If you’re not familiar with the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, beware: what follows contains heresy and spoilers, and I’m not sure which is worse. As a straight white 30-something Christian, I’m required by law to be a U2 fan. Over the summer my wife and I cheerfully paid a large sum of money...

In Chicago radio news that sort of affects you, my Sunday morning drive-to-church jam, “Street Sermonz With Keno”, has been cancelled. Week after week, Keno Greer has been playing a mix of gospel, Christian R&B, and holy hip-hop that’s musically equal to any other three-hour block...

Back in June I saw one of my favorite bands, Beirut, play at the Northside Festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But the sky almost didn’t allow it, ominous all day and then opening with downpour an hour before the show. A friend and I donned red ponchos like NASCAR fans and drank overpriced Heineken...

I’m shamefully late to Dan Bejar’s latest album, but since it’s recently been overrated on a bunch of mid-year best-of lists, and since I like how it looks next to the equally listless Moby album — Destroyer and Destroyed together again! — I stuck it in. You can point out what I’m...

The contemplative Mr. Greene. Washed Out Within and Without (Sub Pop) This whole chillwave thing emerged a few years ago. Bedroom-pop. Glo-fi. Whatever you call it, Sub Pop is now cashing in with this new Washed Out album. It’s gorgeous stuff. Despite the deep beats, Ernest Greene’s music...

Patty Griffin Downtown Church (Credential Recordings) I’ll start by damning this album with not-so-faint praise. Patty Griffin’s new one, Downtown Church, makes for uniformly pleasant listening. It’s made up mostly of gospel covers, with a couple originals and Big Mama Thornton’s...

David Bazan, Curse Your Branches David Bazan, Curse Your Branches (Barsuk, 2009) Even counting Sufjan Stevens, there is no artist currently making music whose faith (or the potential lackthereof) is given as much attention as the faith of David Bazan. Once one of the poster children for hip Christians...

I like Derek Webb a lot. He’s a truly creative guy, working in and around the fringes of Christian music, a genre that doesn’t exactly prize “the artist” often. I met him briefly when he was touring during his first round with Caedmon’s Call (a band Webb announced he will...