8.15.25 Culture Friday on AI’s dehumanizing turn in music, Arsenio Orteza on an elusive artist, and on Word Play the unpredictable English language

Summary

Podcast Summary: The World and Everything In It Episode: Culture Friday on AI’s Dehumanizing Turn in Music, Arsenio Orteza on an Elusive Artist, and Word Play the Unpredictable English Language
Release Date: August 15, 2025
Host: WORLD Radio
Participants: Myrna Brown, Nick Eicher, John Stonestreet, Benjamin Eicher, George Grant, Arsenio Orteza

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Introduction

In the August 15, 2025 episode of The World and Everything In It, WORLD Radio delves into the evolving landscape of music influenced by artificial intelligence, explores the enigmatic legacy of songwriter David Ackles, and dissects the dynamic shifts in the English language. The episode seamlessly blends insightful discussions, expert analyses, and engaging interviews, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of contemporary cultural and linguistic phenomena.

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Culture Friday: AI’s Dehumanizing Turn in Music

[00:05 – 08:59]

Myrna Brown introduces the segment by highlighting concerns over AI-generated bands and the authenticity of music created without human artists. The discussion pivots to the recent documentary "Truth Rising," which calls Christians to exhibit courage in uncertain cultural times.

John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center and host of the Breakpoint Podcast, emphasizes the intrinsic human element in music creation. He states:

“Music is something that is unique to humans. [...] It could be a good expression, or it could be idolatrous. But this is to a whole nother level of expecting somebody else to do the work for us.”
[07:26]

Stonestreet argues that outsourcing musical creativity to AI undermines the divine gift of musical expression, which is deeply rooted in human imagination and worship. He references Peter Kreft’s perspective on moral responsibility in technological advancements, expressing skepticism about society's readiness to handle AI's implications in the arts.

George Grant adds to the conversation by discussing the challenge of maintaining genuine artistic narratives in an AI-dominated industry. He remarks:

“The idea that somebody can do their four albums, then they just move on is perhaps not such an easily packageable narrative.”
[00:28]

This highlights the difficulty in marketing artists who choose to avoid the traditional fame and commercial pressures of the music industry.

---

Documentary Review: Truth Rising

[11:12 – 20:47]

John Stonestreet introduces his new project, "Truth Rising," a 90-minute documentary aimed at inspiring Christians to engage courageously with contemporary culture. He discusses the film's juxtaposition with "The After Party," noting its distinct direction towards fostering a hopeful and conviction-driven Christian presence in society.

Stonestreet elaborates on the documentary’s goal to analyze Western culture and encourage Christians to embody four pillars of courage:

1. Hope
2. Truth
3. Identity
4. Calling

He explains:

“The film is really a call to action. [...] Our approach is. Listen, we're in the tradition of some wonderful thought leaders, Francis Schaeffer, Chuck Colson [...] What kind of people should we be?”
[16:24]

George Grant and Benjamin Eicher further discuss the metaphorical elements in the documentary, such as the comparison of Western civilization to a "cut flower," emphasizing the need for spiritual and moral nourishment to prevent decay.

---

Feature Segment: The Elusive Artist – David Ackles

[22:07 – 29:48]

Arsenio Orteza takes listeners on an exploration of David Ackles, a songwriter whose profound influence has been quietly acknowledged by music legends like Elvis Costello and Elton John, despite his lack of commercial success.

Drawing from Mark Brend’s book Down in Search of David Ackles, Orteza outlines Ackles' unique blend of musical theater, compassion-infused lyrics, and understated Christian faith. He highlights Ackles' ability to craft songs that delve deep into human emotions and societal issues, such as in "Candyman" and "His Name Is Andrew."

Orteza remarks:

“Ackles' compassion for his characters also bore fruit in elegantly and perfectly constructed songs of quiet desperation and lost or unrequited love.”
[26:25]

The segment underscores the tragedy of Ackles' obscurity, attributing it to the absence of a significant reissue campaign and his refusal to conform to mainstream narratives. Brend’s book is praised for finally bringing Ackles’ legacy to light, encouraging listeners to seek out his music and appreciate its depth and craftsmanship.

