Alt-country/roots-rock songs with Catholic imagery?

[Tele295]

Any suggestions for this kind of music with Catholic imagery (eg, Sacred Heart, Eucharist, Saints, etc.)? I was listening to Brian Setzer's "St. Jude" from Nitro Burnin Funny Daddy and wondered if there was more with this kind of feel.

[asatbender]

for alt country/roots rock with a Christian theme I recommend the following:

Souls Chapel by Marty Stuart
Universal House of Prayer by Buddy Miller

[Stackabones]

Sixteen Days by Whiskeytown, "Got a bottle and a rosary" ...

[DADGAD]

Did you say, "Imagery"?



Gary

[Stackabones]

I've been thinking about this, and it's a tough one. Catholics tend to have an incarnational or sacramental imagination. I'm thinking specifically about Andrew Greeley's book, The Catholic Imagination. Here's an interesting quote that may have Catholics nod their heads in recognition ...

"The central symbol (of religion) is God. One's "picture" of God is in fact a metaphorical narrative of God's relationship with the world and the self as part of the world... The Catholic "classics" assume a God who is present in the world, disclosing Himself in and through creation. The world and all its events, objects, and people tend to be somewhat like God. The Protestant classics, on the other hand, assume a God who is radically absent from the world, and who discloses (Himself) only on rare occasions (especially in Jesus Christ and Him crucified). The world and all its events, objects, and people tend to be radically different from God."

Surely debatable, but an interesting idea.

I guess what I'm getting at is that a Catholic musician wouldn't necessarily use Catholic imagery to express Catholic ideas or beliefs. The book is a good read and it can frame a new way of thinking about how Catholic artists and musicians communicate and create. Another good thing to read is JPII's Letter to Artists.