• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • About
  • Symposium
  • Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Truth, Beauty, and Pop Culture, Part 1

Andrew R. Motyka · February 3, 2015

PRETTY REGULARLY take stances on things that are out-of-sync with my peers. It probably has to do with the fact that I was never the Cool Kid in school, or maybe that I’m a Patriots fan. Regardless of whether or not my opinions are shared by others, though, I would like to think that they are at least based on some thought and consideration, and not simply on reaction against the norm.

Lately, I have been thinking of truth, and how it relates to both beauty and the overall appeal of a subject. According to the Catechism:

Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltations of the soul, the mystery of God. [CCC 2500]

It is my opinion that communication and art can be truthful even when the creator doesn’t intend it that way. In other words, an author or artist might intend for their creation to make a particular statement, but end up unintentionally saying something else. Take, for example, a recently popular pop song, “Take Me to Church,” by Hozier. Turn on any popular radio station for 15 minutes and you’ll hear it. When I first heard it, I thought, “Boy, is he singing the living daylights out of that song.” My opinion of it turned when I heard the lyrics:

My Church offers no absolutes
She tells me, ‘Worship in the bedroom.’
The only heaven I’ll be sent to
Is when I’m alone with you—

I was born sick,
But I love it
Command me to be well
Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

The entire song is drawing a parallel between having sex with his girlfriend and religious worship. Blasphemous, right? Absolutely. However, when I heard the song more, it occurred to me that the songwriter was unintentionally saying something that is true. Does the person singing this song sound like he is happy? No, he is self-admittedly sick, and looking for a cure in the wrong place. He is worshiping a false god. There is truth here, and hence beauty, even if the singer doesn’t intend it that way. How many of us have searched for fulfillment in things that do not satisfy, only to be left hungrier in the end?

Yes, on the surface, this song is blasphemous, but it also tells a truth about human nature.

Tune in next week, when I will explain why, along these same lines, I strongly dislike Game of Thrones. Warm up your Nerd Rage.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Catholics in America have been the heirs of a sentimental and subjective hymn tradition that, for some reason or other, has taken a deep and fast hold on the fancy of the average person.”

— Fr. Francis Brunner (1953)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “A Canon Choirs Love!”
  • On Mistakes (Part I of II)
  • 19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”
  • “Gregorian Chant Not In Danger Pope Tells French”
  • PDF Download • “O Salutaris” (Modern Setting)

Copyright © 2022 Corpus Christi Watershed · Gabriel Lalemant on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.