G-rock May 8th, 2008

i would say this is appropriate for the topic:

http://thomwade.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/the-top-ten-most-controversial-songs-in-christian-music/

A J Calabrese May 8th, 2008

A lot of CCM is just plain garbage. Really, what is it? Just the usual POP junk one hears in the secular world with Jesus thrown in to somehow validate the singing and gyrations.

I haven't purchased any CCM in years, but I really think that Rich Mullins, Phil Kaeggy, Derek Webb, Caedmans Call, Charlie Peacock, understood the place of CCM in the overall musical culture scheme of things.

I get is much inspiration and eternal direction from "secular" music rock, jazz, and classical. Stuff from Porcupine Tree, Procol Harum, Charlie Mingus, Maissean, etc.

I wish the big record companies would quit pandering and let so called "Christian" artists rise or fall on their own in the public square.

AJ

Mark May 8th, 2008

One thing I didn't say yesterday, but needs to be mentioned…A lot of CCM sucks, but a lot of today's top 40 popular music sucks too. Any art form, when created for the masses, devolves into a sort of "lowest-common-denominator" that is heard, read, or seen by everyone but speaks to no one.

Oh yeah, and Pro Tools has made many mediocre singers into stars. Just ask Ashley Simpson.

Chemical Erik May 8th, 2008

Here are the first three questions I'd like asked of guests on Etcetera:
1) What is your name?
2) What is your quest?
3) What is your favourite colour?

Be sure to use add the "u" in colour, since the questions are from a Brittish movie.

greg from canada May 8th, 2008

The thing that bothers me about CCM is it seems that they are becoming the only gate keeper for christian music and nothing else gets into a christian book store. I cant hardly find any harder christian rock around me anymore, but there is plenty of CDs that CCM considers to be the top 30. A lot of my favourite bands like Bride and Tourniquet are no longer carried even though they have been producing new cds.

G-rock May 8th, 2008

"A lot of CCM sucks, but a lot of today's top 40 popular music sucks too."

You got it. Take your pick of any musical genre and you'll find atrocious music just being made to numb the masses and fatten the wallets of record execs. We are more critical to CCM though since we're believers, and they (supposedly) are representing us.
There has been an uprising though of Christian artists that will blow away the competition in mainstream. Perfect example: Mute Math. They are signed to Warner Bros records, are Christians, and also happen to have the most unique sound out there. You may have seen their backwards performance on Jimmy Kimmel live. I've seen there live show 3 times so far, and I have never watched such an energetic band as them. F**cking phenomenal. Now, if you listen to their lyrics, you'll hear many subtle spiritual references and everyone knows they are Christians. Yet they are one of the hottest acts out there. Go to their live show and see everyone from piss drunk frat boys and girls to church people. It's an odd mix, yet the common thing is that the band's music transcends over people's stereotypes. And people go nuts over it.

I think it's pretty bigoted for someone to say rock music can't be done by Christians, just as if a Christian said mainstream music is hedonistic. It's all stereotypical bulls**t.

That's why Kevin Max titled his first solo album "Stereotype Be". Because the only stereotype you should be is your authentic self. And if you're authentic, people will dig that in your music whether you're Christian, Buddhist, or Atheist…

Ray May 8th, 2008

A few points of my own:

1) I worked for 7 years at a Christian radio station, and I can attest that much of CCM is a reminder of Sturgeon's Law ("90 percent of everything is crap"). Thankfully, most of that 90%, like most of the 90% in every other music field, gets forgotten pretty quickly — what's remembered 20 years later tends to be the good stuff. Think of what music you can recall from say, 1986. Michael W. Smith gets remembered; Teri DeSario largely doesn't. (Sorry, Teri, if you're reading.)