---

Word Play: The Unpredictable English Language

[31:06 – 36:18]

George Grant presents a fascinating analysis of "pejoration"—the linguistic phenomenon where words gradually acquire negative meanings. He explains:

“Pejoration is an expression linguists use to describe the process of etymological degeneration. [...] It is a kind of semantic entropy, grammatical erosion, or philological regression.”
[31:29]

Grant provides numerous examples, such as:

• Silly: Originally meant happy or blessed, now means foolish.
• Crafty: Once denoted strength or skill, now implies dishonesty.
• Hierarchy: From the orderly ranks of angels to potentially elitist connotations.

He contrasts pejoration with "ameliorization," where words gain positive meanings over time, citing:

“Ambitious and aggressive are words that once had adverse connotations but have now been largely rehabilitated in regional colloquial slang.”
[35:00]

Grant also references C.S. Lewis's insights on the moralization of status words, illustrating how linguistic changes reflect societal shifts in values and perceptions.

---

Conclusion

The episode concludes with credits and a reminder of upcoming segments, including an extended interview with Claire Morell on smartphone detox for families. Hosts Myrna Brown and Nick Eicher encourage listeners to share the podcast and engage with the content thoughtfully.

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Key Takeaways

• AI in Music: Raises concerns about the loss of human touch and the divine aspect of musical creativity.
• Truth Rising Documentary: Aimed at empowering Christians to engage thoughtfully and courageously with contemporary culture through four pillars.
• David Ackles: An underappreciated songwriter whose work embodies deep emotional and spiritual themes, deserving of posthumous recognition.
• Language Evolution: English words continually evolve, with many experiencing shifts towards more negative or positive meanings, reflecting broader cultural changes.

---

Notable Quotes

• John Stonestreet:
  “Music is something that is unique to humans. [...] It could be a good expression, or it could be idolatrous.”
  [07:26]

• George Grant:
  “The idea that somebody can do their four albums, then they just move on is perhaps not such an easily packageable narrative.”
  [00:28]

• John Stonestreet on Truth Rising:
  “The film is really a call to action. [...] What kind of people should we be?”
  [16:24]

• Arsenio Orteza on David Ackles:
  “Ackles' compassion for his characters also bore fruit in elegantly and perfectly constructed songs of quiet desperation and lost or unrequited love.”
  [26:25]

• George Grant on Pejoration:
  “Pejoration is an expression linguists use to describe the process of etymological degeneration. [...] It is a kind of semantic entropy, grammatical erosion, or philological regression.”
  [31:29]

---

This episode of The World and Everything In It offers a profound exploration of the intersection between technology and human creativity, the preservation of artistic legacies, and the ever-evolving nature of language. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the implications of AI in the arts, appreciate the hidden gems in music history, and remain cognizant of the subtle shifts in language that mirror societal transformations.

Transcript

[Myrna Brown]

Good morning. Today on Culture Friday, the problem with AI generated bands and music. And a new documentary featuring OS Guinness Truth Rising calling Christians to courage in a shaky cultural moment.

[Nick Eicher]

Right.

[John Stonestreet]

And one of the narrators of the film, John Stonestreet, is standing by also today, an unmarketable genius who never played the fame game.

[George Grant]

The idea that somebody can do their four albums, then they just move on is perhaps not such an easily packageable narrative.

[John Stonestreet]

And wordplay with George Grant.

[Myrna Brown]

It's Friday, August 15th. This is the World and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

[John Stonestreet]

And I'm Nick Icar. Good morning.

[Myrna Brown]

Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.

[Kent Covington]

President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will meet face to face just hours from now at a military base in Alaska for what the White House has described as a listening exercise. Trump says of Putin that he will hear him out regarding what it will take to end the war in Ukraine and get a sense of whether the Russian leader is serious about ending it.

[George Grant]

As Putin knows, I'm the toughest one that he's ever had to deal with. He's never had to deal with any anybody like me.

[Kent Covington]

Putin on Thursday praised President Trump's efforts to end the war. And that is in keeping with what many analysts see as a charm offensive on the Kremlin's part in dealing with the American president. But Trump has voiced frustration of late with pleasant phone calls with Putin that were followed only by more violence. Trump adds that the real negotiations would happen in a follow up meeting to include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

[George Grant]

The second meeting is going to be very, very important because that's going to be a meeting where they make a deal. And I don't want to use the word divvy things up, but you know, to a certain extent it's not a bad term. Okay, but there will be a give and take as to boundaries, lands, etc.

