lifeblood: listlogs: 2005v08n032-news

ig-news-digest        saturday, march 26 2005        volume 08 : number 032

today's subjects:
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  [ig-news] sovo article about emily's book  [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopol]

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date: sat, 26 mar 2005 12:28:12 +1100
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@pixelopolis.com>
subject: [ig-news] sovo article about emily's book

hey folks,

here's an article from the southern voice website about emily's new
book... you can read it online at
http://www.sovo.com/2005/3-25/arts/books/books.cfm

cheers,
sherlyn

- --begin forwarded article---
saved by song
indigo girl emily saliers discusses how she and her theologian father
came to reflect on music as a spiritual outlet in new book.

by van gower
mar. 25, 2005

philosopher friedrich nietzsche once said, without music, life would
be a mistake.

of course, music can be an essential outlet for human emotions and can
feed the soul on a spiritual level, as the father-daughter duo don and
emily saliers write in a song to sing, a life to live: reflections on
music as spiritual practice, their first book together.

saliers, one half of the lesbian folk-rock duo indigo girls, says the
book is about how there is a spiritual path in both secular and
sacred music, and how the deep human yearnings in them are one and the
same sometimes.

emily grew up singing in church choirs, but she regards herself in a
song to sing as a religious mutt at odds with organized religion.
her father, a professor of theology and worship at the candler school
of theology at emory university, has deep convictions in christian
faith.

the nature of their relationships with a higher power may differ, but
they are united in the belief that music can bring humanity closer to
that power, no matter what form it takes for individuals.

in a song to sing, a life to live, emily writes about touring with
indigo girls and seeing people whose souls seemed homeless find a
home and family in particular songs that called their name.

she says that applies not just to humanity as a whole, but also to
marginalized populations, including african americans and gays.

this whole calling to each other and naming each other is so
powerful, she says. i cant think of anything else that speaks to it
so powerfully as music can.

of all the discussions the authors share in a song to sing, emily
says she made the greatest effort to communicate directly with gay
readers in chapter five, becoming who you are through music.

i can never separate my thoughts and feelings from my identity and
the rest of my queer community, but i do as much as possible to expand
my thoughts and make them universal, she says. when you hear a song
that expresses what youve struggled with for so long, it can be so
liberating.

in the saturday night and sunday morning chapter, the saliers write
that the line between sacred and secular is easily blurred in music
and its various forms. since music can defy categorization, even
non-religious people can find community, comfort and healing through
song. that was the case when indigo girls played gigs in the late
1980s at the now-defunct little five points pub in atlanta, emily
writes.

christian music, from traditional hymns to contemporary praise rock,
has the ability to inspire and transform the soul even if the listener
isnt christian.

praise music doesnt move my soul the same as the old sacred music
does, but i understand its an important tool for some people to help
their lives evolve spiritually, emily says.

another theme in the book is that music cant be taken for granted.
whether evolving spiritually or just trying to find a little happiness
in the human journey, everyone - gay and straight - struggles to find
a place in the grand design, and music can be the key to finding it,
the saliers write.

you hear people talk about spirituality and being named and known by
god, emily says. when youve been lonely or homeless in your soul,
when you finally find a home [through music], thats a spiritual
gift.

- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
) 2005 the southern voice

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