Of all the unlikely forms of love, the love of god is the one I find the most bizarre. I grew up in Ireland, where religious mania is culturally mainstream and a little bit dreary. Unfortunately the Catholic Church has enjoyed a monopoly on belief since the foundation of the state, and it's stifled innovation. Things are much more interesting in America where thousands of marginal churches and sects compete for attention in a free market of fictive delusions. One of the most original must be the Nation of Yaweh, who believe that black Africans are the true Israelites. Their leader Yaweh Ben Yaweh had a penchant for beheading his enemies and was jailed in the 1990s on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to murder. Meanwhile, his disciple, Reverend Alicia, chair-danced her way into my heart and my subconscious. I sometimes catch myself humming this tune without realising, I fear I've fallen under her spell.
I'm also a fan of flamer Paul Eugene and his gospel dance aerobics.
Another woman who has carved out a niche for herself in the crowded evangelical marketplace is Princess Ramona, a American Indian princess who praises the lord through gospel yodelling. You can really hear her love for America and for Jesus when she yodels.
Finally, praising the good lord has never sounded so good as when done by the Joubert singers, mixed by Larry Levan. Thank god for America.
Princess Ramona - Then I Start to Yodel
The Joubert Singers - Stand on the Word
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