Christian Pop Music

BarbarianKing

BarbarianKing

Knight of Narnia
Staff member
Knight of the Noble Order
Is it me or all Christian Pop songs sound the same?

I have been listening to a Christian Pop Music station but I can't stand more than 3 songs, after they 3rd one, they all begin to sound alike. I hear no variety and no song moves me, nothing that can make me want to dance and shout unto God. They all go into something like this:

la la la la la LAAAAAAA la la
la la la la la LAAAAAAA la la
la la la la la LAAAAAAA la la

and sometimes is like:

la la LAAAAAAA la la la la

and back again, LOL

Is there something good out there or do all Christian artists lack creativity and inspiration? I feel that they expect me to listen to whatever they put out just because it has the word Jesus, or Lord, in their songs while there is no inspiration at all.

Sometimes I just want a good old fashion Hymn because it's ridiculous how the radio station just drones with cloned after cloned song.

If you think there's a good song out there that I might like. Post a link here if you can (or are allowed), or just tell me the title and artist, and I will tell you if it's ok. Right now, no more Christian music stations for me!!!
 
I agree. Most Christian music is fluff about nothing, with no substance or emotion. Some bands are better than others....I've always liked Jars of Clay.
But I really can't stand some of the stuff. It sounds like Hannah Montannah with a "Praise God" thrown in every once in a while.

I also hate when it's so unclear on what the song's about. Like when it sounds like it could be a love song to a boy or something.
 
lol its not like the good ol days
with Michael W Smith
Amy Grant
Chris Christian
or Debbie Boone

grant I like Aaron Shust (I kinda know him too so maybe Im biased)
and I like Casting Crowns

but yeah everything else is terrible and its pretty much why I never listen to it.

like Chris Christian said, "The devil has all the good music."

yep.

my dad wrote and played a bunch of christian stuff
but the guys that listened to it called it "dark" because it didn't have a certain
"la la we happy PRAISE JEEEEESUSSSS!" sound to it
"Jerusalum" is one of his songs and it sounds Romantic (romantisim not romance) and cool
but they didn't like it. and its a great song.

Now I wrote a christian version to little wing, called White Wing
and I played it on the piano
and no one realised
(though the lyrics are pretty clear its not like its rocket science)
it was about God.
lol:rolleyes:
 
Copperfox said:
Kim, I expect I would enjoy your Dad's compositions immensely.

I wish one day you could hear mine.
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BarbarianKing said:
Exactly!! There is just no creativity at all!! It's a shame that Sting can stir more emotions in me than many contemporary Christian bands today!!
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that would be BOSS! man! hmmmm wait I think my dad has a website that you can hear his stuff( idk if he has his christian stuff there) let me check..


and yeah...Nine Inch Nails can get me more connected to God (lol yes "Closer" to God lol shut up) than Christian music and Trent Reznor is a raving Atheist!!!!!!!
lol long story about this parodox.
 
I have to agree. A lot of contemporary Christian music sounds the same to me. But I have to say I really enjoy Casting Crowns. I definitely recommend listening to East to West (by Casting Crowns ;))
 
Being in Nashville, I play around with music.

The problem with most Christian music here is that , well, it's safe.

C F C G C G C F
C F C G C G C G
C F C G C F C F
...

And that's pretty much the chordal structure for every single christian pop song.

Nobody tries anything. Nobody goes out on the edge. Nobody "experiments" as much as they should. Nobody plays with diminished chords. Nobody deals with unsafe lyrics. Nobody challenges. All the verses are poetically safe.

I have a close personal friend who's a musician (surprise) who was looking into the Christian pop scene. He quit it because he found that a lot of the famous ones really aren't even christians.. they're just hitting the market. And there was a lot of things that were.. umm.. not family friendly.. that went on backstage at some very popular christian pop concerts.

It's like a fraternity, too.. so if you talk about the .. amoral lfiestyles.. you just won't find any backing bands. I suspect later in life, many of these groups will see the light, drop the hidden drug use, and come clean about it with some very awesome works.
 
BK, obviously, you have never listened to Jeremy Camp, David Crowder*Band, or Barlowgirl, just to name a few.

granted, DC*B can get a little bit like you described, but nearly 100% of the time, their lyrics are so honest and very worship-ful. Jeremy Camp...my gosh, that man is awesome!

aside from several choice Christian artists *Jeremy Camp, Rebecca St. James, BarlowGirl, Bethany Dillon, Joy Williams, and only about 5 others* I don't listen to much modern Christian music. If I do, it's more correctly classified as rock.

If you want to pick at a song, pick at "I could Sing of YOur Love Forever."

It's called the 7\11 song because it has 7 words which are repeated 11+ times every time it's sung. That is one of the dumbest songs ever recorded.
 
Pardine said:
Being in Nashville, I play around with music.

The problem with most Christian music here is that , well, it's safe.

C F C G C G C F
C F C G C G C G
C F C G C F C F
...

And that's pretty much the chordal structure for every single christian pop song.

Nobody tries anything. Nobody goes out on the edge. Nobody "experiments" as much as they should. Nobody plays with diminished chords. Nobody deals with unsafe lyrics. Nobody challenges. All the verses are poetically safe.