2) To a certain extent, Duke Ellington (I think it was Duke) was right when he said, "there are only two kinds of music: good and bad." A lot of music I hear on CCM stations don't minister to me in a low spot nearly as much as matchbox twenty's "Unwell" has (to use one example). God can use anything He wants to work on us with, I say. Having said that, I'm far more likely to be ministered to by Jars of Clay that I am by, say, Rage Against the Machine, and I buy CDs accordingly.

3) On the list of Christian songs about hot sex, don't forget Charlie Peacock's "Kiss Me Like a Woman" and Ashley Cleveland's "Skin Tight."

4) Someone joked on the podcast that Christians are never nude. I know it's true for me — if nothing else, I never take off my wedding ring.

5) So when are you doing a show on Christian rap? Let's drop a little G.R.I.T.S., Verbs, Mars Ill and Pigeon John on da Etceterizzle!

jefe May 8th, 2008

After I hung up, I had this thought?

How can a piece of music be "christian"? Does a song have the free will to accept Christ as Savior?

I believe the word 'christian' should never be used as an adjective. It should be a noun. Period.

Chemical Erik May 8th, 2008

Jefe - I think you've got something. Most CCM tries to be "music for Christians", which I think is a better description of what CCM is trying to be. Of course, they typically forget Christian did and do things that require forgiveness. The music reflects the message, and for most who call themselves Christian in this country, it's a country club of "nice" people; hence, the bubble gum pop CCM. Koom-By-Ya :^).

G-rock May 9th, 2008

Some more CCM "bad boys":

"The popular band "Jars of Clay" has in storage a song entitled "Hero43". The lyrics speak of using faith to support an unnecessary war in Iraq, and draw a correlation to the days of the Crusades. The title is a simple metaphor for the person of George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States."

shelly May 9th, 2008

Jefe, my good fella, I saw someone express a similar sentiment in comments to a Facebook note regarding a band called The Afters (from my understanding, they're Christian) and their song "Myspace Girl" (about how one of the band members fell in love with a girl on Myspace). This is what was said…

I think that Christian music is a little bit of a misnomer. Music can't accept Christ, there are just Christians that play music.

Here's the entire note, with comments, if those of you on F'book want to check it out…

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=26048726744&id=500083388&index=0

I don't think I've bought a CCM album in close to a decade. IMO, a lot of it was/is "bleh", to me; it does nothing for me. I think AJ and Mark hit the nail on the head. I also agree with Ray in that God can use whatever music he wants to speak to us (after all, God himself created music!); and, for me (at least), I've gotten more out of non-Christian music in the last ten or so years than I think I've ever gotten out of the lot of CCM I listed to during the bulk of my teen years.

Obed May 9th, 2008

A few points of ramble:

I grew up on Christian Rock. My first non-child tapes were On Fire by Petra and The Way Home by Russ Taff. My tastes morphed over time to include most of the 90's-era Christian Metal bands (Tourniquet is still the BEST thrash band EVER).

With the exception of the weekly gospel show on my local indie station, I rarely listen to Christian music anymore. I've just had the hardest time finding quality Christian bands in the last 10 years or so. I think the last Christian album I bought was a live album by Jars of Clay about three or four years back. I haven't actively looked for Christian music since the Ska fad died and the OC Supertones went more pop/rock w/horns than Ska (their first couple of albums were the best ska I had ever heard).

I think the biggest problem for me is that it's hard to find authenticity in popular music at all, but especially in Christian music. That's really a relfection of what's problematic with our culture in general and with Christian culture in particular.

I remember when DC Talk's Jesus Freak came out and garnered so much crossover success in the mainstream market (hey, it was a pretty good album). I can almost look to that album as being definitive in CCM becoming a market force. Almost overnight, it seemed that Christian acts were now getting production and marketing that was almost on par with mainstream pop bands. To me, that was a real shame, 'cuz it led to a trend of overproduction that is a plague all across the music genres now. So much of it is too slick, too compressed, too perfect, and completely soulless.

