Christian music

[saxyroze]

I don't know if this has been posted before but does anyone still listen to some Christian music? I’ve always hated Christian music merely because I have always viewed it as empty, boring music that tries to copy secular trends….but I still have a soft spot for Rebecca St. James’ music. I love listening to her old and new stuff even though I don’t agree with everything she has to say.

 

I think part of it is because I respect her. She's like...close to her 30's and still a virgin and is quite vocal about it, without shame. Christians like her, in my opinion, give Christians a good name and I respect those kinds of people.

[♦ nivek ♦]

saxy,

 

As a specific genre, *xtian music* isn't something I go about listening to.

 

Catchy tune, good music to fill mind with, I'll listen to that tune. Not inclined to go about buying music made by the overtly religious..

 

About the only group I listen to that has a strong affiliation for *god* that I care much for is the one I have down here in my signature list, Pokerface..

 

Most xtian music sucks so bad they could be used for jingles for vaccum cleaner commercials..

 

kL

[Guest JPD]

I never could stomach christian music. That is, after I was allowed to listen to something else. I liked some of the old hymns and the classical choral stuff, but contemporary christian was always the blandest, most banal, sophomoric nonsense. I couldn't understand why anyone would listen to it when there is GOOD music in the world, by people who have dedicated their lives to their art and not their invicible grandpa. Is it worth sacrificing musical integrity and artistry for the sake of hearing the name Jesus and the words "praise", "worship"," bow", 'lord" and "awesome". Having said that, "Take 6" are some badass muhfuggas, and Bruce Cockburn (not really Contemp xtian, but he's close) kicks all kinds of ass, for a canuck.

[Merlinfmct87]

I have to agree with JPD and Nivek here - it always seems so obvious and forced. That being said, I have listened to(and enjoyed) a couple chritian bands. Evanescence and U2 being notable, Sixpence None the Richer(one of their cuts) being another.

 

In general though, gospel music makes me feel itchey and uncomfortable... like I'm caught in a spider's web that's about to pounce and I just don't know it. Mnnnn.

 

Merlin

[Sofia]

ooohhhhhhh.....love Sixpence. I saw them live.

 

 

 

Good stuff.

 

 

 

Welcome, Saxyroze....

 

I love what you wrote in your profile. It's beautifully said.

 

Sofi

[pandora]

Is the leader of Creed a Christian? I have heard that before...what are some other mainstream rock bands that are Christian?

 

I don't really like Creed or that type of band, but I am just curious.

 

I still like Caedmon's Call, Third Day, Jars of Clay, Jennifer Knapp, and Burlap to Cashmere. I don't really listen to them at all anymore because the lyrics would make me sick (in most cases) but I do remember thinking tha tthey were awfully talented to a degree for Christian bands. If I stuck in a CD of one of these bands, I would still like to listen if I could somehow delete the obnoxious lyrics... however, most of these bands' songs have abstract lyrics, so it is pretty easy to listen to them.

 

Another question... is Collective Soul Christian?

[Godless Wonder]

I like Iced Earth, and they border on being a Christian metal band. But the rhythm guitar playing is just smokin'. Their newest stuff isn't their best, I think Jon Schaffer's going deaf, because the guitar is way beyond the usual ridiculously shrill scooped-mids, and I like ridiculously shrill scooped-mid guitar, plus since Matt Barlow left, (due to Sept 11th, he wanted to become a cop, or some stupid shit) it just ain't the same. "Something Widked This Way Comes," "Days of Purgatory," and "Dark Saga" are cool. "Alive in Athens" is pretty damn cool too.

[Guest bdp]

Lies Damned Lies is a damned good band by any standard; in my Xtian days I had friends who wouldn't even consider listening to them because they had that 'D' word in their name. Any non-Xtian I played them for loved them, the most common comparison was to Sting's later solo work. Some others:

 

Saviour Machine

Sanctum's 'Lupus In Fabula'

Mark Heard (he used that 'D' word in a couple of songs which caused my friend Brett to forbid his wife to listen to him; Bruce Cockburn stated that Mark Heard deserved to be in the upper echelon of singer/songwriters like Sting or Paul Simon).

Michael Knott (brutally honest about his humanity and failings; some doubted he was a 'true' Xtian)

Fleming & John (why am I waiting 6 years and counting for new material from them??!)

Virgin Black

 

bdp

[Thurisaz]

As a specific genre, *xtian music* isn't something I go about listening to.

 

Catchy tune, good music to fill mind with, I'll listen to that tune. Not inclined to go about buying music made by the overtly religious..

 

That sums up my opinion too.

[All Gods Fail]

Xian music? Bleegh. Even when I was a believer I could barely stand it.

 

As Bart Simpson observed, "All the best bands are affiliated with Satan."

[knowmad]

I suppose the glaring difference between the two types of xtian bands would be one sings passionately from the heart and the others sing as if it's their job to evangelise the world.

