New Subscriber Playlist: “Transmissions From the Fringe”

One of my goals with Opus has always been to help people see that Christian music is so much more diverse than they might realize. Although the term is often associated with “Contemporary Christian Music” (CCM) artists — from “old school” folks like Carmen, Amy Grant, Twila Paris, and Michael W. Smith to youngsters like Francesca Battistelli, For King & Country, and Zach Williams — the fact is that there’s so much more to the genre/label.

My “Transmissions From the Fringe” playlist is an attempt to help shine a spotlight on a few of the artists who’ve been faithfully toiling away — for decades in some cases — at creating music that’s as sonically interesting as it is spiritually deep. Unfortunately, that has meant that most, if not all, of them have frequently been relegated to the fringes, not just of secular music (because of their faith) but also Christian music (because of their attitudes, lyrical content, and musical experiments).

Accompanying the playlist is the latest episode of my “Playlist Breakdown” podcast, in which I spotlight one of the playlist’s songs and why it’s so special and meaningful. In this latest breakdown, I talk about “Hole in the World,” my favorite song from Daniel Amos’ 1993 masterpiece, Motor Cycle.

Both of these are little bonuses for subscribers who support Opus financially. If you’d like to get access to them (and more), subscribe to Opus for $5/month or $50/year. (Also, if you just want to check it out, you can subscribe for free and get weekend reading recommendations.)