority, of being on the right team, of having Jesus’ favor: they felt too good to give up. One of the easiest targets on my denominational dartboard was liturgy.

I posted a question on Facebook and elsewhere: What breakup songs or breakup records mean the most to you? What music do you find entangled in your own hurtful experiences of separation? The floodgates burst open.

Sharing your heart with someone who in turn takes sledgehammer to it understandably leaves an impression.