Popular music artists are intentionally unoriginal. Pop producers find their inspiration by sampling across traditions and genres; remix artists compose a pastiche of the latest hits. These "mashup" artists stretch the boundaries of creativity by freely intermingling old sounds and melodies with the newest technologies. Using this phenomenon in contemporary music-making as a metaphor, John McClure encourages the invention of new theological ideas by creating a mashup of the traditional and the novel. What emerges are engaging ways of communicating that thrive at the intersection of religion and popular culture yet keep alive the deepest of theological truths.

John S. McClure

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 The Songwriter: Invention In and Out of a Theological Tradition

2 Multitrack Composition and Loop Browsing: Style and Theological Invention

3 Sampling, Remixing, and Mashup: Inventing the Theologically Possible

4 The Grain of the Voice: Inventing the Soundscape of Religious Desire

5 Fan Cultures: Getting Theological Inventions into the DJ's Crate

6 Lyrics: Inventing Theology in Response to Popular Music

Appendix I: The Multitrack Sermon - A Homiletical Case Study

Appendix II: Mashup and Theological Invention - An Academic Case Study

Notes

Bibliography

Index of Songwriters, Composers, Musicians, and Bands

Index of Names

Index of Topics