Friday, August 31, 2007

Soul Junk

1959
When Glen Galaxy stated in an interview I did with him a few years ago that he was commanded by the almighty on high to record every word in the Bible, I thought he was kidding. Well, it appears that he was not joking. 1959 covers the first 23 verses in the book of Psalms in the Bible. Psalms has to be the weirdest book in the Bible besides Revelations. From verse to verse it can go from joyful, to wrathful and visa-versa.

As standard operating procedure, Glen’s sound palette alters drastically from disc to disc. Now that Slo-Ro has left the fold to explore his own sound projects, this disc seems less beat-centric and hip-hop influenced. Instead there seems to be rough-hewn percussion and hard-scrabbled guitars. Some Psalms are definitely more song-orientated. With others the imagery is wild and bizarre. Glen crams some songs so dense with the holy word that it seems impossible that such a short song could contain such complex imagery and lyrics.

I was raised in a Christian home. I have since become disenchanted with almost all forms of organized religion. These verses have an odd familiarity, like a half-forgotten memory from childhood. The words are familiar; the context in a Soul-Junk song makes one re-examine the meaning of the words again. Glen places these recognizable verses in such odd context one cannot help but listen and reconsider the words of the Bible. I do not doubt for a second Glen’s sincerity in this project. He managed to reach my hardened heart to at least pay attention to what the verses were saying -- something my pastor never managed to do. If Glen’s goal was to get people to really listen to the words of the Bible, he is very successful in this endeavour. (Quiver Society) (Dan Cohoon)