This blog is a response to a page on Facebook called “Fans Of Real 80’s CCM.” I was a fan of Contemporary Christian Music for many years and still listen to a narrow bandwidth of artists from that era. There was a lot of good music in that decade, and there are obviously many fans of the gospel music that persists to this day, as evidenced by the comments on the Facebook page.
One article sent my musical senses into overdrive. The album of the day was Tonio K‘s “Notes From A Lost Civilization”. I have his first five albums, and his first album, “Life In The Foodchain,” is my go-to from his discography. Steven M. Krikorian aka Tonio K says that “Life In The Foodchain ” and “Notes From A Lost Civilization” are his favourites. It had been a while since I had listened to “Notes From A Lost Civilization,” so I needed a refresher. While I was at it, I decided to go back and listen to all five albums chronologically and comment on the Christianity in the lyrics and some of the philosophy as well. Tonio K’s lyrics are smart, concise, and often oblique. They can make me laugh, turn on a dime, and pause to wonder what the h-e-double-l is going on. He is also a great storyteller; I like that.
“His faith was energized by the Jesus movement, but unlike those who saw that revival as an opportunity to create and hang out in a subculture, Tonio K and his compadres stayed engaged with the wider world with their hope, their faith, and their love stirred honestly and authentically into their work.”
From The True Tunes Podcast: Tonio K. Walks On: Notes From A Lost World – 2023-01-23
So, without further ado, here we go on our little voyage to a lost civilization with some pit stops.
First stop: Life In The Foodchain. In 1978, Tonio K went solo with Life in the Foodchain on Irving Azoff’s Full Moon/Epic label. Adopting the moniker Tonio K., a reference to the writings of Kafka and Thomas Mann, two authors that I have never read. Tonio K was hailed as America’s answer to Britain’s Angry Young Men (Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Graham Parker) and the “funniest serious songwriter in America”. Life In The Foodchain was produced by Rob Fraboni (The Band, Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker) and featured a supporting cast that included Earl Slick, Garth Hudson, Dick Dale and Albert Lee.
Track 1: Life In The Foodchain
The closest this song gets to being Christian is in the line about the Catholic dogma of crossing themselves.
“It’s watch your step and cross yourself,
And get back in the house.”
Philosophically speaking, there is an element of resignation or defeatism:
“I guess that you’ve finally got to accept
That there’s nothing you can do about it”
Christianity teaches that we can improve our lives, so there is something we can do about it. There is prayer, asking God to help, and expecting God’s help, based on the scriptures, that “we can do all things through Christ.”
Track 2: The Funky Western Civilization
This is probably one of my favourite Tonio K songs. There are lots of good ones, so picking a single best song is difficult. The lyrics do mention sinners.
“There’s a sinner bein’ trampled
By a thousand pious feet
There’s a baby every minute
Bein’ born without a chance
Now don’t that make you want
To jump right up and start to dance?”
I don’t think the congregations or leaders of any mainline church would approve of these lines from the chorus:
“You just grab your partner by the hair
Throw her down and leave her there”
And eventually, we have Jesus making a guest appearance.
“They put Jesus on a cross
They put a hole in J.F.K
They put Hitler in the driver’s seat
And looked the other way
Now they’ve got poison in the water
And the whole world in a trance
But just because we’re hypnotized
That don’t mean we can’t dance”
It could be postulated that the great unwashed population are hypnotized by church leaders, politicians, etc. But we can still dance, just like on the Titanic. In the song “Amusing Ourselves To Death” by Garth Hewitt, there is a cunning reference to dancing while the ship goes down. “We’ve chosen the path of pleasure even if it kills.” That’s a great album, by the way; it should be in the CCM group on Facebook, even though it was released in 1990.
Back to the lyrics of The Funky Western Civilization:
“And I, I’ve never heard nothing like this in my life
Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know what to make of it
Good God almighty
Scares me every time I hear it
Scares me every time I think about it”
“Good God almighty.” Is that a genuine cry out to the capital G God of the Christian Bible, or is it an expletive? I don’t know, and I don’t have any commentary from Tonio K himself or an uber fan to clarify that statement for us.
Track 3: Willie And The Pigman
This song has zero references to anything spiritual; it is a story song about the mob and unions.
Track 4: The Ballad Of The Night The Clocks All Quit (And The Government Failed)
Again, nothing spiritual other than a vague reference to John the Baptist.
