383

Truce
Posted on May 17, 2015 by David M Willis

383 thoughts on “Truce”

  1. Jen Aside

    off to a smashing start

    1. Jen Aside

      *Dorothy gets kicked out for bringing Sierra Mist*

      1. Nono

        Or just Sierra.

        1. Jen Aside

          *double entendre where “mist” is German for “manure”*

        2. thebombzen

          Mount Whitney mist. You know, Sierra Nevada Mist.

        3. AustKyzor

          Well, Sierra shouldn’t be poopin in people’s rooms

        4. David Herbert

          I think Sierra would be invited since they’re church buddies.

          Wait, is Becky still going to go to church?

        5. Smiling Cat

          She’s specifically stated that her sexuality doesn’t impact her faith.

        6. Leorale

          I’m not sure she’s had a Sunday since the whole Anderson fiasco in which it could come up directly.

          I don’t know how Becky felt about church before her life exploded, but if I was her, I’d be scared to go to church, in case of other ToeDads.

        7. timemonkey

          I believe tomorrow will be Sunday. I assume the issue will be raised then.

        8. Rycan

          Will Becky feel compelled to out herself there next? Stay tuned!

        9. Rycan

          Err, ‘there’ being ‘at that church with the music’.

        10. lightsabermario

          And by tomorrow, we mean three months from now.

  2. LiaHansen

    these references were not designed for the general public

    1. sps48

      Wouldn’t Sarah just say “regular radio”?

      cisradio?

      1. thebombzen

        The only transradio is from the Voyager probes. Afaik they’re the only human-made transneptunian objects

        1. CptNerd

          Two Pioneer probes and the New Horizons Pluto probe are all past Neptune, but only the Voyagers and New Horizons are still “talking”.

        2. Rycan

          Then again, we’ve had transistor radio receivers for over half a century, so one could argue that “transradio” is incredibly widespread. Especially when you consider the spectacular failure that is cismission radio – it’s really good at producing a feedback loop, and not much else.

        3. A5PECT

          Am I really the only one here that picked up on this incredibly nerdy joke?

        4. Rycan

          Better that getting nothing but blank stares.

      2. Kate

        Honestly she’s probably quoting Joyce there.

        Though she’s also enough of an intellectual that I wouldn’t be surprised if she said “secular radio” anyway when discussing Christian music.

      3. leadsynth

        As a lawyer (in training), Sarah’s allowed to overcomplicate things

    2. Vree

      An opportunity to learn, then! 🙂

  3. AnvilPro

    So far, Sarah’s the life of the party

    1. Bagge

      I like how she and Walky bonded as kinda sane people

      1. timemonkey

        Of course the racist undertones are going to stand out to them.

        1. Cobragardens

          Why, because they’re black? Because racism only stands out to racial minorities? I’m uncomfortable with this.

        2. lordofkonrad

          I think racism stands out more to racial minorities than to white europeans/north americans. Not that white people wouldn’t react. It’s easy for some to ignore or simply miss out on social injustices or things like racist undertones if they don’t affect you directly.

        3. ajm5007

          >>Why, because they’re black?<> Because racism only stands out to racial minorities?<> I’m uncomfortable with this.<<

          Good. Facts about racism should make everyone uncomfortable.

        4. ajm5007

          Ugh! I have to learn not to use angle brackets as quotation marks in HTML forums:

          “Why, because they’re black?”

          Yes.

          “Because racism only stands out to racial minorities?”

          Not only, but it does tend to stand out to us more since we’re generally the ones who are terribly harmed by it on a regular basis.

          “I’m uncomfortable with this.”

          Good. Facts about racism should make everyone uncomfortable.

        5. Rycan

          Probably because they encounter racism more often. It’s a lot harder to ignore racism when you’re a favorite target.

  4. otusasio451

    “Colored people.”

    …Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me as much as it should.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Is that song as bad as I think it could be?

      1. Heatth

        Surprisingly, no. It is really weird and kinda off putting, but the message is alright.

      2. MeghanTheWorldEater

        http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dctalk/coloredpeople.html
        It’s an unusually roundabout way of saying “Racism isn’t cool.”

        1. otusasio451

          Wait…that wasn’t a joke? IT’S REAL??? OH DEAR HELL, I DIDN’T THINK IT WAS REAL!

        2. Regalli

          When in doubt, assume Willis is pretty much never exaggerating. If only because there’s a Youtube link in the hover text.

          *Looks the band up* Sweet merciful flamey-os, they formed in 1987, HOW DID THEY MISS WHAT THEY WERE WRITING?

        3. leadsynth

          The song lyrics seem to be using “colored” as a synonym for “sinners.” They’re saying that everyone (regardless of skin color) is a “colored person,” because all people are sinners. That’s my interpretation.

        4. Skorpeyon

          Personally, I don’t think that’s the intention at all. It’s literally talking about skin color, but essentially saying that it doesn’t matter. The one portion that I think is confusing (Ignorance has wronged some races / And vengeance is the Lord’s / If we aspire to share this space / Repentance is the cure) is actually being heavily critical of racism. It’s saying the people were looked down upon for their skin color, and that’s wrong.

          I’m not saying the song is good, and it certainly has some horrible lyrics that can easily be taken the wrong way, but I don’t think it was meant as anything more than what it literally is. It’s saying people, as a whole, should be colorblind and ignore skin color. The irony is that when people hear “colored people” they assume it’s derogatory and in the context of the song it’s intended to include every race regardless of skin color.

          Basically, it was a really stupid way to say something that’s not really a bad message.

        5. QD

          I mean, instead of “thank God racism is over!” it says “wow you guys you REALLY need to acknowledge this huge sin committed by an entire civilization before any progress here can be made”

          which obvs does not excuse the awful language used to make that point

        6. Z2

          I could swear that song was trying to deconstruct the term ‘Colored People’ with both the fact that ‘White’ is also a color and the statement that what really ‘colors’ us is our actions…

          Like:
          Band: “Guys, this is kind of a stupid concept as it stands.”
          EVERYBODY: “HAW HAW/Yikes, they’re singing about a stupid concept!”

        7. Geo

          Yeah the whole point of the song is turning a term that has bad history into a point about said bad history.
          Also its hardly the most offensive term ever. I mean one of the largest civil rights group in America is called the “National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.”

        8. Dan

          Thank you. I’m glad some people get what the song is about. lol. The terminology is weird, but it’s supposed to be because they are using it to make a point.
          They were actually a really good group. They do have a few songs here and there that are kind of cringe-inducing now (which even they have acknowledged), but they also have a number of really good ones.

        9. thebombzen

          Is that Hazel’s mom in your Gravatar?

        10. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Nope Nathan Mint.
          http://portsidestories.tumblr.com/post/112504550864/bless-his-heart-hes-got-that-name-down-pat

        11. Yu'Karaya

          “Red and yellow, black and white”

          Oh hell they even used red and yellow, how antiquated is that? Pretty sure my skin is a medium copper, not red like the bloody Cleveland Indian.

        12. Chris Phoenix

          “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

          I grew up singing this. I’m sure the usage here is a tribute to that song.

        13. Rycan

          *groan* Next you’re going to tell me you sang songs about Negros in Sunday School (Spanish Sunday School doesn’t count).

