The Sunday Service: DYLitANy (Week 1)

A highlight of my life over the last couple of weeks has to be my entry into the 'Never Ending Pool' (sad I know). This is a Bob Dylan related game - where particpants choose 12 songs from the master's back catalogue and get points if he deems to play them on the latest leg of his tour. I'm not doing so well at the moment but there's plenty of time for a comeback. Anyway, checking out my score every morning before breakfast I'm reminded of the incredible discography Dylan has. And so it's time for my first 'DYLitANy' in true 'U2charist' style.

Why DYLitANy? As well as being the only 'service' type pun I could come up with, the term litany is sometimes related to long and 'wordy' statements - something Bob Dylan can be accused of in his songs - although in my opinion only in a good way, as he rarely wastes any words!

Processional: Ring them Bells (Oh Mercy, 1989) Listen here...

Praise and worship:
Beyond the Horizon (Modern Times, 2006) Listen here...
I Believe in You (Slow Train Coming, 1979) Listen here...
I Shall be Released (Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits vol. 2, 1971)Listen here...

All age spot (optional): Man Gave Names to all the Animals (Slow Train Coming, 1979) Listen here...

Confession:
What Good am I? (Oh Mercy, 1989) Listen here...
Not Dark Yet (Time Out of Mind, 1997) Listen here...

Offertory: Only a Hobo (Bootleg series vol. 1-3, 1991) Listen here...

Intercession:
Chimes of Freedom (Another Side of Bob Dylan, 1964) Listen here...
Death is not the End (Down in the Groove, 1988) Listen here...

Sermon
Response:
A Hard Rain Gonna Fall (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, 1963) Listen here...

Recessional: Lay Down Your Weary Tune (Biograph, 1985) Listen here...

Benediction: Forever Young (Planet Waves, 1974) Listen here...

The Sunday service: CAVEspers

Perhaps you've heard about 'U2charists'? In case not the 'U2charist' is a church service that uses church liturgy interspersed with U2 songs instead of traditional church music. Firstly, a quick word on this. I get the concept - somewhat in line with this blog - and I do like U2. However, in my mind it's cheating slightly! Using U2 is pretty much like using church music or at least Delirious? and the dozens of Christian bands that mimick the U2 sound. What I want is something a little bit more 'edgy'. So here's my first offering: CAVEspers...

Why CAVEspers? Well, there is definitely something of the night about Nick Cave, and it just seems appropriate that Vespers, the evening prayer service, belongs to him (although I'm very aware that the format below doesn't follow a Vespers format, necessarily). So here are some songs by Nick Cave that I would use in a CAVEspers service...

Opening hymn: Get Ready for love (Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus, 2004) Listen here...

Praise and Worship:
Hallelujah (No More Shall We Part, 2001) Listen here...
Carry Me (Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus, 2004)
I Let Love in (Let Love in, 1994) Listen here...

Confession:
Foi Na Cruz (The Good Son, 1990) Listen here... Translation here.
People Ain't No Good (The Boatman's Call, 1997) Listen here...

Bible Reading: There is a Kingdom (The Boatman's Call, 1997)

Intecessions:
We Call Upon the Author (Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, 2008) Listen here...
God is in the House (No More Shall We Part, 2001) Listen here...

Sermon
Response: The Mercy Seat (Tender Prey, 1988) Listen here...

Recessional: Bring it On (Nocturama, 2003) Listen here...

And finally, here's a quote from the man himself about Sunday services: "When I go to church, I have to take so much of it as metaphor, and I find it very irritating. The sermons are often pathetic and untrue, based on terrible misinterpretations of the Bible. But I like the order and the ritual of a church service. It gives me an elevated feeling about the mundane. I’m more aware of things... I haven’t had any great epiphanies. I just feel it’s my duty to educate myself about the concept of God."

Nick Cave>We Call Upon the Author

On Friday I went to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. They gave a simply magnificent performance and were so loud that even two days later my ears are still ringing. Cave might be 50 but I don't think I've seen such an animated lead singer - the drink and drugs don't seem to have taken too much toll on him.

The centrepiece to the gig was the song 'We Call Upon the author' from the Bad Seeds' recent album (Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, 2008). Clearly this is an important song in the ever increasing and impressive Cave discography - it also takes centre-stage on the album. Cave introduced the song by saying, 'This next song alone will be worth the entrance fee. Are you ready?' Then the band pulled out the best performance of the night - intense, frenzied and simply brilliant - actually worth every penny of The £27.50 ticket.

The song itself is challenging - musically - and certainly lyrically (see lyrics here). Now I've reflected long on hard on what this song represents for me. Firstly, the lyrics of the song ask serious questions about God. On Friday Cave literally screamed out the line - 'We call upon the author to explain!' Then he launched into this verse:
'Oh rampant discrimination, mass poverty, third world debt, infectious disease
Global inequality and deepening socio-economic divisions
Well, it does in your brain
And we call upon the author to explain'
Now this is where I want to make my point! You just don't get words like this in a church service - but I think we should. The Psalms are just full of questions for God - often angry questions from alienated voices. I would argue that it is an essential part of the worship experience to pose such questions - it actually affirms us as God's children, granted freewill to ask real questions of our Father. And this is why the songs we sing in church - ancient and modern - just do not cut it for me. That's why I have to listen people like Nick Cave. They simply provide a worship experience that I don't get in so called 'sacred' music. When I go to church I want some honest, down-to-earth collective 'worship' - that does not mean just telling God how great He is, it means opening our lives before him and admitting that sometimes we just don't get Him or what is happening in the world He created. On Friday during this song, Nick Cave took me to that place and I'm sure The Author was fine with that.

The Rolling Stones>Sympathy for the Devil

I love The Rolling Stones for the stuff they did in the '60s and very early '70s. Unlike Bob Dylan, for example, they just haven't been able to mark every passing decade with some classic material. They're legends of course as the recent Scorsese movie, 'Shine a Light', no doubt proves but for me the '60s and early '70s is when they peaked.

The infamous 'Sympathy for the Devil' appeared on the excellent album Beggars Banquet (1968). It caused a furore at the time when The Stones became associated with Satan worship because of this and other dark allusions in their songs. The Stones, not particularly known for their lyrics, really excelled in this one. Events throughout history starting with the crucifixion are named one after the other as 'Lucifer' narrates his role in some of the world's worst attrocities. The samba-style musical backing is brilliant and Keith Richards' guitar solo could just be my favourite of all time. Jagger's vocal performance is also striking.

So what of the Devil? Well, Jagger and Richards have claimed this is more about the 'dark side of mankind' than about a Satan figure - a kind of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde kind of scenario. Of course it's true that much of the hell we find on earth is created by humankind itself. However, in 2002 Richards became more explicit: "Sympathy is quite an uplifting song. It's just a matter of looking the Devil in the face. He's there all the time. I've had very close contact with Lucifer - I've met him several times. Evil - people tend to bury it and hope it sorts itself out and doesn't rear its ugly head. Sympathy for the Devil is just as appropriate now, with 9/11. There it is again, big time. When that song was written, it was a time of turmoil. It was the first sort of international chaos since World War II. And confusion is not the ally of peace and love. You want to think the world is perfect. Everybody gets sucked into that. And as America has found out to its dismay, you can't hide. You might as well accept the fact that evil is there and deal with it any way you can. Sympathy for the Devil is a song that says, Don't forget him. If you confront him, then he's out of a job."

Preach it Keith - Make of that what you will...