Only I would shop at Eclectic City

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, October 19, 2022

“Only you would listen to Cory Asbury followed by Black Sabbath.”

It was a message from Spotify from my end-of-the-year listening summary back in January. I laughed. It was probably true.

Cory Asbury is known for Christian worship music. Black Sabbath is not. The godfathers of heavy metal have been recording music a little longer than I’ve been alive. I love their gritty British sound on tracks like “Paranoid.”

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Asbury’s singing and music is elevating and spiritual, and I have no problem joining him in worship of our God on songs like “Endless Alleluia.”

One great feature of Spotify and similar music streaming services is that I can let it play and it’ll pull songs I’ve listened to in the past as my playlist. I can skip or delete any I want, and go on listening.

Because my music taste is so eclectic, it’s not unusual for my playlist to go from Chris Stapleton to Van Halen, David Crowder to Led Zeppelin, Eric Gales to Cain, and The Devil Wears Prada to local artists — like Tony Norton, Tyler Bridge and Rona Barrett.

And, of course, from Cory Asbury to Black Sabbath.

What does this say about me? I have no idea.

Years ago, I told a new coworker she could probably tell a lot about me by my desk. I had photos of my children, Bible verses, quotes from Star Wars and Star Trek, books on history and art, a cigar and a lot of other stuff that made some weird, eclectic statement about the things wherein my interests lie.

She took a look and said, “What? That you’re messy?”

Ouch. The truth can sting.

I saw a business in Hattiesburg one day a lifetime ago when I lived there that made me excited for just a moment. The name of the business was “Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City.” It’s a story that was primarily appliances back then. But that’s not why I was happy. It was because I misread the sign and thought it was something new, something tailored specially for people like me — “Eclectic City.”

For the briefest of moments, I wondered about its wonders, then I realized what I had done and I was disappointed. Oh, well.

My interests are indeed varied and driven by my adult ADHD. Back to music, I do love Christian music and other/secular/non-Christian music. I like a little bit of every musical genre I’ve heard. But it’s the message that really puts Christian music on top for me. Especially when the lyrics bring out a different way of thinking, challenging me to invest more in my praise of God, or how I interact with others, or even how I think of myself.

I don’t apologize for my varied preferences, it’s part of what makes me who I am.

Touché, Spotify.

News editor Brett Campbell can be reached at brett.campbell@dailyleader.com.