"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." -- John 15:5,8
***** 11 PROOFS OF THE SECRET CONNECTION BETWEEN CCM AND C.S. LEWIS
As the author of the Chronicles of Narnia, Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and many other classics, C.S. Lewis has had a vast impact on modern Christian writers and thinkers.
And since Aslan sang the magical land of Narnia into existence, it is no surprise Lewis has also had an influence on Christian music as well, from Michelle Tumes to King's X to Bethany Dillon.
A version of this list appeared in the December issue of CCM Magazine. And now, with today's release of the much-anticipated film The Chronicles of Narnia, we present you with this super-sized expanded list ...
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1) Massivivid -- The industrial pop band alluded to C.S. Lewis on its 1998 debut album, Bright Blur (Tatoo Records), specifically in the tracks "brightblur," "unmade" and "deep heaven."
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2) 2nd Chapter of Acts -- In the 1970s, the sibling trio 2nd Chapter of Acts made an indelible mark on the emerging Christian music scene. One of their triumphs was 1979's ambitious The Roar of Love: A Musical Journey into the Wonder of C.S. Lewis' Narnia (Live Oak). The simple childlike story captured the imagination of songwriter Annie Herring, who spent eight years writing songs for the project.
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3) Narnia -- Hailing from Sweden, Christian melodic metal band Narnia has built quite a fandom in Europe and Japan. The band -- which, naturally, uses a lion as a mascot -- has been working on a new album, and recently previewed a song for the crowd at Germany's Metalfest. Watch for Enter The Gate in 2006 on MCM Music.
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4) The Swift -- This popular young band, which has toured with Audio Adrenaline and MercyMe, started out with the name Puddleglum (a character in The Silver Chair ). Deciding the name made them sound like a hardcore band, the boys took their current name from a hidden track on the Puddleglum album Strange (2000).
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5) U2 -- Say what you want about Val Kilmer as Batman, the real attention-getter of the 1995 Batman Forever multimedia juggernaut was U2's soundtrack song, "Hold Me, Touch Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me." During the spiritually- and philosophically-charged animated video, a copy of The Screwtape Letters is seen falling from Bono's coat pocket. Bono's character in the video, MacPhisto, who reappeared on U2's ZooTV tour, was inspired by the book's title character.
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6) Carolyn Arends -- This singer/songwriter has the song "Not a Tame Lion" on her album Under the Gaze, available at carolynarends.com.
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7) Poor Old Lu -- One of the great Christian alt-rock bands of the '90s, Poor Old Lu’s name was a tip of the hat to the character of Lucy in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Although the much-loved band is now much-missed, former members Aaron Sprinkle and Jesse Sprinkle continue to make great music through a variety of outlets, both serving as producers and artists.
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8) A Musical Tribute to C.S. Lewis -- This Celtic Praise & Worship collection from Maranatha! features a collection of recordings by artists deeply moved by the literature of the prolific writer and teacher. Significant moments in Lewis' life are illuminated through the poignant and haunting musical performances by such artists as Moya Brennan, Phil Keaggy and the Chieftans.
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9) Terry Scott Taylor -- Taylor's 1993 record A Briefing For The Ascent (Frontline Records) is an album-length meditation of the passing from this life into the next. Dedicated to his grandma, who left to be with the Lord in 1986, the collection is full of allusions borrowed from C.S. Lewis, especially the concept of the "wood between the worlds," as found in the Narnia adventure The Magician’s Nephew.
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10) Chris Rice -- On his album Run the Earth ... Watch the Sky (Rocketown Records) singer/songwriter Rice waxes nostalgic with the song "Nonny Nonny," finding truth in Popsicle stains and the Chronicles of Narnia.
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11) Sixpence None the Richer -- As Sixpence lead singer Leigh Nash explained to a national TV audience on "Late Night with David Letterman," the origin of the band's name comes from an example C. S. Lewis used in Mere Christianity: When a man gives anything to God, it is like a small child going to his father and saying, "Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present." The father is pleased with the gift but, as the story goes, is hardly the richer for the transaction.
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ANOTHER DAY AT COLLEGE FOR A CHRISTIAN GIRL ... WITH SUPER POWERS ...
If it's Friday, that means another episode of the comic strip The Miller Sisters was posted this morning.
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Chris Well is the author of the suspense thriller Forgiving Solomon Long (Harvest House), picked by Booklist as one of the Top 10 Christian Novels of 2005.
Read the first chapter online.
Chris is a member of International Thriller Writers, Inc. Find him online at StudioWell.com, or at his new blog, Chris Well: Learning Curve. (Subscribe to the RSS Feed).
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