[Nick Eicher]

Etc.

[Kent Covington]

But Zelensky has been adamant that Ukraine will not be dividing up Russian occupied Ukrainian land. He says the Ukrainian people would not tolerate it and his country's constitution would not allow it. Zelensky has been in touch with European leaders this week. They've been working behind the scenes to bolster Kyiv's leverage in any possible negotiations with Moscow. And Trump on Thursday issued a presidential proclamation from the Oval office honoring the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act. The president said his administration is working to bolster the program.

[George Grant]

In the campaign. I made a sacred pledge to our.

[Nick Eicher]

Seniors that I would always protect Social.

[George Grant]

Security, and under this administration, we're keeping that promise and strengthening Social Security for generations to come.

[Kent Covington]

He pointed to a series of legislative provisions that he says will help the vast majority of seniors pay zero tax on Social Security benefits. Democrats, though, charge that Trump is not keeping his campaign promise. They've been critical of the president's cuts to Social Security staffing as well as the Department of Government Efficiency's access to taxpayer information. The White House says they are making technological upgrades and lowering customer service. Wait times Wall street is hoping to rebound this morning after stocks dipped on Thursday following hotter than expected wholesale inflation numbers. World's Benjamin Eicher explains markets slumped on.

[Benjamin Eicher]

News that the Producer Price Index, a key measure of wholesale inflation, jumped 0.9% in July on a month over month basis, and it was up 3.3% year over year. Both of those numbers were well above expectations, and many see that as evidence that tariffs are applying upward pressure on prices. But some producers of core products that are sensitive to tariffs, things like imported home goods and electronics, are also reporting higher margins. Some economists say that could suggest some companies are using tariffs as cover to raise prices. The unwelcomed wholesale numbers came just one day after stocks rose on Wednesday's government report showing consumer inflation remained flat in July.

[George Grant]

For World I'm Benjamin Eicher, Israel's finance.

[Kent Covington]

Minister, says construction is set to begin on a controversial new Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Bezalel Smotrich says Israel will answer efforts to establish a Palestinian state with more Israeli neighborhoods and communities. He adds that Jewish reality will ultimately bury the false dream of a Palestinian state. One Palestinian official heard here calling the Israeli announcement a colonial, expansionist and racist move. The U.K. canada, France and Australia have all said they are ready to recognize a Palestinian state if certain conditions are met. The Israeli government argues that a Palestinian state would pose a grave security threat to Israel. Tropical Storm Erin is now spinning over the Atlantic and is expected to become a major hurricane this week. It is expected to steer clear of land, but Jack Bevin with the National Hurricane center cautions it's too early to tell what areas might or might not.

[George Grant]

Get impacted by Erin, and so people.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Along the east coast of the United States should at least keep an eye on it.

[Kent Covington]

Officials across the northern Caribbean are on alert today. Winds are expected to top 60 miles per hour this morning and strengthening the storm will trigger dangerous swells, high surf, rip currents, and it will dump heavy rain from the Leeward Islands through Puerto Rico. I'm Kent Covington and straight ahead, culture Friday with John Stonestreet. And later, Wordplay with George Grant. This Is the World and Everything in it.

[John Stonestreet]

It's Friday, the 15th of August. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything In It. Good morning. I'm Nick Iger.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. It's Culture Friday, and John Stonestreet joins us. He's president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint Podcast. Good morning, John.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Good morning.

[Myrna Brown]

Hey, listen to this.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Dust on the wind, Boots on the.

[John Stonestreet]

Ground Smoke in the sky no peace found.

[George Grant]

Mm.

[Myrna Brown]

So we've got something in common. I like music, too. That's a single from the group the Velvet Sundown. Now, you wrote about their music with the coffee house vibe and their 1 million hits on Spotify. Turns out the group got all that attention before fans realized the band and the music all AI generated. Now, I will admit, watching the AI generated music videos with the little AI people kind of creepy. But, John, so what? The artists behind the music aren't real people? Do we have to connect with every musician whose music we like?

