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GAF Views on Religious Music

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M

miketrav87

Member
I was just curious as to what everyone thinks about Christian music on these boards. Are there any bands that you guys find okay? I thought that this topic deserved a thread to discuss this strange genre of music.

Generally, I listen to everything (Christian music included). Some "religious" artists I find to be pretty good are:

1) Switchfoot - These guys continue to be at the forefront of rock. Check out their latest "Oh! Gravity." It's pretty rad.

2) Sufjan Stevens - Awesomely original stuff. Loved ILLINOISE.

3) U2 - How could one discuss religiously influenced music and NOT list this band. They rock.

4) Lifehouse - Good stuff, tends to be too poppy sometimes though.

5) Mat Kearney - Latest single is kickin' it on the radio. Like the fact that his album is a blend of two very different styles.

6) Relient K - These guys are ok. They're good at what they do at least (punk).

7) Mute Math - If you haven't checked this band out, you owe it to yourself. They're amazing. They sort of got their start from Switchfoot.

Any thoughts on this kind of music or notable bands? Please. Discuss. :)
 
E

emomoonbase

I'm free 2night after my LARPing guild meets.
It's great. My favorites include:

various3je9.jpg


strypernm0.jpg


Yeah. Stryper is so rad.
 
H

hoverX

Member
The only artists i listen to that would qualify as Christian are a few roots reggae ones: Sanchez and Luciano. They are both awesome. Otherwise I cannot stand much religious music of any kind.
 
O

Odysseus

Banned
I like:

POD
GRITS
John Reuben
Thousand Foot Krutch
Pillar
Andy Hunter
Kids in the Way
Kutless
Staple
Blindside
Relient K
Jars of Clay
Day of Fire
Inhabited
Flyleaf
Subseven
Disciple
Family Force 5
Red
Plumb
Project 86
 
E

emomoonbase

I'm free 2night after my LARPing guild meets.
I lied. I don't actually listen to Stryper. I kind of want to though. They look like a cross between Poison and mimes and that could be kinda cool.
 
G

GSG Flash

Nobody ruins my family vacation but me...and maybe the boy!
I'm not Christian therefore I don't like Christian music. My friends who are hardcore Christians don't listen to anything other than Jesus rock, so most of them know absolutely nothing about any music other than Christian music and that's all they talk about and it kinda drives me insane.
 
C

Chichikov

Member
miketrav87 said:
2) Sufjan Stevens - Awesomely original stuff. Loved ILLINOISE.
Click to expand...
can't stand him.
Oh so cleverly named songs which are nothing more than pop melodies covered with over complicated arrangements and package in pretentious concept albums?
No thanks, prog sucked enough the first time around.
 
J

JohnTinker

Limbaugh Parrot
Let me correct you on a couple of these,

miketrav87 said:
7) Mute Math - If you haven't checked this band out, you owe it to yourself. They're amazing. They sort of got their start from Switchfoot.
Click to expand...
While MM actually started out on their own, Switchfoot asked them to open for them this last spring, and even before that they got the majority of their first impressions to the public via/the Mae tour in Fall 05. The band wrapped up their fall tour and will be opening for The Fray in the Spring, with a radio blitz in late spring.

<-- lead singer of MM :)


My dad has worked for EMI Christian Music Group for over 22+ years, so I know a thing or two about Christian Music.

If you have any questions about specific artists fire away, I might be able to answer them. :)
 
B

Boogie

Member
I keep wanting to get into more Christian music, but I don't know where to start.

I like Switchfoot
Lifehouse
and what I've heard of Jars of Clay and Third Day
 
S

Substance

Member
Well, I enjoy the charm of Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and whoever, carrying across a few Christmas/Gospel tunes but I don't ever see myself listening to a 'Christian' band.
 
C

Christoff Yurievich

Member
I saw there is a band that does thrash metal Christian music. I am almost tempted to see what that sounds like, but then I don't like making my ears bleed so I probably won't.
 
F

FightyF

Banned
It's funny that I listen to outwardly "atheistic" music, as I'm a religious person, but what I really like about Bad Religion is that they push for independent thought.

GSG Flash: Have your friends listen to a few BR CDs, they'll love 'em despite the obvious conflict with their beliefs, and then you guys can talk about music with no probs.

