This is a biting book, that leaves a person with a sense of understanding and self-reflection. At least it did with me. I can relate to this book, both with the author and those he interviewed. I grew in a Christian home and had boundaries set for lots of things. My older sister rebelled; I took note. I know the Christian scene and the music that belongs with it. What I enjoyed about the author was his insight, his conclusion, and his friendships he made along the way.

I read this book about five years ago and came across it again when unpacking a box. I remember really enjoying it. I might give it a re-read sometime soon.

I was surprised at how many names I recognized from my very religious upbringing.

Also- there's a reference to lightning bolt. very funny.

I started reading this book not really sure what to expect, particularly since the author states that he is not a Christian. He doesn't have a hostile tone at all, and is very positive where it is deserved. As a music writer, he critiques inferior and mediocre music, but readily praises quality artists. It was interesting to hear familiar Christian beliefs explained by a non-Christian author to possibly non-Christian readers. Having listened to a lot of Christian rock at some points in life, and also criticized elements of it myself, I enjoyed this book a lot.

I've tried for ages to finish this book, and maybe some day I will. But I honestly think that day will be far from now, because I'd rather use my time and brain power on something else. While it is very interesting to see how someone who is not a Christian views the Christian rock scene, I felt like Beaujon's insights were more intriguing for those who knew nothing about it. The concept of Christian rock is one that is being fought and judged on many different layers. Beaujon notices this, and points out some very true facts that some Christians may not even notice. Despite this, however, I think that his claims and conclusions create the wrong impression of many of those interviewed. I don't know, maybe I"m just being blind...you call it.
Trust me, I love the fact that someone was daring enough to investigate the strange animal that is Christian rock...but there are some things that are just lost when you're an "outsider".

I tried really hard to get into this book. Honestly, I just could NOT. I have made numerous attempts over the last couple of months, and I did manage to make my way (almost) through several chapters, but it really just did not hold my interest.

I think the big problem (aside from the Greil-Marcus-meets-Raymond-Chandler style of writing) was that it's written by an outsider. Everything that Beaujon knows about Christian culture, and can explain about it, we already understand. I think it's impossible for anyone outside of Christianity to write about it without inadvertantly making it look like some sort of bizarre cult (which I myself imagine it to be), because unless you actually believe in the teachings of Christ, you really can't understand where all these people are coming from. It's not like writing about the man who invented analine dyes, or a pickpocket from the 19th century, or a guy who paves highways, because with enough research and experience, one might actually be able to put themselves in the shoes of those people. But I think it is impossible to imagine believing something that you don't, no matter how hard you try to be objective.

I mean, I find it horrifying that there are teenagers at rock and roll shows wearing shirts proclaiming themselves "former fetus"es, and hearing that as women the only choices are to be a lonely, albeit independent, spinster, or to be subservient to the only man you've ever dated (that's right- not only can you not have sex before marriage, you are also not supposed to date). The fact that the people preaching these things appear to be "cool" in their hipster clothing and warehouse churches with state-of-the-art sound systems, is equally frightening to me. But you can't blame them for trying, or even believing in these things in spite of their penchant for thick-rimmed glasses and shaggy hair. It's not like the indie scene and Christianity have to be mutually exclusive, and it's not like finding out that someone who "looks cool" is Christian has to be shocking and disappointing.... but I don't think I'm wrong in saying that most of us "outsiders" do think that way. To us, it's almost like some plague has affected these people and made them lose their ability to reason.

And so when Andrew Beaujon goes around interviewing the key people in the Christian Rock industry, he can't help but transcribe everything they say with a grain of salt. And it's that grain of salt that ruins the book for me. I think it would be a much more interesting read from the point of view of a believer. It might sound weird, or again, frightening to hear a hipster go on about the wrongs of abortion and premarital sex and homosexuality, but, like reading the writings of a psychopath, it would be a moment in someone else's head, and it would be fascinating.

I really enjoyed this book more than another that I read on this subject.
However this book is more journalistic. The author follows bands and people around different music festivals in award shows. Unfortunately, many of the bands refuse to talk to him.
He was still able to pull together some good stuff from different panel discussions or through emails. He has pretty in-depth coverage of some major bands like switchfoot, POD, and he seems to spend the most time with David Bazan of Pedro the lion.
I've seen some reviewers not like the fact he's not a professing Christian but to me that added to the value of his point of view.
If you had no history on this topic I don't know if it would sway you to listen to some of these bands, as most of them he covers are admittedly not that great. Still for someone growing up listening to this music it was a fun read.

hugely insightful and a highly enjoyable read. was slightly tedious at times (had to skip portions) but dave bazan and damien jurado more than made up for it.

An at-times hilarious and most-times cringeworthy look at an industry that is so unpopularly popular in so many senses of the word that it almost seems like a shadow network operating behind the scenes of pop culture. Spin magazine journalist Andrew Beaujon, at great personal risk, jumps into the world of Christian rock music and examines its roots, eventually covering the spread of the Christ-centered genre that has seen steady growth since its inception in the late-1960s.

Like most niche genres, they all have beginnings, and Beaujon, who is not a Christian himself, excellently begins his book with a fascinating chronicle of the Jesus Music movement of the late-60s, where Hippies were getting high to celebrate their conversions to Christ, faced persecution from fundamentalist ministers, and, by the 1980s, shocked conservatives with more edgy material (as seen through Stryper's "bumblebee costumed" heavy metal).