“And John the Baptist and Uncle Sam
They was carryin’ the plans for some new kind of object of faith”
Track 5: American Love Affair
This song is a commentary on the American dream. Waylon Jennings offered a great commentary on the American Dream in the song “Luckenbach, Texas” (Back to the Basics of Love). “Four-car garage and we’re still buildin’ on.” Not really spiritual, but a good commentary on human nature and the pursuit of the American Dream, or the American Love Affair.
Track 6: How Come I Can’t See You In My Mirror?
This could be a commentary on ignoring our sinful nature, or it could be a comical song that deserves a place in Dr. Demonto’s playlist. Nothing spiritual, other than the possibility that the vampire could put off some Christians.
Track 7: Better Late Than Never
What we have here is “a long way from Heaven.” A lament on a broken relationship- is it spiritual or not? Depends on which side of the church you sit on; some are ok with divorce, others aren’t.
Track 8: A Lover’s Plea
“Think about all the things that we’ve been through
Or think about how a cast would look on you
Don’t you go and break my heart
No don’t do it
If you do
I’ll go crazy
Maybe hurt myself
Or more significant
I might hurt you”
Another relationship is falling apart, and apparently a divorce isn’t in the mix for the singer of this song. A threat of violence isn’t exactly Christian, although some passages in the Old Testament allude or lean hard towards violence as a solution for all kinds of things.
Track 9: H-A-T-R-E-D
I am going to stand back and let these lyrics play out without commentary. If you wish, you can comment on how this is Christian; it eludes me.
“Now I know it’s not unusual
It’s nothing so unique
There’s probably hundreds of wonderful love affairs
That go bad in this town every week
It’s a big town, but all of them others
Them sad-hearted lovers could cry in their beer
What the hey, it didn’t concern me
Was none of my business
I never had nothin’ to say
But suddenly darlin’ the table has turned
You have left me for somebody new
And now it’s hard to express the resentment I feel
For the years that I’ve wasted on you
But let me kind of put this another way
Okay?
Eins, zwei, drei, vier!
[Verse 1]
I know it’s not unusual
It’s nothing so unique
There’s probably hundreds of wonderful love affairs
That go bad in this town every week
But all of them others, them sad-hearted lovers
Could cry in their beer, what the hey
It didn’t concern me, was none of my business
I never had nothin’ to say
But suddenly darlin’ the table has turned
You have left me for somebody new
And now it’s hard to express the resentment I feel
For the years that I’ve pissed away on you
[Chorus]
I’m full of
H-A-T-R-E-D
I’m bitter and malign
You’ve got me
P-I-S-S-E-D off
I’m angry most of the time
Why don’t you
G-O T-O H-E-double-L
You tramp
You philandering bitch
I’m going to
K-I-L-L one of us baby
Give me time and I’ll decide on which
But wait a minute
[Verse 2]
And I know I’m acting immature
I’m acting like a child
I should display some self-control
Instead of going wild like this
And I wish I could accept all this
As simply “life” which includes pain
And act upon the actual fact
That nobody’s to blame
Yes I wish I was as mellow
As for instance Jackson Browne
But “Fountain of Sorrow” my ass motherfucker
I hope you wind up in the ground
I’m so full of
[Chorus]
H-A-T-R-E-D
I’m bitter and malign
You’ve got me
P-I-S-S-E-D off
I’m angry most of the time
Why don’t you
G-O T-O H-E-double-L
You tramp
You philandering bitch
I’m going to
K-I-L-L one of us baby
When I’m sober I’ll decide on which
I’m full of
H-A-T-R-E-D
I’m bitter, I’m maligned
You’ve got me
P-I-S-S-E-D off
You know I’m angry most of the time
Why don’t you
G-O T-O H-E-double-L
You tramp
You bitch
I’m going to
K-I-L-L one of us baby
Give me time I’ll decide on which
[Outro]
I’m full of
H-A-T-R-E-D
Why don’t you
G-O T-O H-E-double-L
You tramp
You philandering bitch
I’m going to
K-I-L-L one of us baby
Give me time and I’ll decide on which
H-A-T-R-E-D
What’s that spell?
What’s that spell?
What’s that spell?
But then again, maybe with the proper counselling we can work this out”
And that concludes my commentary on Tonio K’s first album Life In The Foodchain.