Here's a song they wrote back in the late 70's when they were 15/16 years old, but it's amazing how relevant it is today!

There's people out there that say I'm no good,
'Cause I don't believe the things that I should,
And when the final conflict comes, I'll be so sorry I did wrong,
And hope and pray that our lord god will think I'm good.

Countries manufacture bombs and guns
To kill your brother for something that he hasn't even done.
Smog is ruining my lungs, but they aren't sorry they've done wrong,
They hide behind their lies that they're helping everyone.

In the end the good will go to heaven up above,
The bad will perish in the depths of hell.
How can hell be any worse when life alone is such a curse?

**** Armageddon, this is hell [x3]

We're living in the denoument of the battle's gripping awe,
So what's the use of being good to satisfy them all?

How could hell be any worse? Life alone is such a curse!
**** Armageddon, this is hell [x5]
Click to expand...

It's interesting to compare those to lyrics of newer songs, such as Athiest Peace from their 2004 album (so basically 25 years later):

Maybe it’s too late for an intellectual debate,
but a residue of confusion remains.

Changing with the times,
and developmentally tortured minds
are the average citizen's sources of pain.

Tell me what we’re fighting for—
I don’t remember anymore,
only temporary reprieve

And the world might cease
if we fail to tame the beast
from the faith that you release
comes an atheist peace.

Atheist peace.

Political forces rent
bitter cold winds of discontent
and the modern age emerged triumphantly.
But now it seems we've stalled
And it’s time to de-evolve
and relive the dark chapters of history

Tell me what we’re fighting for—
No progress ever came from war,
only a false sense of increase

and the world won’t wait
for the truth upon a plate
but we’re ready now to feast on an atheist peace.

Atheist peace
Click to expand...

I often tell my Muslim friends that listen to rap and hip hop on the radio (with themes dealing that aren't very Islamic) to try out BR, and the ones that do buy CDs love BR.

It's funny how on this board I never proselytize my own religion but rather Bad Religion. :p
 
P

puck1337

Member
I generally find that if a band has to market itself as Christian or otherwise religious, it isn't worth listening to. This shouldn't be confused with band members self-identifying as religious, which is pretty common. For example, Low is a pretty incredible act that has a big helping of religious influence, but they aren't marketed as such because they're talented enough to succeed without it.
 
O

Odysseus

Banned
Boogie said:
I keep wanting to get into more Christian music, but I don't know where to start.

I like Switchfoot
Lifehouse
and what I've heard of Jars of Clay and Third Day
Click to expand...

Take some of the bands listed in this thread and preview them in iTunes or on Amazon.com.
 
O

Outlaw Pro Mod

Member
I just got home from a Leeland / Skillet concert. Leeland was great, as expected. They preached the gospel in a great way. Only stayed for two songs of Skillet.

Other artists:

Rush of Fools
Sanctus Real
Switchfoot
Jars of Clay
Jadon Lavik

On the way to the show, heard some of Family Force 5. Sounded good but was assured that nothing compares to actually seeing them live. Heard the same about Mute Math.
 
G

GSG Flash

Nobody ruins my family vacation but me...and maybe the boy!
Fight for Freeform said:
It's funny that I listen to outwardly "atheistic" music, as I'm a religious person, but what I really like about Bad Religion is that they push for independent thought.

GSG Flash: Have your friends listen to a few BR CDs, they'll love 'em despite the obvious conflict with their beliefs, and then you guys can talk about music with no probs.

Here's a song they wrote back in the late 70's when they were 15/16 years old, but it's amazing how relevant it is today!



It's interesting to compare those to lyrics of newer songs, such as Athiest Peace from their 2004 album (so basically 25 years later):



I often tell my Muslim friends that listen to rap and hip hop on the radio (with themes dealing that aren't very Islamic) to try out BR, and the ones that do buy CDs love BR.

It's funny how on this board I never proselytize my own religion but rather Bad Religion. :p
Click to expand...

Bad Religion eh? Some of my friends (not the Christian ones) wear Bad Religion t shirts and up till now I just thought that they were against religion and that's why they wore the shirts, I'll look into it. I can guarantee you though, my Christian friends are so majorly brainwashed, that if it's in anyway not Christian, they won't touch it with a 10 foot pole. When I was in grade 7, the class had to do a book report on Harry Potter, and one of my friends had to do it on a completely different book because Harry Potter was "evil anti christ magic".
 
