The Christian Music Thread Genre • Page 6

Lolol

 

Triggered

 

Chad from King's Kaleidoscope did a cool interview on their facebook/the BadChristian podcast with Matt Carter, was a cool insight into this album, which I'm loving.

 

Yeah it was great! Chad's comment about songs reaching a climax point and then just staying there is spot on. He described it better, but it was something like that

 

I remember this guy...

 

Very interesting that he is now with Humble Beat. The song gets pretty good there. What do you think @Tim?

 

I've always had a soft spot for Sho, even though he doesn't always have the best execution. Talented Xth wasn't great but has maybe a handful of songs that I still like revisiting. I had kinda assumed he had given up on music, but I like this new song and think he'll fit quite nicely on Humble Beast. I wonder how many current Lecrae fans know Sho by name.

 

Humble Beast probably has my favorite line-up for hip-hop right now, and I loved Sho back in the day. I'm really excited about the possibility of some Odd Thomas/Sho mashups.

 

I don't really know where else to post it, so I'm gonna post it here. Skillet is the worst band ever. I think they're worse than NIckelback. I remember how popular they were at youth groups, and how praised they are in religious circles and I cannot get over just how bad they are.

On a positive topic, I'm very interested in Aaron Gillespie's new album. I had to listen exclusively to Christian music for a couple years due to my parents and The Almost was a favorite of mine back then, though I dislike worship music so I could never get into his two previous solo ventures.

 

Do you have an opinion on the whole Kings Kaleidoscope "A Prayer" nonsense? I still think it's a stupid decision, one which literally made my friend laugh out loud when he first heard it. Some people seem to like the language choice, though, including JesusFreakHideout, which really surprised me.

I mean, I grew up with the album Collide and still dig it, but yeah, their last few albums are definitely the Nickelback of youth group rock.

As someone who defends Nickelback and laughs at the hyperbolic hate for a merely formulaic band, though, I also don't waste time hating on Skillet. I wish the Christian music mainstream were more consistently good, but people can like what they like, y'know? Some people like Chris Tomlin; some people like blink-182; some people like Mumford & Sons. Though, I do empathize with someone constantly forced to hear music they don't care for.

I never really liked The Almost outside of a few songs, but a couple of those songs, along with a couple Underoath songs I have nostalgia for, will be on that album. I'll probably give it a spin for old times' sake when it comes out. I agree that his worship wasn't that interesting, which is a shame 'cause there are some good worship bands out there.

 

I will say songs from Collide were the most survivable for me, but it was awful hearing Monster every week at youth groups. haha Part of me always wondered if kids only listened to the band because they were the heaviest band still considered "safe" (churches I was kind of forced into were all extremely conservative).

The Almost hasn't had the most lasting appeal for me, though I still think Monster Monster is a great album. My interest in Out of the Badlands is also heavily nostalgia.

Also in the Christian music sphere, I like Switchfoot's new album a good bit.

 

lol, maybe, though depends on where "safe" is drawn. Like, some may still think they're too heavy, and others may allow stuff like Demon Hunter and August Burns Red. I remember Haste the Day being almost my favorite band in late high school, and my youth pastor was really into Tooth & Nail stuff.

Switchfoot and Relient K and other such bands occupy an interesting place where they appeal to both youth group and secular audiences, though I guess Relient K hasn't been tied to youth groups as much in a while? Though I did see them open for TobyMac in the FANSD era.

 

I don't know if this is representative of youth groups as a whole, but the only time I heard Relient k mentioned was whenever people were talking about them "becoming secular" and how they basically were boycotting the band for it.

 

That's not indicative of my experiences, and I'm pretty active in youth ministry in a pretty conservative area, but at the same time, I'm sure that's true of a lot of places. I remember jokes about songs that could be about either a girl or God, but no one I knew who'd normally like Relient K stopped 'cause they "went secular."

Though, there are a ton of people that hate the direction Christian rapper Lecrae went, and he's still very overt with his faith, lol. So that definitely exists.

 

Yeah, it was extremely conservative communities for me. I don't think I've really gotten into any new Christian artists in awhile now that I think about it. I kind of left the religion past few years (though I'm still kind of in it to a degree I suppose). Everyone I listen to from it is the same stuff I did before. Relient k, Switchfoot, Emery, things with Aaron Gillespie, Anberlin, things with Aaron Sprinkle, The Classic Crime, Anchor & Braille, Jon Foreman. I guess mewithoutYou became a favorite of mine in 2014, but thats the most recent.

