Christian Music is... Good?

I know, it's a shocker. I've been about as fed up as I could possibly be at the Christian music industry in the last year or two. All I ever seem to hear on Radio U, the single largest Christian rock radio station in the world, is the same old crappity crap. Every band these days is either attempting to sound like a crappy rip-off of already crappy emo... crap, or they're all hardcore thrashing and screaming and punching each other in the face. Then, of course, there's the ullllltra cheesy contemporary Christian music that my dad listens to and it makes me want to puke. Besides that, there's really nothing else out there.

And let me not forget to mention the new wave of "positive message" bands like Switchfoot, who was originally one of the more outspoken Christian bands back in about 2000. It seems, at least to me, that a lot of Christian bands are sacrificing the name of God in order to get more secular appeal, and it's really working. I remember the days back in high school when I would listen to bands like Five Iron Frenzy, The Supertones, and Bleach, and none of them hesitated at all to mention God on their records. Somehow the motives of the Christian music industry changed, and now it's all about making it in the secular industry rather than ministry. It's something I've seen coming for a long time.

Amongst all of this trash, how can one possibly say that Christian music is any good? The Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages asked itself the very same question. It's hard to imagine that there could be anything all that great out there when there's so much crap to wade through. The revelation is, however, that there are fantastic Christian bands out there, and they're not creeping up in the Christian music industry at all. They're found in the indie rock scene.

City Pages focuses on Starflyer 59, who have, for the last 12 years now, been ministering to a very underground scene, releasing 10 albums including their most recent, Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice. While I'll admit they don't sing outspokenly about Jesus Christ, they are Christians to the core and you can ask them about it. Compare that to the "that's nice" response I got from Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman when I told him I was praying for him. Maybe my experience is different from most, but I was incredibly disappointed. Starflyer 59 is not hardly the only Christian band sliding into the indie rock music scene. Ester Drang, The Danielson Famile, and Pedro the Lion are also mentioned by City Pages.

Which brings me to the highly popular Sufjan Stevens. When I first heard Stevens' music, I didn't think much of him except that he was your typical indie folk rocker. It wasn't until a friend told me that I should listen carefully to Seven Swans that I realized that he was more than average. The song "He Woke Me Up Again" is a perfect example, with its chorus of "Halle, halle, halleluia. Holy, holy is the sound." Listening to that makes me smile because I'm getting the best of both worlds. I'm getting the best of indie folk, which I love very much, and the best of new Christian music, which I love even more.

His upcoming album, Illinois, delves even further into the Christian life. In "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.," Stevens makes a very surprising, very humble observation:

And in my best behaviour
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floor boards
For the secrets I have hid

The tear-jerker "Casimir Pulaski Day" discusses the death of a beloved girl and how hard it is to deal with it as a Christian:

All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications when I see His face
In the morning in the window
All the glory when He took our place
But He took my shoulders and He shook my face
And He takes, and He takes, and He takes

These are really just the tips of the iceberg. The album is acclaimed by indie rock critics, but it's full of Christian themes, and outspokenly at that. Stevens shares the intimate details of his Christian life in every song, and yet hundreds, or even thousands, of non-Christians in the indie rock music industry will hear this. Out of the entire Christian music industry, I think there's not a more successful Christian artist than Sufjan Stevens, and funny how he's not even in the Christian music industry at all.

The trend is going to continue, whether you know it or not. I would pay close attention to Anathallo. I saw them at Cornerstone Music Festival and they've also been featured on Music For Robots.

That is all I have to say about that.

In other news...

So much for that Blur reunion. Bassist Alex James announced that they are all suing each other. "It's a shame really," said James. I thought we might all get together again for Live 8 and try and save the world but no." James also says that this isn't the end of the story, and I hope he's right. Ever since this latest Gorillaz album, I've really been craving a Blur reunion.

A reunion is in store for The Cure, however. Porl Thompson has returned to the lineup for their summer tour. Thompson replaces Perry Bamonte, who was ousted from the band last month along with keyboardist Roger O'Donnell.

Tim Buckley died some 30 years ago and his son Jeff Buckley died in 1997, but their music continues to inspire new generations of listeners. Soon the two will hopefully get the recognition they both deserve. The rights to David Browne's book Dream Brother: The Lives & Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley were bought by Train Houston, and now a script for the screen adaptation of it is floating around Hollywood. No takers yet, but I would be surprised if it didn't get bought up soon.

It must be nice to be a magazine. The Strokes gave NME a sneak peak at their third album, letting them hear the 14 currently unmixed tracks. NME reports that the album is more experimental than the previous one, which I hope is good news since Room on Fire was pretty lack-luster. Fab Moretti explains that the whole band felt rushed when recording Room on Fire and that they're more confident in their new album.

Upcoming Columbus Shows

6.23 - Aqualung - Little Brothers
7.07 - Reel Big Fish - Newport Music Hall
7.14 - Blowfly - Little Brothers
7.16 - Pete Yorn - Newport Music Hall
7.19 - Dressy Bessy - Little Brothers
7.20 - Howie Day - Promowest Pavilion
7.20 - Luna Halo w/ Modena Vox - Skully's Music Diner
7.22 - Tegan and Sara - Newport Music Hall
8.11 - Ben Folds w/ Ben Lee and Rufus Wainwright - Promowest Pavilion
8.20 - Pretty Girls Make Graves - Little Brothers
8.23 - Thunderbirds Are Now! - Little Brothers
8.30 - Xiu Xiu w/ Das Yellow Swans and Nedelle - Little Brothers
8.31 - Coldplay w/ Rilo Kiley - Germain Ampitheater
9.06 - Of Montreal w/ The Management - TBA
9.10 - The White Stripes w/ The Greenhornes - Ohio State Theater
9.14 - Sufjan Stevens - Southgate House (Newport, KY)
9.24 - The Rolling Stones w/ Beck - Germain Ampitheater

Daily Downloads
from the regnyouth archives

Coldplay - X&Y (link, zip)
Eisley - Room Noises (link, mp3)
Of Montreal - Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies (link, mp3)