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February 16, 2005
Upon this rock
I stood in the center of a gravel patch between the food and the crowd, sort of gumming the straw, quadriplegically probing with it for stubborn pockets of meltwater. I was a ways from the stage, but I could see well enough. Something started to happen to me. The guys in the band were middle-aged. They had blousy shirts and half-hearted arena-rock moves from the mid-'80s.
What was...this feeling? The singer kept grinning between lines, like if he didn't, he might collapse. I could just make out the words:
There's a higher place to go
(beyond belief, beyond belief),
Where we reach the next plateau,
(beyond belief, beyond belief)...
The straw slipped from my mouth.
"Oh, shit. It's Petra."
- From "Upon This Rock" by John Jeremiah Sullivan.
I'll admit it. Most of my social interaction is characterized by some, mostly inane, mutterings that you just listen to this album or browse this site. However, this time I feel as if I've actually stumbled upon substance.
The above excerpt is from an article in GQ about a writer's experience at Creation Festival, evidently the largest Christian music festival in the States. It's fascinating. In no way does it tred in the stereotypical way one might imagine. Please, please read it.
(I did a bit of research. Turns out, this writer, John Jeremiah Sullivan, is a former Oxford American editor, now a Harper's editor I believe, and appeared, if any of you were there, on the Thacker Mountain show last spring when Trent Dabbs played. Oh, Oxford, you hubris of disaffection.)
Posted by houch at February 16, 2005 12:21 AM
Comments
hey palmer, thanks for pointing out this article (got to it from jeremy\'s site). it hits too close to home. sullivan is right on so many points, it is sad, but good, to read.
Posted by: judah at February 16, 2005 11:08 PM
Palmer, that\'s one of the best pieces of writing that I've read in a while. Is that the norm for GQ?
Posted by: Charles at February 17, 2005 04:15 AM
Glad you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.
C-Bla, stevenb would be the one to ask about GQ. He\'s a subscriber. I don't read it very often, although I do know Chuck Klosterman writes a column for it. This weblog fully endorses Klosterman.
Posted by: Houch at February 17, 2005 10:49 AM
I don\'t know what is wrong with me. Completely scratch my last comment. I was thinking of Esquire, not GQ. I can't recall ever reading GQ.
Posted by: at February 17, 2005 12:03 PM
well, i did respond to your post with dedicating over an hour to reading that article. it\'s a very captivating article. very well done.
Posted by: at February 18, 2005 07:56 PM
wait i forgot to put my info in, its matt
Posted by: matt kilgore at February 18, 2005 07:57 PM