13 June 1987
Zap through all your TV channels and you’ll invariably come across the religious stations. Many are pretty orthodox: a priest, nun, pastor, rabbi or imam leading a service or preaching the party line. But you’ll probably also see a live music event where an earnest-looking rock band is churning out sub-emo guitar and synth behind a lead singer who seems possessed by the spirit of performative angst. This is Christian rock. I’m sure it turns up in any country where Christians have access to amps, but it’s always had a thriving market sector in the United States.
Yes, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ takes on some gospel conventions, mostly in the lyrics, and it was retconned with an actual gospel choir for Rattle And Hum. But it’s a Christian rock song. I’ll be fair to the three-quarters of U2 who are practicing Christians and not completely dismiss it as a calculated product launch for a sizeable clearly-defined US demographic, one accustomed to parting with cash for religious favour. It’s just as basic and blustery as ‘With Or Without You’, U2’s big pivot to US soft rock power ballads, but with the added joylessness and pomposity of any Christian rock I’ve ever come across. Why can’t Christian rock be fun like the catchy songs I still remember from primary school religion classes, or like Christmas songs?
