Why is CCM so bland and boring?

[Nihilianth]

I won't call myself a musician as that conveys the idea that I am a competent performer, which I am not. However, I am musical. Secular music is exactly that. Unfortunately, the secular has infiltrated the Christian realm, and most of what calls itself Christian is banal and repetitive. It is instructive that so many performers go back to the old hymns and add a bit of rock rhythm and modern arrangements.

You would not know this, but music can be spiritual or not. Bach, for example is spiritual. He was born again and that is obvious to me. Even his instrumental stuff is clearly inspired. Some of Handel's work also, especially "Messiah". Mozart is nice to listen to but that's it. Mozart, Beethoven and most other classical composers are not spiritual.

The near worship of people like John Lennon appalls me. He was a total jerk. He treated his first wife and his son like dirt. He was abusive. Utter hypocrisy. Pink Floyd musically lectured people on human rights, love, blah blah, but as a group were barely on speaking terms. Being talented does not make a person decent.

You're not altogether wrong. A couple of points I can agree to disagree with, as the first half of your post is pretty subjective. People are individuals. They're all different. So what you call "unspiritual," may touch others.

As for John Lennon, yeah. You're wright. He was an abusive husband, and in no way will I defend his actions. You dont have to like an artist, in order to appreciate their work.

For example, Clint Eastwood. I can't stand stand Clint Eastwood, mostly for his politics. That doesn't mean he wasn't an excellent actor. Same with Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, and Tom Cruise.

Anyway, if you want to learn something interesting about music, you should study the connection between classical music and modern-day screamo/heavy metal. If some classical music is "spiritual," that means heavy metal is too, as it draws heavily from the classical musicians.

 

[Gideon300]

You're not altogether wrong. A couple of points I can agree to disagree with, as the first half of your post is pretty subjective. People are individuals. They're all different. So what you call "unspiritual," may touch others.

As for John Lennon, yeah. You're wright. He was an abusive husband, and in no way will I defend his actions. You dont have to like an artist, in order to appreciate their work.

For example, Clint Eastwood. I can't stand stand Clint Eastwood, mostly for his politics. That doesn't mean he wasn't an excellent actor. Same with Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, and Tom Cruise.

Anyway, if you want to learn something interesting about music, you should study the connection between classical music and modern-day screamo/heavy metal. If some classical music is "spiritual," that means heavy metal is too, as it draws heavily from the classical musicians.

You should read my comments more carefully. Not all classical music is spiritual, far from it. I use "spiritual" in the Christian sense. When I was more involved in secular music, quite a few bands were dabbling in the classics. Procol Harum and Vanilla Fudge were two that I recall. Some solo performers put words to classics as well. Good idea. No need to pay royalties!

 

[Nihilianth]

You should read my comments more carefully. Not all classical music is spiritual, far from it. I use "spiritual" in the Christian sense. When I was more involved in secular music, quite a few bands were dabbling in the classics. Procol Harum and Vanilla Fudge were two that I recall. Some solo performers put words to classics as well. Good idea. No need to pay royalties!

That's entirely subjective, so I can agree to disagree on that. I will only point out that, even though some music may not be "spiritual" in the Christian sense, doesn't mean it isn't "spiritual" in a way to other people who may or may not be Christian.

 

[TheIndianGirl]

I like traditional hymns and all but many of the songs sound sad, if not the words then the instrumental music. That makes sense because many songs, like Be Thou My Vision have Irish roots and to me Irish songs (except for the bar songs) sound depressing. I too find most contemporary songs boring and repetitive. My favorite songs are songs like Holy City/Jerusalem Jerusalem, Via Dolorosa, Mary Did You Know, etc., songs that have a story and pack a lot of information rather than just repetitive verses.