[Benjamin Eicher]

No. And I think that's also an illusion, right? That people listen to musicians and they think they know them. I mean, that happens on all kinds of levels. But this is something else. This is not just not connecting with a musician. This is something that God endowed human beings with. The capacity to think musically, even the command to be musical. I mean, there's. If you read the Psalms, there's a command to worship the Lord with song, but to outsource that, this is a dehumanizing of music. Music is something that is unique to humans. You don't find it in the animal kingdom. I mean, you have songs, I guess, of birds and that sort of stuff, but you don't have symphonies. It's actually something that is a reflection of both the imagination, but especially a way of worshiping. And that's why even music not directly aimed at God or telling us truth about God is still an expression of worship, in my view. And it could be a good expression, or it could be a bad expression. It could be noble, or it could be idolatrous. But this is to a whole nother level of expecting somebody else to do the work for us. So there's so many of these AI stories that come up, and it makes me think of something that Peter Kreft wrote years ago, the Catholic ethicist. He said, you know, just when our toys went from being sticks and stones to thermonuclear bombs, we all became moral infants. In other words, this has a lot to do with the kind of people we are and whether we're able to handle this technology. And so far I'm not convinced.

[Myrna Brown]

John, I want to go back to what you said about music being an expression of worship, and I agree, but this isn't Christian music. Does that matter? I mean, do you make a distinction?

[Benjamin Eicher]

I really don't. And just like, I don't think that there's much of a distinction to be made between Christian songs and non Christian songs and secular songs. It's basically all music is a reflection of how God made us. And it either aligns with what's true and it points our hearts and minds towards God. And, you know, we know from scripture that you can point your mind and heart towards God, not just by looking at God, but by looking at his world or looking at the human experience. I mean, this is the Song of Solomon. I mean, there's. There's all kinds of ways. So some of those categories I think we've superimposed on all of human expression, but especially music.

[Myrna Brown]

So, John, exactly where do you draw the line?

[Benjamin Eicher]

Yeah, I think the question of where you draw the line is not the right place to begin. I mean, I know you have to get there. And this is going to sound like a cop out, and maybe it is. But, you know, it's kind of like what is the line of purity? And purity is not a line, it's a direction. In other words, are you running into a direction that honors God and where your habits and your heart and your mind and your intention are in that direction to align with how God made us and the sorts of people that we're supposed to be or if we're not. In other words, you know, a tool of any kind. A gun is really helpful in the hands of a hunter and it's really harmful in the hands of a killer. And the difference isn't aligned between hunting and killing. It takes that expression. But the real difference there is what kind of person is holding that gun. And that's what I have to think about when it comes to AI. I mean, we talk here all the time about how Neil Postman got it all right and predicted how we were going to engage with entertainment. He did the same thing with technology. So are we using the technology to advance those things which God created humans to do, or are we using them to replace humans altogether? I think we can draw a number of lines around that framework. And what's good and what's bad, what's useful and what's Not.

[John Stonestreet]

Yeah, well, hey, John, I hope you can stick around for a little bit longer because I'd like to talk with you about a new project of yours coming out in just a few weeks in September called Truth Rising. Now, your team sent me a screener of the 90 minute documentary. And I got to say to you, John, well done. I watched it over and over, even scrapped my original column idea for the September World magazine that went online today and decided to write about this instead. That's how enthusiastic I am about it.

[Benjamin Eicher]

That's great. Thank you.

[John Stonestreet]

Yeah, sure. So I guess since Colin Garbarino is away and we were not planning on a movie review, we can add one of our own, a documentary review here of Truth Rising. And here's where I'd like to begin with it. I know that you're aware of another recent project called the After Party. It drew a lot of attention last year. It was aimed at the 2020 election, sort of trying to reframe a Christian approach to politics. It billed itself as moving Christians beyond, quote, unquote, partisan divides. But the leadership of this project and the funding of this project led, shall we say, more than a few people to see it as shaped by just never Trumpism and leaning left politically. But when I watched Truth Rising, it struck me as moving in the opposite direction and providing us a hopeful vision for a cultural engagement grounded in Christian conviction. So, John, was Truth Rising meant as a response to that, by any chance?

