Because I'm such a huge football fan and this is one of the most ridiculous plays I have ever seen...
Monday, October 29, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
My sister's music video
My sister Janna is very interested in photography and film. She tried her hand at making a music video, and I thought it turned out pretty well, so I'm posting it here.
The song is "Merry Go Round" by PFR.
The song is "Merry Go Round" by PFR.
Friday, October 12, 2007
The state of modern "Christian" music
Christian artists that have been heavily promoted by the Christian music industry since the early 90s have been, in my opinion, mediocre at best. Sure, most of the artists that came out of the 70s and 80s could be a little cheesy at times, but at least they had, in general, a strong Biblical foundation on which to base their lyrics.
Most of the musicians who have been promoted in the Christian market since the explosion of alternative bands in the early 90s were not only trying to emulate the musical trends of the times (although they always seemed to be a bit behind the curve), but the lyrics started to become watered down as well. The problem was two fold: many of the upcoming young artists did not have a strong Biblical foundation, and there was also a shift in focus to become pallatable enough to attempt to crack the mainstream market.
While there were probably good intentions involved, this has caused the Christian music industry to become shallow and weak. Many of the major Christian labels either folded, leaving the artists they had signed suddenly unemployed, or sold out to larger mainstream labels who realized that they could make a decent profit off of Christian music. However, the focus of the mainstream labels snuffed out the Christian artists who wrote with a strong, Biblical intent. It would take several years before these artists could carve out enough of a niche to have any kind of impact again.
The mainstream labels intended to turn the Christian market into a smaller version of what they already had in the mainstream market, except they would be able to package many of these artists in such a way that they would be able to make money off of Christians who opposed listening to mainstream music. Viola! These labels now had a very sizable consumer sector in their back pocket and could make even more money than before.
Thus we have come to the sad state of Christian music today. The majority of the promoted Christian artists now don't look any different or sound any different than mainstream artists, but they throw that vague spiritual reference in every now and then, which allows them to separate themselves just enough to make them seem different. Thus, we are left with a Christian market that promotes mini-mainstream artists with watered down lyrics.
One band that I have a love/hate relationship with is Skillet. I love the energy of this band; they are quite an enjoyable live band, and they really do mean well. However, they tend to take their enthusiasm a bit far at times to a point where it rubs me the wrong way. Three songs in particular, "Obsession," "Better Than Drugs" and "Comatose," really irritate me.
"Obsession" is a song about being obsessed with God, and although in a sense this is how we want to be, the choice of words really irks me. Here are some lyrics from the song:
"You're my only infatuation
Don't leave me stranded
In my obsession"
First of all, the word "obsess" has a bit of negative connotation, i.e. you are overly interested in something to the point of it being unhealthy. I'd never want to describe my relationship with God as being too interested in it. Secondly, the fact that the lyricist is actually asking God not to leave him stranded is Biblically flawed. God has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6), so pleading not to be left stranded in one's obsession with God is quite a bit of a theological faux pas.
"Better Than Drugs" and "Comatose" both compare a relationship with God to being addicted to drugs, but better. Here are lyrics from "Better Than Drugs":
"You're better than drugs
Your love is like wine
Feel you comin' on so fast
Feel you comin' to get me high"
And lyrics from "Comatose":
"Comatose
I will never wake up without
An overdose of you"
Putting aside the fact that comparing God to a drug addiction (which is another negative connotation) is bordering on sacrelige, do we really want to be promoting a relationship with God like this to Christian teens and young adults? Maybe it's even worse that non-Christians are hearing this and then looking for that "God high." A relationship with God should not be comparable to a drug high. It shouldn't be a high at all. Granted we have highs and lows in our faith, but pursuing a "high on God" to get us through a tough time should not be our intent.
While no one expects the Christian industry to break new ground musically, their blatant ripoffs of popular trends in the mainstream sector is appalling and well behind the curve of popularity. Christian music's first grunge band, Grammatrain, came on the scene in 1995, just in time to completely miss the grunge movement, as it began to fade in 1994 with the dowfall of Kurt Cobain. The mainstream market has teen pop idols Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore? The Christian market responds three years later with Rachel Lampa and Stacie Orrico. The Christian Music industry even tried to jump on the boy band train with Plus One, but was still even later to react to that musical trend.
A modern example of a blatant mainstream ripoff is Krystal Meyers. Take her song "Anticonformity": it has a great message for teens about not conforming to the ways of the world. While nothing new, this is one of those ideas that constantly needs to be reinforced. But then came the music video accompanying her single. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought it was Avril Lavigne's new video. It was shot very similar to an Avril video, and Miss Meyers was sporting the new faux punk look that is oh so popular these days, just like Avril does. Wait a minute, doesn't that contradict the message of her song? I thought we weren't conforming, but apparently pretending to be Avril Lavigne and sporting the most popular "look" of today's teen culture isn't conforming.
