Tuesday, June 20, 2006

The Sound of Christian Music

Have you ever noticed that Christian music has a very definable sound of its own? Just spend the day in your car clicking through all the different radio stations in your town and without listening to the lyrics and I would be willing to bet that if you are at all familiar with genres of music you would be able to identify which ones were the Christian stations. It literally has a “sound” of it’s own. Maybe it’s all the “U2, Edge-like” guitar parts (where would Christian music be without The Edge?), or maybe it’s the vocal that is mixed super-hot, or maybe it’s the lower quality of reception since the Christian stations are usually at the lower end of the dial. For whatever reason, generally speaking, Christian music has a “sound”.

How and why has this happened? I’m not sure, but for some reason it really bugs me. It’s probably because it makes me feel like Christian musicians can’t “hang” in the mainstream world of music. Should we care about this? Maybe not. Being accepted by “the world” is for sure not a Biblical motive for creating art, but seen from a different perspective, if one is offering art that is honest and inspiring one would think that it would be embraced no matter what worldview you subscribe to.

I think it also makes me feel like we have acquired a fortress mentality when it comes to our music. Now I know that the market perhaps demands this type of structure since if it was all one huge mass of music to choose from sales would greatly be reduced due to lack of organization. But if we had more bands like Switchfoot penetrating the mainstream I think it could provide more unique avenues for the gospel.

Like many issues, my hunch is that since CCM is a business, the bottom line of making money and trends of Christian consumers has a lot to do with it. Could it be that the reason why Christian music sounds that way it does it due to the fact that this is what most Christian people are buying? Certainly that has a lot to do with it. Depending on your perspective, that reality could make you very excited about the majority of Christian culture, or very depressed. I would certainly say that I am not depressed, but I bet you can glean where I lean. We will press on in hope…

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

what is your opinion on the more 'hard core' music such as thrice...and taking back sunday. you know...the songs w/ guys screaming and you can't even understand what they are saying. but...there is such emotion behind. and...sometimes the lyrics can be super powerful. what is your take on this branch of the chrisitan music scene? this is not 'main stream'....

Anonymous said...

You haven't seen or heard?? There's a piece of studio EQ gear called "Christian-Q" - with one push of a button, it gives any track just the right EQ to make it sound Christian and perfect for Christian Radio. There's a new version I heard about coming out called "Christian-Q Plus" which identifies any direct reference to Jesus, Christ, God etc., and pulls those frequencies down just enough so it's not too prominent. Should be coming out soon.

Jason Kanz said...

I was about to bring up Switchfoot (a band you turned me onto years ago by the way), when you beat me to it. I wonder if many of the more mainstream Christian bands are just that--mainstream. There is a distinct Christian theme running through much of U2's music (e.g., 40), yet they certainly receive attention in the mainstream. I hate to bring up country music, but several of the country artists are similarly mainstream and Christian (e.g., Sawyer Brown). What seems most unfortunate to me is the inability of great Christian artists to openly claim their faith in Jesus Christ without fear of direct or indirect retribution from the mainstream.

Anonymous said...

when you say "Christian Music" you are probably referring to Christian radio, pop and AC, because there are many styles of Christian music that don't sound in any way similar(hip/hop, hard rock, screamo, etc). when you refer to mainstream music however, that covers a multitude of musical genres, as Christian is the only genre defined by lyrical content rather than musical. And yes, Christian radio music does sound in some ways similar because it all tends to be directed at the same demographic, the people who listen to those stations and financially support them. which brings us to the next question... whose fault is it, young people for not supporting Christian radio more, thus having an effect on what they play, or Christian radio's fault for not taking any chances. i would say it is both, although i would lay more of the blame on the radio programmers. these guys dictate the "Christian sound" more than anyone. there are a few that are so influential that mixes of songs are run by them BEFORE final approval by the artist or the label. they are often driven by the power they have and show no desire to break new ground or promote great art(the jury is out on whether they would even recognise it). the same problem exists in the mainstream i'm sure, but at least there i have seen more people who are in the business because they love great music enjoy helping new artists break out.

i have at times heard mainstream artists that i thought had a distinctly "Christian sound", and they are usually women. Paula Cole, Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carleton are examples. The common thing is that they are all shooting for the same target audience as the Christian market, soccer moms.

Now us much as i can get frustrated with radio for not appreciating good art, or going after a more diverse audience, we have to consider the economics as well. With Christian music, we're talking about a potential audience that is a fraction of the mainstream audience. for example, if someone wanted to start a Christian hip/hop station, are there really enough people who enjoy that music in order to support an entire radio station of it. so what we end up with is Christian stations with genre specific programming, and who is really going to fit into their schedule tuning in to a Christian hip/hop show on saturday night between 8pm and 9pm?

i guess in the end what inspires me the most is Christian artists allowing their creativity to dictate their audience, rather than letting their potential audience dictate who they are. this is all easier said than done, but if we are not driven by an ideal that is beyond the norm, then we become stagnant and emasculated. or in the words of Oswald Chambers, "A man's reach must exceed his grasp, or what is heaven for?"

opinion-minion said...

Amazing.

I've always felt uneasy in a Christian bookstore. I've been raised on books and music of quality. Sad to say, I haven't found much at the bookstore. Borders, Barnes & Noble, anyplace other than the "Christian" bookstore!

Oh, and I think that fate intervened. I noticed that you recommended different singers---well, on my pandora.com station, two of the artists U2 and Radiohead came on as I read the article.