[Benjamin Eicher]

You know, I can't speak for everyone that was involved in the Truth Rising project. This is a partnership from Colson center and Focus on the Family. And very quickly, we realized we wanted to invite Os Guinness to really kind of be the thought leader, the Gandalf, you could say, of the project. The After Party literally never came to my mind until you just now asked me that question, Nick. I've gotta be honest. It had nothing to do with it. I think our approach is. Listen, we're in the tradition of some wonderful thought leaders, Francis Schaeffer, Chuck Colson, who wrestled with ideas and the significance of ideas to cultures and even civilizations. You think about guys like Jacques Barzun or Peter Sorokin, who talked about the rise and fall of cultures and civilizations. When we think of civilizations, civilizations, we think about them as historical artifacts, right? You see them in museums, you see them in history books, and yet we're in the middle of one. And we're in the middle, if Os Guinness is right, of a really vulnerable time in Western culture. I don't know if we're in a Bonhoeffer moment, where everything we try will fail, or if we're in a Wilberforce moment, where everything we try will succeed. But what I want to know is what kind of people should we be? Isn't that the question that Francis Schaefer and Chuck Colson both asked, using up all the available adverbs? You know, how then shall we live? Or how now shall we live? I've said this a number of times here, and I deeply believe it. I learned it from OS Guinness that God has called us to a particular time and place. We're not just called to a job, we're not just called to a ministry. We're not just called to acts of charity and good works, although all those things are true. But God put us in this moment in history, and not in another. And so if indeed we're in a civilizational moment, as Os Guinness puts it and describes, and so many of the thought leaders argue, what kind of people can we be? And you know, many Christians have bought into a secular worldview that history proceeds with these mindless forces and we're just victims of wherever it takes us, that there's really not a lot we can do. And that's exactly opposite of how the Christian worldview describes the significance of followers of Christ being called in place by God in times and places, and how God sometimes uses remarkably small things to make remarkably big changes. This is a journey. The Truth Rising film is ambitious. It attempts to start with an analysis of Western culture and end by calling Christians to be courageous voices, like the people whose stories we tell. And hopefully Truth Rising can call more and more Christians to that kind of life.

[John Stonestreet]

You know, John, listening to you describe it, that's exactly how it played for me. I think in my column I wrote that watching Truth Rising felt a bit like a 4K compression of the last decade of Culture Friday conversations. You know those courageous voices that you highlight and that you just mentioned? Chloe Cole, Jack Phillips, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Seth Dillon, Katie Faust, the last two of those I've even written for World. It's that same mix of conviction and clarity we've been talking about for years. But here's what I'd like to ask next. And I said this in the column, too. The film felt to me like a baton pass, like Oz was handing the torch to you. Was that intentional?

[Benjamin Eicher]

Well, I think he's passing the torch to all of us. And that's, of course, what I think matters the most is and this was central to Chuck Colson's message this was central to what you heard from so many of the thought leaders, including Oz, is that engaging culture or being a culturally sound and thoughtful Christian isn't just the job of the professionals. All of us are in a cultural moment. This cultural moment's super shaky. I mean, we've all felt it, right? We've all gone from voices that yesterday were telling us religion is poison to today saying that they like Christmas carols, or yesterday saying, you're not allowed to say that there's such a thing as boys and girls to now being changed a bit. I mean, it's so dizzying how fast culture changes. And what I wanted to really see happen is the church called in a powerful way to jump into this moment. And by the way, the film is really a call to action. And then it's followed by a four part teaching series that takes small groups through four pillars of courage. What does it mean to be a courageous Christian? Four things. Hope, truth, identity, calling. Be a person of hope, like one. Peter says be someone grounded in the truth because that's the only way forward. Be someone who understands what it means to be made in the image of God and as an answer to the crisis of identity of our culture. And then have a keen sense of calling. Put some flesh on that. Hope, truth, identity, calling. That's where we want all this to land.

[John Stonestreet]

Well, hey, listen, we may not have time. I've got a million questions for you, John. But the one thing I have to ask you about is the old truck.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Everybody wants to know about the old truck.

[John Stonestreet]

Yeah. So it's a 64 Chevy C10, fleet side, right?

[Benjamin Eicher]

Beautiful.

[John Stonestreet]

So did I get it?

[Benjamin Eicher]

Yeah, yeah. Pretty darn close. I think that's what it was. I have to go back and remember. It's not mine.

[John Stonestreet]

No.

[Benjamin Eicher]

It had a Corvette engine retrofitted with old looking gauges to go with the real one. And Oz Guinness legitimately almost did not get in the truck. Like that scene.

[John Stonestreet]

Yeah, he did not look like he wanted to be there at all.

