Oh the Fail…
So, I was looking at the different places the new Choir CD Burning Like the Midnight Sun was available. Checking the reviews and the like. At Amazon, there was a link to an Amazon discussion that basically asked Christian music fans to admit that Christian rock music basically sucks. One of the points the person made was something along the lines that in rock, any use of religious terms just sounds silly. While I would dispute this, because I do not by that “good rock” is in any way confined to the topic of sex and drugs. Bands have challenged notions of the status quo for decades. And bands have written intensely personal and confessional songs for decades. You find the same in Christian rock. It is not the topic itself, but how it is spoken of. But this is not where I felt downright embarrassed to be reading an Amazon discussion page. No, it was this comment:
The reason you feel the way you do is because you don’t have a real relationship with God ,Plus it seems to me you haven’t heard enough real Christian music . Truly fall in Love with Jesus and Christian music will sound a Lot different to You.
Why? Because this is a weak but not uncommon Christian defense for people with serious qualms with religion. “It seems wierd, because you do not believe.”
This is, of course true of anything. It’s something cults routinely exploit. The whole “people will think you are strange and may even hate you-because they do not understand because they do not believe.” I just find it one of the more unconvincing defenses of any idea. If only I believed in believing so you can believe the belief is believable-then I would have no problem with it.
But this is not about the general philosophy. No, I will say this…any art that requires you agree with it from the outset to enjoy it? It’s bad art. If it requires that you have a particular world view before you can “truly” appreciate it? It’s probably even terrible art.
The whole point of my “Christian Music That Doesn’t Suck” entries is that I feel these are bands that can be appreciated by anyone who likes good music. They are bands that I feel strongly are deserving of a wider audience. They are bands that I listen to without feeling I need to defend why I put them alongside my “secular music”. God art should simply not require you to have a specific world view to connect with it.
I am perplexed by the comment about the person not having heard enough real christian music. Which artists would that be?
Posted in: Music, Musicians, Pop Culture, Religion
In One Ear... 
I think really the comment can be applied non-religiously to most forms of music.
If you’re a fan, it sounds much better than to someone who isn’t.
I’ve always heard folks say they dislike Metal because it’s “just noise and growling and/or screaming”
And while I’ll acknowledge I’ve heard some bands who actually DO pretty much sound like noise & growling &/or screaming. Most of it doesn’t seem that way to me.
I listen to most metal and I can tell you exactly what they’re saying.
When you’re a fan of a genre, you’re probably picking up on a lot of positives that non-fans either don’t pick up on…or view as negatives.
What strikes one metal fan as an extremely complicated guitar riff, strikes a non-fan as a random string of notes played way too fast to be ‘melodic’ to them.
It does sound different when you’re a fan, and this is true for all forms of music.
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