        14. Dallium

          One of their songs on “Free at last” consists solely of the three of them singing “We’re just two honks and a negro serving the lord.” Things were just different twenty years ago

        15. Beachfox

          I was a functioning near-adult twenty years ago. Things weren’t -that- different. Not when it comes to -this-.

        16. Dan

          I don’t really see the problem with that line, honestly. It’s obviously a general catigorization, the same kind that almost literally EVERYONE uses. Sure, there are different shades of skin, but most people refer to categories like Black people (who are never actually black) or White people (who are never actually white). Do you really want them to list the entire color spectrum? The song would last for 20 mintues. At least.

      3. otusasio451

        As a black man…I’m not sure how to feel about this song. Having just finished reading the lyrics, it’s…awkward. Really, REALLY awkward. At first, it seems to imply that the colored races need to repent for THEIR sins, and that they only exist because of the Grace of God. But, it later mentions that some races have been wronged, and “white” is included in the colors listed later. So…OK?

        Seriously, I do not know how to feel here.

        1. Lord Stoneheart

          I think the intended message is “We all are human, and should treat each other equally as such. Also since we are all human we all are sinful beings who have fallen short of the glory that is God.” I found the lyrics really cringeworthy though. Like I’m not sure if they understand the historical context of the phrase Colored people.

        2. otusasio451

          They…they HAVE to know, right? They’re’s no way they couldn’t know, right?

        3. otusasio451

          …Wow…that may be the worst typo I’ve ever typed. For this, I greatly apologize.

        4. MeghanTheWorldEater

          If it makes you feel any better it took me about an hour to figure out what your typo was.

        5. Jason

          Still trying…

        6. No Name

          Look at the apostrophes.

        7. marianne

          Since it made you sound like an old-timey grizzled gold prospector in my head, I’m gonna have to disagree and say that that’s surely the best typo you’ve ever typed!

        8. Rycan

          That’s it, five minutes in the penalty box for misuse of an apostrophe.

        9. Tbone Jenkins

          I basically assumed that you were so horrified by the lyrics that it temporarily discombobulated the grammar portion of your brain…

        10. Kate

          Given that one of the members of DC Talk was a black man, I sure hope so.

        11. Rebecca

          Just about to say this. Yeah, there’s no way at least one of them DIDN’T know the historical context of “colored people.”

        12. Regalli

          And it formed in 1987 in Lynchburg, Virginia. If they missed that, I have no idea how.

        13. JohnnyO

          “There’s no way they didn’t know”

          I think you’re overestimating homeschool and private religious education.

        14. leadsynth

          Yes, of course they know. They’re trying to reclaim the phrase as their own. (I’m not letting DC Talk off the hook for offending people; I’m just offering a songwriter’s perspective.)

        15. Derek

          “Like I’m not sure if they understand the historical context of the phrase Colored people.”

          It’s pretty clear that they do. The chorus has “We’re colored people and they call us the human race”. They are subverting the normal meaning of the word (black people) and using it to refer to all people instead. Basically they’re way of saying “all people are equal”. This wouldn’t work with other ethnic or racial terms, and it wouldn’t work without understanding the associations that go along with “colored people”.

        16. Lurlock

          I think they’re trying to follow the “Hey, white’s a color too, right?” line of reasoning. So yeah, their intentions are good, I suppose; they just didn’t think it through thoroughly…

        17. Eolirin

          There’s a certain amount of erasure going on there, and there’s a lot of stuff that basically eliminates the need to actually address the systemic nature of white power, so I wouldn’t feel too good; it’s feels a bit like someone who has a sense that racism is real and a bad thing, but doesn’t actually know anyone affected by it or how it actually works in the real world.

          Or, alternately, someone that recognizes that racism is real, bad, understands how it works, but knows it’s audience isn’t actually willing to hear it so they have to make it much more palatable to them by dissembling and drawing false equivalency.

          And it’s ambiguous enough that if you’re a white supremacist, you can listen to the song and think it’s talking about how minority groups need to stop being uppity and repent instead of agitating for equality (“vengeance is the lord’s, not yours, so sit down and shut up”). Being able to both seem inoffensive, if not a bit misguided, when listened to by a not crazy person, and still being open to that interpretation is actually kind of impressive, in a rather depressing sort of way.

        18. otusasio451

          Yeah, I think the first explanation is the best bet. Either way, any song that warrants the statement “white supremacists can listen to it and agree with it” probably shouldn’t exist.

        19. Eolirin

          Yeahhh. It’s kind of awful, really, intentional or not.

        20. otusasio451

          Also, just a note, I was legitimately surprised that one of the band members is African-American. He’s actually one of the main singers of the song “Colored people.” Now I’m a different kind of confused.

        21. Eolirin

          It’s not terribly difficult to miss the implications of what you’re saying or doing, especially in a broader historical or cultural context. Not everyone’s life experiences are the same, and not everyone has the ability to step back far enough to look at things from multiple perspectives.

          Just cause he’s black doesn’t mean he’s going to automatically get what’s wrong with it.

        22. pumpkincat

          Actually met the band back in my misspent youth. The way they explained the song was the notion that in God’s eyes, we are all different colors, and the different shades of skin are all part of the beauty of God’s plan, etc.

          Or to put it another way, the outside isn’t what matters to God but rather following the plan, etc. The eighties and nineties were … different, and, uh, well. Religion.

        23. Eolirin

          Yeah, that sounds like an utter cluelessness about the broader cultural context they’re operating in. Jeeze.

        24. Khrene

          “Yeah, that sounds like an utter cluelessness about the broader cultural context they’re operating in. Jeeze.”

          I gotta contest with you man, the 70’s and 80’s still had a lot of overt racism due to Black and colored neighborhoods being disproportionately effected by drugs and poverty due to systematic failures* and active systematic disenfranchisement that directly target people of color directly. or active systematic disenfrachisement targeted poor people, but had greater impacts to people of color , needless to saw law enforcement did their best to alleviate the problem

          Even though this song may not deal with systematic oppression directly, it tries to break the stigma that many White people still had thanks to things like blockbusting and shitty portrayls of PoC’s in the media and news, which is important because people cannot stop systematic oppression if they have bias and prejudice against the oppressed ingraned into them.

        25. Dan

          I think it’s pretty easy to explain. As has already been stated, not everyone has the same life experience, and the 90’s were closer to the era of overt racism. In addition to that, we are taught this type of belief about racism in school. No one teaches you about systemic racism until you get to college (at least, that was the case for me) so it is quite easy for people who don’t grow up suffering as victims of it not to know that aspect of racism is a serious thing, or even that it exists. A LOT of people genuinely believe that if we just realize that skin color doesn’t inherently make someone better or worse than another person, we have solved the only problem there is. This is why people don’t understand the #BlackLivesMatter movement and instead advocate for #AllLivesMatter. DC Talk is addressing basic racism in this song, not systemic racism.

        26. leadsynth

          What’s in the song that white supremacists would agree with?

        27. PunkThug

          DC Talk is not racist. Their music is 2 things: Religuos and anti racist. And they are pretty good

        28. AzureShadow

          If it makes you a feeling, one of the three singers of DC Talk (Micheal Tait) is also a black guy.

          The song is also intended to be about racial equality.