Now we move on to Tonio K’s second album, Amerika, released in 1980 via Clive Davis’s Arista Records. Filled with literary and political references, the album was hailed as “punk for academics,” and once again Simels from Stereo Review called it “the greatest record ever recorded.”
Track 1: Amerika
Nothing spiritual about this song. It has lots of tongue-in-cheek lyrics about the state of the world in 1980; it hasn’t changed much by 2016.
Track 2: Say Goodbye
Some lyrics in Say Goodbye allude to faith.
“everybody say a prayer for the age of innocence
everybody say a prayer for the days gone by
it’s a sin and it’s a shame
but those days will not come again
blow a kiss and dry your eyes
say goodbye”
There is an element of resignation or defeatism similar to those in “Life In The Food Chain.” Tonio K throws in an accusation that could be applied to anyone in leadership, political or spiritual.
“they confuse and they tangle the truth up
with fast talk and promises
they abuse and abandon each other
outside on the street
yeah the signs are everywhere
only no one even cares
this paradise is dying
say goodbye”
Track 3: Sons Of The Revolution
Political commentary.
Track 4: Go Away
Risque song about a failed relationship.
“Oh you’re a spicy little number
But your mind’s between your legs”
Track 5: Cinderella’s Baby
I think these are more political/state-of-the-world lyrics.
Track 6: Trouble
We finally get some lyrics that have a smattering of Christianity.
“I can’t believe it
Everywhere trouble (trouble)
It’s right out of the book of Revelation
Trouble (trouble)
Why don’t you read it, read all about it
Trouble (trouble)”
Those lines aren’t exactly an endorsement for the Christian faith; it’s all trouble. The song Trouble has more commentary on the state of America than the state of our souls.
“Are you men associated with the American army
No we’re not associated with anybody”
Track 7: Girl Crazy
Nothing Christian here.
Track 8: I’ll Buy It
Nothing Christian here either.
Track 9: The Night Fast Rodney Want Crazy
A story song, but not a Bible story.
Track 10: Merzsuite: Let Us Join Together in a Tune/Umore/Futt Futt Futt/Umore
I don’t entirely know what Tonio K is trying to say in this song, but it is not a Bible lesson.
At the end of this album, there is precious little related to Christianity.
La Bomba was Tonio K’s next release. Capitol Records released it in 1982 as a 12-inch EP. Recorded as a live-in-the-studio album produced by Carter (Motels, Tina Turner, Paula Cole). Recorded in Capitol Studio B, it featured K.’s touring band: George “Geo” Conner (guitar), Alfredo Acosta Alwag (drums), and Enrique “Eric” Gotthelf (bass). The song “Mars Needs Women” also appears on the EP; a few years later, Hoodoo Gurus released an album with the song “Mars Needs Guitars,” a reference to the 1967 science fiction film “Mars Needs Women.” I enjoy random facts like that. And once again pronounced by Simels to be “the greatest record ever recorded”
Tonio K next released Romeo Unchained on What?/A&M Records. What? Records was a short-lived record label started by Word Records and A&M Records, intended to focus on creative and unusual rock and roll records with spiritual messages. The intention was to feature Christian Rock artists that “wouldn’t be too obvious” about their faith. It was founded in 1986. Its first release was Tonio K.’s Romeo Unchained. In my opinion, it was on Romeo Unchained that Tonio K. got labelled as a “Christian” artist.
In the short time that the label existed, it released albums by Mark Heard (under the name of iDEoLA), Tonio K. (two albums, the second of which was produced by T-Bone Burnett), and Chagall Guevara’s Dave Perkins. I love the music of all the artists mentioned above. Mark Heard is the most “Christian” in their lyrics; it is not my place to judge their faith.
Hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as “the best Bob Dylan album since Dylan himself lost interest in the pop song form,” Romeo Unchained landed on numerous critics’ top 10 albums of the year lists. Simels once again called it “the greatest record ever recorded.” Recorded in 1985 and 1986, it was produced by Rick Neigher, Bob Rose, and T Bone Burnett. The musicians on these recordings included Neigher (on many instruments), Rose, Burnett, Peter Banks, David Mansfield, David Miner, David Raven, Tim Pierce, Tim Chandler, and Rob Watson.
