Thirty years later I was reading Mary Magpie’s post about Never Shout Never in which the leader (why do all these solo artists give themselves band names?) Christopher Ingalls, an eighteen year old born again Christian discussed losing his virginity in the back of a car.
Miss Magpie wrote that Ingalls was “like a teenager trying to be cool. Formerly standing firm in his strict beliefs in Christianity and humble meekness… Everyone grows up BUT you can grow up and still remain true to what you claimed was your passions. Makes me wonder if at age 18 he now feels the need to be cool “
I don’t necessarily agree with Mary’s assessment that promiscuity is qui pro quo an affront to Ingalls Christian beliefs but what I do think is Ingalls shouldn’t present himself to his young public as something he no longer is. I wrote awhile ago about a band an underage band called Smith-Westerns getting drunk and causing havoc at a club in Brooklyn. I saw nothing wrong in this -making the alcohol law 21 + is ridiculous and anybody who didn’t know what they were getting with the band weren’t paying attention.
But I agree with Mary about Ingalls and the reason is context. If you were to go to a comedy club and a comedian came on stage and told about how he just got out of bed with two girls and an elephant you might chuckle, if your Rabbi said the same thing during a religious service, you’d be a lot less amused.
In the context of the career Never Shout Never has forged for himself, it is irresponsible of the kid to discuss his sexuality in such a setting and in such a manner. For the young man to do so he needs to resituate himself. To explain explicitly how his faith is now constituted in his life not after parents have trusted their children to his care but before. Then leave it to the individuals watching how they wish to react.
Christopher Ingalls Blows
Many years ago I was writing about Prince’s “Darling Nikki” for Creem. It was around the time Tipper Gore was trying to institute ratings for albums, “Darling Nikki” is a sexually explicit song, and I supported IN THEORY, Gore’s attempt to warn the parents of children under a certain age about content.