music

A Further Explanation for People Who Think I’m Going to Hell Because I Don’t Like Church Music

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Whenever I tell people that I don’t like praise & worship music, they usually take it as a sign I have a dark, empty void where my soul should be, like a vampire or a zombie or a Facebook employee, and so I’m most likely doomed to hellfire and damnation. I try to explain that … Read more

“I Thank Them, but Still Go Back to My Room and Practice”

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An animated B.B. King (who doesn’t look much like B.B. King, but sounds just like him) lays down some wisdom on music, work, and life. (From Open Culture)

Do You Want to Kill Some Rebels?

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I found this clip of the next Star Wars movie; the first from Disney studios. And if you look closely, I think you can pick up on some subtle Disney touches:

A Cover of “The Cup Song” That’s Better Than The Original

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If you liked “The Cup Song,” you’ll like it even more… with guns!

Allison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma? Yes, Please.

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My favorite bluegrass fiddler and my favorite Chinese cellist whose name sounds like Rocky Balboa calling his mother team up to get you in the Christmas spirit: (Via Justin Taylor)

Is Praise Music Just Bad or Is It Also Pagan?

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Many, many times on this blog I’ve argued that Christian music is terrible. But Todd Pruitt takes it to a whole new level with this post, where he argues that Christian music may not even be Christian: Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. He alone is the One who brings us to God. The … Read more

Taylor Swift is the Net Neutrality of Music

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Hey, have you heard about this new singer named Taylor Swift? Apparently all the kids lover her, and she’s kicked up some dust recently by removing her catalog from music streaming service Spotify because she doesn’t think it pays musicians enough. Here’s how RedState’s Leon Wolf describes this existential crisis for people who are too … Read more

Let’s Have a Concert!

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Website twentytwowords.com has posted a big list of musical acts along with amount they charge to play a gig. Since there’s no way I could come up with the $250 grand it would take to get LMFAO (and that seems like about the right price, doesn’t it?), I thought I would see what kind of concert … Read more

More Bono and Jesus

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No, they’re not hanging out together, but one of them does like to talk about the other a lot, if you give him the chance. This Acculturated post features some quotes on faith from The Sunglass’d One along with some speculation about his walk with Christ: I suspect Bono has retained his faith because as … Read more

Harry Connick Jr. Restores a Little Bit of My Faith in Humanity, but Just a Little

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I’m not big on reality shows, but you can learn a lot about the state of American culture by watching them, both from the people who volunteer to be on them and the way the producers set them up. Unfortunately, the things you learn usually make you want to start pricing real estate in Costa … Read more

Non-Christian Music Review Includes Great Christian Music Review

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I was reading a review of the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis song “Same Love” on the site Acculturated, when I ran across this great “Oh, snap!” comment, which I have highlighted in the quote below: But “Same Love” is a abysmal song. Not so much because it presents a false view of marriage and a puerile … Read more

Talent

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My wife and I went out to dinner and a concert this past weekend to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. (The traditional gift for the 5th anniversary is wood, and the thirteen-year-old inside me is dying for someone to ask if I gave my wife some wood for our anniversary. C’mon! Ask me!) We saw … Read more

Sentences You Don’t Often Hear Regarding Billy Graham and Soul Train

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From The Huffington Post profile of Lecrae: The morning after Graham’s birthday bash, Lecrae flew to Las Vegas to attend the Soul Train Awards. “That was completely different worlds,” he said. You don’t say. An interesting article all around, about Lecrae and Christian music and his place in it.

Johnny Cash – “Redemption”

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I recently wrote a post about my favorite non-church church music. In that list I included Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” which is a great song about the business end of God’s judgement. It just so happens that the God and the Machine blog recently posted another Johnny Cash song which is about … Read more

How Good Was Stevie Ray Vaughan?

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So good that he could play with a broken string for a little while and then change guitars in mid-song without missing a beat. Also, hats off to his roadie, who, if he isn’t the greatest of his generation, would probably place somewhere on the medal stand at the Roadie Olympics.

Favorite Christian Music of Someone Who Hates Christian Music

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I tend to go on and on (and on) about how much I dislike “church music.” But after posting my least favorite Christmas songs recently I was inspired to then post my most favorite Christmas songs, just to prove that I’m not a complete curmudgeon and I do actually have some favorite Christmas songs. And then I thought, hey, instead of complaining all the time about the spiritual music I don’t like, I need to post some that I do like.

Bear in mind, most of this isn’t “church music” strictly speaking, in the sense that it would probably never be played in any church  worship service anywhere, ever. But listening to these songs makes me feel the way that people seem to be feeling when they lift their hands in worship services. They’re all spiritual music to me.

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The Best Christmas Songs

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Since I did a post on the worst Christmas songs, and I don’t want to be all about the worst stuff, I thought I’d go ahead and offer up some of my choices for the best. So, here are some songs you might actually want to listen to and enjoy. After assembling the list, I … Read more

The Worst Christmas Songs

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Shannen Coffin kicks off a compelling debate for this time of year: What are the worst Christmas songs? I don’t disagree with any of his choices, but there are a couple I endorse with an added level of enthusiasm: “Last Christmas” by Wham! (exclamation point included at no extra charge), and the mother of all … Read more

And Speaking of Terrible Christian Music…

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Why is it so terrible, anyway? Haley from Carrots for Michaelmas has some thoughts: It’s a marketing issue first and foremost. What makes someone a “Christian recording artist”? It’s as simple as this: they’re being marketed to the Christian subculture. To do this, their music typically must explicitly mention God and should elicit a devotional … Read more