F

FightyF

Banned
GSG Flash said:
Bad Religion eh? Some of my friends (not the Christian ones) wear Bad Religion t shirts and up till now I just thought that they were against religion and that's why they wore the shirts, I'll look into it.
Click to expand...

:lol For some reason that happens all the time. Well, not for an unexplained reason... :p

Heck, you should get into them...GAF already decided that, "Bad Religion is the most under-rated band in the history of humankind".

Anyways, if they are die-hard Christians then let them listen to American Jesus and tell them it's from a new Christian band. :lol
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
-I listen to Denison Witmer and Jars of Clay, not much else anymore.
-I loved Waterdeep back when they did stuff, Don Chaffer is a genius.
-The Normals were good (their last album is great), they were from my town, though I only know Andy's brother.
-I think Andy does stuff with Caedmon's Call now. They were ok, then Derek Webb left that band to do solo work and it's pretty good. His wife Sandra McCracken has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard.
-Sara Groves had a couple good albums, Conversations and All Right Here but I don't really like her new stuff.
-I really like Cross Movement but it's basically some pretty heavy preaching to a beat.
-Switchfoot was good, but they peaked at Learning to Breathe and I think they kinda sold out after that.
-Mat Kearney is pretty good from what I've heard, but that's not really much.
-The Benjamin Gate was pretty cool back in the day.
-Once you get past the dulcimer obsession, you see Rich Mullins really did make a lot of good stuff.
 
J

JohnTinker

Limbaugh Parrot
Outlaw Pro Mod said:
On the way to the show, heard some of Family Force 5. Sounded good but was assured that nothing compares to actually seeing them live. Heard the same about Mute Math.
Click to expand...

You have no idea.

Lets proceed through a usual Mute Math set. (Forgive the video quality, its youtube)


First we have the intro with Collapse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RyxREI0HUU

Then we'll slide on into Typical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9LYOVpMto

Speed it up with Chaos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u28YdxzxVug

Keep the momentum going for Plan B: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX3oK52RFvk

Then its time to chill out with (my personal favorite) Stare at the Sun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NwIZPht7rU

Which segues directly into a jazzy jam session, Obsolete: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4xQ05u6Mfo

Then you get uplifted and pumped with adrenaline during the anthemic Control: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmOc9g0VRYw

Then a crowd favorite and oh so fun to sing along to, Peculiar People: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7PpbZNrSkY

Next is Noticed, but sadly I have no good videos for it.

However here's the final regular song Break the Same, with the Noticed outro included: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7PpbZNrSkY



And then you are chewed up and spit out with Reset: http://youtube.com/watch?v=hsuSeb9DZok



I've seen them five times, each time better than the last, and hands down the best live show I've ever seen in my life. And I've seen more than my fair share of shows.
 
T

The Take Out Bandit

Member
I made the mistake of buying KRS One's Spiritual Minded.

I figured, "Hey! I like KRS One - how bad can it be?"

Bad.

Well I'm sure if you like to be sermonized and further brainwashed it's not bad. However it was like kryptonite for my ears.

That "Never GIve Up" track was okay though, and I"d like to know what HK flick they sampled the background track from.
 
J

JohnTinker

Limbaugh Parrot
ronito said:
Silly kid, everyone knows Satan's already signed all the good bands.
Click to expand...
Thats pretty funny but theres around 30 gold and platinum records hanging on the living room wall that might beg to differ :)
 
F

funkmastergeneral

Banned
hmm only christian bands i enjoy are metal ones, and not because they're christian, but because i like their music.
UnderOath
Zao
As I Lay Dying
Norma Jean
xdeathstarx
 
V

Verano

Reads Ace as Lace. May God have mercy on their soul
funkmastergeneral said:
hmm only christian bands i enjoy are metal ones, and not because they're christian, but because i like their music.
UnderOath
Zao
As I Lay Dying
Norma Jean
xdeathstarx
Click to expand...

Even if they're christian..
Those bands teh suck, literally!
Listen to Beneath The Massacre, All shall perish, and Aborted.
I recommend it.

GreekWolf said:
Does that mean you find Scissor Sisters to be Christian?
Click to expand...

I have nothing against gay dudes in a band whose name refers to tribadism.
They're a'ight for glam/pop band.

