Obscure CCM Bands - Vo. 4

I really thought I was done with this little series. I had a couple others I thought I might share but nothing really stood out to me. 

Then three weeks later I remembers this band. They are a group that represents one of the rare times where CCM was ahead of the cultural wave instead of following it's wake. 

The band - AVB. Acappella Vocal Band (or is it "All Vocal Band", this website makes me wonder if I've been mistaken for 30 years).

You must understand, long before the Pitch Perfect movie franchise and even before Glee became a cultural phenomenon, CCM was featuring acapella groups all over the place. Now this isn't to say that acapella music was totally absent in mainstream culture, it wasn't. In fact I remember Rockapella being ever-present on one of my favorite tv shows, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

AVB was actually an off-shoot from the original group named Acappella, a vocal group founded in the early 80's. Both groups had their 15 minutes of CCM fame for sure. But it is AVB that made an impression on me. 

Their 1989 album Song in My Soul put them on my musical radar thanks to a couple songs that got radio play. Before I looked it up, I was sure this was the early 90's. As I look back though, they were probably my gateway-drug to the emerging pop-rock CCM acts that followed - ie, Newsboys, dc Talk. Their style had great vocal harmony but also featured an up-beat, almost hip-hop sound. 

The song that hooked me, for at least this one album, was "The Victim". Here's a version they did at what is an apparent reunion appearance 10 years ago. 

The group had many iterations, normally made up of 4-5 members at a time. I will never be confused with being a judge on any singing competition, yet they seem to still have a lot of talent and skill. And by combining into a larger group, they are able to do a nice job layering their sound.

I could not have told you that when I was a pre-teen though. All I knew then was, they had a unique sound and catchy lyrics. In this case, convicting-ly catchy lyrics. I gave my life to Christ at an early age, but I remember this song in particular being one of the first times I really learned that Jesus' death gave me the key to "stop doing those things" I knew were wrong. It was more than knowing right from wrong, but knowing how to live accordingly.

And as we consider anew the incredible truths of this Holy Week, the one Truth that stands above all is that when he "died upon the cross, the wage of sin was then made free". He truly took the torture and the punishment that was mine, that was ours. He became the victim of our crime. What a sacrifice and what a wonderful Risen Savior we serve!

Friday Fun

I've been so sporadic with my posts, I'm inventing a title for this Friday edition. We have Wednesday Wisdom, Thursday Thoughts, and now Friday Fun. They are all one and the same really...just a matter of when I get around to writing.

The subject of this week's blog stems from a Twitter thread I saw a few weeks back. @drleahpayne asked "Looking for very weird, very obscure Christian rock bands...any ideas?" It currently has received 249 replies which is great as many of them name bands I'd never heard of. 

But inspired by Dr. Payne, I'll take the next few weeks to highlight a few of my favorite long-forgotten and obscure CCM bands.

First up, let me offer you a Reality Check. 

They are characteristically 90's CCM in so many ways. Stylistically similar to dc Talk, they even had relational connections with Michael Tait of that band.

After their debut independent album, they put out two records on the Star Song label. It was their second that briefly put them on the CCM map. 

I recall they had a single that received Christian-pop airplay, "Know You Better". That song was a bit of an anomaly as far as their sound was concerned. Though they certainly had things in common with dc Talk, they had a unique "funkiness" and "edge" that made them distinct.

You can find a Jesus Freak Hideout Review that gives it 4 out of 5 stars. I may need to relisten to it in its entirety again, but I'd be hard pressed to give it anything less than 4.5 or 5 stars. It was on regular rotation in my late high school and college years at the turn of the millennium. 

The band faded from existence shortly after reaching their peak with this album. They made quite the impression, at least on this CCM connoisseur. 

Personally, I really loved the entire album, start to finish. But it is the first three songs that really draw you in, plunging you headfirst into their up-tempo, in-your-face rap/rock energy. "The Way I Am", "Plastic", and "Masquerade" set the tone for the 10 song set that never really lags but never exhausts your ears either.

Music Mondays

A lot has taken place since my last post. Most significantly, we added a fourth member to our family - Elijah Harlow Compson, born on 12/31/20, 8 lbs 9 oz, 21.75" long. His two year old big brother has adjusted very well and so are mommy and daddy for the most part. We are blessed.

Our emotions are quite the opposite than one of the heroes of my youth. TobyMac, formerly of dc Talk and still a giant artist and producer in the CCM world, had his oldest son pass away suddenly this past fall. 