[Benjamin Eicher]

That was not acting. He was like, you got to be kidding me. In his British accent without curse words. I mean, it was like. And honestly, I couldn't see because we had three cameras across the front windshield that had to be bolted in because the suction cups wouldn't work on the curved windshield.

[John Stonestreet]

Amazing.

[Benjamin Eicher]

True story. And I drove that national treasure, not the truck. I'm talking about Os Guinness risking all of our lives from the Lincoln Memorial out to rural Virginia.

[John Stonestreet]

Hey, and my brother, I told you, I have watched it over and over, wanting to be a good reporter for the magazine. But I noticed that you ran around. We need to talk about that. Yeah, I have the evidence, but clearly you're following the camera car which hurried through a yellow is what I'm guessing and almost left you guys stranded at the red. And I'm imagining you going, yeah, we've gotta get this shot. So I'll just chalk it up to one take documentary driving and let you off here with a warning. But seriously, John, I could not help thinking that that old pickup was a metaphor for Western civilization. Something sturd, something worth keeping, but also something in need of restoration and care. Was. Was that the idea?

[Benjamin Eicher]

You know, we worked with Coldwater Media who are known for telling great stories. Those guys love cars, as you know from Drive Thru History, which is one of their wonderful projects. But one of the best analogies I thought that emerged in the film was the Deputy prime minister, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia who says that civilizations run on fuel and if you put the wrong fuel in in them, they sputter and die. And we all sense that we've been putting the wrong fuel in there. It's very similar to what Oz says elsewhere, that we're a cut flower civilization, that the ideas that animated the west and made it flourish and made led it to become a flourishing context for human beings has been cut off. And that doesn't mean the flower dies immediately. It decays and it loses its shine and petals start to to fall off. And I think that long decay and that long decline comes when you don't have those ideas tethered. So this is really a call for Christians to tether their lives to the things that are good and true and beautiful. And you can also use that analogy, put the right fuel in the tank and when you do like that truck, that baby will hum.

[John Stonestreet]

That baby will hum. Great idea there.

[Myrna Brown]

You know, with all this talk about it, it, I'm looking forward to seeing this documentary myself. Well, John Stonestreet, president of the Colson center and host of the Breakpoint podcast. Thanks again John.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Thank you both.

[Kent Covington]

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[George Grant]

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[Kent Covington]

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[Benjamin Eicher]

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[Kent Covington]

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[Benjamin Eicher]

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[Myrna Brown]

Watersedge.com investor today is Friday, August 15th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I'M Myrna Brown.

[John Stonestreet]

And I'm Nick Iker. Coming next on the World and everything in it, the story of of a songwriter you may never have heard of, but whose music quietly captivated some of the biggest names in pop. David Ackles never had a hit single and his albums barely sold. Yet his songs drew praise from Elvis Costello, Elton John, Phil Collins and record executive Clive Davis. And World's Music reviewer.

[Myrna Brown]

Ackles recorded for Elektra and Columbia, building a small button fiercely loyal following and a legend that outlasted his career. Now a new book titled down in Search of David Ackles by Mark Brend uncovers the story behind the mystery and why his music still matters today. Here's World's Arsenio Arteza.

[George Grant]

Buddy, can you spare a contract? Thus read the caption under the photo of the piano playing singer songwriter David ackles in the 1976 edition of the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock that was practically the only publication that would mention him at all. From that point until 1999, the year he died from cancer at 62. Ackel's Encyclopedia of Rock entry was brief. It read, quote, first two albums David Ackles and Subway to the Country 1970 established his style. Poignant, nostalgic material laced with heavy drama. End quote. There was more, but poignant, nostalgic and heavy drama pretty well summed Ackles up. What the Encyclopedia didn't mention was how heavy Ackles drama could be. They called him the One Armed Candyman.

[John Stonestreet]

The crippled clown.

[Myrna Brown]

And he wore their.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Laughing licorice crown and calling come on down.

