Is Christian Music Dead?

                I experienced a huge disappointment today.  Over the weekend I purchased several new albums on ITunes.  I was looking forward to listening to one in particular today.  I had only heard a few songs from this artist, but it seemed like his writing and performance style are right up my alley.  I won't mention names, because I am not writing to single out or bash individuals.  I will mention that he is a secular artist.  The debate of whether or not Christians should listen to secular music may make a good post for another day, but that is not today's topic.  I have felt uninspired buy much of the Christian music being released lately (part of the reason why I haven't purchased much music lately) and have begun to expand the boarders of my music collection.  I am not saying that all Christian artists are like this.  I find Jimmy Needham very inspirational for example.  He really knows how to "say it like it is."  However, these inspirational few don't crank out albums fast enough to keep me going. 

                Getting back to today's topic, I eagerly began to listen to this new album on the way to work.  The first few song were great.  Some I had heard once before and others were new.  I continued to listen during my lunch and prep. periods while I chipped away at paperwork.  This is when the disappointment hit me.  I came upon several songs that had blatantly and forcefully liberal messages.  For me, the words to these songs detracted from any musical quality they may possess.  I ended up turning off the music and working in silence.

                This caused me to think about the double standard in today's society that is skewed against Christianity.  When Christians include any aspect of their viewpoint in a discussion, debate or form of entertainment they are labeled as bullies who are pushing their religion upon others.  However, when non-Christians include their viewpoints in the same types of arenas they are viewed and open-minded individuals who are educating and raising awareness to cultural and social differences. 

                Part of the issue is that the entertainment and media industries are predominantly controlled by non-Christians.  They have the power to block the production and sale of material containing messages that they don't agree with.  In addition, Christian views are just not popular in today's society.  Views that are not popular are not going to fit in pop music. 

                Finally, non-Christians within media and entertainment are more fervent about expressing their beliefs.  In the game of spreading their view they are "in it to win it" as Randy Jackson would say.  Many Christians are in it to make it.  Christian musicians (myself included) want to make it as an artist.  Why?  Well, we want our music to be heard.  That is the whole reason why we write and record it.  Often we feel that the only way to be heard is to get signed to a major record label, sell a ton of albums, go on big tours and be famous.  If watering down our lyrics and trying to emulate secular pop music will help us to achieve this, we are willing to do it.  Watering down can mean using the word love instead of Jesus in a lyric.  It may also mean writing about only the popular Christian topics and avoiding challenging ones.  After all, people want to be entertained.  If they want to be challenged, they will listen to a sermon, not a song. 

                I am not saying this is the case for all Christian artists all the time, but most face it.  I would be willing to say that any Christian artists who claims to have never even thought about this issue may be lying (or in denial).  How many times have you heard of Christians artists who end up crossing over into secular music?  The number of secular artists who started off singing in the Christian church is probably even higher.  You don't, however, hear about secular artists crossing over into the Christian music genre too often.  This sad truth demonstrates the fact that compromise (for many Christians) is acceptable while in the pursuit of success.  The very existence of this compromise validates the non-Christian argument that Christians are incorrect.  If the Christian view is correct, why are so many willing to lay it aside in the pursuit of fame? 

                As Christian artists, we need to remember that God is all powerful.  He gave us our gifts and talents for a purpose.  Yes, music is meant to be a form of entertainment, but it is also an effective form of communication.  If we are willing to lay down our pursuit of fame and wholeheartedly seek to honor God through our music we may be able to have an equal or even greater impact as secular music.  If we seek to be original, honest and true to our convictions, then people may perceive our honesty and be compelled to listen.  People need to feel something in the music they are listening to.  If the artist is singing about something they don't believe (just because it is popular) the feeling becomes flat an uninspired.  I would love to play for larger crowds and sell more music, but I would much rather write and sing about what I feel is true even if it isn't popular.  My inspiration flows from my feelings and beliefs.  Once I stray from that source, I lose my identity as an artists.  

Albums vs. Singles

                Digital distribution has had a huge impact on song writing and music production.  In the day of CD sales, an album was made as a cohesive unit.  On a good album, each song was somehow related to the next.  Listening to an entire CD took the listener on a musical journey.  There were one or two main songs that were also released as singles.  These songs acted as hooks to pull you in.  However, the journey of listening to the whole album revealed other songs that grew to be just as (or even more) significant. 

                I believe that today's technology age is feeding the development of ADD in society.  Digital distribution is one example of this.  Now very few people have the patience to listen to an entire album.  Most people do not purchase the entire album.  Many do not even purchase singles due to the rampant abuse of file sharing (as mentioned in my 9/8/14 post).  Music listeners own digital devices with hard drives full of random singles.  These devices are either programmed to play playlists (the modern day mix-tape) or set on shuffle mode.  The listening experience is a random smattering of artists and styles.

