Why I left the Conservative Music Movement
[mmartin]Jay, any truth to the rumor you were once a closet Stryper & White Heart fanatic? :-)!
Who? I’ve never heard of White Heart.
No, not a fan of them. Sorry to disappoint, gang.
"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells
The greatest moment in CCM history was when Petra and Carman (yes, the rapping Italian) collaborated on a song titled “Our Turn Now” (do yourself a favor and look for it on Youtube). I won’t spoil it by telling everyone what it’s about, but, let it be known, in my opinion, it may be the greatest moment in all of music history!
[John E.]Yes, I agree that much of that album—and much of CCM—is not ideal or even suitable for congregational worship.Thanks, mmartin! Maybe Sharper Iron will hire me to review pop music for the site :).
Greg L., I’m currently listening to ‘Give Us Rest,’ and so far am impressed. Enough so that I may order the album. Couple of quick notes – 1. It’s a concept album, which is an artistic and commercial challenge that most artists don’t attempt. I saw that it hit #1 on the CCM sales charts upon its release which speaks to the loyalty of the Christian market (which is sometimes a bad thing – not calling artists to task for missteps, for example). Concept albums generally do not do as well on the market as single driven albums. And, because of mp3 files, the market is becoming more and more single driven, which is a de-evolution back to the 50s. So, I applaud the band for producing a concept album; and, for producing one that doesn’t veer into self-indulgence (think ‘Relayer’ by Yes, ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ by Genesis, or pretty much any prog rock album not made by Pink Floyd). 2. This isn’t an artistic knock on the album, but I don’t see how most of the songs could be used in a corporate music service. Contrary to what my youth pastors, various camp speakers, and evangelists focused on music would often say, singing rock/pop music is a specific skill that is difficult and not easily learned. A friend of mine with a graduate degree in classical voice signed a deal with a small label. With all of her training, she had to be retrained how to sing. She told me that learning how to sing rock/pop was much more challenging artistically than learning how to sing classical. Make of that what you will.
I confess that my initial opinion when hearing the David Crowder Band mentioned has been that they were the Nickleback of Christian rock. Maybe if I listened to other albums, my opinion would revert back to that. But, for now, I am impressed with ‘Give Us Rest,’ and by extension, the band.
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Greg Long, Ed.D. (SBTS)
Pastor of Adult Ministries
Grace Church, Des Moines, IA
Adjunct Instructor
School of Divinity
Liberty University
John, given that a unifying theme among a great portion of singers in pop is a lack of musical instruction (e.g. the Beatles couldn’t read music in the early 1960s), it strikes me as counter-intuitive to think that the popular genre would be more difficult in singing than the classical. Any thoughts on why that might be?
And if indeed singing pop has some techniques that are difficult for ordinary voices, yes, I would agree that this could be inappropriate for congregational singing in the same way that most people cannot handle rapid-fire 16th-notes in Handel.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
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