        29. Chris Phoenix

          I think the song is saying “All people, of all skin colors, have a color. Every human is thus a “colored person.””

      4. Anonymous Commenter

        Ignoring everything else in this comment thread, I gotta thank you for the Tornado of Terro gravatar

    2. marr

      I thought it was referring to “Take a Walk on the Wild Side”

      1. fogel

        A big hit on Christian radio! Along with White Light, White Heat.

  5. LiaHansen

    also in the slipshine ad on the side sal looks like walky

    i like it

    1. Lord Stoneheart

      Someone mentioned the Slipshine ad looking like Mike/Walky and now I can only unsee it by focusing my eyes on the gloves.

      1. Dragon

        Why did you do this to me?! Whyyyyyy?!?!??

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Cos they can. ^_^

        2. JustCheetoDust

          And because every day they don’t is another day they didn’t.

        3. Jordan

          ‘Cause your mom + a nickel.

        4. Screwball

          Cause it’s so much fun messing with people’s heads…

      2. JustCheetoDust

        See, I like to think of the gloves as Walky’s sick idea of cosplay.

      3. Tacos

        Aye. I can also only unsee it by focusing on the gloves.

      4. DarkoNeko

        …I can’t see it.

      5. Sir Robin

        I’m glad I am not the only one who thought that!

      6. Spidergirl

        Oh GODDAMMIT

    2. Lucretiel

      CANNOT UNSEE

    3. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      … and now I can’t unsee it.
      …. actually, it’s kind of an improvement.

    4. Juliacool82

      I knew I wasn’t the only one who saw that! Wally x Mike ❤

      1. Inspector Hound

        Actually, I always thought it was Walky x Mike. As someone who isn’t reading Slipshine, it never occurred to me that that would be noteworthy.

        1. leadsynth

          Not reading Slipshine either, but I’m pretty sure the Slipshines so far have been basically canon. Mike/Walky would be…not canon.

    5. m2iCodeJockey

      I always thought it was Mike and Walky. I would’t imagine Sal be on the bottom especially, with that guy because I can’t see that guy being able to say “Fuck.”

      Now, I see the glove and I image the sex talk has something parabola vs. up-shifting…

  6. Dr. Smart

    lol christian music thats been played on secular radio? that can’t be good!

    1. zach

      I like Skillet.
      “How can one little street swallow so many lives?”

      1. ZuiyoMaru

        That’s The Offspring.

      2. Screwball

        “We are Skillet. Yes, we named ourselves after a frying pan…”

        Daniel the Human has some of their stuff, including a live concert CD… 😛

    2. Cholma

      I don’t know… Amy Grant’s music on secular radio still counts, right? She had some good pop stuff. Haven’t heard any of her county stuff.

      1. saltchocolate

        I definitely could get with Amy Grant. I will also admit to falling in love with Sufjan Stevens’ song “All the Trees of the Field will clap their Hands” when I first heard it, without knowing what his subject matter was. I got as far as buying the CD (Seven Swans) before realizing that he was from the Christiam music world . . . and that every other song on the CD made this perfectly clear, with none of the haunting ambiguity of the first song’s lyrics. And unlike w/ Amy Grant’s songs, once I understood that the “you” was actually “You,” I couldn’t hear it any other way.

        1. rj

          ….sufjan is explicitly not even close to a christian music artist though, unless you consider kanye west a christian music artist for “jesus walks”

      2. ScoutInTheNight

        Amy Grant got divorced and then started making songs for secular radio. At that point she was labeled a sell out, and no longer considered a “Christian” artist. At least, that’s how she was viewed by the fundies at the church my parents drug me to.

        1. leadsynth

          They’re missing out; Amy Grant’s pop stuff was solid. Then she made a pretty rad Christmas album. It had some Jesusy stuff on there along with the secular stuff, but hey, it’s a Christmas album, whaddaya want?

        2. Screwball

          Hey ScoutInTheNight, I’m trying to figure out if the drug part in At least, that’s how she was viewed by the fundies at the church my parents drug. me to. is a typo, or if they were that…determined..to save you’re spark-no wait, it’s souls for Humans,right…?

          “Alright, Church is at 7pm, so if we hit him with the gas at 5 he’ll be good enough by then…”

        3. Cholma

          By “drug,” Scout meant “dragged”.

    3. AzureShadow

      Actually a lot more common than you would think. Skillet and Switchfoot are two of probably the most popular.

  7. Rodimiss

    I would say that someone else could put on their music but we might end up traumatizing Joyce with it.

    1. Nono

      I dunno, Baby Got Back could appeal to Joyce.

      Not Anaconda though, that’s terrible on a new level.

      1. JustCheetoDust

        Can’t be any worse than Schooly D’s “Mr. Big Dick,” Juicy J’s “Slob On My Knob,” Disco Rick’s “Fuck Around the Clock,” or Willie D’s “P***y.”

      2. Sterling

        Yeah, Baby Got Back is just about sexualizing and objectifying women. Anaconda is way worse, cause it’s BY a woman and is about her taking pride in her sexuality!

        1. Never To Be Seen Again

          800 points to you.

        2. No Name

          As far as Joyce is concerned, that probably is worse.

      3. fogel

        Gilbert & Sullivan Got Back: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qkJdEFf_Qg4

        And Anaconda is educational: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6VxV717PRBU

        1. Roborat

          Whoever did that abuse to The Pirates of Penzance should be forced to listen to the Wiggles on continuous loop.

  8. Kris

    Party of the year!

    1. Screwball

      You know it’s not a party till someone starts up the songs that are apparently anti-racism while sounding rather racist…

  9. Nono

    Sarah’s a lot less grumpy than I’d have expected.

    1. zach

      Guilt and resentment mix in weird ways. And she knows why Joyce acted the way she did.

    2. Rich

      Remarkably pleasant so far, yes. Hopefully she stays in Relatively Nice Sarah mode once Jacob shows up.

  10. TheLurkerAbove

    I’m not going to that YouTube link. It’s bound to be painful on so many levels. ><

    1. John

      Oh it’s painful, but I think the hype is worse than the byte on this one.

  11. Them

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM17qeIIIE4 for those having trouble getting that link.

    1. Benjy

      Bless you.

    2. DarkoNeko

      Augh

    3. Kat Waterflame

      Thank you! I tried to get it to work, and it kept giving me an error, so I know I was doing something wrong…

  12. Romanticide

    wondering which songs made the cut

  13. Plasma Mongoose

    Christian pop-music: scary stuff.

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      From the 90’s, like what the hell

    2. AeroQC

      As long as it’s nothing from Faith+1…
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrhJT98IoaQ

  14. Captain Batson

    Colored people be crazy.

  15. Smiling Cat

    So… Creed?

    1. Romanticide

      oh dear god… Creed probably made it D:

      1. vlademir1

        Arms Wide Open wasn’t bad, just seriously overplayed.

        1. Aeron

          “…whth urrms wooid ohpeeaan…”

        2. saltchocolate

          Your grav makes this already good comment great!

        3. Someone

          WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN

    2. Jen Aside

      …THANK YOU FOR THAT |=C

      1. Smiling Cat

        I aim to disturb.

        1. Screwball

          I just aim for head shots…

        2. Smiling Cat

          Sloppy showoff. Professionals aim for center mass and don’t play around.

