Opening a can of Whoop-Butt on Christian Music
I published this on our forum, but here it is in all its furious glory:
I can't listen to Air One Christian music radio anymore. It drives me nuts listening to the same insipid, predictable lyrics with the same four chords (max) put together in the same formulaic way.
Sorry that this probably does offend someone, but someone has to say the emperor has no clothes. Just putting Jesus' name in a song and/or praising His name through it doesn't make it good music. And instead of demanding more from these "creative" talent we've just settled in and accepted it like everyting else we do in American Christianity.
There are some good Christian bands out there, to be sure, but they seem to be falling off by the wayside. Look at the Top Ten of any Christian music list. Were any of these people here two years ago? Probably not. And they won't be two years from now, that's a safe bet.
Wake up Chrisitan music scene! Snap out of it! Be courageous, be daring, be leaders, be innovative. Don't settle for what sells the most CDs or what will appeal to the masses! Don't think that just making some gushy emotional song that happens to include the name of the Lord in it makes it good! It doesn't! Let the secular community produce boatloads of disposable music as we produce music with integrity!
Oh for the return of bands like Chasing Furies with their non-conformist music and SmallTown Poets with their heavy and insightful lyrics!
Sigh. Will someone - anyone - step forward? Until someone does I'll stay with those "compromisers" like U2 and Bruce Cockburn and Creed (may they rest in peace) and POD - groups that aren't walled up in the Ghetto of Mediocrity we call American Christianity.
posted by Ritter | 11:12 PM
3 Comments:
Ha ha ha!
Sorry, I just had to laugh because that's SO TRUE!!! It drives me postively batty when Christian radio stations play the same five songs over and over again, and all of those are mushy, teen-pop-y clones of each other. I mean, some of us like electric guitar, drum solos and deep, brain-twisting lyrics.
BTW, Third Day is a christian band that is definately worth listening to. Kudos to them for rocking, but may I point out that they are rarely, if ever, featured on the radio. >:(
Ha!
So true story...while in Russia, one of the public schools I worked with was having an assembly for International Women's Day (like Mother's Day and Valentine's Day rolled into one, saves paper in greeting cards), and asked me specifically to sing a "love song" for the ladies in the audience. I didn't have one on hand, so I just grabbed a worship song and changed all the "Lord"s into "baby"s. Worked out great!
Having listened to Christian music for the past 30 years, I have to agree: it's usually just more of the same. Even the best music there, produced by people I appreciate and respect, gets tiresome.
In my area we have K-Love, and they're the most homogenized form of CCM radio I've ever heard. I don't dislike the people, mind you...only the airplay rotation. Unfortunately, they play Third Day so much that I've come to dislike their music. It's a pity, really...since they're a well-meaning and talented group of gentlemen.
We also have an Air-1 station (too far away to get clearly) that's a little better. Our only other options are mixed-format stations that play mostly easy listening. Good luck hearing a great independent band with a beat on most of those stations! Between traffic reports and interviews with local pastors and some instrumental filler, there isn't much time to feature great music.
It's my love for meaningful Christian music that drove me to create CCM Links several years ago. I want to promote great music. This year I added a blog (mostly) devoted to free mp3 downloads. I'd love to hear from you on how it might be improved.
Post a Comment
<< Home