Review: Body Piercing Saved My Life - Andrew Beaujon

Imagine for a moment, if you will, stepping off of an airplane and finding yourself in a foreign land that you have little to no knowledge of. The dress of the people is familiar yet somehow different, their language also similar but filled with terms that causes your brow to furrow. And the things that excite them, well, you just can't fathom where this excitement is coming from! This must be exactly how rock journalist and author Andrew Beaujon must have felt as he entered into the subculture of Christian music along with all its trappings. Beaujon, a senior writer for Spin magazine, noting the rise of such groups as P.O.D. and Switchfoot, thought it an interesting challenge to enter into this world that he self-admittedly did not understand. And enter into it he does. From traveling to the Cornerstone Festival, the GMA Awards and convention and more, Beaujon immerses himself in the culture known as ccm as finds himself a bit different on the other end.

The book begins with what is lacking in some music fans knowledge base, namely an adequate understanding of the rise of Christian music and it's subsequent culture. Covering territory that begins with the Jesus Movement and working through the rise of the Calvary Chapel movement, Beaujon brings his readers right up to Jesus Freak, offering a solid history that shows the industry's past, warts and all.