Viveca Stucke ‘26
Opinions Editor
Professor Name: Mathew N. Schmalz
Academic Department: Religious Studies
Classes you teach: Comparative Religions; Hinduism; Modern Religious Movements;
Comparative Catholicisms; Religion and Violence; Religion and the Erotic.
Preferred music platform: This is going to show age/generational differences. My daughters have encouraged me to use Spotify, but I still just download from iTunes and save songs to my iPhone.
What is your go to playlist?: Right now, in no particular order:
The Grapevine, Weyes Blood; She’s Lost Control, Joy Division; Sovereign Lights Cafe, Keane; Some Kind of Nothingness, Manic Street Preachers; Kozmic Blues, Janis Joplin,; The Soul of a Man, Blind Willie Johnson; Lover You Should Have Come Over, Jeff Buckley; St. Teresa, Joan Osbourne; Griogal Cridhe [Gregor of the Heart], Hannah Beaton & Norrie Maclomhair (Scottish Gaelic); Óró, Sé Do Bheatha Bhaile [Oh, You Are Welcome Home], Mary Black (Irish); Voodoo Chile, Jimi Hendrix; Rock Your Baby, George McCrae; Dreaming, Blondie; I Fall to Pieces, Patsy Cline; Dancing with Myself, Billy Idol; Stereophonics, Maybe Tomorrow
What’s your current favorite song?: Meera Jivan Kora Kagaz [My Life is a Blank Page], Kishore Kumar (Hindi). A film song from Bollywood.
What was your favorite artist while in college?: The Who
Do you think your music taste has evolved with time?: Yes. I’m more eclectic now—and listen to classical music, which I never did before I got to Holy Cross. Most specifically, I was into Punk in high school and hated Disco—now I love Disco and all the pop and fluffy ‘70s music that I used to hate.
What song has the most emotional value for you?: Sorry, I’m going to use my professorial authority to choose three: The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, He Zhanhao and Chen Gang. Or She’s Lost Control, Joy Division. Or Pour que tu m’aimes encoure [For You to Love Me Again], Celine Dion.
What’s a modern-pop song you like?: Beyonce, Texas Hold ‘Em. Genius.
Have any specific songs had an impact on your professional career?: Join Together, The Who. It expresses what I think teaching should be. Sometimes I play it before class to psych myself up.
Are there any songs you like that are connected to your academic field?: Yes—I’m particularly interested in how Hinduism and Christianity inter-relate, so songs which reflect that I really like. My Sweet Lord, George Harrison; Pure and Easy, The Who; 13th Floor Elevators, Slip Inside this House. I’ve also been thinking about using Speed or Death Metal songs in class to talk about Religion and the Erotic and sensory overload in relation to certain forms of prayer. Haven’t done that yet, however. Stay tuned!
If you could listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?: The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, He Zhanhao and Chen Gang.
Featured image courtesy of College of the Holy Cross
Copy Edited by Lauren Backstrom ’27
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