Track 1: True Confessions
True Confessions starts with some Biblical references:
“It’s a jungle out there
Used to be a garden
But the times got tough
And now all those innocent hearts have hardened
You got Cain and Abel
You got Jack and Jill
They’re out looking for love, love, love
On a Saturday night in a Coup de Ville”
And it stops there. I wonder if the title references confessing our sins?
Track 2: Perfect World
Zero Biblical or spiritual lines in this song, just a longing for a perfect world and lamentations on the fact that the world we live in is far from perfect.
Track 3: Romeo and Jane
The words “they have fallen east of Eden” are the closest Romeo and Jane get to a perfect world.
Track 4: You Belong With Me
A love song with very little in the way of theology, but I love the line “what passes for love on the streets these days is a joke.”
Track 5: Impressed
Finally, we get something straight out of the Bible.
“’Cause love is gentle love is kind
Doesn’t poison baby’s wine
Isn’t jealous or provoked
Doesn’t quit or give up hope”
1 Corinthians 13:4–7
These words are used in as many weddings as the line “I do.”
Track 6: I Handle Snakes
“They will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” – Mark 16:18
Over the last 100 years, about 100 church leaders have died from snake bites in the USA. That puts a damper on their theology about not getting hurt from snakes or poison.
I feel like Tonio K is singing this song more in jest than condemnation; the fact that so many die is the condemnation part. Is this song “Christian?” I suppose so, but:
“But I don’t say hallelujah
I don’t even say grace
I make my statement
I say it with snakes”
“The theological treatise, “I Handle Snakes”, was written and recorded in mid-1980. Thematically, it has nothing to do with the other songs on, or intent of, the record. It is included here only at the insistence of certain A&R, managerial, and media folk. They know who they are, you decide what you think.” K. – from the Romeo Unchained liner notes
Track 7: Emotional War Games
“Lord teach me patience, show me a way
Teach us forgiveness before it’s too late
Because I want my baby and she wants me too
But if we don’t stop fighting, Lord, we’re all through.”
A cry to the Lord for help, to learn patience and forgiveness. Two tough lessons that I am still working on.
Track 8: Living Doll
This is a weird song. The lyrics brought Shirley Temple to mind, who was a living doll in many aspects.
No spiritual references to be found in this song.
Track 9: You Don’t Belong Here
Nothing from the Bible in this song other than saying a prayer for someone to leave soon.
Track 10: You Will Go Free
The album Romeo Unchained closes with some good Bible teaching, including the famous phrase “the truth will set you free,” from John 8:32, where Jesus says, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Is Romeo Unchained a “Christian” album? I don’t think so. I hear it as a good lyricist who uses some Biblicalreferences to bolster the story. It is a good record, but don’t expect any of these songs to appear in your church on Sunday morning.
Notes From The Lost Civilization is our closing album and the star attraction of this blog.
Notes from the Lost Civilization, again on What?/A&M, followed in 1988. It was concurrently released on the Wordlabel, a gospel/Christian music subsidiary of A&M; the Word version of the release did not include the song “What Women Want” (presumably for the lyric “they want sex, yeah that’s true,” although the point of the song is that women want love). Produced by Tonio K. and David Miner, with T Bone Burnett serving as executive producer, the all-star cast of supporting musicians included Burnett, Booker T. Jones on Hammond B-3, Jim Keltner, Raymond Poundsand Alex Acuña on drums and percussion, James Jamerson, Jr.and David Miner on bass, and Charlie Sexton and Jack Sherman on additional guitars. The video for the single, “Without Love“, marked Tonio’s first airplay on MTV.
Track 1: Without Love
Immediately before the love scripture in the song Impress, these verses are about being without love.
1 Corinthians 13:1–3 (NIV): “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy… but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor… but do not have love, I gain nothing.“
Tonio K goes through a laundry list of things that mean nothing without love.
Track 2: Children’s Crusade
There have been two historical children’s crusades. The first one was the Medieval Children’s Crusade of 1212. Thousands of young people and poor peasants set out to peacefully march to the Holy Land and recover Jerusalemafter adult-led crusades had stalled. Unfortunately, they were ill-equipped, suffered from a lack of provisions, and the crusade ended before it reached the Holy Land. Many questions remain about what really happened. Although it is called the Children’s Crusade, Pope Innocent III never approved it as an official crusade. The traditional narrative likely conflates historical and mythical events, including the preaching of visions by a French boy and a German boy, and an intention to convert Muslims in the Holy Land to Christianity peacefully.
