It's been a while since I have listened to Christian Radio. I had either forgotten why I quit it or maybe hoped for improvement when I turned the dial to the local station. I gave it 30 minutes.
Yikes.
Now, I don't want to step on toes or hurt feelings, but I am going to have to throw out a little honesty. The stuff on Christian Pop Radio is quite horrific. The words embarrassing and money come to mind too. I hardly know where to start, but I will give it a try...
First, I noticed the "praise and worship" music is still hanging in there. I actually heard Chris Tomlin's "How Great is Our God" for the 1 millionth time. Love the song, but really, could we move on please? These 3 and 4 chord wonders with lyrics as deep as bottle caps are stale. Extremely stale. No wonder older people were so grumpy about them when they hit the scene so hard about 10 years ago. I find myself inching towards those folks everyday. Too bad guys like Charlie Hall or Stuart Townend are not hip or shallow enough to make the radio regularly.
Second, if you listen to secular music much at all, and I do, then you know that Christian Pop is a rehash of styles and sounds that are on a lag of at least 2 years, and sometimes more. And again, could we be anymore shallow in our lyrics? It's embarrassing. Christian Music needs more Derek Webbs. But wait, those guys will never get on the radio. They call the church names like "whore" and are against wars. They tackle real issues and actually try to do something original. Oh well... I hope Switchfoot is still popular.
Next, was that chick seriously singing to Jesus like that? I've talked about the "Jesus is my boyfriend" songs before. Unfortunately, it seems they are still out there. I had a friend that called these ladies "breathy girls". Cause that's how they sing. All breathy and sexy, like the song is romantic or something. Gag. And the lyrics are so ambiguous, they really could be about some dude, and not, you know, the Savior of the world.
Last, while some of you are good and mad at me, why must you have a Christian version of ________? If you like ________, and they don't offend your sensibilities, then just listen to them. You'd be shocked at how often you can find God and the search for him in ________'s lyrics. Christian music, like Christian anything, keeps us in our ghetto and out of touch with the rest of the world. I don't think that is God's plan for us. I may be wrong, but I just don't see it. Our subculture is so commercial and goofy that it makes me want to hurl.
Now, there is some good Christian music out there. Stryper comes to mind. :) Seriously, there is some good stuff out there, and even SOME of what I have blasted in this post has it's place. But I plead with the industry, quit trying to create the next Christian ______, and develop some truly original artists. Cause if you don't, then you are just another industry that is a slave to the almighty dollar. There are some awesome Christian Indie artists out there who don't need you. And Christian artists, could you keep up with secular music a little better? Really, if all of them can keep up with each other, surely you don't have to be on such a lag. I mean, if you must be a clean copy of something, don't come late with it. And finally, please quit re-recording worship songs that someone else already did. Because when you do (Michael W. Smith) and I click over to the Christian station for a few minutes, I still here your version of Forever by Chris Tomlin all these years later.
How Low Can It Go?
This is just getting funny now. I know Obama didn't say it, but come on, are ALL of these statements just people screwing up? Or are they throwing out all these number so that when he doesn't do what he said he would there will be plausible deniability?
Link: How Low Can It Go? Richardson Pegs Middle Class as Those Making Under $120,000
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