Jesus Music Movie Summit (Andy Erwin & Chris White) + Jesus on the Mainline
The Jesus Music Movie Summit (with Andy Erwin and Chris White)
Lately, it seems Jesus not only rocks, but He’s also a movie star too. The Jesus Music, a documentary written, directed, and produced by The Erwin Brothers (“I Can Only Imagine,” “I Still Believe,” “Woodlawn,”) traces the roots of Contemporary Christian Music back to the Jesus Movement of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s via archival footage and new interviews with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Kirk Franklin, Michael Sweet, Toby Mac, and scores of other Christian artists and insiders. Electric Jesus is the fictional story of a Christian heavy metal band and the young ingenue that stows away on their RV and manages to steal the show. Starring Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone of NBC’s The Office) and Judd Nelson of The Breakfast Club, Electric Jesus has billed itself as “the 80s Hair Band Music-Comedy You’ve Been Saving Yourself For,” as it has crisscrossed the US on a tour of film festivals. (True Tunes featured the cast on an earlier episode and produced an entire special podcast series on the film as well.)
True Tunes’ founder and host John J. Thompson is featured in The Jesus Music as an interview subject and historian and served Electric Jesus as Music Supervisor and as a historical consultant. On this episode of the podcast, Thompson brings Andy Erwin (Director of The Jesus Music) and Chris White (Writer and Director of Electric Jesus) together for a wide-ranging conversation about their films in particular, the subject of Jesus Music in general, and the challenges surrounding faithful art-making in the marketplace today.
And on the Jukebox, we contemplate a slew of Jesus Music that did not come from the Evangelical underground and did not stay put in the Christian marketplace. This look at “Jesus On The Mainline” seeks to expand the conversation about just how influential Jesus has been in popular culture over the last fifty years – especially as far as music is concerned. Was CCM music the only, or even most obvious path for people of faith to take?
(Don’t miss the companion article for this episode: Jesus Music Rediscovered? A Reflection by John J. Thompson at TrueTunes.com)
(Don’t miss the companion article for this episode: Jesus Music Rediscovered? A Reflection by John J. Thompson at TrueTunes.com)
And check out this special Facebook Live Panel Discussion with Glenn Kaiser, Alex MacDougall, Chris Hauser, Vince Wilcox, Doug Van Pelt, and Josh Walsh, producer of The Jesus Music.
Check out the TRUE TUNES PATREON PROGRAM here.
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IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE don’t miss:
Natalie Bergman’s Jesus Music for a New Generation
The Electric Jesus Story (So Far…) w Chris White, Brian Baumgartner, Daniel Smith and the Cast
Larry Norman (It’s Complicated)
Daniel Smith (Danielson, and the composer for Electric Jesus)
See the full list of previous episodes HERE
JESUS MUSIC MOVIES SONGLIST
“Electric Jesus” Soundtrack:
316 – Commando for Christ (instrumental production mix)
Familyre Friends – Vacation Bible Bop (incidental music)
316 – Barabbas
Familyre Friends – Dance the Barabbas! (incidental music)
316 – Girl (I Love Jesus Too)
316 – Love Comes Down
Familyre Friends – Girl (I Love Jesus Too) (Piano 3) (incidental music)
The Choir – Render Love (new version)
Classic “Jesus Music,” CCM and Mainstream :
The Way – If You Will Believe
Stevie Wonder – Jesus Children of America
U2 – Gloria
Love Song – Let Us Be One
Norman Greenbaum – Spirit in the Sky
Love Song – Since I Opened Up the Door (The Valley Recorder Demos)
Blessed Hope – Something More
Larry Norman – I Wish We’d All Been Ready (Orchestra mix, no vocal)
Larry Norman – Sweet Song of Salvation (Explo ’72 version)
Larry Norman – The Rock That Doesn’t Roll (Rough mix, no vocal)
Amy Grant – Somewhere Down the Road
Seventy Sevens – Do It for Love (TV mix)
Amy Grant – House of Love
Michael W. Smith – Lamu
dcTalk – Jesus Freak
Derri Daugherty – I Still Believe (acoustic version)
Andraé Crouch and the Disciples – I’m Gonna Keep on Singin’ (Explo ’72 version)
Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone with You
The Randy Stonehill Tribute (sneak preview) – I Love You
The “Jesus Music” Jukebox:
Johnny Cash – Redemption
Lawrence Reynolds – Jesus Is a Soul Man
The Doobie Brothers – Jesus Is Just Alright
dcTalk – Jesus Is Still Alright
The Rolling Stones – I Just Want to See His Face
Black Sabbath – After Forever
The Violent Femmes – Jesus Walking on the Water
Sister Janet Mead – The Lord’s Prayer
Natalie Bergman – Shine Your Light on Me
U2 – “40” (Red Rocks version)
Rev. T.L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir – Like a Ship
Leon Bridges and Keite Young – Like a Ship
Also featured:
Andy Zipf – Immanuel’s Land
Incidental Music:
Jimmy Abegg – Variations on the theme of “Touch of Love”
Andrew Stanton – Laugh It Up, Fuzzball
Phil Keaggy – Agora (The Marketplace)
Phil Keaggy – Follow Me Up
Phil Keaggy & Rex Paul – Full Circle (True Tunes instrumental theme version)
https://fb.watch/8ForBSN6tp/ (Facebook Live Archive Link)
