Supertones and Derek Webb

You are probably wondering to yourself after reading the title of this blog, what in the world do the Supertones and Derek Webb have in common? For most people they probably have hardly anything in common, maybe the label of being Christian music that is about it. Supertones are a ska band and Derek Webb is a folk artist. Ska and folk are just about as far apart as you can get on the spectrum of musical genres. I think only rap and country might be a little further apart on the spectrum. To highlight the contrast even more, when I was at a Derek Webb concert he shared the story of the second worst show of his life and it was with none other than the Supertones. Apparently for the entire half hour set that Caedmons Call (Derek’s former band) played there were hundreds of middle school kids standing up front pounding on the stage and chanting “Get off the stage, get off the stage!”

While the Supertones and Derek Webb may be quite different for many apparent reasons, they both share a similar place in my story. Both the Supertones and Derek Webb have played instrumental roles in my spiritual development. In middle school and all throughout high school, and even every now and again today, the Supertones served to reorient myself to the gospel. During the hard times, and life often seems like a string of hard times all strung together, the Supertones were a constant source of encouragement. During the past year or so Derek Webb has sort of taken up where the Supertones left off. But there is certainly plenty of discontinuity between the two so taken up might not be the right way to put it. Derek Webb has been formative for me in the sense of introducing and putting a different spin on a number of different issues for me. Both have stimulated my spiritual and theological growth in different and yet similar ways.

The main similarity between the Supertones and Derek Webb for myself has been that when I listen to both they both challenge me spiritually. I cannot listen to either the Supertones or Derek Webb and continue living my life in the same manner as I had been living it before listening to the album. They both have been instrumental in the stirring of my moral imagination. I wish that more Christian artists were seeking to create music which stirs God’s people’s moral imagination. I have not fully fleshed this out so if anyone would like to engage in dialogue feel free, then maybe I can clear up what might be foggy.