[George Grant]

This is Candyman, a cut from Ackles second album, Subway to the Country. The song concerns a candy shop owner who introduces pornography to children as a way of getting revenge on a society that he blames for the loss of his left hand. It sounds like the plot of an art house film, and it's not alone in Ackel's body of work. In the song His Name Is Andrew, the title character undergoes an Ingmar Bergman esque loss of faith. In Aberfan, Ackles recounts a real life disaster that killed 116 children. And Ackles did have lighter moments. As the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock pointed out, he could be poignant and nostalgic, but all in all, his music proved a tough sell. It's not surprising, therefore, that his story has gone untold until now. In his new book, down in Search of David Ackles, Mark Brend finally gives the musician his due. I think of him as in a category that includes Tom Waits and Scott Walker and Leonard Cohen, Bandai Parks. So these unusual figures who kind of ended up in the rock world but musically they come from somewhere quite different. Bren points out that unlike his contemporaries, Ackles came from the world of musical theater. One can hear what he means especially well in a song called Everybody Has a Story, the opening cut of Ackles 19733 album 5 and Dime. Acko's theatrical roots ran deep. He was a child actor appearing in six films about Rusty the dog. He also imbibed the world of live theater thanks to his mother who directed serious church theater productions for years. Throw in early exposure to the piano, a gimlet eyed view of human nature, sardonic humor and an understated Christian faith and you have a combination that even in the experimental 60s would have made Ackles an outlier. But just how understated was Ackels faith? From an evangelical point of view?

[Kent Covington]

Very.

[George Grant]

Only four songs on any of his four albums contained overt references to Christian sentiments. But from the point of view of Ackel's denominational affiliations, mainline Presbyterian, growing up, Episcopalian as an adult, and from the point of view of his show, Don't Tell theatrical background, his understatement makes sense. Brend interviewed and talked with Ackles toward the end of his life. I asked him whether he detected other ways that Ackles faith manifested itself in his songs. I think you see a lot of compassion for people. So even when his characters and his are rather shabby people or they get involved in all sorts of shady things, he has a compassion for them. And as you know, in the music business there's a lot of competitiveness and sometimes quite a lot of ego going around and that didn't seem to apply to him. Ackles compassion for his characters also bore fruit in elegantly and perfectly constructed songs of quiet desperation and lost or unrequited love. And by elegantly and perfectly constructed, I mean lyrics and note values that seemed made for each other. Exact rhymes instead of the near rhymes prevalent nowadays. All this in the service of bringing to life emotions that we'd prefer not to face.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Waiting for the moving van to come.

[George Grant]

Waiting for the moving van, for instance, should move. Anyone who has ever had to keep a stiff upper lip while cutting, cutting bait. With a family situation too broken to save.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The front door has that noisy hinge.

[George Grant]

I never did repair.

[Benjamin Eicher]

You used to hear it late at.

[John Stonestreet]

Night and meet me on the stair.

[George Grant]

So if Ackles is so great, why hasn't he been posthumously discovered and celebrated the way that other overlooked singers songwriters of his era have the easy part of the answer is that Ackles has never had a major reissue campaign. There Is a river is a two CD anthology that Rhino Records planned to release in 2007 but was canceled due to a legal dispute. The hard part of the answer is the subject of Downriver's epilogue. Brand argues that we seem to require our lost genius narratives to have a tragic component before we find them compelling. Other than a car accident, a frustratingly unfinished musical about the 20th century evangelist Amy McPherson and the cancer that eventually got him, Ackles was tragedy free. He wasn't somebody who was clinging to past stories. The idea that somebody can do their four albums, then they just move on and do other things in life is perhaps not such an easily packageable narrative. Bren doesn't expect Rhino's There Is a River box ever to be released, but he does hope that Ackles four albums will be reissued along with other previously unreleased material, much of which Bren says is excellent. Meanwhile, copies of Ackel's original LPs and now out of print CD reissues from the 1990s and early 2000s can still be found secondhand. And like Bren's book Downriver, they're well worth searching out.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Yes, I know, I know it's true.

[George Grant]

You are wise, but I'm not you. I'm Arsenio Orteza.

[Benjamin Eicher]

I am flame.

[George Grant]

And lightning and the.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Star.

[George Grant]

Foreign.

[Myrna Brown]

Today is Friday, August 15th. Good morning, this is the World and everything in it from Listener supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

[John Stonestreet]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Quick reminder, tomorrow we will have the extended version of Lindsay Mass interview with Claire Morell. You may have heard part of it on Wednesday, but there is more to say and the full conversation is worth hearing. It's all about smartphones and screen detox for families, a topic that resonated with many listeners. You'll find the complete interview this weekend on the World and Everything In It Podcast feedback wherever you get your podcasts.

