Before we delve into the posts we’re reading and loving elsewhere on the internet, don’t miss our most popular post last week, Anna Hamilton’s review of Matilda Bernstein Sycamore’s Sketchtasy!
And subscribe to the Global Comment podcast on iTunes or Soundcloud.
And hey: Much like public radio, we’re listener supported. If you enjoy our work, please consider supporting us with a one time or recurring donation.
How Hillsong Church conquered the music industry in God’s name (Kelsey McKinney for The Fader)
Evangelical culture sometimes feels cut off from mainstream culture; this is a really great look at an international megachurch you probably haven’t heard of unless you’re a member — even though you’re undoubtedly familiar with music produced by people who attend and participate.
The Pentecostal denomination Hillsong belongs to was the first to introduce an accelerated tempo to Christian music in the 1950s, so it makes sense that Hillsong became a leader of the genre’s sound. Founded in 1983, Hillsong initially convened in a high school; music pastor Geoff Bullock wrote most of the church’s early worship music, songs with big ’80s pop production but religiously focused lyrics. In 1986, the church hosted its first worship music conference, titled Hillsong; their first album, Spirit and Truth, was released in 1988.
Adventures in Dating While Christian (Addie Stuber for The Cut)
A personal essay should reveal something about the writer, but also something about the world, as this exploration of navigating the dating world as a Christian does.
We had many similarities, but faith wasn’t one of them. “Do you believe in God?” I asked him once. We were sprawled out on a patch of dusty crabgrass, half-watching a group of hipsters play kickball as we covertly sipped beer from paper bags. He paused. “I grew up Catholic,” he said.
“But being here in the city has made me see things differently.” It was an honest answer, and it was up to me to decide how much it mattered.
No Joke (Natasha Lennard for Real Life Mag)
‘Irony poisoning’ is a bad way of explaining the rise of fascism, so why are liberals still using it?
For those of us interested in delivering effective blows to racist, fascistic formation, dismantling this liberal framework matters. I agree, we must take seriously the discursive violence expressed through veiled euphemisms and Pepe memes on Twitter, and the physical violence committed by those who speak that language. And we must take seriously that the flawed liberal response to these horrors is to blame irony.
Going Hungry at the Most Prestigious MFA in America (Katie Prout for Literary Hub)
There’s a myth that writers shouldn’t have outside jobs, that they magically have all the time and resources they need. Maybe that’s true of people with safety nets, but it’s not the reality for most.
This summer at a friend’s house, a young man in another graduate program ate the bread I made with foodbank zucchinis as he said he thought health insurance should be up to the states and what isn’t covered should be subsidized by charity. He seemed too young for me to talk to, so I didn’t say that church fundraisers had attempted and failed to cover my brother’s medical bills and then my father’s. Instead, I sank into the backrub of a friend I trust, who has similar money anxiety to me, who, when my laptop broke last year, gave me the extra she had because an ex-boyfriend had stolen it for her. It’s the laptop I’m writing on now, as I sit on my back porch. Squeaky wheel, buzzkill, biting the hand: all I want to say is yes, I am grateful to be here, but that doesn’t mean I’m not hungry.
Mexico City’s Architects of Destruction (Martha Pskowski for Citylab)
If you don’t want things to fall down during eathquakes, you need to build them right. Mexico City didn’t do that.
After the disastrous 1985 quake—and the public outrage that followed—the Mexican government promised building-code reform and stiffer code enforcement. A New York Times report six days after the quake quoted an architect saying, “We have very good techniques for building here. But some owners and contractors do not pay attention to building codes, and the Government does not enforce them.”
Photo: Martin Pettitt