Up until some of Tupac’s music got approved by The Vatican, I always imagined the guys up there listened to Gregorian chants, Arias, Masses and other secular music by Handel, Mozart, and others. But according to this publication found in a Pink Floyd fan site has totally blown my mind. I’m not thinking for one second that they just chose Tupac because of the impact hip hop/rap has made, but they also picked a great top 10 rock/pop dessert island albums

“L’Osservatore Romano, a weekly newspaper issued by the Holy See (Published since1861, the newspaper follows the Pope’s public activities, provides editorials by Catholic Church executives and publishes official Vatican documents) has extended its musical tastes to issue a list of what it considers to be the top ten pop and rock albums of all time. Amongst them is Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon. The paper said the 10 albums were the perfect listening material for anyone who found themselves marooned on a desert island.”

Revolver – The Beatles
If I could Only Remember My Name – David Crosby
The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
The Nightfly – Donald Fagen
Thriller – Michael Jackson
Graceland – Paul Simon
Achtung Baby – U2
(What’s the story) Morning Glory – Oasis
Supernatural – Carlos Santana

“It seems unlikely that the Pope, known for his love of Mozart and who once described rock music as the work of the Devil, enjoys Carlos Santana’s Black Magic Woman or Oasis’s Wonderwall on an iPod in the privacy of his study.

Yesterday, however, the Vatican gave its imprimatur not only to Santana and Oasis, but also to the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, U2, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac in a list of approved pop albums published in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

Last year the Vatican advised the faithful which films to watch, finding merit even in Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. This year, because Europe faced a season of mediocre songs at music festivals, the newspaper explained, it was time to recommend an antidote in the form of classic pop milestones.”

read the rest of the article here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7026960.ece

This rather surprised me today.