    3. leadsynth

      Joyce definitely thinks Creed rocks

  16. Phil

    Going to get my Jesus Freak cassette right now to celebrate this reference

    1. Ambiguous Person

      I was so happy when I saw this panel. I heard that Jesus Freak got radio play outside the Christian market, any idea if that’s true? That’s about as straight up Christian as you can get, I’d just be surprised if it actually happened.

      1. Dan

        It was on MTV. So yeah, it happened.

        DC Talk was legitimately popular for their last two albums, and then they split up to do solo stuff. Only tobyMac was actually largely successful. Michael Tait now fronts the Newsboys, (who were honestly better before him) and Kevin Max does his own thing. Max is the least popular but has the most unique and occasionally boundary-pushing stuff (though that’s pretty easy to do, since Toby and Michael don’t really push boundaries anymore at all).

      2. Dan

        That probably sounds like I’m talking down about Toby and Michael I’m not. I really like DC Talk, and I like most of Toby and Michael’s newer music too (though not as much). I have been to see both of them in concert. I just think that their stuff is a lot more standard than it used to be.

        Also, the Newsboys in the 90’s were legit. Michael Tait couldn’t replace the Steve Taylor/Peter Furler combo if he tried. So he’s not trying. The Newsboys have actually sounded like 3 completely different bands at different points in their history.

  17. Alethiolet

    For people too lazy to type out the address in the hovertext: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM17qeIIIE4

    1. JustCheetoDust

      And for the people who tried using three lower-case L’s in a row and never considered the possibility that those were upper-case I’s.

    2. Jason

      And for people who can’t figure out how to copy the text in the hovertext. No seriously, how was I supposed to do that?

      1. Jones

        1. Use firefox
        2. Right click, select Inspect Element
        3. Right click, select Edit as HTML
        4. Select desired text, hit +C

        1. DarkoNeko

          Ooh, Kiwi Blitz avatar ?

        2. Rich

          Looks it. I’m more of a Let’s Speak English fan though, so I might be wrong.

        3. No Name

          Chrome does that too.

        4. Kintrex

          1. Use Firefox
          2. Right click, View image info
          3. Copy from “Associated text”

        5. Jason

          Thanks!

        6. Jason

          Thanks!

    3. madock345

      You are the best person.

    4. Rheios

      The lead singer’s hand motions are surprisingly fabulous. And the song wasn’t as bad as I expected. I mean the lyrics are a little weird but the beat’s solid enough you can look passed any cringe. (or at least I could.) There’s a lot of Christian rock that comes on so heavy that I cringe a little.

  18. Jay

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM17qeIIIE4

    1. Mr. Random

      Yeah… I’m just gonna stop right there.

  19. Mr. Mendo

    Ah, DC Talk. Back when Christian rap was unintentionally funny rather than pathetic…

    1. BubblegumSenpai

      And Toby Mac still spends half his albums rapping about himself.

  20. fogel

    Why does Walkys chips bag look like a Russian flag?

    1. AssumptionPrime

      Wake up, sheeple!

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      Putin’s Potato Crisps

    3. Stephen Bierce

      In Soviet Russia, tortilla chip crunch YOU.

    4. Cattleprod

      They’re vodka flavored, which makes sense if you think about it.

      1. DarkoNeko

        …heh.

    5. Gangler

      Because he’s a patriot.

    6. MindLink

      They’re actually the Norwegian colors, and it’s our national day today, was that an intentional reference Willis ?

      1. Rycan

        Colors that are shared with Great Britain, France, the USA, Cuba, Liberia, Australia, New Zealand, and a few more I’ve probably forgotten. It’s a pretty original color palette, no?

  21. Romanticide

    Evanescence made it? or was it banished after people noticed the song about suicide?

    1. Vex Godglove

      There’s a difference between Christian music and music made by Christians just as not every film made by a person of faith is a religious film. dc Talk made specifically and overtly “christian music” while Evanescence did not.

      1. sps48

        Evanescence was more subtle. Re: Bring Me To Life.
        Bliss mix, please.

      2. Romanticide

        Their music was sold on Christian stores for a while if I remember well, at least until they distanced themselves from being labeled that way.

      3. Whittier

        The death knell for Evanescence within the Christian sphere was a profanity-strewn interview with Rolling Stone.

      4. Screwball

        That makes me wonder, Disturbed has members of 4 religions in it apparently, I think 1 is from some form of Jesus Christ based religion. Would they count?

    2. Dallium

      I remember reading an article somewhere in which Amy Lee got really pissed that people kept calling Evanescence a Christian band. Basically, once her cofounder left like 2 years in, they weren’t a Christian band anymore

  22. Lieutenant Dan

    References to music I don’t recognize… It feels like I’m reading old-school Questionable Content. 🙂

    1. Romanticide

      I get excited when I hear obscure (to me) music references. Sometimes is how I find music or entertainment when I don’t really like it but I find it oddly amusing XD

    2. DarkoNeko

      …It’s pretty much ALL QC band ref for me 😐

      1. Rycan

        It’s all Questionable Content to me!

  23. newllend(henryvolt)

    I’m feeling a low amount of hostility with Becky.

    1. Rich

      Dorothy’s forgotten she’s her nemesis again.

  24. Tomas

    Oh God, Joyce plays that music so often Sarah has already memorized the names.

    1. tim gueguen

      It could be that Sarah has had exposure to the artists Joyce is playing before they met.

  25. DandiAndi

    Wow. I haven’t heard DC Talk in almost 15 years. I still remember that song, though.

  26. BubblegumSenpai

    I miss listening to DC Talk. They had some good stuff. Hope she also has Jars of Clay and Reliant K on that playlist.

    1. TsunamiJane

      And you HAVE to include Audio Adrenaline on the list as well!

      “It’s a big, big house….with lots and lots of room…”

      1. Ambiguous Person

        Don’t forget Newsboys!

    2. Dan

      I really wish AA wasn’t famous for “Big House.” Like, it’s an okay song, but it’s really silly and not even close to their best song.

      Third Day has to be on that playlist too.

  27. Bagge

    Beckys onsided feud with Dorothy still makes me giggle

    1. timemonkey

      I kind of want a look inside her head to see what she thinks is going on.

      1. Chaucer59

        Yeah, I’m with Dorothy: what feud??? Come ON, Becky. Explain.

        1. sps48

          Becky sees Dotty as her competition. All can see Joyce’s crush on Dorothy. Especially Becks.

        2. Rycan

          Becky is running off her own script with that one, and neglected to give Dorothy a copy.

      2. fogel

        One of those wind up monkey toys jittering aroux clanging cymbals together.

    2. DarkoNeko

      Ah this point I think Dotty is just playing the ignorant part.

  28. HeinousActsZX

    Dorothy’s clearly holding soda there, but I’ll assume some sort of glitch rendered the word as “pop”.

    1. JustCheetoDust

      …and from this day forward, all instances of the word “soda” in the comments section will be auto-corrected to “pop.”

      1. Tacos

        What about “coke”? I’ve lived in the South long enough to pick up that word.

        1. 3oranges

          Which makes a better volcano: mentos and diet pop, or vinegar and baking pop?

      2. David M Willis

        was legit thinkin’ about it

        1. sps48

          [Hilary meme photo]
          DO EEEEET!

