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 - Classic Comps Part 1

Twenty years ago, during the era when CD's were popular, Disc-man's were prevalent, and large stereo systems were the norm for any young adult's bedroom, the Christian music industry sought to capitalize on the Christian culture's desire to grow by mirroring the larger culture's trends.

This took many forms, including 'CD Clubs' with names like 'Power + Glory' which promoted various Christian artists  by often comparing them to their more popular secular counterparts. 

"If you like ___________, then check out ______________" the marketing stated.

Offering alternatives certainly had it's benefits, but when those alternatives were little more than poor imitations, it gave the CCM industry a reputation for mediocrity that it had a hard time shaking. 

In memory of that strange and unusual time, I offer this Music Monday of some randomly selected Christian bands and their secular comparison. I decided to avoid individuals for the sake of length. 

And next week, we'll look at the flip side - some CCM trailblazers who proved to be ahead of their time and larger cultural trailblazers as far as musical styles are concerned. So here is a list of Christian bands and the secular groups they owed a large part of their popularity too. 

Let me just mention that these particular songs are only meant to reflect the style of each band and not be a straight one-to-one comparison to the other song.

Bleach - Weezer

This one was obvious even at the time. Bleach was putting out really good music in their own right and like Weezer, they were only a niche band even at their peak. 

Plus One - NSync, Backstreet Boys

Of all the ways CCM tried to mirror pop music, this may be the most cringe-worthy. Did we really try to make a go of the whole Boy Band thing? Yes we did, and I'm sure someone made some money...but man...smh.

Polarboy -  Red Hot Chili Peppers, Counting Crows

I fell in love with Polarboy at apparently the end of their run which happened to coincide with the   release of Californication by the Chili Peppers. So while I was listening to the Back from Nowhere album, my hallmates my freshman year of college were blasting RHCP and at one point, I couldn't tell them apart very well.

The Waiting - REM

Two bands, both acoustically driven and both led by baldish-roundheaded-kind-of-short singers with memorable but unspectacular voices - one a gigantic Hall-of-Fame cultural icon while the other was a band that struggled to get even a couple hits on Christian radio. The Waiting still stands up though.

OC Supertones - Mighty Mighty Bosstones

The late 90's and early 2000's featured some interesting fads. One of the most remarkable was the popularity of Ska music. Instruments typically showcased in marching bands were suddenly adopted into rock bands that often featured a raspy-voiced lead vocalist. 

I grew to personally loathe this whole movement as my best friend and freshman year of college roommate used this as his alarm clock song that played through his stereo. Given I'm not a morning person and he commonly got up before I did, it wasn't long before I couldn't stand to hear even a note of any of it.

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This is no way is meant to demean theses artists as if they were all frauds. While it would be easy to be cynical about these artists, really that would be misplaced criticism. First of all, some of those Christian options were legitimately good and presented Christian truth in a relevant package. 

But looking back at that period overall, it is easy to cringe at much of it. But isn't it our own fault as a Christian culture that we accepted this 'milk' when we should have been clamoring for more 'solid food'? Shouldn't we have been more demanding of original styles and voices and creativity from the CCM industry?