Ideology of Madness is a geek culture website where if we geek about it, we speak about it.
You’re likely familiar with our love of comic books, Star Trek, role playing games, video games, horror films, TV and talking monkeys. but one of the things that I geek pretty hard on is Christmas and the music of the season.
Before Paul and I started Funnybooks, I was on another podcast.
My buddy Mark Pope is a composer and musician as well as a choral music director. You’re likely familiar with a litle of his music. He wrote the Funnybooks theme music.
Several years ago we started up a podcast to spotlight an album of his original music, FOR YOU ALONE … I saw it as the Director’s Commentary to his CD
Since Mark’s last name is Pope, I wanted to call it the PopeCast to link into the Roman Catholic demographic, but some Vatican types were already using that moniker. So we settled on calling it The Mark Andrew PopeCast.
Mark and I geek pretty hard on church stuff. We both got a huge kick out of chatting about liturgy, scripture, and the business of growing a church. As such, our podcast grew beyond its original scope. It became a weekly discussion of Music, Worship and points in between. One of my favorites we recorded was our Christmas Music Spectacular in which we spoke about six of our favorite Christmas songs.
It proved to be our most popular episode.
Now The Mark Andrew PopeCast may have podfaded, but like Lazarus from the tomb the Christmas Music Spectacular has been summoned forth. That episode follows. Now don’t fret that your IoM feed has been co-opted by Christians with a desire to convert. No. In the Christmas Music Spectacular we share some favorite music, talk a little about what we like in a Christmas church service and our Christmas traditions. Plus, Mark shares an original Christmas song.
We hope you enjoy it!
The Music:
- Steve Winwood’s Christmas is Now Drawing Near at Hand
- Bebo Norman’s O Come Emmanuel
- Medieval Baebes’ Gaudete
- William Mathias’ Salvador Mundi-Susanni
- Dale Warland Singers “December Stillness” Ave Maria
- Bob Chilcott Mid-Winter
Also recommended:
- Crash Test Dummies The First Noel