        2. JustCheetoDust

          We could use the amusement at the backlash over such a thing.

        3. Rycan

          Just don’t do the reverse. Unless you enjoy eating sodacorn at the movies.

        4. Eric

          for ( x : queue ) {
          if (x.compareTo(“pop “) >= 0) {
          temp.enqueue(“soda”);
          } else {
          temp.enqueue(x);
          }
          }

        5. Rutee

          That’d b ehilarious. And I’ve always called it soda.

        6. Plasma Mongoose

          I call it Soft Drink myself. (Australian)

        7. leadsynth

          POP FOREVER

        8. Rich

          I’ll have a whiskey and pop, bartender.

    2. Mor

      That’s cause ya’ll are yellow
      http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2012-11-09-Screenshot20121109at3.05.00PM.png

      1. Eolirin

        Wait, a large section of the American South refers to generic soda as Coke? Bwuh? How does that even work? Do they always long form Coca-Cola when they need to be specific? Cause otherwise it sounds like a set up for a rejected Abbot and Costello routine: “I brought some coke” “What kind of coke?” “Coke” “Yes, but what kind?”

        Just seems needlessly confusing.

        1. fogel

          Co-cola, i believe.

        2. Tacos

          They’d usually just ask us what flavor soda we wanted after asking us if we wanted a coke.

        3. Eolirin

          Yes, but what if you want a coke?

        4. Tacos

          Then we’d just say yeah and it’d be generally understood that we want an actual Coke.

        5. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I’ve literally had this conversation:
          “What kind of coke do you want?”
          “Dr. Pepper.”
          Actual Coke is either Coca-Cola or Plain Coke.
          Though we also use pop and soda a lot too. I usually say either soda or coke.
          My grandfather usually calls it soda-pop or sometimes sody-pop.

        6. JustCheetoDust

          How does that even work?

          Name brand word association, that’s how.

        7. No Name

          It’s why stick-on bandages are “Band-aids”, facial tissues are “Kleenex”, plastic throwing discs are “Frisbees” and photocopiers are almost-but-not-quite “Xeroxes”

        8. Jason

          Interestingly the only one of those that translates to the UK is Frisbee. Band-aid and Kleenex honestly used to confuse me. (Xerox probably would have too but I wasn’t that likely to hear it as a kid/teen…)
          We do the same thing with vacuum cleaners being referred to as hoovers though.

        9. Inspector Hound

          I’m noticing Hoover is getting a little bit more traction in the U.S. as a generic term (I’ve been hearing it on national, as opposed to regional, radio).

          Twenty years ago if I had heard “hoovering”, I would have assumed the speaker was either from Britain or from the south side of Chicago.

        10. leadsynth

          How about “Thermos”? That’s a brand name, but it’s used for every, uh, insulated beverage holder.

        11. Kintrex

          Hoover is also used in Japan. They also say Hotchkiss for stapler.

        12. Leorale

          Also called Branding, in the marketing world, where you try to make this happen on purpose.

        13. Rycan

          To a certain extent. If you let it get too carried away, though, you lose your trademark.

        14. Alan Lafond

          I would never have that problem, mainly because I would never order Coke. 🙂

          For me, the conversation would go like this:

          “What kind of Coke do you want?”
          “None, I don’t drink Coke. I’d like a Pepsi please.”

          As for generic names, I’ve used pop, soda, and soda pop interchangeably, here in southeastern Ontario. Where I am, our nearest US neighbour is New York state, which is split between “soda” and “pop” according to that map, though it seems “pop” is the more popular among those on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, which I am sort of on the northern shore of. (I say sort of, because technically Prince Edward County sits between me and Lake Ontario. I’m instead on the Bay of Quinte, in Belleville Ontario.)

        15. Alan Lafond

          Oh yeah, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my wife uses “pop” exclusively, and looks at me weird when I use “soda” or “soda pop” instead. Which of course prompts me to use those ones even more. 😀

      2. ninja_jesus

        I love that Hawaii is in the 80-100% area for “soda”. It’s true. 😀 But we mostly say “juice” cuz canned juice is better.

    3. Norah

      “Pop” is a Midwestern US word for soda, and Indiana is in the Midwest.

    4. Whittier

      Though not all the characters are natives of Bloomington, the city itself lies along a dialect boundary. “Coke,” “soda,” and “pop” are each said by roughly a third of the population.

      Source: Lots of dialect studies, plus I grew up there.

      1. Random832

        Why don’t the current cast pages show people’s home towns anymore, anyway?

  29. vlademir1

    That “glitch” would be that “soda”, “pop” and “soda pop” among others all have common usage in various regions.

    1. TheStranger

      and in the Midwest, where they are, it’s somewhat more likely that they’d know it as “pop” rather than “soda.”

    2. Deanatay

      In CA, it’s almost exclusively ‘soda’, haven’t heard ‘pop’ in the long time.

    3. Tenn

      So which of them is “fizzy drink” and which is “carbonated beverage”? 😛

  30. ianmorris

    strangely enough i put a songbook on the shelves at goodwill today that had songs by dc talk, wonder if it will still be there next week

  31. Nihil K'ri

    What was wrong with Britt Nicole? The few songs of hers I’ve heard were alright, I didn’t even know she was considered a Christian band, just Pop.

    1. sps48

      Soda?

      1. DarkoNeko

        No.

        1. Roborat

          Coke.

  32. Jason

    Hmm, I wouldn’t mind listening to some Amy Grant right now. Michelle Branch, perhaps? Her songs sounded Christian but she didn’t seem to identify as such.

    How about some Rod Stewart? “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?”

  33. Aeron

    As someone who was all-in on Christian Pop music in the late 90s, who the hell is Britt Nicole?

    In all fairness, between Newsboys, Jars of Clay, DC Talk, Petra, The OC Supertones, Plum, Audio Adrenaline, etc., you can make a kickass party mix out of late 90s Christian Pop music that only headbangers and bronies would hate.

    1. boomwolf

      Of all of those bands, I’ve only ever heard the Newsboys, and that was only because of that Jonah Veggietales movie (yeah I watched/ still watch Veggietales. WHAT OF IT?!”). They ain’t half bad.

      1. Aeron

        VeggieTales are my homeboys.

        1. boomwolf

          Is it wrong that everytime I saw my parents eating tomatos, my only thought was “Why are my parents eating Bob?”

        2. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I don’t care how much of an atheist I’ve become I will always love Silly Songs with Larry

        3. boomwolf

          Dude, I don’t care if I’m in a public setting. If I hear “I Love My Lips”, I’mma flippin start singing.

        4. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I’m not saying that I’ve done this, but I am saying that all of the silly songs are on the veggie tales youtube channel and a person could spend a whole day listening to them…

        5. boomwolf

          I don’t think I could do all of em. I mean there are a lot of those songs man, and with the way my mind works, I can easily shift from Veggietales to Streetlight Manifesto to Eminem within a 15 minute time period.

        6. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I have days where I get bored of a rock song half way through and start listening to rap, then get bored of that song half way through and start listening to to techno, and then get bored of that half way through and start listening to rock again.
          And when I get bored of that I listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztnuhBByWSw

        7. Jen Aside

          I had a professor who showed us VeggieTales (because 3D animation class) who mentioned her son working on it.

