City Pages: 'My Friends Tried to Save My Soul with Christian Metal'

City Pages music blogger Chris Strouth again touches on his Fridley roots in his weekly blog titled Makes No Sense at All.

Last time, Strouth sent a jab Fridley's way, calling his former hometown "a continent away from cool." This time, Strouth reveals he doesn't have the fondest memories of middle school (but then, who does?). In any case, his essay focuses on high school years in the 1980s anyway:

When I was in ninth grade, my parents transferred me out of the living hell that was Fridley Jr. High—yes, Fridley Patch, I feel the angry stares coming my way—and into the Catholic Prep School wonderland that is Totino Grace. It was sort of easy to be there and be not particularly Catholic. Sure, there were masses and classes but as long as you didn't mind the fact that you occasionally smelled like frankincense and would perpetually have to sing "On Eagles Wings" it wasn't a bad gig. It's worth noting though, that there was a big difference between Catholic and Christian—in particular, born again Christian.

Read the full article at CityPages.com.