Has christian music always been this popular?
Garcia_Vega
2,428 Posts
It seems to me that a lot more people have been getting into x-ian records in the past two years. Are you guys turning into jesus freaks or have you just dug out all other genres? I was looking into getting the friends of sound "jesus saves" mix cd, but I don't think I could handle all that Jesus music in one sitting no matter how funky or soul it is. A few records here an there are ok though. Favourite funky gospel joint: Byrdie Green "Return of the prodigal son"Also, Morley Grey "The Only Truth" dope x-ian psych or steaming terd?Does it bother you when people spell christian, x-ian? I can't decide for myself.When I lived in Indianapolis in 1999 I worked at Mezzaluna where the lunch cook, Betsy, was I think, a born-again christian. She would only listen to the christian rock station which made all the broadripple career waiters groan and dip into their yay stash. She would hit you with the back of a butcher knife if you cursed in her presence. She was also a good badminton player.
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GOSPEL 4 LIFE
Dr*w, you've been listening to gospel for a long time?
Yes, in a strictly aesthetic sense.
I'm having trouble deciding which it is for me.
Do you feel the same way about roots reggae? I have a theory that many Americans--and I'm not directing this at you--have no problem listening to a million reggae songs that big up "Jah Jah" and Selassie because 1) they don't name drop Jesus specifically and 2) it's easier to exoticize.
If all the reggae dudes (and not just Yabby You) sang about Jesus, I don't know that it would be nearly as popular.
As far as Christian music is concerned, I get the feeling that many of its more recent fans are lapsed Christians/agnostics/atheists who enjoy it somewhat ironically. At any rate, I doubt that folks are feelin' the lyrical content as much as the artists hope they are.
When I'm in a spiritual mood a really good gospel record will do the same thing as a spiritual jazz record or something like Jorge Ben's "Tabua De Esmeralda", I am not really in it for the funky grooves... also, as someone who collects soul records it's kind of a natural branching out as most great soul singers came from the church. I am into singing, harmonies, melodies, and [kufi]spiritual upliftment[/kufi].
It's all down to the music for me. I started listening to black gospel because it had so many similarities to R&B (of the 50's/60's variety). And the day I hear a Christian rock band that sounds like the Sonics or the Shadows of Knight, I am so there...
yes - these are excellent points. especially the "it's easier to exoticize" - I think a lot people who have been raised christian/catholic, etc. have a hard time getting over "the J word" in music, yet can relate to the more non-denominational "spiritual" music - jazz, or whathaveyou.
for me the content and music is not to be seperated.
definitely. I really can't see why people would want to listen to xian music that "sounds like" non-xian music. Though, there are many good vaguely christian themed records, I guess. But to me, though I'm not really a "christian", the message is very important in this type of music.
I originally started getting into this stuff through the freaky weird little markie shit, but there is some amazing straight forward stuff if you can overcome whatever bias you have of christianity. Which was difficult for me. This is a fascinating topic though. I mean, here you have a whole universe possibly more diverse than anything you'll find anywhere else in music all under the banner of jesus - mostly opperating outside of the mainstream.
ha funny, I like roots reggae, but also can't listen to all the Jah talk for too long. Not that I have anything against it, nor christian music either, but it feels like I'm being preached at sometimes and I don't like that, I hope this isn't coming off the wrong way. I don't mean that I'm against religion or spirituality in any way, its just not me, you know? I love roots reggae but would rather listen to rocksteady all day if I had a choice.
Sidenote: When I was in high school in PR, reggae music was really popular and all the concerts we would get at the time were from reggae singers. It was always funny to me that when the Jah songs came around people would be all meh, but when a song about smoking weed or hitting the chalice came on, people would go bananars. I remeber the Joseph Hill and Culture concert real well, he would go on his Jah Rastafari rants and people would sit, he busted out International Herb and the place was pandemonium.
Because to me music that 'sounds like' Christian music sounds like crap
Then you are either hearing your prejudice, or not hearing the right stuff.
Yes, and it all starts with Bill Withers for me.
I absolutely agree, and thats one of the reasons I made this post. You can never seperate the content from its context. I just wonder if in this case the context makes the content more platable?
Also, maybe because I'm a jaded city kid, but I don't think exoticizing makes music more listenable or "cooler." Although thats just probably my own experience.