          “It doesn’t have any swearing, sex, or violence. We’ve forgiven him.”

        8. boomwolf

          Hey, better Veggietales and not something like Donkey Ollie. (I apologize if by some chance, someone liked that show, but that animation was… unsettling. Like sheesh.)

        9. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I just googled Donkey Ollie…I regret it greatly. I’d get soft serve but I’m no longer legally allowed to be in the same room as soft serve.

        10. boomwolf

          Wow really? Gee, thats unfortunate. Well, guess we have no one to blame but the Soft serve Comitee… definitely someone with a 200$ bribe and a few inside connections. Nope, just that darn Soft Serve Comitee… DON’T LOOK AT ME!

        11. boomwolf

          As a side note, yeah Donkey Ollie is… easily one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever seen in a childrens program. Like sweet Sam Hill, that show is just… wow.

        12. Steampunk rock

          Aha veggietales are the best. Veggietales were not just my childhood, they are my adulthood lol

    2. Eolirin

      IDK man, the lyrics to the referenced song are kind of disturbing. I’d hope that’s not representative, because, eeegh.

    3. Tualha

      Well, speaking as (i) an atheist who (ii) has Asperger’s and is very bothered by many kinds of music, I’m pretty sure I would hate it too.

      Perhaps I count as a headbanger, though, at least on occasions when I’m driving and fortunate enough to catch the instrumental riff in “Bohemian Rhapsody” at a red light so I can do it properly.

    4. TsunamiJane

      I was also into 90s Christian Pop and Rock (perhaps I still am?) and did not recognize Britt Nicole.

      She is apparently real, but released her music in the 2000s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britt_Nicole

      1. Dan

        Yeah, Britt Nicole is newer and only recently became seriously popular. I think her song “Gold” got some mainstream radio play.

  34. Sub

    I actually didn’t hate that song, I mean it was a little awkward but the message seem alright. However the comment section was a cesspool of hate.

    1. DSL

      So, YouTube, then?

  35. boomwolf

    Despite growing up in a Christian household, I hear a rather limited amount of Christian music. When I do it’s mostly gospel, which counts I guess. We kinda just listen to whatever it is we’re comfortable with. And considering my dad has listened to Green Day, Linkin Park, Guns n Roses, Ozzy Osburne, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and the Wu Tang clan, I’ve come to have a very wide range range of musical tastes.

    1. Rheios

      Yeah, if you can say you run the gambit of musical tastes from the Wutang Clan to Sinatra, well you’re probably pretty open minded musically.

      1. Tualha

        http://hubpages.com/hub/When-to-use-gauntlet-gamut-or-gambit

      2. Dan

        Nice! I have all of those guys in my music collection except for Wu-Tang. I don’t have anything against that style, I’ve just never listened to much Wu-Tang.

  36. PokeyPuppy

    Dear fucking god, Joyce. (Yes, yes, I know, that swear is weird in context, but it is exactly what my brain said when I read this.)

  37. Gendopose

    I…. I may have owned this CD. And enjoyed it.

  38. otusasio451

    So, uh…to everyone who hasn’t gone to the YouTube link and doesn’t know who DC Talk are, you might be just as surprised as I was to find out that the band is composed of two Caucasian gentlemen and one African-American gentleman. Considering the song is titled “Colored People”…yeah, I was REALLY surprised by that.

    1. MeghanTheWorldEater

      I honestly imagine the black dude was thinking “Well they’re trying.” the whole time.

      1. saltchocolate

        So many friendships (and lives) have been spared because of that thought.

  39. ThatGuy

    They wouldnt play during the 90s , but Skillet is pretty good.

    Favorite song is Monster, and Hero and Sick of It are good too.

    1. boomwolf

      Completely forgot about Skillet. Only found out about em through amvs. They are, as the kids are saying it nowadays, pretty fly yo. Fo sheezy, they are off of the heezy… Am I hip yet?

      1. Roborat

        Depends how old you are, if you are over 30, you can NEVER be hip. Well, except for the Tragically Hip, they are hip, but nobody else.

  40. advancecasette

    have sarah and walky ever even talked to each other before?

    1. David M Willis

      The sarah+walky tag tells me there’s been only one other time: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-2/01-pajama-jeans/vouch/

      1. advancecasette

        ah, I’ll check next time

      2. LiaHansen

        whoa i never knew you could do that with tags

        1. DarkoNeko

          That’s… pratical.

        2. timemonkey

          It’s been brought up before, but I can’t remember who for.

        3. Cattleprod

          Jeez, all the times before when I wondered if two characters had already met, I would click the tag for one of them and then go through all the pages searching for the other one. With ctrl+f, I’m not completely hopeless.

        4. Kamino Neko

          Me either. It is useful.

      3. Jen Aside

        OH SHIT YOU CAN DO THAT D= THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

        1. HeySo

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/mike+mike/

          Unfortunately, this doesn’t give double the mike. 🙁

      4. MeghanTheWorldEater

        I’ve been trying to figure how to do that for like a year now!

  41. ninja_jesus

    :\ I wish Becky wouldn’t see Dorothy as a rival. It’s a pointless battle that she doesn’t even know is going on. But I suppose that’s one of her insecurites.

    1. Smiling Cat

      I assume that the “feud” is Becky’s way of dealing with her own insecurities and letdown. She treats it like a joke to hopefully rob it of at least some of its power. I tend to do the same with some of my own issues.

      1. HeySo

        She’s just a red-headed troll, trolling it up.
        http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3337/3241268879_0d8a47c675.jpg

        1. DarkoNeko

          …rocking tht haircut !

      2. Rycan

        I’m not convinced that Becky is joking, though.

  42. Keroshino

    DAMMIT BECKY!!!

  43. Bibulb

    I am very grateful that it’s more difficult to follow a link in tooltip alt-text than the effort I might want to expend to do so.

    (I followed his Halloween Carman link, so fool me once…)

  44. Bibulb

    Also : Bruce Cockburn and The Proclaimers. Go to it, Joyce.
    (Ooh. Kings X.)

    Also also : I AM OLD.

  45. Idontcarenomore

    I don’t think Dorothy(if that’s who you mean) is insecure. Seems to me she is pretty squared away. She knows what she wants, to be President, and is studying hard to get there (or was before Walky). She already said she’s pretty secure with her sex, to Danny.

    I don’t think she has a clue that Joyce supposedly has a crush on her.

    I just think the whole thing is all in Becky’s head, as Joyce has never made an overt move on Dorothy, weather she wants to or not is beside the point.
    This is just imo.

    Becky is way out of line. As usual. Guess if I was Dorothy I’d kick her butt up over her shoulders, ask if I had her attention, and tell her to tell me what in hell she was hissing about.
    She’s funny, but she’s annoying too.

    I just Joyce’s party dosen’t turn into a Willis gotcha.

    1. snogglethorpe

      It’s Becky who’s mega insecure, but she unfortunately deals with it by attacking others, often trying to pass it off as “humor”.

      Becky really does need to get her butt kicked a few times…

      1. StClair

        I agree with the first, but not the second.

      2. DarkoNeko

        friendStealingHussySaysWhat?

