why ccm=a buttered muffin...from christmas 1996
So some blog...i don even remember which one linked to this 7 page article on christian contemporary music. This paragraph from page 5 struck a chord (hehe music post pun) with me.
"In 1999, Sixpence None the Richer scored a crossover number-one hit on general market radio with their romantic ballad "Kiss Me." The Gospel Music Association immediately ruled the song ineligible to receive any of its Dove Awards because, though it's a nice song, there is nothing especially Christian about a woman wanting her husband to kiss her. Singer Leigh Nash and her newlywed husband (the composer) attempted to explain that they don't experience faith as some compartmentalized religious aspect of life, but to no avail." (emphasis added) (duh)
I think this sums up the problem with lots of Christian music. It deals only with one aspect of life. But Christians fall in love. Christians get hurt. Christians (not baptists) dance. They are in fact multi-faceted people who don't experience life as one big "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" They should in fact be lifting God's name on high throughout their lives. In every activity. It would make sense for this to be reflected in Christian music. Some artists are doing this to an extent but not on Christian radio. At least around here. Neither J93.3 or the Fish can be troubled to play anything but peppy upbeat remakes of 90's praise songs. I had "enough" of your song in 3 years ago thank you. If one more stupid band redoes "I'll sing of your love forever" and then gets freaking money for it I'm going to spike a hymnal. Life, even the Christian one, encompasses more than fake smiles and cheesy ditties.
I'm dont really want to be associated with most of the music that gets played. Its not all bad. Off the radio (and even every once in awhile on it) there are some great Christian artists out there. They get lost in a sea of mediocrity that is frankly embarrassing. So I'll pick out the stuff I like. Avoid what I don't. And never buy into the lie that only stuff that comes off a Christian label is appropriate or could possibly contain truth (oddly often printed in magazines closely associated with people who profit if Christian music does well). I'm going to censor my music...if something has a message I disagree with ("dead bodies everywhere" by korn and "soulja boi" by some mediocre rapper come to mind) I'm not going to listen to it. that simple. I don't need Sparrow Records to sign off on it first. I'ld prefer if they didn't...
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Currently Listening...in case you were wondering.
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if you're interested, I've prepared a quick rundown on my history with CCM...zoom in if you wanna see it. Its extraneous information so i didn't wanna waste your valuable attention on it
.(My history with ccm:
1990-97-I was a Micheal W fan... I owned like 7 albums. (I still have them somewhere
1999-2000-7th-8th grade. I got really into pop music. Literal top 40 stuff. Then into rap. Not just any rap. like insane Eminem, ICP kind of rap... needless to say I was too cool to listen to any christian music.
2001-9th grade. I moved to the back woods and away from the rap station. I started into my oh so fun "new rock" stage.
2002-10th grade. Another move and now i had abandoned rap all together and was a full blown new rock fan. 96.7 the BUZZ... yeah.
2003-I started getting serious about my faith and realized that some of the crappy music i was listening to influenced me. so i dropped it altogether. I literally went ccm. i became the guy mentioned in this letter below.
-present. i've become completely discontent with christian radio. I still listen to david crowder band/shane and shane/other christian bands that aren't U2 clones. (i like u2 though) and i try to get a nice healthy variety of instrumental post-rock, indie, electronica, and some "alternative" apparently (thats what itunes calls the decemberists).
The point being. i've been on every which side of this debate.
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