Kat with a K

Patty Griffin's Downtown Church

I listened to Patty Griffin's about-to-be-released album on NPR First Listen, and I remain baffled by my seeming inability to like Gospel music. I love the atmospheric originals, and her voice is gorgeous, of course, but most of the traditional songs she includes just leave me cold. I'm not sure what my problem is, but I always have this issue. Gospel music almost always seems - I don't know. I can't relate to it. I'd almost say that it's because it's so far from my own New England Catholic experience, but that doesn't make any sense, because there's plenty of music from completely different faith traditions that I like a lot. So. Baffled. Let me know if you have any ideas on what my problem is.

I'm undecided on this version of "All Creatures of Our God and King," which I would put in the "hymn" category rather than the "Gospel" category:

It's beautiful. That much is clear. And it's done pretty straightforwardly, which is what I generally like from hymns. It's somewhat addictive; I've listened to it several times and like it more each time. But it's so slow! Why? And it sounds almost unnecessarily mournful. It's a happy song! Cheer up, Patty!