      3. chris73

        I would like to see Dorothy call Becky out on why shes being a real douche but Dorothys too nice to do that I guess but shes got more patience then I would ever have

        1. No Name

          All she has to do is wait for Becky to mention the Glorious War for the Best Friendship of Joyce again and say, “No, seriously, what war? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Becky will be forced to explain, and Dorothy will use her powers of diplomacy to smooth this over. Ta-da! Problem solved.

          Hmmm… No wonder some people don’t like Dorothy, she’s a boring invincible hero in this setting.

        2. Greenygal

          Dorothy has said things like that multiple times, including this very strip, and Becky just deflects. Dorothy’s going to have to push harder than that, apparently, and this probably isn’t the setting she wants to do it in.

        3. Zatar

          Honestly I don’t think this is as much of a problem as people are making it out to be. Willis has written characters who don’t like each other hanging out before. And the accusation of this being close to bullying is especially ridiculous.

          There are plenty of other relationships in this comic that are closer to bullying. Most notably Sarah’s former friends treatment of her, occasionally Joe to Danny, Mike with everyone he meets, Ruth with Billy at first, and Blaine with Amber. Notably all of those relationships except the first and the last are all played at least partially for laughs and I would argue this one is played entirely for laughs.

        4. chris73

          Becky may find it amusing (I don’t know) but does Dorothy find it funny? I’m guessing not

        5. Gordon

          Dorothy mostly seems genuinely confused.

        6. Will

          We know exactly how Dorothy feels about that. She commented on it already. Some people just prefer to ignore it so they can keep shitting on Becky for the littlest things.

        7. Zatar

          Do you think anyone in the comics finds Mike;s treatment of them? Do you think Danny found this http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/02-choosing-my-religion/text/ funny? Because his face looks genuinely annoyed as opposed to Dorothy who just looks perplexed.

        8. Zatar

          Finds Mike’s treatment of them funny I mean.

    2. Black

      Yaaaaay someone’s actually talking about Becky finally, instead of rambling on about music!

      Yeah, it’s frustrating to see her being like this to Dorothy. I just hope that Dorothy calls her out on it soon.

      1. chris73

        Well to me Becky is verging quite closely to bullying Dorothy here, by thinking Dorothy doesn’t like her it justifies her being mean to Dorothy

    3. No Name

      Good news everyone! Willis’s twitter feed shows us the impending conversation. Up and to the right (and maybe some scrolling down), we see Dorothy telling Becky like it is.

      1. David M Willis

        those panels are from a strip from two weeks ago: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/rivalry/

    4. Greenygal

      Given that Dorothy’s response to finding Joyce and Becky sleeping together was “Are you cheating on me?” and that Walky at least has innuendo’d about how hot Joyce is for her, I think Dorothy is well aware that Joyce’s feelings for her could be perceived as sexual. What I don’t think she knows is that Becky is unrequitedly in love with Joyce. This doesn’t make the whole thing any less in Becky’s head, but I think Dorothy would have more of an idea where it was coming from if she had that information.

  46. Idontcarenomore

    Dang, no edit. …I just hope…Joyces’ party

    1. Tualha

      Not the most painful error in that posting. Not even in the top three.

  47. Just Karen

    What I want to know is, is there any Jennifer Knapp being played? Because that would actually be fitting: Knapp’s a Dove award winner from the 90’s (with a sound kinda between Melissa Etheridge and Jewel) that just kinda vanished for almost a decade – and then came out, and released an album basically saying “yeah, I’m gay, and I’m proud.”

    Also, DC Talk and Britt Nicole are both on my phone’s song list. Well, DC Talk *would* be, if any was available through Amazon Prime. I’m too lazy to import my CDs into iTunes and copy them to my phone.

    Kevin Max from DC Talk covered George Michael’s “Freedom”. It was awesome. Unfortunately, people must’ve objected because it was only up on his site for a few days.

    I have a ton of Christian music. I still enjoy it. Though lately I’ve been on a Symphonic Metal (Delain) and heavily sexualized rock/metal (Halestorm, Pretty Reckless).

    1. Steve

      Same thing with Russ Taff — he disappeared from CCM for awhile, and when we heard from him again, he was a gay man living on the West Coast. (Doug Pinnick of King’s X too.) Wonder how many other Christian artists out there are still closeted? Probably some pretty big names. It’s a shame that they don’t feel comfortable with who they are in the environment they’re in.

    2. jefffwinger

      HALESTORM 😀 (I’m sorry, it’s just that they’re from my tiny hometown and so I get excited every time I see mention of them.)

  48. Megatron

    I am not checking out that youtube link.

    1. Rutee

      I expect such wisdom from a robot.

      1. Megatron

        It goes to one of two places: a video to a Christian song I will find offensive, or it’s a rick roll. And I don’t expect Willis to rick roll us.

  49. acher4

    Aaaaaand, now I know who DC talk were (not bad songs 😛 ).

    Should i google Britt Nicole also, or my day’s limit is enought?

  50. HMRC4EVR

    This is why I won’t go to one of the local burger places-they are part of a national chain but their muzak is a Christian Rock FM station. Not even CFA does that to you.

  51. Jon the B

    OK, am I the ONLY person who snickered at a group of men singing “we’ve gotta cum together”? Really? Cos I know the rest of you read this webcom as well…
    And I get the song (white is a colour too, etc etc). It’s just crap. Does writing bad praise music mean you go to hell?

  52. Majere

    I am super ready for Becky to stop badgering Dorothy with her jealousy fueled nonsense.

    1. DarkoNeko

      …it may take a while.

    2. Captain Pilot

      That would be nice.

    3. Rycan

      I don’t think she will stop on her own accord.

  53. Crumplepunch

    Oh my god this is a real song that happened.

  54. Leonou

    Hey guys, look at Willis’s Twitter feed : There’s a NEW JOYCE & WALKY strip available !
    Alleluia, Gloria in Excelsis Willis !

  55. Pyr05

    I… I don’t know how to even…..

  56. Stranger

    In regards to entertainment, Christian Anything is always worse than Regular Anything. And by that I mean media designed specifically as a “moral alternative”, and not music or movies or whatever where the creator just happens to be Christian.

  57. hof1991

    Meh. 90% of any genre is crap. That’s just Sturgeon’s Law. But if you live inside a small enough genre, it is harder to find the non-crap. Most metal is a waste, but there’s enuf of it that you can find lots that meets your needs.

    Personally, the theology of most Christian music seems either toxic or innocuous. Totally overlooks the issue of theodicy (bad things do happen to good people – is that God’s will?). My parish does some of that stuff as a nod to “modern” music and it is painful to endure. I prefer my theology from someone like the Dropkick Murphys.

    On the plus side, Jill Phillips can flat out write and her lyrics are far above veggietales/ Amy Grant level.

    1. zee

      Well Krosp said it… so it’s pretty much cannon now.

  58. Zamer

    So was reading Shotgun Shuffle and looked away from the screen for a few minutes to eat. Somehow the title of your comic had appeared in my url bar while I wasn’t looking. Don’t know how it appeared but got to say I am enjoying the comic a lot.

    1. tim gueguen

      Sounds like DoA is trying to infect as many people as possible.