 

The former, regardless of whether one agrees with them or not, you still feel a connection with that honest and pure passion.

The latter just comes across as an agressive advert which doesn't come from the heart but the head.

[Lanakila]

Xian music? Bleegh. Even when I was a believer I could barely stand it.

 

As Bart Simpson observed, "All the best bands are affiliated with Satan."

 

 

Reminds me of a Christian song: Why does the devil have all the good music?

 

I actually really listened to contemporary Christian music, and even went to concerts. I can't stand the stuff now, and my boss plays it in his office all the time, so I hear it whenever I have to go in there. I could probably make a stink about being forced to listen to religious music, but I just ignore it.

[Thurisaz]

As Bart Simpson observed, "All the best bands are affiliated with Satan."

 

Why oh why does that remind me of the opening comment in a certain recent video by The Darkness?

 

"...the absence of rock music... has resulted in the unthinkable: Hell has frozen over."

[Guest bdp]

Anything from the Nashville-based CCM industry is dross, but there are those who either worked outside it all along or left it when it became clear that 'art' is a dirty word in those circles. Lies Damned Lies is a Scottish trio whose work has never been released in the US; Saviour Machine left the CCM industry and went to Germany before they found anyone who 'got' what they were doing; Sanctum is from Sweden and has non-Christians in the band so American bible bookstores would never dream of carrying their stuff, and people I played it for said it sounded 'demonic.' If we're going to use CCM as a 'genre' then it's just like any genre - some of it is good and some of it is crap and the 'crap' is the only stuff that 'mainstream' Xtianity approves of.

 

bdp

[HadouKen24]

I'm not a huge fan of rock. I prefer something a little more laid-back. But that said, I can't stand the limp, cliched sound that makes up most of CCM. Especially the soft stuff aimed toward Christian "adults."

 

Although I do like Sixpence None The Richer. I <3 their lead singer's voice.

[queenie]

Sounds like I'm in the minority here. I was deeply into CCM during college and well beyond until I walked away from the church in Jan 2000 (happy new millennium, eh?). Needed/used alot of it for worship leading when I was music director at a few churches as well. I enjoyed Sonicflood, Steven Curtis Chapman, DCTalk (their rock music, not the rap crap they started out with), Third Day, Jaci Valasquez, Carolyn Arends, Avalon, Smalltown Poets, 4Him, Glad, and in my earlier days of listening, even Sandi Patti, although now her stuff makes me pull my hair out. In Junior High/early high school, I enjoyed 2nd Chapter of Acts, Keith Green, and the few acts that were "popular" - because I enjoyed the concerts and I enjoyed it with my friends from church.

 

As for now? Now that I'm not as angry/hurt/embittered, I can still enjoy the music I did then, if the music itself is strong. So, for me, that includes Steven Curtis, especially his older stuff, DC Talk and a few Sonicflood pieces.

 

Sorry so many here seem to think it was crap. It brought me years and years of pleasure as I studied music and then as I lead it.

[nightflight]

I couldn't stand CCM. In my Christian days, the only xtian music I liked was from black artists, more of a soul-jazz thing. As of now, I can only listen to Earth Wind and Fire, but they aren't really a xtian group.

[Taphophilia]

I used to listen to

 

Petra

Rez Band

Larry Norman

Amy Grant (before she went secular)

Sandi Patti

 

I saw them all in concert.

 

um...I don't remember the ones I didn't see in person.

 

Now, I don't listen to xtian at all.

[Guest bdp]

Oh, I listened to most all of it - I had over 700 vinyl lp's and over 500 CD's of Christian music, from the mid 1960's up to the late 90's. In the mid/late 1980's the Nashville-based CCM industry was a little more daring, so much of it is so homoginized now. Though I've sold off most of the CD's I still have some compilation discs I made up that I toss on every now and then, but truth is I don't listen to music much at all anymore.

 

bdp

[LloydDobler]

This thread crops up about 3x a year, but it's pretty deeply buried so don't feel bad about posting it again. here's my reply from the last time it was asked.

 

Some christian bands I still love as an ex christian:

 

77's (Michael Roe)

The Choir

Ric Alba

Fleming & John

King's X (actually the singer is now a gay ex christian)

LSU (Mike Knott)

Sixpence None the Richer

The Throes

 

And those I like but just can't stomach due primarily to the lyrics.

 

Altar Boys

Resurrection Band

Out of the Grey

Code of Ethics

DA

David Zaffiro

Gecko Monks (from Portland, any of you nw ex's remember them?)

Steve Taylor

The Echoing Green

World Theater

 

Those I don't like anymore

Barren Cross

Bloodgood

Stryper

Whitecross

Human Condition

Petra

PFR

Tony Vincent

 

 

I never listened to the fully mainstream christian music, that stuff was to commercial for me. Petra was about the closest I got.

