I like some pretty heavy stuff, so you have me curious. I will have to give this band a listen.

 

Let me know what you think.

How many Christian bands have you listened to in order to label the entire genre as a 'scam'? Just curious.

 

I've heard enough to know it doesn't pass muster in the quality department.

I like some pretty heavy stuff, so you have me curious. I will have to give this band a listen.

 

Listen to some SKillet as well...

I've heard enough to know it doesn't pass muster in the quality department.

 

Alright, we get it, you don't like it, but your musical tastes do not necessarily reflect that of the country as a whole. Nor does your opinion qualify as anything more than that.

 

Some stats:

 

Christian/Gospel music is the 6th most popular genre according to SoundScan.

 

Christian Retail stores accounted for 37.6 percent of gospel music sales, while mainstream retail outlets sold 59 percent of all gospel music sales.

 

The top markets for gospel music in 2004 were Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Washington D.C., Houston, Philadelphia, Tampa, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Listen to some SKillet as well...

 

My niece left a Skillet CD in my car. Haven't put it in to listen. I'll give that a try as well.

My dad is the pastor of a church that has the massive LED screens and has a pretty interesting mix of hymnals and praise and worship. It really helps to incorporate the youth into the service which is so important to churches now. The church is dying on all levels, and unless we get interest back into to the younger kids, we are going to lose a generation of people. I am one of the youth who just isn't moved by hymnals, gospel, and quartets. I feel there is a lot like me. That doesn't mean it's wrong, there is just different ways to achieve the same goal.

 

You are dead on. This is my belief as well. I am grounded in my religious beliefs, if my kids and their friends are engaged by going to the contemporary services, listening to christian rock, rap or praise, then that is the goal. No one said it was wrong, our great country allows us to worship as we need. As I have said, if these are the avenues that help to bring the unchurched to Christ, then we are winning the battle. I can still get a message from a guy without a suit and tie. I can still get a message singing from a screen. I just miss the reverence that went with the services of old.

Alright, we get it, you don't like it, but your musical tastes do not necessarily reflect that of the country as a whole. Nor does your opinion qualify as anything more than that.

 

Some stats:

 

Christian/Gospel music is the 6th most popular genre according to SoundScan.

 

Christian Retail stores accounted for 37.6 percent of gospel music sales, while mainstream retail outlets sold 59 percent of all gospel music sales.

 

The top markets for gospel music in 2004 were Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Washington D.C., Houston, Philadelphia, Tampa, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

 

Milli Vanilli was popular. Sold tons of records. Doesn't make their music quality. When it comes to music, "popular" and "good" are not synonyms. All your numbers tell me is that a whole lot of Americans were snowed into buying low-end, formulaic art. Then again, "reality" TV shows dominate the visual medium, so I guess it's no surprise that Americans would display a lack of good taste in their art.

 

And lumping "Christian" music together with Gospel is kind of deceptive. That's like lumping together a major league player and a rookie league player just because they play the same sport.

Milli Vanilli was popular. Sold tons of records. Doesn't make their music quality. When it comes to music, "popular" and "good" are not synonyms. All your numbers tell me is that a whole lot of Americans were snowed into buying low-end, formulaic art. Then again, "reality" TV shows dominate the visual medium, so I guess it's no surprise that Americans would display a lack of good taste in their art.

 

And lumping "Christian" music together with Gospel is kind of deceptive. That's like lumping together a major league player and a rookie league player just because they play the same sport.

:thumb: :thumb:

Milli Vanilli was popular. Sold tons of records. Doesn't make their music quality. When it comes to music, "popular" and "good" are not synonyms. All your numbers tell me is that a whole lot of Americans were snowed into buying low-end, formulaic art. Then again, "reality" TV shows dominate the visual medium, so I guess it's no surprise that Americans would display a lack of good taste in their art.

 

And lumping "Christian" music together with Gospel is kind of deceptive. That's like lumping together a major league player and a rookie league player just because they play the same sport.

 

I agree that there is plenty of popular music that I cannot stand and does follow the same formula. Take someone who is attractive and has a decent voice, ... teach them how to dance, ... give them some songs written by writers who only know one way to write (the formula you speak of) then sell, sell, sell. The same writers are writing these songs and that is why many of them follow the same formula and sound so much alike. Many of these singers use not only the same writers but the same studio musicians. No wonder so much of it sounds alike. The advent of 'boy bands' took this to a new level and many jumped on board with it. Many of these lip sync when performing live which to me isn't a live performance at all. I know they say they do it so that they can still move around and put on their choreographed dance moves, ... but if I go to see a band or artist, I want to hear and see them live. If I wanted to hear what they recorded in a studio, I can put on their album. Milli Vanilli is a great example of a studio creation with good looking guys who were not great singers, and didn't even sing their own songs anyway.