Christians music is disturbing and intolerable.
 
B

brocke

Banned
i don't like it and i didn't like it even when i was very religious. except for this one song, and i can't remember the name of it.

Edit: oh now i think i remember. something with "jesus freak" repeated many time in it.
 
C

Corwood Rep

Member
I'll preface this by saying I'm a Christian:

Christian music generally sucks and I refuse to listen to any of it. Thank God none of my friends force any of that shit down my throat. It's all worthless.

That said, I'm all for hymns. Love that stuff.
 
F

funkmastergeneral

Banned
brocke said:
i don't like it and i didn't like it even when i was very religious. except for this one song, and i can't remember the name of it.

Edit: oh now i think i remember. something with "jesus freak" repeated many time in it.
Click to expand...

oh man, DC Talk. That was one of the few bands my mom allowed me to listen to when i was young :lol
 
B

brocke

Banned
funkmastergeneral said:
oh man, DC Talk. That was one of the few bands my mom allowed me to listen to when i was young :lol
Click to expand...

man you are awsome. i never thought i would find that song again. time to visit itunes :)
 
D

dasein

Member
Boogie said:
yeah, well, you can comprehend dancing either, so what's your opinion good for? :p
Click to expand...
In my life, I've lived peacefully with and have come to love people with shockingly different opinions. What I've come to learn is that people who for the most part come to disagree with you (in general, not specifically you) do so because they are simply trying to affirm themselves, discover who they are, experiment with their feelings, see how the world really is like, etc. If you didn't like what I had to say, fine. Do I care? I feel like saying 'absolutely no', but somewhere in me I see that I must. Somehow, I do.
 
M

miketrav87

Member
Ok I do have some questions. Not sure if any of these bands with the exception of Switchfoot are signed to EMI but I'll ask anyways.

How's Mat Kearney dealing with his newfound success in the mainstream? Does he seem to want to distance himself from the Christian label?

Any chance The Fray will get a Christian distributor (similar to the way Lifehouse did)? Because they seem more open about their faith than even some bands already on Christian labels (i.e. Switchfoot and Mute Math).

Mute Math's gonna be on a radio blitz in late spring eh? Is "Typical: the radio single? Does this mean they'll be more popular than my beloved Switchfoot???!
 
B

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
I remember searching through MySpace music and seeing a band listing themselves as...

Christian Down-Tempo

I wished I had clicked in and listened
 
B

blame space

Banned
puck1337 said:
I generally find that if a band has to market itself as Christian or otherwise religious, it isn't worth listening to. This shouldn't be confused with band members self-identifying as religious, which is pretty common. For example, Low is a pretty incredible act that has a big helping of religious influence, but they aren't marketed as such because they're talented enough to succeed without it.
Click to expand...

Bingo. The way the Christian music industry (for lack of a better word) is set up kinda makes me sick. Sometimes on one of the religious channels I get at school they have an MTV-like music video countdown featuring the "newest and hottest in pro-God rock!" or rap, or whatever. And then in between they play anti-gay commercials or advertisements for sets of videos that can "help you get closer to God". The whole thing just irks me, how it's set up to make kids/teens/whatever think that this is all they're allowed to be listening to. But of course a lot of them embrace it, and we get record labels marketing it/perpetuating it.

i like religious people who make good music


and relient k
Click to expand...

The first part of your post is correct, but it went downhill towards the end.
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
miketrav87 said:
Ok I do have some questions. Not sure if any of these bands with the exception of Switchfoot are signed to EMI but I'll ask anyways.

How's Mat Kearney dealing with his newfound success in the mainstream? Does he seem to want to distance himself from the Christian label?

Any chance The Fray will get a Christian distributor (similar to the way Lifehouse did)? Because they seem more open about their faith than even some bands already on Christian labels (i.e. Switchfoot and Mute Math).

Mute Math's gonna be on a radio blitz in late spring eh? Is "Typical: the radio single? Does this mean they'll be more popular than my beloved Switchfoot???!
Click to expand...
Hmmm, yeah, it's difficult if you are wanting to maintain connections with the more davout crowds. For some reason any other sort of professional is allowed to have their work be secular and unquestioned but artists are asked to make all their work a declaration of their faith. But then on the flipside with a lot of secular labels they are asked to not get too deep (or rather, specific) with faith and theology.
 
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