If anything, we will look back on 2015 as a pretty weird year. A year when Ryan Adams covered an entire Taylor Swift album, Kevin Smith decided to kill off his Silent Bob character with a moose in one of his future movies, Metallica and Budweiser made an long overdue union to create the most redneck of beers — and all of those examples were in September alone.
Now adding to the mix is Pope Francis, who will be releasing a prog rock/pop rock album in November titled “Wake Up!” (and not what I secretly want it to be called: “Straight Outta The Vatican”), according to Rolling Stone. A track has been released, called “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!” which also sounds like a pretty decent indie rock band name.
I gotta say, I like this pope.
The track definitely has some prog rock themes going and uses “Pope Francis addressing a South Korean audience in English last year,” according to Rolling Stone. It is atmospheric and pretty decent.
According to Rolling Stone: “On Wake Up!, Pope Francis speaks to the listener in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese over 11 tracks to address issues like peace, dignity, environmental concerns and helping those most in need.”
Pope Francis this week visited the U.S., where he spoke before Congress, ate with the poor and held mass at Madison Square Garden — a venue well known for it’s rock and roll history.
Francis isn’t the first pope to lend his voice to music. According to Pitchfork “Pope Benedict XVI’s voice was featured on 2009’s Music From The Vatican: Alma Mater, and Pope John Paul II appeared on albums like 1999’s Abba Pater.”
The album is set for release in November.
Here is the track listing:
1. “Annuntio Vobis Gadium Mangum”
2. “Salve Regina”
3. “Laudato Sie…”
4. “Poe Que’ Sufren Los Ninos”
5. “Non Lasciatevi Rubare La Speranza!”
6. “La Iglesia No Puede Ser Una Ong!”
7. “Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!”
8. “La Fa Es Entera, No Se Licua!”
9. “Pace! Fratelli!”
10. “Per La Famiglia”
11. “Fazei O Que Ele Vos Disser”
The JOE-DOWN 