Are there any new bands akin to those ones?

 

Maybe you could give John Mark McMillan and Gungor a shot? They're more "indie rock," but maybe they'll appeal to you. Try the John Mark McMillan album Borderland and the Gungor album Ghosts Upon the Earth.

You could also try Kings Kaleidoscope. They're more of a worship band, which could be hard depending on how you feel about God, but they're also signed to Emery's label and may appeal to you sonically. They have a really full sound with some brass and whatnot.

 

there are really not that many at all new these days it seems. decyfer down and spoken have had some solid releases lately that are more on the rock side. the oh hello's are bit a bit more folky. i know josh garrels has been thrown around a couple times in this thread, you might dig him. jenny & tyler is a really good duo somewhat similar to the civil wars.

 

I haven't listened to Decyfer Down in years, but I kinda doubt someone who hates Skillet would enjoy them, lol. What I've heard of Jenny & Tyler is pretty dece.

 

if i thought decyfer down was crappy like skillet has been i wouldn't have recommended it

 

it just goes to say that there's like no one out there that's new in the last 5 or so years. maybe throw colony house out there but i just haven't been able to get into them

 

I was surprised by the lack of JFH reaction. I thought they'd really kick off! I haven't got a problem with the swearing - I think I've said it before but I think (in general) we're a bit more relaxed about swearing in Christian circles over here. I thought it was cool they put out two versions for those who didn't want the explicit version.

 

Obviously which individual words are considered bad is a social construct, which makes it probably not a moral issue per se. But, I still think an American worship band using the f-word so nonchalantly (it's not even in the crescendo, which would help their case) is so unwise. Nothing to gain, a lot to lose, y'know? Plus, it doesn't really help the song creatively and is ultimately a distraction.

 

I agree. People keep arguing that it's "honest," is necessary to paint his struggle, etc. but it really doesn't seem that way to me. It just seems like they and the whole "Bad Christian" sect of Christian music are just being edgy for the sake of being edgy. And if the band is making the argument that it is brutally honest and necessary then to me, to release a "clean" version sort of contradicts whatever point they're trying to make.

 

Here's my two cents on "A Prayer":

I think honesty couldn't be more important as a songwriter (that's what songwriting is) but for the Christian I think honesty should never be an end in itself. It should always be a means of glorifying God with our words and serving others. A lot of songwriters justify being edgy and provocative by saying, "Hey man, I'm just being honest." But in reality, they're just trying to exercise their own personal freedoms at the expense of others in the faith. I don't think that's healthy.

That said, while I understand Kings Kaleidoscope has caused controversy with "A Prayer", I actually feel differently about their use of language. I'm not willing to bet my life that the use was the wisest choice, but I love the heart behind it. First of all, I've had moments like that in times of serious anxiety where all I can think to say are words that I wouldn't otherwise say. It's just an expression of where my heart is when I'm before God, and He knows my heart anyway. A lot of people might say to that, "That's so irreverent to come to God in that way!" But that's the Gospel. We come to Jesus in our most wretched and pained state whatever that may look like. And then He meets us where we are and shows us grace and picks us up again to continue living a life devoted to Him. If I had to brush myself off every time I talked to Him I would never be able to pray.

I honestly think that by having such a culturally profane word in the first half of the song and explicitly illustrating the fear of being separated from God, the song is able to more powerfully illustrate the truth in the second half of Christ redeeming us when we're at our most broken and most profane. And I think that by dismissing the band and album (as some have done) we are dismissing that amazing truth.

Also, in light of Chad's explanation beforehand and desire to provide those with different convictions a clean version, I don't see how people think this is just a way of being edgy. I don't even think the use of the word is edgy. It's just real. I know this prayer from my own personal struggles and I know Christ's response to those prayers and it's beautiful.

Now I just went through 1 Corinthians for school and Paul talks to the church about not grieving the conscience of a weaker brother on the grounds of external things. If that applies here, then I don't think it was the best choice of words. But since Paul is talking about non-essentials like meat, and not something as important as prayer, I'm not convinced that the argument a lot of people are using against Chad's use of the word applies here.