Wait a minute, Chester

I am reminded of a friend from high school who, as a fan of music and Christianity, was inclined to rate songs based on what he called their "Righteousness." While this might sound dismal, his combination of an excellent musical ear, and a willingness to consider that a secularly focused song might have an inherent spiritual component made for some very excellent and surprising choices.

(The song that he first explained his theory of Musical Righteousness to me was "Lay Your Hands on Me" by Thompson Twins. I'm still not certain if he ruined that song for me or gave it more meaning, but every time I can hear it I can still see him taking a big slug from a bottle of Canadian Whisky and yelling "This song is so Righteous!" over and over.)

This is a selection of cover versions of "The Weight." I've never known that The Staple Singers did a cover of "The Weight," and even before listening to it I could feel the Righteous Meter zooming up into the red.