The second was the Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963, in which over 1000 schoolchildren went to 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, to march peacefully against racial segregation. Public Safety Commissioner of Birmingham, Alabama, Bull Connor met the children with high-pressure fire hoses and attack dogs, generating global outrage. The shocking media coverage forced federal intervention, heavily influenced President John F. Kennedy’s support for civil rights legislation, and paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was far more successful than the 1212 crusade.
Back to the present, what does all of this have to do with the Tonio K song titled Children’s Crusade? I don’t have the foggiest idea.
Track 3: Stay
More lamentations about broken hearts.
Track 4: City Life
A love song from Tonio K to his home city, warts and all.
Track 5: You Were There
This is the most Christian song so far. It covers a lot of ground, starting with Eden, fittingly.
“[Chorus]
And you were there waiting for me
You shined the light when I couldn’t see
I stood at the gate like a stranger
And you were there waiting for me”
Track 6: The Executioners Song
I don’t know what this song is about.
Track 7: I Can’t Stand It
In this song, I discern a jab at the televangelist preachers.
“I heard about a new religion
Where the money talks
And the women scream
And the people worship the wildest things”
Track 8: What Women Want
This is the song Word Records wouldn’t put on their version of the album because of the lyric that uses the word sex. The funny thing is that the song adds an emphatic “but,” then goes on to say that women want love among other things.
Track 9: I Can’t Stop
I like this song on many levels. I used to work in an addiction recovery program, and one of my little sayings was: “If you make a mess, clean it up. If you see a mess, clean it up. If you are a mess, come and talk to me.”
“Got my personal story
Got the six o’clock news
It’s all driving me crazy”
This brought to mind the great Larry Norman song, “I Am The Six O’clock News.” A hard-hitting commentary on war-mongering by an amazing Christian musician. I don’t have to do a blog about whether or not Larry Norman makes “Christian” music; he shoves it in your face. Unfortunately, a lot of churches didn’t like his edgy lyrics, and he became trapped in a genre that is too religious for mainstream music and too mainstream for churches.
Back to Tonio K’s song. I really like this chorus.
I
I can’t stop
I can’t stop thinking
I can’t stop thinking about you
Track 10: Where Is That Place
This song is perfect for the age of Trumpism. I’m doing the whole song in one dump.
[Verse 1]
It used to be the teacher’s favorite country
It used to be the showplace of the west
Everything worked and everyone smiled
It used to be another word for the best
[Chorus]
Where is that place? Where did it go?
Whatever happened to that place? God only knows
That isn’t it over there and this isn’t it here
Now how did a place that big just disappear?
[Verse 2]
You could see it in the distance across the desert
You could see it from a hundred miles away
It glowed in the dark, it lit up the world
It seemed as if the sun shined night and day
[Chorus]
Where is that place? Where did it go?
Whatever happened to that place? God only knows
That isn’t it over there and this isn’t it here
Now how did a place that big just disappear?
[Bridge]
They dealt in fantasy and fashion
They dealt in flesh and blood
Multiple millions of dollars
You could buy anything but love
[Chorus]
Where is that place? Where did it go?
Whatever happened to that place? God only knows
That isn’t it over there and this isn’t it here
Now how can a place that big just disappear?
Where is that place? Where did it go?
Whatever happened to that place? God only knows
That isn’t it over there and this isn’t it here
So how can a place that big just disappear?
Where that place is a darn good question; God only knows, and that is a fitting close to our blog.
I set out some four thousand words ago to examine Tonio K’s music and specifically his album Notes From A Lost Civilization, to see whether it is Christian music or not. I lean towards saying maybe. Tonio K has stated that he believes there is a God. It seems to me that he would fall into the group of believers that only congregate for weddings and funerals. Or maybe even a CEO, Christmas and Easter Only. It is not my place to judge another person’s faith; if there is a God, that is his job, not mine. What I can do, however, is to listen to the songs of others and see if they sound like gospel music to me, or not. There are certainly moments in Tonio K’s discography that lean hard into Christian music, but there are also moments that lean hard away from the Christian genre. The bottom line for me is this: I enjoy his music and will keep listening to it whenever the urge hits me. I don’t sit and think about his theology; I take the music at face value and enjoy listening to it.
Weathered Music 