My standards do not droop based on genre, if there's some amazing shit coming from the Jesus records I'm down but the idea doesn't excite me enough to intentionally seek it out.
Jesus was apparantly a pretty cool dude, but he has certainly inspired a great deal of shitty, terrible music
jesus is a guilt complex.
jah licks the chalice.
hmmmm, which would i rather listen to? (assuming i'm rocking birckenstocks and a triple fat knit sweater)
true true...
There's definitely a limit to how much Jah talk I'm down for but you've basically summed up how I feel on the matter
well i have never heard anything that quite sounds like that barbara sipple abortion track or a lot of this other christian music for that matter. it is a movement in and of to itself. i personally gravitate towards most records that are unique and authentic as long as they are of a high quality in regards to music and content. if you can listen to NWA and be a suburban whitey or listen to Morrisey and be a chicano I can certainly listen to Christian music.
First off there was alot more of this going on in the 60's and 70's than most people realize. For every "good" Christian rock/folk LP's there are 200 pieces of shat.
BUT
The good ones can be as good as anything else in the secular rock/psych/folk and even garage genres.
For Standells type moves check out bands like The Torchbearers or The Wanderers, they rock out pretty good for Christian boys.
Here are some rules of thumb for buying Christian LP's.
1) Avoid The Happy People - If a group is smiling from ear to ear on the cover of the LP....it's shit....guaranteed. Happy christians made crappy music.
2) Stay Away From The "Classics" - Look at the songwriting credits and if you see the names of popular mainstream Christian artists like Gaither, Crouch, Driscoll, etc. DO NOT BUY IT
3) Look For Long Tracks - Most mainstream Christians have Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to music. Therefore look for tracks that are 6+ minutes long......that usuallly indicates you're dealing with stoned or fringe Christians who tended to make the best music.
4) Don't Let The Words Rock or Soul Fool You - MANY mainstream preachers tried to cash in on, or lure young people to their respective churches by playing "rock" music. Only problem is they were clueless as to what rock music was. I can't tell you how many Christian LP's I've bought that have the word ROCK in big letters on the cover that were absolute choir/chorus bullshit.
5) Catholics Tend To Make Darker Music - Can't tell you why, but it seems that Catholics tend to be alot less "happy" in their music compared to say Baptists. In folk, psych and rock dark usually means better.
That being said......there are some AMAZING Christian LP's from the 60's and 70's. The best reference is a book by Ken Scott that covers all phases of Christian "pop" music. Lots of photos and pretty accurate descriptions. This book will make you an expert in no time and save you alot of money. I'm not sure of the title but it can be easily googled using his name.
Some of the better Christian Rock/Psych LP's are......and there are LOTS more.
Fraction
Emmaus Road
Azitis
Bob Desper
Out Of Darkness
Maranatha
Agape(2 LP's)
Wilson McKinley(3 LP's)
Joshua
Hope that helps,
Rich
I really can see why people would want to listen to _______ music that "sounds like" _______ music.
crossover music (of almost any genre) is interesting, and probably one of the common threads between most people on this board.
Not only am I not telling you not to listen to and enjoy this stuff but I'd like to hear that record you keep mentioning AP!
"Lean On Me"?
Just listen to The Search Party and tell me that Jesus music sucks.
is the colors of love raer? i found a listing on wfmu for the tune "beyond orion", but of course it was from a comp.
rich, thony? every had it/seen it?
AP....did you ever hear the Texas LP "The Last Days"?? Played it last Austin show for the Hotel crew and faces were melting everywhere. Has a female vocal cut(His Love Is Real) that does Perhacs proud and morphs from a mellow groove to over the top guitar mayhem. Amazing cut!!!
ross is so on point with his post
i love a good jazz mass but iam not that into gospel, and its not because its all about jesus but more for the fact iam not into the rhythm of most of it
take the james tatum record, i could listen to that probably everyday if i had to but its not cause i like jesus or the church its because its fucking beautiful shit, i can feel the dudes passion for his religion, even though i don't follow it i still respect what the dude was trying to do and did, i don't find much diffrence between the christian folks and what alice coltrane or phaoroe were doing, trying to play to a higher being or whatever, if thats what gave them inspiration and helped them make these tunes than thats great, you can still listen to it and appreciate it for what it is, music, and listening to shit for irony is the lamest shit ever