Modern Christian music kinda sucks

[Seliph]

First of all, this is my opinion. Second of all, I'm not bashing Christians, I just came back from church camp which is why I'm making this post.

I feel like a lot of modern Christian music is all the same thing, it's either "wow, God sure is neat" or "my life sucked before I found Jesus". It makes sense that those would be the main topic of Christian music because the whole point is to worship God but it's so repetitive. None of the songs feel unique and they seem to lack soul if you know what I mean.
And they stick in your head too, just like a lot of annoying pop music of today. I don't know about you but I don't want to have a song about worshiping Jesus stuck in my head while I'm rubbing one off.
It's fallen into the same awful trend that all pop music has taken, it uses the same 3 chord progressions over and over and the lyrics are cheesy and overused to the point that it's completely meaningless.
Again, I'm not trying to offend anybody but I'm really disappointed with the turn that Christian music has taken.

 

[smileyhead]

well, this thread's gonna go downhill fast.

 

[FAST6191]

I dare say the modern part of that is redundant.

Relevant

 

[Seliph]

I dare say the modern part of that is redundant.

Relevant

By modern I meant rock too. Anything not modern is like traditional hymns and stuff that would be sung in choir imo

 

[brickmii82]

The majority of worship music is created with simplicity in mind, so it's easy to learn for beginner musicians.

 

[erikas]

 

[Veho]

If you think Christian music is samey and repetitive, try some of the Hare Krishna stuff.

 

[barronwaffles]

What makes you think modern music in general is any better? You could substitute God/Jesus for money / women / fighting 'the man' and have almost 1:1 replacements for much of what constitutes much of popular music (I guess a reverse of that Southpark episode).

Not a religious person myself, but there has been some exceptional Christian-themed groups that I've enjoyed in the past (i.e The Soulsavers work with Mark Langan was incredible).

 

[Eightcoins]

Try other sorts of Christian Rock.
Im pretty sure that youll hate Christian Black Metal,but they thats something else.
Still disapointed at the local church where I live not turning the Churchband into a Death Metal band tho,like for some odd reason everyone in it loved Death Metal.
I have no idea why they ended up playing pop rock.

 

[Deleted User]

I was a christian as a kid, now i'm Atheist but I can agree with you.
I liked old christian music which wasn't your typical repetitive christian shit but actual fun songs about various stuff and why it feels better to believe in jesus/god.
But nowadays, it's just that thing. My life sucks etc. etc. I found jesus etc. etc. and it made my life blah-blah-blah. Really unenjoyable.

 

[The Catboy]

Religious-themed music has always been hit n' miss to me. The issue mostly been that they tend to be rather campy or predictable. There's actually been some songs with reglious themes that ended up becoming some of my favorite songs. Let it Be by The Beatles still holds a big place in my heart and it's not uncommon when I am greatly stressed, I start singing it.
As for the Modern Christian music sucking? Honestly most modern music as a whole has turned into complete shit. It's become so soulless and feels like some producers farted the song out so brainless teens can sniff in that fart and call it art. Basically modern Christian music isn't what sucks, modern music sucks.

 

[FAST6191]

For religious music then the only stuff which has ever done it for me is some reggae and other Caribbean music delves a bit into the Rasta religion.

I have no great issue with modern music, or at least I rate it no better or worse than what came before (if you are listening to anything more than about 10 years old it has already been filtered heavily). The Christian stuff just seems like they tried to copy it and did not know what they were doing, that and I find most of American Christianity (because it is pretty much them and whatever missionary work that stuck in Asia that make such music) to be highly amusing.

 

[erikas]

By christian music do you mean music that has christian theme, or music meant to push christianity as a lifestyle? Because one is art and the other is propaganda. One comes from the heart, the other tries to pander. As modern christian music is mainly propaganda pieces, is it any wonder that it sucks?

 

[Kourin]

The kind of Christian music they sing at camps and such was always kinda cheesy imo.
They're 'fun' though. I've never been a religious person but I remember having fun singing along with them as a kid.

 

[Punk-Rocking-Nerd]

I've never really been a big fan of Contemorary Gospel, the lyricism (which is what I pay the most attention to) is a little too simplistic for my taste. There may be one quote of Scripture, but it's usually never the highlight. If it isn't obvious, I much prefer classic hymns. Or, big shocker, the books of Psalms and Songs of Solomon actually put to music.
For the most part, the modern Christian music scene seems really restrained. Getting saved from actual Hell is a BIG DEAL. Getting redeemed from a sinful nature and a sinful life is a BIG DEAL. However, I think most music plays it too safe. It never gets too personal, like talking about legit hardships might get people too bogged down.
To give some insight, look Shawshank Redemption (not saying it's a Christian allegory, but just go with me for a sec, also spoilers). If you were told the story: "There was this guy wrongfully accused of a crime, went to jail, made some pals, and broke out," you wouldn't care that much about it. It didn't bother putting effort in to letting you know all the hardships the character endured. But when you see all the detail of everyday life, all the people Andy meets, all the times he's beaten down but still keeps his hope alive, you are as happy as he is when he's finally standing in the rain, finally free.
Now, in most Contemporary Christian songs, they tend to, as many of you have mentioned, stick with cliches and generic lines I could easily write in 5 minutes. There are some songs that are exceptions, as there tend to be, but for the most part, it feels impersonal, almost as though they're writing each song thinking "Now, this has to be just broad enough so other people can sing it and try to connect with the message"
I'm not bashing people with musical talent who work as Christian artists, far from it. I think that if they have talent, it deserves to be recognized, and feeling constrained by having to fit into a "music genre" with a certain sound or certain lyrics must be terribly annoying. Hopefully Christian musicians realize they can extend their musical horizons without necessarily abandoning the core message

 

[Hanafuda]

 

[FAST6191]

Getting saved from actual Hell is a BIG DEAL.

I'm not bashing people with musical talent who work as Christian artists, far from it. I think that if they have talent, it deserves to be recognized, and feeling constrained by having to fit into a "music genre" with a certain sound or certain lyrics must be terribly annoying. Hopefully Christian musicians realize they can extend their musical horizons without necessarily abandoning the core message

That rather supposes you believe in it.

Anyway I have a similar problem with the opposite -- I want to listen to technical death metal but the vocals get in the way of that. At the same time you occasionally get random members of boy bands or people like John Mayer with some serious musical talent but cranking out fluffy nonsense. To that end, and the main reason I quoted you, was to ask if there are Christian bands housing serious talents but held back by in this case being Christian bands.

 

[DinohScene]

Christian music is horrible.
Religious music is horrible.

Doesn't make a difference for me.

 

[Kioku]

Gospel music just sucks. I'll listen to Christian rock bands.. If they're not praising their deity in every other verse.

 

[RevPokemon]

To that end, and the main reason I quoted you, was to ask if there are Christian bands housing serious talents but held back by in this case being Christian bands.

I must say that I by no means am a huge Modern Christian music fan nor do I really listen to it, it is my opinion is that yes there probably is someone who is relatively talented yet decides not to really go into the "mainstream" music industry due to religious beliefs or a want to do "Christian music". As for the point of holding back talented singers or what not, that is relatively common since in the industry "talent" is really of no value for sales thus it is not about the best talent but who can make the money.