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P. O. D.
The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, Atlantic Records, 1999
Reviewed by Gregory Pierce
October 8, 2001
For some reason, the quality of most Christian
music doesn’t measure up to secular. Remember Stryper?
Remember how, even though they were a Christian band, they were all over
MTV and every radio station but the
Christian ones? Have no fear, though. P.
O. D. is raising the standard.
P. O. D. stands for Payable On Death, which means
Heaven is given to you when you die. They’ve
been around since 1992, but some people are just now discovering them. (Please
note, they are not a punk rock band.)
They began their career on Rescue Records, a tiny record label that
distributed their music, and playing at local clubs in California.
(Note: they didn’t form Rescue Records, they were just signed to them)
Their growing popularity made Atlantic Records take notice and give them
a record deal in 1998.
P.O.D. doesn’t take their Christianity lightly.
They didn’t change anything (lyrics or music) when they went
mainstream. They’re known for
almost preaching at their concerts, and their song content is high in ministry,
yet Atlantic (and the world) wants to hear them.
The second song on the disc is the title track,
“Southtown.” This song rocks¾literally and metaphorically.
It’s heavy, yet it grooves. Rap
vocals are intertwined with the music, which gives it an even harder sound.
The song speaks of living on the wrong side of town, and dealing with it.
I feel that it’s P.O.D.’s biography, living in that environment,
surviving, and preaching the Gospel in that same environment.
“Rock The Party (Off The Hook)” is a fun
song, and their new single. It’s
about having fun, but keeping it clean. It’s
making the statement that you can live for God and have fun. It’s not the
impossibility everyone claims.
The darkest song, “Lie Down,” was chosen to
be on the Blair Witch 2 soundtrack.
Musically, it’s got an almost scary feel to it.
One of the raps states “We tribal/sing with the Saints/let our spirits
fly/Hold down the strong/with the power Jah has given I.”
If anyone needs to hear P. O.
D.’s message, it’s the people that made that movie, and as you can see by
the lyrics, they don’t hold back for anyone.
“Set Your Eyes To Zion” is a dark sounding
reggae tune, which speaks of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
They even cover the old U2 song, “Bullet the
Blue Sky”¾and cover it quite well, too.
I would respect P.O.D. even if I didn’t like
their music. Contrary to what
people say, they’re not an overnight success.
They’ve worked for this level of stardom. They’re not afraid to put their message in their music¾even if it means they won’t get airplay on MTV.
However, they do get airplay, and their messages are heard loud and clear.
There are some Christian artists who have had
mild success in the secular market, but P.O.D. is exploding.
They’ve been on three movie soundtracks, one of which is Little Nicky
featuring actor Adam Sandler. As it
turns out, Adam Sandler is a huge P.O.D. fan, so he asked them to write a song
for the movie. P.O.D. was also
asked to be a part of Ozzfest 2000, a musical tour put on by Ozzy Osbourne. You might read that and think, “How could they do that?
Ozzy is evil!” You may be right about that, but Ozzy, in his evilness,
noticed a Christian rock band and opened the door for them to minister to every
single audience member at the Ozzfest. Who
could need it more?
Hooray for POD,
a band who’ll go somewhere besides the Christian bookstores to sell music
about Jesus. I commend them for not
only ministering to Christians and for trying to bring healing to the hurting.
ninetyandnine.com
©
2001, Gregory Pierce
---------
Gregory
Pierce is a full-time digital imaging artist.
He loves teaching Bible studies, and preaching the Gospel.
When he’s not playing guitar to impress girls, he…well, doesn’t do
much of anything.
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