I spent the weekend listening to and playing lots of music. I got to play drums at church and did some guitar at home. It was a terrific weekend. Of all the music I listened to, there were two songs that stood out:
First, the alternative version of Charles Wesley’s Jesu, Lover Of My Soul. I first heard this done by Fernando Ortega (listen to a sample). It’s a spare and tender melody in a minor key. This song reminds me of Fernando’s haunting version of O Thou In Whose Presence.
Second, I stumbled on the 1992 heavy metal song, Psychedelic Super Jesus by Bride. On a sunny Sunday afternoon this jumped out of the depths of my hard-drive and grabbed me by the throat. I made Hilary listen to the whole four minutes of thrashing guitars and screaming lyrics. Her reaction was, “What do you think God thinks about that song?” My response: “He was head-banging the whole time!”
I think there is room in the kingdom for Fernando Ortega’s honey-sweet croon and Dale Thompson’s maniacal scream. Despite the superficial differences between these songs, there are important similarities:
- Christ-centered lyrics
- High quality production
- Vocals sung with absolute sincerity
Sometimes I like a nice cup of tea. But there are times when I’d like a scorching hot bowl of chili. Music is like that. Our tastes vary. But nobody wants tasteless, colorless food. And that’s the dish that I fear we are being fed too often in the name of “Worship Music.” I’m ashamed at times of the pabulum I hear foisted on the public in the name of “Christian Music.” Aren’t these people singing songs about the Most High God? Compared to the three qualities I listed above, too often CCM has these characteristics:
- Vacuous lyrics
- Unimaginative arrangements and bland musicianship
- Vocals sung with ho-hum indifference
I refuse to rubber stamp music just because of its genre. The K-LOVE Top Twenty is an easy target since it is mass market pop music. But I don’t think the cookie-cutter symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn are somehow superior just because they’re classical music. Music can be a sacrament. It can also be a sacrilege. The bullfrog cannot sing like the robin yet I’m glad for its voice.
Here are some links about Bride and Psychedelic Super Jesus:
- Listen and buy Psychedelic Super Jesus at Amazon: Psychedelic Super Jesus (Snakes In The Playground Album Version)
- Lyrics at Sweet Lyrics
- Bride at Wikipedia
- A review of Snakes In The Playground at Angelic Warlord
ribbet!
I know this isn’t what you meant, but there is something fascinating about the idea of God banging his head against a brick wall in response to some of what we do to worship him, or serve him in other ways, while repeating “After all I have been saying to them for millennia, have they STILL not got it?”
The Ortega music reminds me of my favorite CCM artist–Michael Card. I also like him because his music is for people who think.
Peter, “the time is coming and now is…they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” Will the rock cry out when struck by the… wait a minute this is too confusing!
Thainamu, you’ve named eclexia’s favorite musician. I think he’s terrific (although a bit too calm for my hyperactive tastes…)
Hey, even God must surely need a break from head-banging. And when he does, I’m quite confident Michael Card and John Michael Talbot will do just fine. Of course, they lull me off to sleep, which is a good thing for me and my high stress life, but not exactly something God gets in to.
Oh, no, not Haydn. He sounds the same all the time.
My biggest beef with most CCM is that it’s derivative. So little is original. The Bride cut falls into that category, I’m afraid.
Card & Ortega – no secular artists have gone there. There was no secular equivalent to the Gaither Trio either.
For my music, follow the “My Muxtape” link in my sidebar. None of it is Christian, but at least some of it glorifies God by its quality and depth.
Well, let’s stop here just a minute and think about derivation. Derivative music gave us Beethoven’s Sixth and Smetana’s My Country, and Brahms’ Hungarian Dances and Paul Simon’s Graceland and speaking of Elvis, his music was rooted in Gospel. No music springs up in a vacuum. And if it does the listeners won’t recognize it as music.
You’re joking about the Gaither Trio, right?
[...] On Monday I made fun of treacly Jesus choruses and Papa Haydn’s symphonies in Psychedelic Super Jesus. [...]