Not a fan of these bands and other than DC Talk and Jars of Clay, I haven't heard of any others. Oh, wait a minute, there is one called 3rd Day where the singer sounds like a cheesy combination of Eddie Vedder and ugh, Scott Stapp. This guy in the weightroom used to listen to them, much to everyone else's dismay. Anyway, the greatest Christian band of all-time is U2.
I had never heard of them til I took my daughter to see the Veggie Tales: Jonah movie. I've never like Christian rock, but I found that I enjoyed their song "In Belly of the Whale" from that movie. Catchy tune with great lyrics. here it is: <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F-AQHGbglSg&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F-AQHGbglSg&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
ok I agree with MadMax that this shouldn't get into a religious debate. But don't judge the music on what the song means. In my biased opinion it means alot when these guys are so talented they could make more money singing songs about drugs, rape, and girls but they choose not to. And the fact that the music/tune is good to the ear is also a plus. If you've ever listened to KSBJ, (89.3) they play some good stuff. I'm just not a fan of the violence and personality in the media today. Thats what is wrong with the world, most of us are just too blind to see it. All they see is $$$ and ratings. So I'm going to support the good fight of my personal faith and choose not to waist my time worrying about whats on tv and on the radio. Very sad world in which we live, although we don't HAVE to live that way, some of us choose to. Not me.
Been listening to The Newsboys since 1993. Its interesting to go back through their albums and see how they have evolved and just what kind of range they have. I mean, compare John Woo(yes after the famous director) to Turn your Eyes Upon Jesus.
Love the Newsboys (Minus Where the Party's at... just read the lyrics) But to me it's all about the Answer: Acoustic Version <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wUHczfYFltU&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wUHczfYFltU&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> Polished Version <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DmzDDzXBj9g&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DmzDDzXBj9g&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
Truth be told, a lot of these guys wouldn't make it mainstream music. For many it's because they sing about God that they have an audience. There are certainly exceptions to that. I think Crowder and Seay are among them...as is Future of Forestry (previously called Something Like Silas). That's just good music. But I find that a lot of songs written about God are crappy music. I wish that weren't so. I'm not reminded of the great artists of history, like Bach or DaVinci, whose inspiration for their art was the divine. Again..there are exceptions. Don't cut yourself off from society...from culture. Work to redeem it, instead. Find the truths that it already promotes and re-enforce those. There is a lot sad about the way we act...but there is immense beauty. God said Creation is good...and we're part of it. Beware of gnostic dualism masking itself in some evangelistic costume born out of Left Behind books and rapture theology.
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J8ch3WmK0qE&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J8ch3WmK0qE&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
I knew a girl in college who was an over the top uber Christian. She refused to listen to secular music. Her radio was permanently set on KSBJ. I thought that was really narrow minded and stupid, especially since she was a freakin' music major. She seemed to be of the opinion that if it wasn't explicitly praising God that the music wasn't worth listening to. I used to have a steady church gig in San Antonio, so I played a lot of the more popular praise and worship songs on a weekly basis. Some are better than others. Contemporary Christian is it's own stylistic genre and some of it can be overly cheesy, not necessarily in the message but in the actual musical content.
1. That's so tragic to me. A song about love...that's of God. If you believe in the God of the Bible you should be tearing down these notions of division between the sacred and the secular....because if you believe in the God of the Bible than you know that it all belongs to Him, anyway. 2. Agreed entirely. I'm not a musician...I wish I were more, frankly, and I encourage it in my children...but it seems to me a lot of the music is simplistic. As you say, not necessarily lyrically...but just musically.
one more thought (at least one more) on my little rant here. sorry. but this was posted on a blog by my pastor, and i thought it was appropriate: http://thefom.blogspot.com/2008/01/called-unto-ourselves.html Someone said that 'the value of any religion can be determined by how it serves it's non-adherents.' I'm concerned that the church in America is growing increasingly insular as mainstream culture becomes increasingly secular. Ironically, it's exactly this isolation from those outside of faith that is creating the cultural backlash and impression that the church is self-absorbed. When my kids were younger, we would occasionally walk over to a church playground near our house. I noticed a few months ago that the church had put up an iron fence around their property with padlocks on the gates. I'm guessing this wasn't enough to keep the community out of their playground because they recently added a big fat red sign ...."No Trespassing. For the use by Holy Spirit Community only..." I was grieved for the church when I saw this new sign. Ok. I know what you are thinking. 'With the litigious society, they are simply protecting themselves from potential liability.' I suppose that argument can be used to avoid almost any activity that involves people outside of the congregation (or for that matter, those inside). I know a few attorneys and I've asked them about this. No one seems to able to point to a precedent-setting case where a church was found liable for the playground accidents of its non-adherents. This is all a symptom of an illness that is plaguing the church in America. Pastors are trying to keep their members happy because their livelihood depends on it. Their members are often more focused on protecting the institution than fueling the mission. It's a dilemma that leads to an isolated and self-protecting congregation. All this makes me more committed to our cause - "joining God in bringing reconciliation to a broken and needy world." The heart of our mission is serving and loving the non-adherents. My belief and experience is that this external-focus will always make the adherents more content as well. So join me in welcoming all trespassers at the FOM.