Now I am a father, that kind of experience hits home in a very real way. It is excruciating even to think about. The McKeehan's have expressed grace and faith in the few public statements they've given. And just recently, Toby came out with a powerful tribute to his son and this situation with a song that expresses grief, but also grace and faith. 

Music Mondays: When CCM gets serious

CCM often feels perfectly packaged. Artists need to fit a certain image and sing about certain topics in order to maximize their popularity. This is probably true of the entire music industry, but when your audience is Christian you are dealing with a whole different set of expectations and standards. 

Maybe sprinkle in a little bit of honesty and transparency about the difficulties of life but not too much. CCM often drift towards that safe space and really always has. 

Every once in a while though, someone breaks the mold. The first major exception like this that I can remember was this song:

"What If I Stumble?" was the track after dc Talk's megahit "Jesus Freak" on the album of the same name and the contrast of tones what startling and made me and many like me sit up and take notice. dc Talk was hugely popular in Christian circles before this album but their fame hit another stratosphere after it. And in the middle of all of this, they had the temerity/vision/arrogance/humility to include a song about doubt, vulnerability, and frailty.  

Self-awareness, transparency, and weakness are not common subjects in CCM. "What If I Stumble?" broke the mold. And that's what the songs in this series are all about.

Music Mondays - Faith in Tension (Part II)

Last week we began a countdown of the best modern Christian songs that express the tension of our faith.  Ok, they're really just my favorites but whatever.

The rationale and scoring system were detailed last week so I won't go over them again. Instead, let's jump right into the top 5 songs that honestly communicate the paradoxes and tensions of following Christ.

5. "Something Beautiful" - Needtobreathe

 (Total - 23. CT: 7, TD: 9, SQ: 5, Bonus: 2)

I remember liking this song upon hearing it for the first couple times. But I often don't always "catch" all the lyrics. When I figured out the part of the chorus that says, "I know that I'm in reach, 'cause I am down on my knees", it instantly became a favorite of mine and I realized this was a band that I needed to become more familiar with. The rest of the song explores the riskiness of faith with the metaphor of drowning, but that singular line gets me every time. Bonus points for the vocals and also sneaking in the band's own name into the song. 

4. "What If I Stumble?" - dc Talk

(Total - 23.25. CT: 10, TD: 7, SQ: 4.25, Bonus: 2)

The opening verse is the most startlingly-honest lyric written since Robert Robinson penned verse 3 of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". I know people who've toured the CCM circuit. My parents had a modest music/evangelistic ministry, traveling a lot when I was younger to different churches. The tension of performing versus ministering is a very real one. Even for a pastor that struggle is real...and then to consider what would happen if we faltered - heavy stuff. And this is at the band's peak of fame and popularity too! This live performance may be my favorite of all time - any genre any song any band. Great harmonies and tremendous use of modest vocal talent (with the exception of Michael Tait) to create a stellar performance.

Music Mondays

I felt like I gave a mediocre sermon yesterday. It covered the entire book of 2 Thessalonians and went much longer than I normally preach (probably was at least one story illustration too long). You can judge for yourself here #myhonestfeeling #notfakehumbleselfpromotion.

Part of the reason for my 'long-windedness' and my general feeling of frustration after speaking on it was the fact that this little book packs so much into its three chapters. Chapter 2 especially makes things complicated as it covers details about the end times. Paul seeks to clear up some confusing teachings that were out there and describes the elements they can look for that will signal the impending second coming of Christ.

While there are plenty of different interpretations about the millennial kingdom and the tribulation et al, the point of application is generally the same for all camps. We should live godly lives in preparation for the return of our Savior - whatever that may look like and whenever it may take place.

The above song is a Christian classic that echoes similar sentiments - though based off of a different Bible passage (Matt. 24:40-42). It also has been the subject of different opinions and interpretations, with some debate about what that passage is teaching specifically. Like 2 Thessalonians though, the main point of the song still stands no matter what. It will be a sad thing if we aren't ready for Jesus' return.

So as I work through my own overly critical angst about one sermon, I trust you can enjoy a really cool performance 22 years ago of a 40 year old song.

Music Mondays

The old cliche, "you learn something new everyday", applies to my morning today. Giving brief contemplation to what to do for Music Monday, I started searching YouTube for some classic songs of my youth.

