Isn’t the Light OK?

Andrew Osenga, one of my favorite songwriters in the Christian realm has some questions about what people really want to hear in Christian music. If you’ve followed any of my CCM rants in the past, you know this is a subject that gets me very…uh…passionate. And yet, for some reason, I can’t bring myself to comment and say “this is what CCM needs. Do it.”

I think I’ve given up on the whole CCM subculture thing.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m still very interested in finding inherently Christian ways of creating, promoting, and supporting the arts. And though the bulk of CCM is cheesy, I do enjoy it on occasion. So much of the problem with CCM is that it’s tied in with the ways we do church and apply the gospel to our lives, that it seems like a losing battle to try changing it. The record labels aren’t the only ones these days packaging and commodifying faith: marketing, focus groups, and pandering to “felt needs” are quickly becoming the status quo for church as well as business. Unvarnished truth is just too real for a lot of people, I guess.

I’m much more interested in people like Osenga, Derek Webb, and the whole Square Peg crew who make “Christian” music, but on their own terms. Or people like Bono, Daniel Lanois, T-Bone Burnett, et al who believe, and whose belief is an integral part of their art, but don’t even bother trying to fit the “Positive Family” demographic.

I hardly even listen to Christian radio anymore - the local station I used to listen to all the time has become more and more annoying, with its satellite content beamed in to Maine from plastic Nashville Borg cubes of positivity. Anyway, my Ipod plays everything I like.

Gandhi once said “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” In that case, I guess I’d like to see more people supporting great art, regardless of category, label, or “positive family-friendliness.”

Popularity: 8% [?]

This entry was posted Friday, July 14th, 2006 at 10:05 am. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.