Making Peace with the World Through the Music of Luxury

Spend five minutes looking at the headlines and you risk falling into despair and cynicism. There seems to be more and more news about war, corruption, hatred, and strife. And of course, for Americans, the constant buzz of politically related despair is quickly reaching a fever pitch thanks to the 2024 presidential election. This election has been rife with controversy from day one, with concerns about the age and intellectual capacity of both candidates, not to mention that Donald Trump is a convicted felon and rapist.

So even if the temptation to follow them is strong, I don’t blame anyone for throwing up their hands in disgust and trying to think of ways to disassociate and break away, but as Christians, such urges are tempered by two convictions that are often battered and watered down by the news.

First, God remains on the throne regardless of who holds earthly power, and second, there is a deeper, more profound, more profound reality. Genuine Rather than what’s happening in a particular news cycle, these realities are often more clearly revealed through the lens of art — in this case, a recently released song by an indie rock band. luxury.

Luxury has one of the most intriguing stories in Christian music history. Formed in the early ’90s at Toccoa Falls College, a private Christian university in rural Georgia, the band quickly gained buzz for their intense live shows, antics onstage, and enigmatic, sometimes thought-provoking lyrics. Luxury’s debut album, 1995’s That’s great. Thank you very much.Their performance was a heady mix of the beauty of The Smiths and the intensity of Fugazi, and their lyrics explored themes of sexuality, celebrity and consumerism. There was nothing quite like them on the Christian scene, and they seemed on the verge of a big break, especially after their acclaimed performance at Cornerstone Festival in 1995.

However, on the way home from Cornerstone, the band was in a horrific car accident that left several members hospitalized with serious injuries and even threatened their lives. After a long recovery, Luxury released their second album in 1996. The latest and greatestBut by then enthusiasm had waned, and the band’s future was uncertain. Around this time, three members of Luxury – singer/guitarist Lee Boseman, his brother and fellow guitarist Jamie Boseman, and bassist Chris Foley – began to explore Orthodox Christianity, eventually converting and becoming priests. (For a deeper look into the Luxury story, see Excellent Parallel Love documentary(Currently streaming for free on Tubi).

Since then, Luxury has continued to release music, albeit sporadically as the members are scattered across the country. In fact, their last album, ” Trophyand their latest work is an independent production. Like a lambAlthough it is the band’s shortest album to date, Like a lamb is just as strong as its predecessor, but one song in particular stands out.Fur / Ticker Tape”—is becoming more and more poignant, especially as we consider the present and future of American politics.

“Fur/Ticker Tape” starts off on a deeply cynical note with Lee Boseman singing, “The last speech I heard didn’t mean anything. It meant nothing to me.” This realization ultimately leads him to question whether he should believe in anything at all. The second stanza is similar: “The last words spoken were heavy and dead. Fur for a king,” leading him to ask, “What’s left to dream about? Are there any dreams at all?” (Anyone who’s ever listened to a politician’s empty promises or shameless pleas can empathize with Boseman’s sentiments here.)

By the time the song’s chorus hits, the world has gone to hell (“Oh, the headlines say it all / The bottom’s not far away”) and bad news is everywhere (“Oh, the ticker tape tells me / There’s misery in this world”), and all Boseman can do is sigh: “Let me make peace with this world.”

But despite that irony, the first two verses also contain a still, small voice (i.e., Boseman’s voice, shrouded in special effects) that briefly reminds us of the sovereignty of God who “suspended the earth above the waters” and “draped the veil over the universe.”So as the third verse begins, we hear a glimmer of hope.

Boseman serenades “pretty little thing,” then asks, “Can you hear the strings?” over a Cure-esque synth melody, while a still, small voice whispers, “He who tore the curtain apart from the top to the bottom,” referring to the moment shortly after Christ’s death when God removed the barriers between himself and humanity forever.Matthew 27:50-51).

The song goes quiet for a moment, giving Boseman space to breathe for what “should last forever,” as that tiny voice sings about “someone who closed the garden gates.” This results in one of the most thrilling musical moments of 2024, as Boseman, backed by Glenn Black’s thumping drums, cries out, “Open the gates for me!” — a striking request for God to restore paradise to Earth.

The chorus returns and the world is still heading to hell. It’s still a place full of misery. But whereas when Boseman first sang, “Make my peace with the world,” it was a confession of resignation and defeat, now it’s an expression of true peace, a humble trust in “He who suspended the earth above the waters” and will maintain it regardless of human activity.

In the same way Doctor Strange What helped it get through the 2016 election was luxury fur/ticker tape, and by extension the rest of it. Like a lamb— proved to be something of a tonic for this election year. In fact, I found myself muttering under my breath, as a kind of prayer, “May I be reconciled to this world,” as I read the headlines and the latest reports of humanity going horribly wrong.

I still have the urge to break ties, but thanks to this song, that urge changes. I still want to break ties, but it’s not just because I despair about the political realities of America and the other terrible things that try to get my attention, but because I want to connect with a deeper reality, for the sake of my soul and for the sake of my family, friends, and neighbors.