                Artists still try to create cohesive albums, but they know that most listeners will not experience the album in its entirety.  In order to convince people to purchase the whole album they attempt to make every song a hit single.  We now have whole albums full of hook songs.  Some people may say this is a good thing because it eliminates filler songs and raises the quality of the album.  However, this process of album creation and listening eliminates the journey.  It is difficult to create an album full of hit singles that also acts as a cohesive unit.  It is even more difficult to listen to such an album as a cohesive unit.  Most people will jump around to their favorite songs as if they are determining the results of a popularity contest. 

                The breakdown of the album in the digital age has also resulted in the breakdown of the message delivered through music.  Since the listener has a shorter attention span, the artist has to get his or her message across in one song.  The age of spreading a message across an entire album and taking the listener on a journey is over.  Plus, your one song message has to be short and sweet.  Anything that is too deep will lose the attention of the average listener.  Every single is competing for space on the average listener's current playlist.  A strong beat, catchy hook and light mood often make it to the top of the list.  Listeners don't want to be challenged, they want to have their ears tickled.  Call me old fashioned, but I am not into tickling.  I enjoy substance and meaning.  I'm not saying we should go back to vinyl, but I do miss the days when we use to write and listen to real music.

True Excellence

                What does it take to be truly excellent at something?  I use to think I knew the answer to that question.  I was always a good student with a straight “A” average.  I diligently completed my homework and studied, but not to a fanatical degree.  Good grades seem to come easily to me as long as I applied myself at a normal and competent level.  I’ll admit that part of this was due to my natural ability to learn new concepts quickly.  My brain seems to be custom made for the way information is taught in school.

                However, I have also come to realize that the bar is not set for true excellence in school.  By true excellence, I mean reaching the point where one is considered exceptional.  By definition the term exceptional implies exclusivity.  If many people were able to achieve this level, then it would not be the exception.  Setting this as the level of mastery within the school system would frustrate many of the students.  Instead, we set a level that is achievable by many who apply themselves. 

                In the real world, however, things function differently.  Average and even above average individuals all get lumped into a nameless and faceless group of workers within society.  They earn average salaries, receive average levels of recognition and achieve average level accomplishments.  Only exceptional individuals stand out.  When you can do something that no one else (or very few) can do, people take notice. 

                In today’s information and technology age it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve the level of exceptional.  Anyone with access to the internet has the ability to self-publish literature, visual art, music or videos.  This means that the population of individuals competing for the status of exceptional is greater than in the past.  In addition, the amount of entertainment and leisure activities available are ever increasing.  Time spent in these activities does not aid an individual in advancing to a state of exceptional achievement. 

                There are only 24 hours in each day.  How we chose to spend those hours determines what we accomplish each day.  As a musician, I need to balance my practice time with my personal walk with God, a full time job (public school music teacher), family time, time spent studying the art of recording/mixing, time spent with the other aspects of my ministry/business (blogs, videos, public relations, etc.) and time spent with the upkeep of my house/cars.  I probably haven’t even listed everything here, but these were the first things that came to mind.  It is impossible to be exceptional at all of the things I just listed.  I would have to choose one (or two if I’m Superman) to focus on while maintaining the others as best as possible.  How do you choose?  I think this is another factor that separates exceptional people from the rest.  They have an ability to focus on one thing and block out everything else.  We see the aspect of their lives that is exceptional, but we don’t see the degree to which every other aspect suffers in order to achieve this exceptional status. 

In the end, is it worth it?  Is it better to be exceptional at one thing and negligent in every other area of your life, or competent at every aspect of your life.  If I were going to strive to be exceptional, what aspect of my life would I focus on?  That is a discussion for a different day (literally).  This is a Monday (Music) blog, and I write another blog on Fridays (Real Life) that covers those topics.  

The Death Of Iconic Music

                My wife showed me a blog this weekend written by Nick Simmons.  He interviewed his father, Gene Simmons, on the death of rock and the current shift in the music industry.  They discussed the lack of iconic artists in today industry, and the lack of financial support for songwriters and rock artists due to file sharing.  The interview touched on things that I have mentioned in past posts, and went deeper into the state of the music industry.  Rather than attempt to write on this topic myself, I would like to refer you to this source.  Here is a link to the interview: 
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/gene-simmons-future-of-rock

As a disclaimer - Gene Simmons does use a sparse amount of vulgar language within the post.  I personally chose to ignore that since the quality of the discussion and content was so high.