by mrs. dandelion
I was surprised to find out that many of my Christian friends don't listen to Christian music outside of their churches. When I asked them why they said the following things about Christian music: it's boring, cheesy, way too old-school or that musicianship/production of the songs aren't as good as secular songs. I thought about their comments and wondered about the quality of Christian music. Taste in music is subjective but I think some of their opinions are true.
When was the last time you heard a Christian song that made you want to dance or move your head or foot to the beat? I mean really get you up out of your chair? I'm talking about a song that makes you feel extremely upbeat and feel like moving. There are tons of secular songs that do that for me. Are there no Timbaland-like producers in the Christian music biz?
I'm sure a song like this exists but I just haven't found one yet that does this for me.
I have more thoughts on this but for now I ask, do you know of any Christian songs that make you want to get your Flashdance on??
Comments (21)
Dude, some of these people that don't listen to Christian music outside of church should listen to Air1.com or POD or Lifehouse or Evanescence...just to name a few...if they think that Hillsong is boring and cheesy, I would like to see what they think isn't. Some secular music I find to be a bit sad and depressing.
BTW did you mention Garbage in garbage out? What you feed the mind through audio visual comes out of you as well. Listen to enough gangsta rap with F this and F that, you may drop a F at church in front of the pastor so how's them apples then?
I don't know. I listen to some really hard rock Christian music and I get ragging crazy in a good way, but then again I'm at home alone doing the dishes LOL :P
that's what I think.
also secular music is very boring and all sounding the same...money power sex
it wasn't like in the 80 when people had intelligent things to say in all genre including rap...think about public enemy.
take the shackles off my feet so i can dance...
i just wanna praise you... just wanna praise you...
I used to like Tobymac, but our local Christian radio stations overplayed all of his songs so much that I can't stand him...he has some good songs though, I just can't bear to listen to them anymore...lol...
I know musical tastes are a personal thing, but there is some GREAT Christian music out there. I like music that lifts my soul as much as my emotions. I like music with a message that God can approve of. I think Hillsong United has some great stuff.
david crowder band, ftw.
two words: Sufjan Stevens
two more words: Mute Math
My religious/faith views aren't as...sure as they used to be, but good music is good music
i gotta agree with Shackles (Mary Mary) for actual "get up and shake it" music. but david crowder band will always get my foot tapping.
david crowder band makes me dance.
Toby mac
I also listen to Chris Tomlin, Michelle Tumes, Point of Grace, POD, and quite a few others outside of church
jeremy camp, jars of clay, mae, leeland, rebecca st. james, skillet, audio adrenaline... i could go on =]
Song wise I really like Testify to Love by Avalon.
David Crowder Band and Grits! I love them both.
Red, Flyleaf, Disciple, Pillar, Skillet, Fireflight, Day of Fire, 38th Parallel, 12 Stones, Anavox, DC Talk, Delirious, Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys, Tree63, Petra, MercyMe, Barlowgirl, Jeremy Camp, Casting Crowns, Shane & Shane
The groups are from Hard Christian rock/metal to more contemporary/alternative.
My Favorite Cd's as a whole:
(1) Fireproof - Pillar
(2) Back Again - Disciple
(3) Jars of Clay - Jars of Clay
(4) Comotose - Skillet
(4) Underdog - Audio Adrenaline
(5) Jesus Freak (& Welcome to the Freak Show) - DC Talk
Shackles and Toby Mac's Irene are pretty good.
Those aside, there are a few 38th Parallel and Switchfoot songs that I can more or less rock out to.
Relient K!! Hillsong United. Deluge. -- Those are some bands that make me wanna move, especially their fast songs...Grits is good. Mae, Leeland, Switchfoot, Seabird, NeedToBreathe the list goes on and on! There is a lot out there. Just gotta look!
Oh, man, there's tons! Everyone above has mentioned some great examples. I don't think I saw John Ruben, though. Can't forget him. SCC has some cool tunes, too: Dive, Live Out Loud for two.
All these suggestions are really good. I rock out in my car every time "Everything Glorious" by David Crowder Band comes on.
I'd also suggest you check out Jake Smith. A lot of his songs are funky and dance-able (especially "Make Me Move" and "Can't Save Your Soul"), and his lyrics are great. And, although they are obscure and not really a functional band anymore, I am completely incapable of sitting still while listening to Madison Greene. And I love to skank to Christian ska! Five Iron Frenzy, The O.C. Supertones, The Insyderz, Buck Enterprises, and the W's were all great Christian ska bands.
There's lots of quality Christian music out there...you might just have to hunt it down, because it doesn't always make it onto the radio or into the Christian bookstores. For ideas, check out online stores like thejesusunderground.com, independentbands.com and musichristian.com, and read reviews at tollbooth.org, jesusfreakhideout.com, and relevantmagazine.com.
i'm save this post so that i can right them down later... what about radio stations?!?
@skacoustic - thanks so much for the suggestions and recs! I will check them all out. =)
thanks for the suggestions
How bouts a little Viking flavor with your heavy music? Eluveitie! Holy Blood is pretty heavy. Those two aren't really toe tappers, they are more metal-y.
If you like a more progressive type, try Iona. They have a heavy Celtic flavor and they are awesome! They have some songs that might make you move your head or feet to the beat. Revelation, Chi Rho, and Treasure are the names of a few of those types of songs that they do that come immediately to mind. Moya Brennan is ethereal, new-agey, celtic... "Enya"-ish. Actually, Moya Brennan and Enya are sisters, so if you like Enya you'd probably like Moya (also goes by "Maire" Brennan).
You could probably search any of these or what the other folks have suggested over at Amazon.com and get some sample sounds for most of them. Well, maybe not for Holy Blood or Eluvietie... Christian Viking Metal is sort of a niche market! LOL!
As far as radio stations, (the person in a different reply was asking) I listen to Live365 on the internet. If you are looking to find new stuff to listen to, and want a little
help narrowing down the search parameters, then it's a pretty good
place to start. Say, if you like hip-hop, but want Christian music, just type them both in together in the search bar and they'll have something for you. I found "Christian extreme black death metal", just trying to see if it would find me anything... and it did! Check them out: http://www.live365.com/index.live
No... I don't work for them. I just like them.
Could be you can do that at any number of online radio sites, but I have only tried 365.
So anyway, Happy hunting!
Be blessed.
i'm late to the party, i know (this tab has been open forever on my browser, lol) but there's a ton of upbeat Gospel music. as DanishDoll said it's a matter of personal taste, but I know during the "praise" portion of our worship services the temperature in the room rises several degrees from all the moving bodies, and that I listen to Gospel music outside of church even when not trying to learn something for the choir, lol.
Artists to check out, if you care to:
Kirk Franklin
Byron Cage
Jonathan Nelson
Kurt Carr
Judith Christie McCallister
Karen Clark Sheard
Martha Munizzi
(i can provide specific song examples too, if you're interested. you can also browse music on imeem http://www.imeem.com/music/ ...to hear some of the full songs you'd have to register a free account)