[Myrna Brown]

Up next, Wordplay for August George Grant has been rummaging through the dictionary again and has uncovered a curious phenomenon. Good words breaking bad words, once noble and uplifting, now demoted, downgraded, maybe even a little disgrace.

[Nick Eicher]

Peturation is an expression linguists use to describe the process of etymological degeneration. It is a kind of semantic entropy, grammatical erosion, or philological regression. Simply put, it is when a word's positive meaning gradually morphs into a negative one. Examples of pejoration abound. The word silly, for instance, comes to us from Middle English. It originally meant someone who was happy, blessed, or fortunate. In some contexts it was even used to describe someone who was pious, holy, or good. But by the time of William Shakespeare, the term's use had declined to its present day. Meaning of lacking good sense, trite, or foolish. Crafty is derived from an Old English root meaning strong, adept, or skillful, but in some contexts it now connotes dishonest, sneaky, or duplicitous. Cunning is a word that has come to have negative connotations in modern English, but it once meant wise, learned, or having notable expertise. Hierarchy has suffered a similar deterioration. Originally it denoted the rank upon rank of angels in the heavenly host. John Milton used the term somewhat pejoratively to describe the elite status of secular or ecclesiastical authorities. In modern English, nuances of egalitarian envy or even hostility can sometimes adhere to the word. Other examples of pejoration include knave, egregious, awful, gay, spinster, mistress, wench, naughty hussy, and tart, all once perfectly acceptable positive terms, but no longer. Only rarely do the meanings of words improve over time. When it does occur, it is called ameliorization, the very opposite of pejoration. For example, the word nice once meant foolish, simple, or absurd. It was not until the beginning of the 19th century that it came to mean kind, considerate, or friendly. Likewise, ambitious and aggressive are words that once had adverse connotations but have now been largely rehabilitated in regional colloquial slang. Sick, wicked, and bad can be used to mean good, cool, or desirable. As film critic Roger Ebert once quipped, when bad is good and good is bad, it's hard to know which way is up. C.S. lewis Illustrated Pejoration and ameliorization in what he called the moralization of status words. This is the process, he said, of terms originally denoting status and class, slowly acquiring, acquiring the moral connotations, favorable or otherwise, of the ethics attributed to that class. Thus, villains and churls, which originally simply meant medieval serfs, deteriorated to churlish rogues. Meanwhile, noble and gentle rose in moral connotation. Mario Andrew Pei, the Italian born American etymologist, asserted that of all the words that exist in any langu, only a small minority are pure, unadulterated, original roots. The majority are coined words, forms that have been in one way or another created, augmented, cut down, combined and recombined to convey new meanings. The language mint is more than a mint. It is a great manufacturing center where all sorts of of activities go on unceasingly. The English language is always on the move. It never sits still. As Phil Lord has said, we constantly risk people misunderstanding us, if only because plain English never seems to stay plain. I'm George Grant.

[John Stonestreet]

All right, time now to name the team who helped to make things happen this week. Mary Reichard, David Bonson, Caleb Weldy, Steve West, Josh Shumacher, Kim Henderson, Daniel Sir, Hunter Baker, Amy Lewis, Lindsay Mast, Josh Revis, Carolina Lumeta, Anna Johansen Brown, Becca McCallum, Emma Frere, Emma Eicher, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet, Arsenio Orteza, and George Clinton Grant. Thanks also to our breaking news crew, Kent Covington, Travis Kercher, Christina Grube, Steve Klosterman and Lindy Langdon. And thanks to the moonlight maestros, Benj Eichert and Carl Peets. Paul Butler is executive producer, Harrison Waters is Washington producer, Kristin Flavin is features editor, and Les Sillers is editor in chief. I'm Nick Eicher.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. If you enjoyed the program this week, could you take a moment and share it with a friend? Send a link to a particular story or from your podcast player, share the link to the whole thing. Thanks. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires the the Bible records that Levi the tax collector left that to follow Jesus and threw a feast for Jesus at his house. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus answered them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Verses 30 through 32 of Luke chapter 5. A reminder to attend a Bible believing church this weekend. Encourage others and let others encourage you. Go now in grace and peace.