  59. erudtiteCaptain

    All these commenters are confused about the song, and I’m the person who’s actually HEARD it before, and intentionally listened to it before… (I’m sure I’m not the only one but…)
    Look, guys, it’s a song saying racism is bad written by three Christian singers, one of which IS black, and one of the white people having married a black Jamaican. The message of the song is that racism going any way (ie. white against black, black against Hispanic, etc) is very, very bad. They basically want us all to realize we’re ‘children of God’ and under that flag, color doesn’t matter.

    1. TsunamiJane

      Holla!

      Just reread the lyrics to make sure I was not remembering things very wrongly. Nope. It is still the same song I played on repeat.

      We’re colored people, and they call us the human race!

  60. TsunamiJane

    So, being VERY involved in Christian music during my youth and basically shunning pop radio, I’m curious to what other songs/bands are on this list.

    I can think of a few:
    Sixpence None The Richer, a few songs
    Amy Grant, a lot of songs I suppose – wasn’t a big fan
    MercyMe, “I Can Only Imagine” – I remember when that one exploded on the secular radio.

    I did not realize dc Talk (that’s how you capitalize it, people!) made it to secular radio. What Newsboys song made it over?

    1. Kamino Neko

      Huh. I did not know that Sixpence None the Richer was a Christian band. Now I’m earwormed with Kiss Me.

      1. chrisashtear

        If you listen to the rest of the songs on that album(which are all pretty good) it becomes apparent.

    2. MacBone

      Here are some possibilities:

      Switchfoot – “Stars” “Dare You to Move,” “Meant to Live”
      The Fray – “Absolute,” “Never Say Never,” etc.
      Thrice – “All That’s Left,” “Stare at the Sun”
      Jars of Clay – “Flood,””Crazy Times”
      Lecrae – “Give In,” “Messengers,” “Say I Won’t,” etc.
      Thousand Foot Krutch” – “The End Is Where We Begin”
      POD – “Southtown,” “Youth of the Nation,” “Alive,” “Satellite,” etc.
      Kirk Franklin – “Stomp,” “Revolution,” etc.
      U2 – “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Bullet the Blue Sky” (I don’t know if Joyce would consider U2 Christian, though, even though Bono sings Psalms at shows.)
      Mxpx – “Responsibility”
      All Sons and Daughters – “Great Are You Lord”
      Flyleaf – “Fully Alive,” “I’m So Sick,” etc.
      Relient K – “Everyone Wants to Rule the World,” etc.
      Underoath – “Unsound,” “In Division”
      Stacie Orrico – “Strong Enough,” “Stuck”
      Chris Rice – “When Did You Fall (in Love with Me)”
      Plumb – “Real,” “Cut,” “Need You Now,” etc.
      Mat Kearney – “Nothing to Lose,” “All I Need,” “Hey Mama,” etc.
      Michael W. Smith – “Place in This World”

  61. DarkoNeko

    Sarah’s having a talkie with Walky

    …

    *dodges the tomatoes*

  62. JBento

    Becky: “We shall make use of the truce to retrieve our wounded from the field.”

    Dorothy: “Are we finally withdrawing from Iraq? I missed that on the news.”

  63. Bill

    I’m just hoping that Dorothy and Walky aren’t the only people to show up.  If something like that happened and Joyce’s party was a bust, I can’t imagine what that would do to her self-esteem (which ain’t all that high to start with). 

    1. JBento

      We know Ethan and Danny at least are showing up. Dina said she’d be there, and Amber is probably going as well.

    2. Catullus

      Preview panels have showed that Dina, Billie, Ethan, and Danny also appear at the party.

  64. fogel

    Lou Reed was a well known Christian entertainer.

    1. advancecasette

      YOU CAN’T DEPEND ON YOUR FAMILY~
      YOU CAN’T DEPEND ON YOUR FRIENDS~

    2. fogel

      Ethan and Jacob, i believe

    3. fogel

      Apologies for these out of place posts. My tech is not doinv what i want/expect it to.

  65. Jimmy

    I grew up listening to Christian music and still do even though I’m no longer religious. And even though the title will be off putting to many, I love the song because it’s trying to tell us to come together and understand none of us are perfect and we need to come together and understand we’re all human. If people read the lyrics and still don’t like it, I don’t get it.

    1. brumagem

      It might be the association. Like, there’s nothing wrong with leafy spinach (it’s great IMO) but almost every kid in history is like “UGH SPINACH” just because it’s spinach.

      1. ahuh

        Or because people cannot cook spinach properly.

        1. Someone

          When i was a little kid, I had no idea that leafy spinach was actually spinach. I thought it was just a type of lettuce. 😛

        2. Rich

          That. I love the stuff, but ye gods, neither of my parents could prepare it competently. Had to take college-level cooking classes before I realized it could be edible.

  66. Broney

    … Does Joyce have any Skillet in there? It’s Christian. It had mainstream play.

  67. Juliecat

    Given that this is set in Indiana, is that a bottle of Ski? AKA watered sugar

  68. rayrayravona

    Hahaha omg DC Talk was my jam growing up.

  69. rayrayravona

    Haha omg DC Talk was my jam growing up.

  70. Dierna

    Hopefully Joyce chose some good stuff like Petra or Avalon…But for some modern stuff there’s always the awesomeness that is Kerrie Roberts (who also sings the Once Upon A Time theme).

    Walky might like Chris Rice… especially the song “What if Cartoons got saved…” *lol*

    1. chrisashtear

      im not a christian but I always liked Sixpence None The Richer. A looooot.

  71. tim gueguen

    I’m surprised no one has quoted Hank Hill yet.

    “Can’t you see you’re not making Christianity better, you’re just making rock and roll worse?”

  72. Tenn

    Before going over to Youtube to listen to the song, I imagined that the chorus went something like “Shiny colored people holding hands / Shiny colored people holding hands / Shiny colored people laughing” 🙂

    1. Rich

      REM covered by a band composed of Cybermen?

  73. Lassy

    First reaction:
    “Hey Coloured People, good song”
    “Hey, I like Britt Nicole!”
    “…. oh.”

  74. EdgarAllenBro

    I was raised in a Christian home. I’m now Agnostic and let me just say, I ashamedly know exactly which artists they’re talking about and what song they’re referencing.

    1. Jimmy

      Nothing to be ashamed about it. I still like Christian music even though I’m agnostic now.

      1. Jimmy

        Nothing to be ashamed about*

  75. NF

    When do you think Becky is going to get that this bizarre spiteful thing she has with Dorothy is just all her?

  76. David L.

    I’ve very happy I only know one of those acts (DC Talk.) Because I am old. For me it would have been “before she gets to Morgan Cryar.”

    1. David L.

      Er, “I’m” very happy.

  77. PapillonJess

    OM JEBUS! My sister was obsessed with DC Talk back when we were in middle school and super Christians were all the rage (I live in Texas, it’s a weird place). I know all the words to that song and I am very weirded out by this strip. It’s weird being the only atheist in the family.

    1. Roborat

      You are an atheist in Texas??? You poor thing, you have my sympathy.

  78. Steampunk rock

    Yo! dc Talk. Yeah, they had some cringe-worthy stuff, but that was the band. Legends in Christian music. And to the Britt Nicole comment, besides some of her older stuff, I have to agree with Sarah lol

  79. Steampunk rock

    Also, the solo stuff from the dc Talk members are all really good

  80. Onion

    Really? Another alt-text URL?

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