I have a close personal friend who's a musician (surprise) who was looking into the Christian pop scene. He quit it because he found that a lot of the famous ones really aren't even christians.. they're just hitting the market. And there was a lot of things that were.. umm.. not family friendly.. that went on backstage at some very popular christian pop concerts.

It's like a fraternity, too.. so if you talk about the .. amoral lfiestyles.. you just won't find any backing bands. I suspect later in life, many of these groups will see the light, drop the hidden drug use, and come clean about it with some very awesome works.
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Right about the chords there Pardine. After listening to a couple of songs like that, that's it! I'll fall asleep.
And I am pretty sure all that other stuff is happening too which is a big shame and a big sham! LOL

The last Christian Band I liked was Lamb. I can dance and cry and shout and clap to almost any of their songs. But those are old timers.
 
ok here it is

johnhightower.org

go under "About" and you can hear his music covers

I tried to get him to upload his version of Wild Fire
but he's stubborn
and I told him to put his Christian stuff too
but he forgot lol

and my mom made the whole website btw ;)d
 
I am a musician and a Christian, first a Christian, so this topic if of interest to me. A lot of the problem lies, I think, with the "Christian music industry". So many of the songs are over-produced. As with secular music industry, profit and greed drive the business regardless of the good intentions.

I particularly enjoy the songs of Nicole Nordeman and the group Watermark; Nordeman mostly for her lyrics, and the duo Watermark for their vocal harmonies as well as lyrics.

Is anyone here familiar with a radio program called "The Journey? The host. Tom Dooley (yes, that's really his name!) incorporates Christian music, reflection and thought in a very interesting program. He seems to be very selective about the music he uses. I enjoy the broadcast very much. Archived shows are available here: http://www.mastermedia.org/
 
never heard of that show, Songs. I hardly listen to radio unless it's online, and I don't listen to that very often.

But I think the problem also lies in the artists. Stacie Orrico and Switchfoot, for example. Orrico has put forth some things that I question. I daresay she straddles the fence between being completely "christian" and secular. Same with Switchfoot. Jaci Velasquez is another. She puts forth a good Christian image, but she was ina film several years ago with content that was less than admirable.

Many Christian artists are not holding firm to what they preach. THAT'S one of the problems.
 
AK: Jeremy Camp is an old timer too. He does have some good stuff. I don't know about the others.

Songs: Yes, the music industry!! Money, money, money!! And I have heard of Tom Dooley before. I will check it out.
 
Aravis Kenobi said:
Many Christian artists are not holding firm to what they preach. THAT'S one of the problems.
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I like that in this discussion so far we are holding high standards of accountability for Christian musicians' lives and witness.

I'm wondering...are we holding them to a higher standard than we hold ourselves because they are in the limelight, so to speak?

They need prayer, for those who sincerely are doing God's work are subject to more temptation, seduction and spiritual attack.
 
Kim, I would go to your father's music site, except that I _still_ don't have audio capability in my computer. Songs, I've seen that crass commercialism from the viewpoint of an artist, long ago. And Mike, I _love_ Lamb, as did my Mary. I saw them live once, and got to speak with Rick Coghill.
 
dayhawk68 said:
ok here it is

johnhightower.org

go under "About" and you can hear his music covers

I tried to get him to upload his version of Wild Fire
but he's stubborn
and I told him to put his Christian stuff too
but he forgot lol

and my mom made the whole website btw ;)d
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Cool, Kim. I'll check it out. And keep working on your Dad about Wildfire! It's a fave of mine! Is this the same Mom and Dad of whom you posted pics in the share-a-pic thread a while back? lol
 
Copperfox said:
Kim, I would go to your father's music site, except that I _still_ don't have audio capability in my computer. Songs, I've seen that crass commercialism from the viewpoint of an artist, long ago. And Mike, I _love_ Lamb, as did my Mary. I saw them live once, and got to speak with Rick Coghill.
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SongsofLife said:
Cool, Kim. I'll check it out. And keep working on your Dad about Wildfire! It's a fave of mine! Is this the same Mom and Dad of whom you posted pics in the share-a-pic thread a while back? lol
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oh yeah thats right
I forgot about that :(


yeah:eek: its them
artists are very weird lol
 
I think if Pardine would listen to the lyrics of those such as Jeremy Camp and Rebecca St. James, they can deal pretty heavily with personal issues. Jeremy Camp, for example, lost his wife to cancer *I think it was cancer* just mere months after they got married. He's re-married right now *his wife, Adie also has her own album* but his lyrics were much more vulnerable and definitely deeper\personal than they were before. He drew\draws on his own pain to share the hope that he has with others.

BarlowGirl, while maybe not dealing with "unsafe" issues, delve into things like that. Especially their album How Can We Be Silent?

Not every artist is like another. Not every song of Christian music is like another.

That's when you have to give some artists a chance and really listen to their lyrics. For example, my dad used to dislike the song I CAn ONly Imagine by MercyMe. It was only after he had read about how that song originated that he started to enjoy the song and the group. Amy Grant, as another example, is one artist I can't like or respect because of how she married Vince Gill. Divorce isn't acceptable just because you want to marry somebody else.

k, I'm off my soapbox now. :p
 
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