 

[Gideon300]

I like traditional hymns and all but many of the songs sound sad, if not the words then the instrumental music. That makes sense because many songs, like Be Thou My Vision have Irish roots and to me Irish songs (except for the bar songs) sound depressing. I too find most contemporary songs boring and repetitive. My favorite songs are songs like Holy City/Jerusalem Jerusalem, Via Dolorosa, Mary Did You Know, etc., songs that have a story and pack a lot of information rather than just repetitive verses.

Yes. I like the hymns of Charles Wesley. It's like sermons set to music. Most of the tunes are positive also, or at least the popular hymns.

 

[rickMac]

To put it simply, CCM is not bland and boring. It's not "7 words repeated 11 times" I have been looking through many songs and artists and really thinking through what the lyrics mean. The result 1,310 songs so far from 40 artists. How can I find so much meaning and significance in this gift of God that you all see blandness in? it would be "bland" if you listened to the same songs every day all day. Yet there are some incredible messages out there. One thing is that if you compare someone like Tobymac or the Newsboys to Mandisa or Unspoken, there's a difference -- Mandisa and Unspoken have so much more .... something. Substance perhaps, they don't repeat the same messages -- there's variety, newness, a sense of depth. Not that TobyMac and the Newsboys lack substance, they just are not as rich. Yet they have their purpose.

I used to believe in coincidences, but lately I've seen that there is not a single coincidence, it's just God. Each individual is like a musician in an orchestra, each has their instrument perfectly tuned by God, each has their piece written to show Him glory and together the winds are unified, the brass is unified. As a whole orchestra -- God is proven to be undeniable. To quote a song by Toby of the same title "which is harder to believe that You don't exist, or that You orchestrated all of this." It's just amazing how God will take so many artists, so many lives, so many broken vessels and enable them to come out with something glorifying, inspiring, and encouraging. It's a shame the world doesn't see that.

 

[Subhumanoidal]

To put it simply, CCM is not bland and boring. It's not "7 words repeated 11 times" I have been looking through many songs and artists and really thinking through what the lyrics mean. The result 1,310 songs so far from 40 artists. How can I find so much meaning and significance in this gift of God that you all see blandness in? it would be "bland" if you listened to the same songs every day all day. Yet there are some incredible messages out there. One thing is that if you compare someone like Tobymac or the Newsboys to Mandisa or Unspoken, there's a difference -- Mandisa and Unspoken have so much more .... something. Substance perhaps, they don't repeat the same messages -- there's variety, newness, a sense of depth. Not that TobyMac and the Newsboys lack substance, they just are not as rich. Yet they have their purpose.

I used to believe in coincidences, but lately I've seen that there is not a single coincidence, it's just God. Each individual is like a musician in an orchestra, each has their instrument perfectly tuned by God, each has their piece written to show Him glory and together the winds are unified, the brass is unified. As a whole orchestra -- God is proven to be undeniable. To quote a song by Toby of the same title "which is harder to believe that You don't exist, or that You orchestrated all of this." It's just amazing how God will take so many artists, so many lives, so many broken vessels and enable them to come out with something glorifying, inspiring, and encouraging. It's a shame the world doesn't see that.

Mostly bland is a reference to the music, though sometimes lyrics can be part of this as well. But i have to agree that musically it is Extremely bland. I've found CCM to typically be bland, trite, unispired and often times simply annoying to listen to. And i've felt this way for 30 years. I didn't care about the lyrics because the delivery (the music) was so bad.
Though the moments i did catch the lyrics i found them to be no better, forced and manufactured checking off all the marks to make it fit the Christian label, such as the JPM (Jesus Per Minute) count.

 

[Rainbowlost]

You have contemporary Christian music band call Citizen Way a song called Rattle also a band called For King & Country

 

[Oblio]

I find most Christian music is nice. Nice is nice, but there's more to life than nice. I like real music that I can relate to. That helps me relate to God.
My heart can be complicated and confusing. I like music that simplifies things. But most of all, I like music that helps me worship my God. I like feeling God's presence.

 

[Minortimbo12]

OK, we gotta agree, Christian Rock and Rap are the best kinds of music.