And low and behold, I stumbled upon a music video from my all-time favorite band that I'd never seen before:

I don't know how this had slipped pass me, but I'm sure I've never seen it before. I love the song, it's an overlooked single on an album chalk full of great songs. And 20 years later, it's message is even more relevant for us today. We live in a nation where progress has been made in racial reconciliation, but last year showed us just how far we have to go. 

And this song absolutely nails the Biblical theology on race issues in such a compact and clear way, 

"We're colored people and we live in a tainted place. We're colored people and they call us the human race."

"Ignorance has wronged some races, and vengeance is the Lord's. If we aspire to share this space, repentance is the cure."

I remember thinking about this song as a high school-er recognizing it's truth but now as my worldview has enlarged, I realize how significant these issues are to a much clearer extent.

Music Mondays

1 John features three main themes about God. 

• He is Light - 1:1-3:10
• He is Love - 3:11-5:5
• He is Life - 5:6-21

Our sermon series started into the second of those themes this past Sunday.

One of the key points the apostle John makes is that godly love must be demonstrated:

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

  As dc Talk put it so succinctly, 'luv is a verb'.  

Music Mondays

In May of 1999, just a few weeks away from graduating high school, I fulfilled a life-long dream by attending a dc Talk concert at the Ft. Wayne War Memorial Coliseum. 

We had ground level tickets near a secondary stage that the group used throughout their concert, but predominantly for an unplugged worship set mixing their own songs and others. 

It very much resembled this:

I had the good fortune to be able to be right up next to this secondary stage during their whole set and it was phenomenal. It will always be the best concert I have or will ever attend. It was my favorite band at the height of their significance and artistry. 

I'm sharing this walk down memory lane not just to reminisce, but to also share that classic song. We're beginning a sermon series at church in 1 John which deals with fellowship with God and "walking in the light". God as light and walking in the light are major themes of the book to the extent I could use this song to connect to multiple passages in this letter. 

As the passage which Toby Mac read reminds us, we can claim to be in good standing with God all we want. But if our actions do not match our profession, we are just hypocritical liars. 1 John 1 especially calls us to address our sin - to confess it rather than rationalize it (1:8-9), to depend on Christ rather than deny our problem (1:10-2:2). 

Do we? Are we?

Let us be in the Light as He is in the Light. Let us shine like the stars in the heaven.

Music Mondays

We dove into one of my favorite Psalms yesterday - Psalm 40. I never remember particularly paying much notice to this Psalm until I heard this song:

Which is a cover of this song:

"He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to my God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord."

Music Mondays - Songs for the New Year (Part Two)

Due to the crazy weather over the past several days, I've been home-bound and unable to access the rest of my list. But without any further ado, here are songs #5-#1:

5. "Day by Day" - dc Talk

This may be the strangest video on the list, but this remix of a song from the 'Godspell' musical improves the original by about 1000%. It's a perfect song for the new year because it expounds on the daily nature of our walk of faith. In 2014, and every year, we need to depend on God day by day day.

4. "Dare You to Move" - Switchfoot

This has been a favorite song of mine since the first time I heard it. It calls us to become who we were born to be. It calls us out of mediocrity to something greater. It calls us to get back up when we fall. Isn't that the whole reason for New Year's Resolutions' anyway?

3.  "Time Is" - dc Talk

Another song, another dc Talk entry. No official music video for this song, but it's a classic. It speaks for itself, but my favorite part are all the soundbites involving the word 'Time', especially the Star Trek: Next Generation quote from Geordi La Forge.

2. "Beautiful Day" - U2

The only non-explicitly Christian song on my list. But it's too fitting not to include. This song will always be connected to 9/11 in my mind. It was released around that time and I remember it as an inspiring song of hope during that darkest of times.

1. "Alive" - P.O.D.

Another song with 9/11 connections, this single was released shortly before that fateful day and the album itself was set to be released that very day. This song would always pump me up before basketball games. Though in a deeper way it reminds me of the freedom we have in Christ and the power over sin that is ours because of the Cross.

That's it, that's my (belated) New Year's playlist for 2014. What's on yours?

Music Mondays - Songs for the New Year

It's been a few weeks, but Music Monday is back!

I was flipping through our church's hymnal thinking of New Year's songs. After all, we just got through a Christmas season that has plenty of songs associated with it. 'What about New Years?' I thought.

There were a grand total of 7 listed. And I only had heard of 3 of them.

That's too bad, because the New Year holiday is a perfect time to celebrate what God's done for us. While not expressly a biblical holiday like Christmas or Easter, the themes of the New Year of new beginnings, starting over, resolutions, and looking towards the future perfectly fit with biblical principles.