[nirrti]

As I've stated in another thread previously, I still listen to Christian/Gospel music and also kept my 200 CD collection after my deconversion. To me, music isn't necessarily about the lyrics, anyway, since language processing problems make it hard for me to understand what people are saying. So the content never mattered to me as much as the music itself.

 

Now there are great Christian/Gospel groups out there but they're small compared to the number of mediocre material that passes for talent. It took some digging (shops that sell used CDs, listening to groups from overseas) to get some golden nuggets and weed out the charcoal. Since I listen to a CD first before buying it, that enhanced my collection by only getting what I loved and eliminating buyer's remorse. Moreover, even in my Christian days, if the songs were guilt-trips set to music or condemning, I couldn't stomach it any more then I could now.

 

Some groups I like......

 

Avalon True talent, though they were a manufactured group. But no telling how far they could go if they were secular.)

 

Hillsong I know, I know....Oh hush! I like what I like and their music stears me as much as U2's

 

Steven Curtis Chapmen Another dude who would make it biiiiiiggg if he ever went secular.

 

Natalie Grant Christian or not, girl can sing.

 

Michael W. Smith Great songwriter. Like Steven Chapman, composes from heart.

 

Rebecca St. James Used to love her but some of her songs "Wait for me" (sounds too much like some Disney princess pining for a prince to rescue her.), and "I Believe in God", the song inspired by the girl killed in the Columbine shooting because she said "yes" when asked if she believed in god, it's too much like offering up people as sacrificial lambs.

 

Crystal Lewis Has enough "sista" in her to have that funky sound she's known for.

[knowmad]

This thread crops up about 3x a year, but it's pretty deeply buried so don't feel bad about posting it again.

I thought trying to make people feel guilty was the xtians bag ?

 

LOL paranoia rears it's ugly head again.

Bad norty paranoia, down I say down !

[Dianka]

I have a question for those who are / were fans of Social Distortion. Do you think they could be considered a sorta Christian band?? I love them.....

 

I guess that would be the only "Christian Music" I have ever listened to if SD is Jesusey

[All Gods Fail]

I have a question for those who are / were fans of Social Distortion. Do you think they could be considered a sorta Christian band?? I love them.....

 

I guess that would be the only "Christian Music" I have ever listened to if SD is Jesusey

 

Social D a xian band? I highly doubt that - altho they were heavily influenced by Johnny Cash, I don't see it.

 

They kick all kinds of ass, btw.

 

She comes home from church

She takes off her pants!

That's what I like

About Amy Grant!

 

Young Fresh Fellows - Amy Grant

[Curtdude]

I still listen to black gospel music...especially the church choruses and mass choirs. In my opinion, it's a great genre of american/african music. It seems like rock and soul music were based on black gospel. We have a great african american station where I live and Sunday mornings I often listen to some of that.

 

White gospel: well that's another story. I really enjoyed the jesus music in the 70s. A lot of it WAS sappy. But I liked some stuff from Randy Stonehill (saw him twice), Larry Norman (saw him once), Bob Bennett (saw him once or twice), Bob Ayala, John Fisher and their ilk. Sort of either folksy or straight up rock.

 

I never liked the 2d Chapter of Acts. They just came off as morons. I guess I never was a pentacostal. hehehe.

 

Paul Clark had some cool 70s jazzy goof. Stewart & Kyle's (Brits) folk-inflected tunes were ethereal and light on the touch. Just perfect for a "sesitive" lad such as I.

 

The MOR stuff from the country influenced bands, like Dallas Holm and Praise, had some good stuff. But the message was so goddamned central that much of the music just sucked. The Imperials put out some great stuff produced by Michael Omartian (who produced Christopher Cross, too). And Scott Wesley Brown's vocals were good, even though his mixture of politics and religion even back when I was a True Believer I found disquieting.

 

Does anyone remember Kelly Willard? Her vocals were always so smooth and professional, without being smarmy. I miss her music. She just seemed to believe in the same religion I did.

 

I always thought that Sandi Patti was just warmed over Lawrence Welk material. That shrill overly feminine "high note appeal" just drove me over the edge. Almost as bad as the Miss America Pagent.

 

Keith Green's music was good 70s Elton-Johnish stuff, but he was such an overbearing asshole, I actually walked out of his concert in Tacoma, Washington and remembering back, his brand of chrisitanity aided in my deconversion.

 

U2 is in a category all their own. They seem to transcend the religious and make a more direct political or social message. And (IMO) their music just flat out rocks.

 

Beyond 1984, I was no longer a True Believer, so I sort of got out of it. Listening to the old stuff, I can see where my mindset made me more amenable to overlooking the quality problems of the music: "hey, ministry doesn't need to be perfect" sort of thinking. Brainwashing does wonders, doesn't it? The music I used to love seems more generally smarmy and forced, pre-packaged consumption for the logic-illiterate believers. Not all of it, but more than I remember from 20-odd years ago.

 

I'm also older and hopefully wiser.