Circa 1985, a pretentious young teenager in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I painstakingly typed out, on a typewriter, the lyrics to a song by an obscure English punk band—“Outdoor Miner,” from ...

The song references biblical events such as Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9-10, John 12:13) and Psalm 118:25-26, which declares, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Many listeners regard practitioners of Hindustani music as spiritually inclined individuals, who are always immersed in their pursuit of perfection through music. Indeed, this may be true of some ...