If it's instrumental, what's Christian about the music? Not being a smart-alec here, sincere question.
I've been following this thread, hoping to find something different than all the same-sounding stuff I hear at Zaxby's. (Do they all play CCM in-house or just the ones near me, as well as Cook-Out [regional NC chain]? And no, fast food joints are not the only places I hear Christian music.) Not only do they all sound the same to me lyrically ("God, you're the greatest thing ever, I love you with all my heart, I'm your humble servant, I give you all the praise", etc), but also musically. It's all so sappy. One of every 30 songs I hear is actually interesting, but by the time I notice it, the song's over before I can launch SoundHound on my phone. I'm not knocking the concept of contemporary Christian music; on the contrary, I'm semi-actively seeking some that doesn't bore me to sleep. Is there really 10,000 different angles from which to write a love song, but for Christian music, about 3? I did find Planetshakers a refreshing change, music-style-wise (even though they're not my bag), but as soon as they start singing, it sounds like all the rest to me. I did try 4 or 5 more that have been listed here; still sounded the same to me, so I stopped.
King's X has resisted the Christian tag, not because they're not Christian individuals (they are, self-affirming), but because they write lyrics from a more generally spiritual place rather than specifically Christian themes. They've managed to write about their spiritual thoughts/quandaries/etc. from many different lyrical angles. Further, (this part should have nothing to do with the musical style or lyrical content), even within the hard rock style they live in, they manage to make songs as different-sounding from each other (in mood and other ways) as any other mainstream rock band. Why can't I find that amount of variety in a CCM artist's work? Am I going to have to skip over "regular-sounding" rock music and go straight to Christian screamo metal? (I've been told it exists.) I hope not, because that's not really my bag either.
So, let's use some secular artists just for the sake of the point. I'd like to hear some bands/artists that each have the variety of material within their style- like Pearl Jam, Brand New Heavies, Prince (well, that's tough for anyone to do), Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Tori Amos, Tom Petty, Public Enemy, Dave Matthews Band, Led Zeppelin, Living Colour, etc- but who are Christian and represent it lyrically. (And I don't mean sound-alikes, just artists who come up with material with equal variety.) Does it exist? If not, might it be because most CCM artists are catering to who they feel comprises the music- and ticket-buying market for it? I'd hate to stereotype all CCM music fans as resistant to stuff that doesn't sound so churchy-sappy (and I don't mean that in a disrespectful way), but, is it true? If it sounds too much like secular rock/pop/r&b, but with as much Christian lyrical content as stuff they DO like, do they dismiss it- i.e. if they don't feel they can hold their hands up to the sky and sway to it, it's out?