We need to stop letting the Christian music industry feed us this trash they call art, and demand they focus on providing us with artists that have substance, both musically and lyrically. Stop buying music from the Christian bookstores and start looking for the independent artists that are willing to sacrifice making money to provide those who will listen with quality music and a quality message.
Most of the musicians who have been promoted in the Christian market since the explosion of alternative bands in the early 90s were not only trying to emulate the musical trends of the times (although they always seemed to be a bit behind the curve), but the lyrics started to become watered down as well. The problem was two fold: many of the upcoming young artists did not have a strong Biblical foundation, and there was also a shift in focus to become pallatable enough to attempt to crack the mainstream market.
While there were probably good intentions involved, this has caused the Christian music industry to become shallow and weak. Many of the major Christian labels either folded, leaving the artists they had signed suddenly unemployed, or sold out to larger mainstream labels who realized that they could make a decent profit off of Christian music. However, the focus of the mainstream labels snuffed out the Christian artists who wrote with a strong, Biblical intent. It would take several years before these artists could carve out enough of a niche to have any kind of impact again.
The mainstream labels intended to turn the Christian market into a smaller version of what they already had in the mainstream market, except they would be able to package many of these artists in such a way that they would be able to make money off of Christians who opposed listening to mainstream music. Viola! These labels now had a very sizable consumer sector in their back pocket and could make even more money than before.
Thus we have come to the sad state of Christian music today. The majority of the promoted Christian artists now don't look any different or sound any different than mainstream artists, but they throw that vague spiritual reference in every now and then, which allows them to separate themselves just enough to make them seem different. Thus, we are left with a Christian market that promotes mini-mainstream artists with watered down lyrics.
One band that I have a love/hate relationship with is Skillet. I love the energy of this band; they are quite an enjoyable live band, and they really do mean well. However, they tend to take their enthusiasm a bit far at times to a point where it rubs me the wrong way. Three songs in particular, "Obsession," "Better Than Drugs" and "Comatose," really irritate me.
"Obsession" is a song about being obsessed with God, and although in a sense this is how we want to be, the choice of words really irks me. Here are some lyrics from the song:
"You're my only infatuation
Don't leave me stranded
In my obsession"
First of all, the word "obsess" has a bit of negative connotation, i.e. you are overly interested in something to the point of it being unhealthy. I'd never want to describe my relationship with God as being too interested in it. Secondly, the fact that the lyricist is actually asking God not to leave him stranded is Biblically flawed. God has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6), so pleading not to be left stranded in one's obsession with God is quite a bit of a theological faux pas.
"Better Than Drugs" and "Comatose" both compare a relationship with God to being addicted to drugs, but better. Here are lyrics from "Better Than Drugs":
"You're better than drugs
Your love is like wine
Feel you comin' on so fast
Feel you comin' to get me high"
And lyrics from "Comatose":
"Comatose
I will never wake up without
An overdose of you"
Putting aside the fact that comparing God to a drug addiction (which is another negative connotation) is bordering on sacrelige, do we really want to be promoting a relationship with God like this to Christian teens and young adults? Maybe it's even worse that non-Christians are hearing this and then looking for that "God high." A relationship with God should not be comparable to a drug high. It shouldn't be a high at all. Granted we have highs and lows in our faith, but pursuing a "high on God" to get us through a tough time should not be our intent.
While no one expects the Christian industry to break new ground musically, their blatant ripoffs of popular trends in the mainstream sector is appalling and well behind the curve of popularity. Christian music's first grunge band, Grammatrain, came on the scene in 1995, just in time to completely miss the grunge movement, as it began to fade in 1994 with the dowfall of Kurt Cobain. The mainstream market has teen pop idols Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore? The Christian market responds three years later with Rachel Lampa and Stacie Orrico. The Christian Music industry even tried to jump on the boy band train with Plus One, but was still even later to react to that musical trend.
A modern example of a blatant mainstream ripoff is Krystal Meyers. Take her song "Anticonformity": it has a great message for teens about not conforming to the ways of the world. While nothing new, this is one of those ideas that constantly needs to be reinforced. But then came the music video accompanying her single. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought it was Avril Lavigne's new video. It was shot very similar to an Avril video, and Miss Meyers was sporting the new faux punk look that is oh so popular these days, just like Avril does. Wait a minute, doesn't that contradict the message of her song? I thought we weren't conforming, but apparently pretending to be Avril Lavigne and sporting the most popular "look" of today's teen culture isn't conforming.
We need to stop letting the Christian music industry feed us this trash they call art, and demand they focus on providing us with artists that have substance, both musically and lyrically. Stop buying music from the Christian bookstores and start looking for the independent artists that are willing to sacrifice making money to provide those who will listen with quality music and a quality message.
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