 

I also agree that lumping contemporary Christian music in with Gospel music doesn't fit. They are different genre's entirely, just singing about basically the same thing. That is the same as lumping rock n roll songs about love in with pop or country songs about the same topic, .... same topic does not mean the same genre. Gospel is a genre all to itself.

 

I also agree that good music and popular music are not always synonymous. But, they also are not always antonyms either. Just because something is popular, doesn't mean it isn't good. Elton John's last great album (IMHO) was 'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy', and it went to #1 before it ever hit the stores and was the first album ever to do so. It was very popular, but it was also good stuff. And good is, in my opinion, in the eyes (or ears in this case) of the listener. I don't want to look down on someone because they may like something that I think is not good music. I don't like a lot of the newer country music these days and wonder how it is still categorized as really being country. We are all entitled to our opinion and if music sounds good to someone, then to them, it is good music. It still took (in most cases, not necessarily all) a certain level of skill to write and perform (although not enough people write their own songs anymore). I have heard some singer / songwriters that are not good singers at all (Kris Krisstoferson immediately comes to mind), but he has written so many great songs over the years, .. and many of them were popular.

 

I guess to make a long story short (I know, too late), ... just because it is popular doesn't mean it isn't good. To someone else, it obviously is.

I guess to make a long story short (I know, too late), ... just because it is popular doesn't mean it isn't good. To someone else, it obviously is.

 

Usually, that means those people are either A) sorely misinformed or B) sorely under-informed. Regardless which, they're settling for surface-layer dirt instead of digging a bit to find the gold nuggets.

Milli Vanilli was popular. Sold tons of records. Doesn't make their music quality. When it comes to music, "popular" and "good" are not synonyms. All your numbers tell me is that a whole lot of Americans were snowed into buying low-end, formulaic art. Then again, "reality" TV shows dominate the visual medium, so I guess it's no surprise that Americans would display a lack of good taste in their art.

 

And lumping "Christian" music together with Gospel is kind of deceptive. That's like lumping together a major league player and a rookie league player just because they play the same sport.

 

Here we go again. So who exactly died and made you the ultimate music critic?

 

Your comments on here are still nothing but YOUR OPINION. Good music to you is not necessarily good music to another person, and bad music to you is not necessarily bad music to another person.

 

I'm really not sure why you have such a sense of superiority about the subject. Enough of one to say that the millions of people who listen to Christian music have "bad taste."

 

And, for the record, I did not lump Christian and Gospel together. The SoundScan statistics I found lumped them together.

Ive kept my eye on this thread for a few days now, but I cannot keep my fingers away from the keyboard any longer. So without trying to step on anyone's toes (and from a self proclaimed music critic/mainstream contemporary music hater) here is how I see things.

 

A couple of bands out of the Christian genre, and mainly 95% out of the hardcore, metal, or goth/emo/punk/screamo/electronico what every you wanna call it scenes can keep up with what I would consider listenable, or pretty descent music. These are bands such as Skillet, As I Lay Dying, and although I do not listen to them bands like Brand New and Devil Wears Prada have made an impact as much of other bands from the genre. On a further note I don't really listen to the first to either but they are worth being in the argument I guess.

 

Next point is although I'm not the biggest fan, I have always thought the most beautiful type of music ever created was "good" Southern Gospel. So many spine tingling and just ambient songs have been tuned from this genre. And no I am not talking about the ultra cheesy keyboard driven tunes a lot of you are thinking, I am talking banjo picking, madnolin strumming, stand up bass thumping old southern gospel. When it comes to that type give me something like some "Purple Robe" , ""Can the Circle be Unbroken", "Beleau Land", and "Dust on the Bible", and then you have good Christian music. Other than that the rest of the Christian scene is driven by a lot of Christian driven songs, but not as much as musically driven tunes.

 

 

My two cents, and yes I have tried to stay away from this argument as long as I could.

Here you go guys...If this is not the best christian metal song of all time...Then I am just not a Christian metal fan...:sssh::ylsuper:

 

 

:puke:

In all seriousness....say this isn't talent.

 

 

 

Usually, that means those people are either A) sorely misinformed or B) sorely under-informed. Regardless which, they're settling for surface-layer dirt instead of digging a bit to find the gold nuggets.

 

Music is all in the ear of the beholder. That doesn't mean that this people are misinformed or underinformed, ... just that they like what they like. You and I don't have to like it, but my point is that it isn't our call to tell someone what they ought to like or dislike. I love Rocky Road ice cream, ... my wife doesn't. She likes some music that I find to be sorely lacking. But it isn't my place to tell her that she is wrong on either account and that she 'just doesn't know what she is listening to or eating isn't any good. To her, it is.