Hallelujah: It’s the Christian music thread.

[iceblink]

Maybe exposure to Christian music at a formative age contributed to our heathenism?

[starskin]

What about the oh-so popular world of Christian thrash metal, like our Aussie friends in Mortification. Body Slamming for Christ!

[nadia]

Yep, I'm a heathen and I open this topic everytime there is a new post.

[kateln]

iceblink said:

Maybe exposure to Christian music at a formative age contributed to our heathenism?

I was quite happily unaware of Christian rock music until my Sr. year in highschool when I went on NOVA Youth Encounter. While I'll have fond memories of much of it....the music? Not so much.

Geoff Moore and the Distance & (creepy) Michael W. Smith smothered the catholic right out of me.

Now I'm a happily a little bit agnostic. It works for me.

[ladymadonna]

Yep, I'm a heathen and I open this topic everytime there is a new post.

Me too. ;D

[johnboysmole]

ladymadonna said:

Uh, Dave Matthews was raised as a Quaker and has written several religious-ish songs. Does that count?

I'm a heathen agnostic, so I'm really of little help in this thread.

Y'know? I know Dave Matthews is pretty Jesusy, but he does this Christmas song about Mary (I almost typed "Marty" Ha!) giving birth to Jesus and it warms my cold black un-christian heathen heart. My Jewish husband also loves that song.

I am also all about Ben Harper. He is also a Christian and a lot of his music has gospel influences, but most of it doesn't irritate me.

I think the difference between these examples and the artists who grate on my nerves is the fact that their music isn't primarily Christian and their beliefs seem more spiritual than religious. If that makes any sense.

[kateln]

johnboysmole said:

ladymadonna said:

Uh, Dave Matthews was raised as a Quaker and has written several religious-ish songs. Does that count?

I'm a heathen agnostic, so I'm really of little help in this thread.

Y'know? I know Dave Matthews is pretty Jesusy, but he does this Christmas song about Mary (I almost typed "Marty" Ha!) giving birth to Jesus and it warms my cold black un-christian heathen heart. My Jewish husband also loves that song.

I am also all about Ben Harper. He is also a Christian and a lot of his music has gospel influences, but most of it doesn't irritate me.

I think the difference between these examples and the artists who grate on my nerves is the fact that their music isn't primarily Christian and their beliefs seem more spiritual than religious. If that makes any sense.

No, I get it. Using your examples--both Dave Matthews & Ben Harper have music that mention spirtual entities, but it's not shoved down your throat. They also have songs that aren't spiritual--more sexy/funny. Plus at their concerts people are more likely to smoke pot and try to get it on with strangers, then to pray.

[nadia]

The likes of Dave Matthews, etc. are more tolerable because their religious/spiritual beliefs are only a part of them and their music. It's not their whole entire being which immediately puts me off a musician.

[livviebway]

I agree completely. My dad runs a youth band at my parents' church and he is constantly struggling to find good material to play. As he says, "Christian music is where disco went to die." What he has had best luck with is looking at people who are first and foremost good musicians, then found Jesus or such. He's had a lot of luck with Van Morrison.

I'm not very religious, but my favorite band is U2 and they have several spiritual songs that I really like. I think part of what is so good about their songs compared to the piles of music my dad has sorted through (aside from genuine talent, yeesh, there seems to be a willingness in the Christian music industry to accept anyone, no matter how bad, if they sing the right words) is that they 1) religious songs don't make up all of their catalogue and 2) the religious songs actually address different aspects of faith. Some are praise songs, some are about doubt and feeling abandoned, some are just about faith in general. Hell, they've even got a song about a murderous religious fanatic. I view the albums that are one generic praise song after the other the same way I view pop albums that are one generic love song after the other.

[starskin]

I was going to mention U2! They are, by all accounts, religious..and religious enough that themes of God and faith feature strongly in a lot of their songs. BUT, as you've said, it's only one aspect of what they're saying. Plus, I don't ever feel like Bono is preaching to me (at least not in his songs----in real life, he pontificates like there's no tomorrow). I feel like he's just expressing his own personal issues and feelings about his faith without trying to *make* the listener believe as he does.
Over the Rhine is very much like that too. If only I still listened to them!

But yes, overtly Christian pop music bugs me not only for its evangelical aggression, but also because it's bland and generic.

ETA: What's the song about the muderous religious fanatic, livviebyway? I consider myself pretty well-versed in U2's catalogue, but I can't think for the life of me of what song you're talking about!