The New Bohemians
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Wed, September 12, 2007
- Viewed 62
- (7) comments so far
1. “I love media, but I trust my friends”: A lot of our conversation had to do with music, a natural subject for Zeke. We compared notes on some bands, asking him what he liked (e.g., a group called “Welco”) and what he did not (anything mainstream). So I asked him how he found out about the latest developments on the music scene. He mentioned websites like Pandora and social networking on MySpace, but confessed that “I ask my friends.” He finds the front edge by relationship, more than by Google. Zeke’s opinion is consistent with a new survey that finds that younger people assume that if information is important it will reach them, so they are less inclined to pursue it than their elders.
2. “I am aware of broadcasting, but I trust narrowcasting”: We joked with Zeke about the importance of what were called “transistor radios” in our adolescence. They made music portable and private preventing our parents from catching us worshipping the Rolling Stones. But Zeke disdains radio, regarding it as pitifully trailing edge, more of a monument to what used to be new than anything else. Moreover, he describes its music as corrupt, over-produced, and fake. Zeke prefers the homegrown music available live in local clubs and online at obscure MySpace sites. Best of all is the music you make yourself.
3. “I spend money, but I trust art”: We learned that anything done just for the money is not to be trusted. In fact, the worst slur that can be applied to music is to call it “commercial.” Authentic things are done for the joy of it, and if the money comes that’s fine. In fact, Zeke went as far as to say that, while he would love his band to become prominent, if it does not, he is content knowing that he had a good time playing local gigs. The rest just has to take care of itself at some point. Art merits trust because it is performed for its own sake, offering a kind of purity that for bohemians has a meaning something like holiness.
4. “I respect excellence, but I trust authenticity:” We discussed the trend among younger adults to have no one musical taste. In other words, the 1000 songs on their iPod play lists feature the two best songs by 500 artists. Zeke laughed about this “highlight reel” approach and we reminisced about the days when teenagers liked rock or folk, but not both. Zeke pointed out that what holds together the best of the music is its honesty. He is much more concerned that a song be authentic to the artist’s convictions and talent, than a computer-massaged mass market product. He feels that people care much more about this quality than about production values.
5. “I dont’t get church, but I trust Jesus:” To Zeke, the average worship service sounds just like radio: homogenized, over-produced, shallow, and obsolete. Raised in a conservative denomination, he has no desire to be part of this kind of experience. Moreover, he cited the fact that Christian leaders from a local denominational headquarters are his worst customers. “They walk around like they know something you don’t know. But the way they are, I don’t want to know what they know.” Ouch. Zeke finds Jesus very compelling, but cannot imagine finding a spiritual home in the average congregation.
For Zeke, and I suspect for other bohemians, music is a metaphor for so much else in life.
What we found refreshing about Zeke was his self-awareness. He knows that millions of people listen to the radio, and that millions attend conventional congregations. But after our talk, I was pretty sure that this AltCountry guy and his friends would only fit into an AltChurch that meets them on their own terms.
What would that church look like?
About the Author: Earl Creps has spent several years visiting congregations that are attempting to engage emerging culture. Until recently he directed doctoral studies for the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri (http://www.agts.edu
Last week Janet and I had a long talk with a twenty-something coffee house manager I’ll call Zeke. At night he assumes another identity as a musician in an AltCountry band (a genre that he says fuses country music with an alternative rock vibe to create a new sound). I’ve heard his band in concert so we started asking Zeke questions about culture, music, and spirituality from his point of view. The motivation to ask the first question is the difference between mind-blowing learning experiences and just another jolt of caffeine. What we heard described “bohemia,” a distributive nation with franchises in most US cities, but with big concentrations in places like the Bay area, Madison Wisconsin, and Austin, Texas. Richard Florida describes bohemian traits in his brilliant book, Cities and the Creative Class. While no human (especially an AltCountry guy) can be reduced to a list, here are a few things we picked up from Zeke, things that he might want to say to mainstreamers about his “nation,” the tribe of the midtown brick loft dweller, the new bohemians...
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Peter Hamm on Wed, September 12, 2007
This jumped out at me, Earl. [Raised in a conservative denomination, he has no desire to be part of this kind of experience. Moreover, he cited the fact that Christian leaders from a local denominational headquarters are his worst customers.]
Wow, maybe if we Christians weren’t such jerks, people would want to join us.
I pledge today to not be a jerk!
Danny Daniels on Wed, September 12, 2007
Peter:
I think you said it perfectly. I whole heartedly agree. Christians are often arrogant and condescending. Humility is apparently out of style.
I have a couple of friends that used to be waiters and they said that the most demanding and abusive customers they had were consistently the Sunday after church crowd. They also were the worst tippers.
That is not how it should be.
GR Guy on Mon, September 17, 2007
Interesting perspective. However, I find some problems with it as well.
Who can judge whether someone is doing something just for money or not? Can’t someone make money and love what they do at the same time. In fact, most people who are successful at making money do what they do becuz they love it and becuz they want to offer a valuable product or service to people. That is one reason why I reject the commercial vs. art division. Some of the best art in the world has come from commercial ventures because there is capital to support it. For example, if we didn’t have commercialism, we might all be driving ugly, boxy Yugos instead of the beautifully designed Toyotas and Pontiacs, etc. that we do today. Another example, If we didn’t have capital to support the arts, say a civic orchestra, sure we might still have a volunteer orchestra, but it probably wouldn’t be the quality of a paid orchestra, and it probably wouldn’t be able to perform very many concerts for lack of funds. And finally, should we boycott Zeke’s coffee house because he is making money off his customers? How do we know he isn’t selling coffee just to make money?
I think the Bohemians have good intentions when it comes to their understanding of economics. There are evils in any econ. system, but on the whole, I don’t think any of us would prefer to live in, for example, communist N. Korea vs. prosperous capitalist S. Korea. I think one has to understand that it isn’t the amount of money we have, but the perspective we have of it. Money is just a tool. Because we all live in a capitalist system, there are some people who may become rich even though they never intended to become rich. They just love what they do.
GR Guy on Mon, September 17, 2007
I agree that Christians should be generous when tipping (assuming the service warrants it). But maybe those like Zeke shouldn’t be so concerned about how much Christians tip , after all, they’re just doing it because they love what they do, right? Not for the money.
GR Guy on Mon, September 17, 2007
We must also remember that art can be authentic and still be crappy, in which case we can also ask, why should anyone trust it? It must be both authentic and excellent. People want to be a part of something that is authentic and excellent. Church ought to be both because both glorify God. However, let’s not confuse authentic and excellence with perfection.
If that’s what you are looking for, you’ll never find it. There will always be authentic and hypocritical people in any church or organization, so that cannot be used as an excuse to forego gathering together. I wonder if Zeke has ever considered using his musical talents for Christ.
GR Guy on Wed, September 19, 2007
One more thing: Also understand that someone can be an authentic artist, and still not be an authentic person. So good art, in itself, doesn’t necessarily mean a person is trustworthy or has integrity.
Jim D. on Tue, September 25, 2007
If you can’t find authenticity in the person of Jesus Christ, you won’t find it anywhere. While I respect art and artists, I’ll put my trust in Christ before all others.
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