So why not scour my iPod and come up with my own list of New Year's-related songs?

And that's what I did.

I will present them in ascending order starting with numbers 6-10 today and present #1-5 next week. Along with corresponding videos, I will also offer a short commentary on why it makes my list.

With no further ado, here we go:

10.  "Always" by Kristian Stanfill

Why is it on the list?
This song evokes many of the Psalms where David declares his absolute trust and dependance in God to vindicate and save him. Those aren't exclusively 'New Year's' ideas, but they are important perspectives to have as we look to what may lie ahead. No matter the good or bad 2014 brings, we can be confident in our great God.

9. "Valley of Tomorrow" by Needtobreathe

Why is it on the list?
This band just knows how to write great songs. And this one is a song of re-commitment to God no matter what:

Chorus:
Oh, this is the way I wanna go down
(This is the last time) I'm starting over with you
This is the way I wanna go out
(This is the last time)

Read more: Needtobreathe - Valley Of Tomorrow Lyrics | MetroLyrics

I also personally love it because it talks about seeing "the daylight breaks through the buildings of Chicago" and I've seen that very thing during my days recruiting for Grace Seminary. It's just a great, soulful song of re-dedication and listening to the Spirit's guiding whisper - totally relevant to us as we make our New Year's resolutions.

8. "In the Light" - dc Talk (nod to Charlie Peacock)

Why is it on the list?
It's an oldie, but a goodie. And to say that means I must be really old. Much like the previous song, this classic from the Jesus Freak album is a declaration of commitment to God and desire to pursue Him. If you're still reading at this point, you are probably sensing a theme. But along with the fitting lyrics, the music is fun, upbeat, and invites us to sing a long.

Songs #7 and #6 after the jump...

Music Mondays - Best Christian Music Videos of All-Time

Two weeks ago, I compiled a list of "The Worst Christian Music Videos of All-Time". If you really want to subject yourself to that unintentional comedy, click on that link and check out the videos. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Well, last week I decided to compile a list of "The Best Christian Music Videos of All-Time", but it turned out to be a larger project than I anticipated so I had to postpone the release of my list until today. It turns out there were more quality options than I anticipated.

But similar to"The Worst..." list, I graded these videos according to four categories:

Fashion & Design (F & D) - Will this video age well or has it aged well? What is the 'look' they are going for and is it attention-getting?

Song Quality (SQ) - Instead of how 'annoying' the song is, I've rated how catchy and listen-able the song is. This is a subjective rating, but it's my list.

Video Concept (VC) - Similar but distinct from F & D, this category rates the video on the story that's being told visually (and musically). Does it draw you in and execute an interesting presentation of the song?

Artist Relevance (Art. Rel.) - This is the only category not ranked on a scale of 1-10, but rather 1-5. If an artist is relevant (or still relevant) they get bonus points for using their platform to produce a quality video. I'm not convinced this is a great category to have, since a little-known artist could still make a good video. But I'd rather watch a great movie with great, well-known actors than a great movie with great, but little-known actors. That's just me I guess.

So let's get started on our countdown with an honorable mention from waaayyyy back:

Honorable Mention - DeGarmo & Key - 666

This video was the first Christian video to be played on MTV, and also the first to be pulled from regular airplay due to its content. According to their Wikipedia page, it was pulled originally because it was mistakenly believed to be anti-Christian. Also, having a man catch fire was deemed objectionable and D&K had to re-edit the video before it was put back on.

10. Flyleaf - All Around Me

This is a worship song. It's a worship song unlike any most churches sing on Sundays, but it's still a worship song. The video itself is pretty straightforward but the visuals of paint streaming down the walls along with the cut-backs to the all-white room is eye-catching. And the video also catches the energy of the song perfectly, putting you in a front row seat at one of their concerts.

Total Score = 25.25 (F&D - 6, SQ - 9, VC - 6.25, Art. Rel. - 4)

9. dc Talk - Between You and Me

This song was dc Talk's only single to make it on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and the video likewise made it into regular rotation on MTV and VH1.  The chase scenes pull you in to the video and by the end, you really want to know what's in that box. Entertaining video and entertaining song.

Total Score = 25.5 (F&D - 6, SQ - 7, VC - 7.5, Art. Rel. - 5)

Music Mondays - Worst Christian Music Videos of All-Time

There are plenty of things within Christian culture that make me shake my head. Along with lame t-shirts and self-help books disguised as spirituality, Christian Music Videos have to be right up there.