Having grown up in a conservative Christian household, from parents who were part of the Born Again movement in the late-1970s/early-1980s, a lot of what Beaujon examines was eerily familiar. From the inundation of Maranatha worship music playing endlessly on the car stereo (mixed with talk radio or pre-recorded church sermons), what Beaujon pokes fun at is accurate and relatable. Much like some of the subjects of Beaujon's journalism, I broadened my horizons, finding punk music in the 1990s and never really looked back, although some of this was done through the Christian alternative. Through this, I went on to the way louder (and to many, scarier) subgenres until coming to my comfortable niche in all things music... with Christian music a far-off island I don't really visit at all anymore.

Enough about myself, this book is a fun and easy to read look into a massive musical industry not many people talk about. Beaujon's curiosity is bolstered by his own personal beliefs (or disbeliefs in a Higher Power), which lends credence to one of the more key facets of Christianity itself: acceptance. Even though he comes into conflict with almost everyone's viewpoints in this book, Beaujon has a respectful tone, and he is treated with the same respect and acceptance by the record executives and musicians he speaks with. Usually his remarks are met with positive acknowledgment, with his sardonic tone being agreed upon at times, which was interesting in itself. At the same time, Beaujon leaves himself open to explore and does that thing I love so much in critical works: Actually reading and listening to the thing being examined. Rather than take a dismissive tone akin to nearly every anti-spiritual work of criticism, Beaujon remains an explorer, and even finds himself bopping to earworm worship songs like "Blessed Be the Name" (which got a chuckle out of me, who can still recite the lyrics to this song despite not having listened to it for over 15 years).

Beaujon's book is littered with hip, journalistic prose... He is a music critic after all. And this, I think, is what got him such an in with the ones he was able to speak with, from members of Jesus Music artists like the Resurrection Band, to high-level execs in Sparrow Music, to underground powerhouses like Brandon Ebel of Tooth & Nail (who sounds like a total douchebag), Beaujon has the opportunity to speak with Christian artists who also struggle with the "Christian music" label, as many find it a death stamp on reaching any outside audience. Key voices in this argument are seen in Switchfoot's Jon Foreman, Pedro the Lion's David Bazan, and mewithoutYou's Aaron Weiss. By the end of his journey, Beaujon lets you know if he truly "got" his assignment, but I will leave it at that.

Like most explorations into the Christian music phenomenon, I find it still very limiting. Most explorations of Christian rock stop at a certain point, not venturing far into the underground cliques that truly exist, and arguably serve as essential sociopolitical subjects for further research. My gripe here is that Christian hardcore is mostly ignored. I am not sure if this is due to fear or discomfort with the way more aggressive side of music, but most of my curiosity behind these stories remain unsatiated. In most podcasts, or critical works, the loudest band explored tends to be Florida's UnderOath, who breached the mainstream through melodramatic and overemotional music that was popular in the early-aughts. Never mentioned are the Facedowns, the No Innocent Victims, the Overcomes, the Focuseds. Beaujon almost proved me wrong by interviewing Mark Salomon of seminal Christian thrash band The Crucified, and Tooth & Nail's arrogant founder, Brandon Ebel. But he just stops there, opting instead to cover spoken-word post-hardcore frontman Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou (a great band, but hardly representative of such a subgenre). The closest Beaujon comes is by briefly asking about shlock Christian metal band Demon Hunter (which is still a tame example). And the quick tossing aside of such material almost reeks of fear and discomfort. Which is unfortunate, as the subgenre I am so interersted in is not only rooted in a spiritual background, one with ties to the Born Again movement, but also to the early-80s Reagan era of hardcore music, not to mention Latin-American diversity, gender relations, and the overall DIY aesthetic. I guess, maybe it is just the universe telling me to write my own damn book.

Either way, Body Piercing Saved My Life is a worthwhile read, no matter where you stand on the Jesus issue. Considering the current political climate with Christian Nationalism on the rise, this book might deter you, but I assure you it is not a case to drop everything and buy a copy of Maranatha Music's "Give Thanks" along with a Trump Bible. It's a funny, and downright interesting look at something that is on the fringes, but not at the same time.

This was written kind of boringly, but I thought it would be an interesting take on a particular segment of the music culture. Some of it was good, but much was dull.

As an evangelical who hangs out on the fringes of the evangelical music scene, this "outsider" view is a great read, opinting out the good, the bad, and the mysitfying of the scene.

Andrew Beaujon writes a historical/ blog-style/ tourist guide to Christian music. An incredible compilation, he spits out more names and artists and record labels than I could keep up with, and I found myself wanting to look up a bunch of the bands he interviewed. It's fun to read the conversations he's having while driving with musicians to their next gig, or from behind the scenes at concerts, or while walking around at music festivals or college campuses, at Christian music awards, or while sitting at the bar, or talking on his cell phone. He seems to genuinely enjoy the company of the people he's with, which was great, because he interviewed some people I kinda know: like Aaron Weiss (mewithoutyou), and he wrote about some others I know , too, like Denison Witmer, and the Psalters, and the Simple Way. And he gave them good reviews, how could I not like that?
Andrew Beaujon doesn't identify himself as a Christian in this book, which gives this book more of it's touristy-flavor. He writes, "I liked these people, enjoyed their company, and they'd made me feel completely welcome. But it bothered me that I wasn't a Christian and would never become one. They embraced me like they hope to embrace culture, but I'm still not sure how hard either of us can hug them back." (pg 137). More hugs to you, Andrew, great book!