Mashup Religion: Pop Music and Theological Invention

by John S. McClure

Popular music artists are intentionally unoriginal. Pop producers find their inspiration by sampling across traditions and genres; remix artists compose a pastiche of the latest hits. These "mashup" artists stretch the boundaries of creativity by freely intermingling old sounds and melodies with the newest technologies. Using this phenomenon in contemporary music-making as a metaphor, John McClure encourages the invention of new theological ideas by creating a mashup of the traditional and the novel. What emerges are engaging ways of communicating that thrive at the intersection of religion and popular culture yet keep alive the deepest of theological truths.

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Amy Bush · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let the Thesis research commence

[Melanie]

In this book, the reader is invited into the complex world of modern sound production, including songwriting, multitrack composition and loop browsing, sampling, remixing, mashup, voice, culture, lyrics, etc. as a metaphor for theological communication. The book contains a lot of technical information that may not be as accessible to people who are not musicians or who have not experienced a sound studio or the music production process; however, if the reader understands the elements being discussed, then it becomes an interesting metaphor providing an additional angle from which to see the communication process between theologian and culture/congregation.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really just scanning this, hoping to find some gold for a project of my own, but my (admittedly vague) impression is that the whole thing is mounted on a fairly thin conceit: to borrow pop culture terminology to make some underdeveloped and weakly justified metaphorical parallels for Christian preachers. Actually, it's better than that, but for me and my agenda, at least, it doesn't do a lot.