Something else I noticed, however, is that as I started to get into classic rock, blues, and so-called "roots music" I discovered that I had been lied to by the Christian music machine. They had been telling me that "non-Christian" music had no moral compass, that it was hostile to God, etc. What I found out is that Christianity is still very ingrained in American culture to the point where it's not unheard of to hear about God or "Christian" imagery in mainstream music.

When folks are looking for GOOD music, Christian stuff will find its way there, too. Here in San Antonio, we have a VERY good indie station, KSYM. A lot of the indie Christian acts like Eisley and Pigeon John find their way into the circulation. Maybe that's a Texas thing. I dunno.

jefe May 12th, 2008

I remember when I was fresh out of college and I worked in the music department of a X'n bookstore.

One of my fondest, most laughable memories was the poster/chart that said, "If you like [secular artist], then you'll love [X'n artist]". And sure enough, there were plenty of bands that sounded JUST like their secular counterparts– scary! But then there were artists like Sting, being compared to Steven Curtis Chapman?!? Wierd!!

Some of my fondest memories of growing up were centered around X'n rock… Larry Norman, 77's, Resurrection Band, and even some early DeGarmo & Key or Russ Taff. Being a parent, I can totally understand why mom & dad preferred those guys to the 'secular' music of the day; some of which, was pretty rough for a pre-teen to swallow…

Unfortunately, this attempt to shield me from the "world's" music backfired in many ways. First, it glamorized the 'secular'– I mean, if the X'ns were copying it, why not listen to the original?? Secondly, it created a very firm secular/sacred dichotomy in my mind/faith that has taken me many, many years to even begin to overcome– I still struggle with it.

That being said, I've come to admire some modern X'n(esque) bands like MuteMath, Jars, Kevin Max…etc. My award for funnest, modern X'n band goes to Family Force 5… totally worth a listen.

G-rock May 19th, 2008

from Kevin Max's myspace blog:

Popcorn Christianity….

interesting….i shot an email back to a person that wrote me a nice concise, flattering letter tonight about my art and views on life…i told him i do not believe in popcorn christianity AKA ( corporate christianity or general: Wherein people do not question anything in relation to relativity in time placement and interpretation, based upon language usage and cultural shifts due to thousands of years of social change)….i do not buy it, and sure don't sell it….i told him if one was to look into my mind on the theological matter, they would see me as an extreme ecumenical….i am still getting at some of the answers in life….it seems the closer i get to God, the more it eludes me….so in one brief answer i said this….i believe in the characteristics of God in Nature and in Word. simple, a bit shy but definitley not buying into the mass definition…after watching the Davinci Code and reading all of the humorous reviews and views of people out there scared to death of flaws within the gospels…i had to say bravo to Dan Brown for at least making people think again…i mean, his novel read like one of those Stephen King throwaway short stories, but he was brave enough to throw out issues that have been revolving for thousands of years….i also read another gnostic text, The Gospel Of Judas recently….and it goes to show you, that Constantine and his group of religious select could not bury everything…and i think as time goes on, God smiles at us trying to put the pieces together and not blindly accepting what your mommy and daddy tell you as gospel…. KM

edit. i do believe that Jesus is who He said He was. and that is called Faith. mindblowing i know.

G-rock May 23rd, 2008

No matter what you think of Christian music, this family is going through hell right now. I can't even imagine how they feel:

MARIA SUE CHAPMAN, DAUGHTER OF STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN, DIES IN ACCIDENT AT FAMILY HOME

NASHVILLE, TN…5/21/08… At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters.

More than five years ago, Chapman and his wife MaryBeth founded The Shaohannah’s Hope Ministry after bringing their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah, home from China. The ministry’s goal is to help families reduce the financial barrier of adoption, and has provided grants to over 1700 families wishing to adopt orphans from around the world. Chapman is a five-time GRAMMY ® winner and 54-time Dove Award winning artist who has sold over 10 million albums and garnered 44 No. 1 singles.

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