In 1998, a promising young band appeared in Christian music. Burlap to Cashmere was certainly a product of their day: late ’90s folk rock in a similar vein as Dave Matthews Band and fellow Christian folk rockers Caedmon’s Call. But in the true spirit of folk rock, Burlap to Cashmere was influenced by what the ’90s called “World Music,” otherwise known as folk music not popular in the United States. Founded by Brooklyn-based Greek-American cousins John Philippidis and Steven Delopoulos, Burlap to Cashmere takes influences from flamenco, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and Greek folk music.
THROUGH THE WINTER AND THROUGH THE SUMMER. Burlap to Cashmere was a hit on Christian radio. “Basic Instructions” was a straightforward theological statement about the importance of reading the Bible, but musically the song took a rhythmic turn into flamenco that no other Christian artist was doing in ’98. “Treasures in Heaven” echos what Jesus instructed his followers in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6:19-21. “Digee Dime” and the title track to their debut record Anybody Out There? also received radio play. I remember the rhythmic songs more on Christian radio. I don’t remember hearing today’s song, the second track on the album “Eileen’s Song,” on the radio, but the band did shoot a video for the song which played on the Christian satellite network Praise TV in heavy rotation. It was the most melancholy of the songs I had heard from the band, and honestly, the only song I liked of theirs. I didn’t like the voice that lead singer Steven Delopoulos put on in the other hits. And maybe I felt that the jamming songs felt inappropriate for their subject matter. I didn’t want to hear preachy music but rather just get into the music.
LIKE ONE ANGEL, WE’LL FLY AWAY. “Eileen’s Song” feels of its day, but the song’s message has aged a lot better than the bands that actively helped to start the current culture war. The music video for the song captures both a timeless New York and a dated one only in that the video opens with “Welcome to Brooklyn / Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani” sign and the band performs in a building with a view of the World Trade Centers. The video shows an iconic view of Brooklyn: multi-ethnic, a working class neighborhood. The video deals with snapshots of happy and sad moments in various Brooklyn resident’s lives. Children play in an open fire hydrant in the summer. Cuban Americans play cards outside of a small tienda. It was more like what I saw in movies where people live or go to New York City rather than most pasty white Christian music videos of the time. And the lyrics of the song offered more nuance than most Christian songs ever help. “You have one wing, I have another” Delopoulous sings. At the end of the verse, he sings “Like one angel we’ll fly away.” In other words, the singer is saying that we need each other. We need our differences, and it will be the thing that saves us.
Burlap to Cashmere feels like they are actually carrying out the words of Jesus by showing empathy to the poor and marginalized. They are showing their neighborhood and that Christianity and humanity looks different than what the cooperate CCM machine generated. And as we get more and more polarized, it’s important to realize that the other side isn’t a demon. But we actually rely on each other more than we know. And our polarization is killing us. Putting aside our differences may be the only way to save us.
Mixtapemotions 