There are good Christian music videos out there, and soon I will do a top 10 best list. But when you combine the comparitive lack of money invested with the generally lower quality of production and music (both in comparision to the music industry at-large), often the results are cringe-worthy.

So with this post, I will be ranking the worst, most cringe-worthy Christian Music Videos of all time. Here, in short, is my criteria:

Each video had to be from a well-known Christian artist. After that, I ranked each video based off of four categories, dated fashion (out of style haircuts, clothes), annoyance level of the song, strange-ness of the video concept, and how irrelevant the artist or group is now. Fashion (Fash.), Annoyance (Annoy.), and Video Concept (VC) were all ranked 1-10, with the higher the number, the worse it is. Artist Irrelevance (Art.Irr.) was on a scale of 1-5. This had a smaller scale because I felt like the more 'dated' a video, the more likely the artist is no longer popular and I didn't want to double-penalize some nominees. So each total score is based off of a range between 1-35.

So below is my countdown with scores and a brief explanation.

Honorable Mention:

Jesus is a Friend of Mine by Sonseed.

This doesn't make it because the cut because this group was never a well-known Christian artist in their time. But had they been, this would have scored a perfect 35. When I say "cringe-worthy" this really defines the term.

10. Jesus Will Still Be There by Point of Grace

Admittedly, this is a biased pick. I had to have a P.O.G. song on this list because they were the bane of my existence in high school, thanks to Word of Life Summer Camps constantly playing their music and the girls in our youth group celebrating them like the Beatles.
Their major infractions come with the areas of fashion and video concept. Are these women trapped in dungeon somewhere - is that the subliminal message being communicated here? Because it would really fit the theme of the song and the director should be considered a genius.
Total Score = 17 (Fash.- 5, Annoy.- 3, VC- 5, Art.Irr.- 4)

Music Mondays

The Smalltown Poets were part of the mid-90's generation of Christian musicians who were rising up to replace the old guard. Their self-titled first album garnered them two Grammy and multiple Dove award nominations. It was packed with quality songs and a few radio hits, like "Prophet, Priest, and King."

This was the first album I remember having additional features on it. When you popped it into your computer, it had some behind-the-scenes movies on it that seemed high-tech at the time. It also had a hidden track at the end, which became all the rage, at least in Christian music circles. Unfortunately, it appears as if no music videos were made of any of those first album songs.

This video is from their second album, Listen Closely. While they apparently have continued to exist as a band, the height of their success came at the beginning of their careers. Their work has always struck me as being underrated. While in high school, they came and played at Grace College and I had a second row seat at their concert that was essentially an 'Unplugged' event. I remember their keyboardist had a hand keyboard that you had to blow into to play. I remember they seemed like pretty cool people and included a question-and-answer session too.

Weird personal note, on the ride home from attending dc Talk's Supernatural concert in Ft. Wayne in May of 1999, this song got stuck in my head and I remember even singing it to myself. The concert had a great worship aspect to it, and after that personally exhilarating experience, this song felt like it just fit.

Music Mondays

In my original Music Monday, I shared that my favorite all-time band was dc Talk. The first and foremost reason is their music. But a lot of bands have made great music and strung together several excellent albums.

One additional reason that helps clinch it for me though is their transparency and honesty. I'm realistic to know that on some level, that 'openness' could be faked. But I'm not cynical enough to completely chalk it up to marketing and brand management. Even in their promotional video for "Free at Last", there's a clip of renowned author Brennan Manning calling the guys out for not resolving some conflict within their group*. The quote ends up introducing 'What If I Stumble' on their next album. That song by the way, is the pinnacle of dc Talk's personal and transparent musical expression.

But the original work is the song featured below, "The Hardway".  It's real and honest. The theologian in me wants to ask, "Should people really always have to learn the hard way?" And the answer is of course no.

But that's not the point. The point is that more times than not, we as flawed followers of Christ are stubbornly sinful people who don't learn lessons very well. Brokenness is usually a very painful process, and that's what this song expresses.

*I am going off of my memory that this episode is from their 'Free At Last' video. It could be from their 'Jesus Freak' album, but I recall being suprised it was on the previous album's video before it was on the actual album introducing "What If I Stumble?". And I usually remember weird details like that. But I could be mistaken because I can't find the scene on the Internet. Feel free to correct me via comments.