Earthsuit and religion in music

[crunchee]

i'm familiar with taking the argument to the extremes and asking silly things like, "does a christian manager make mcdonald's a christian fast food restaurant?"  this is an old line of rationale in attacking the christian industry.  not to boast, but i'm probably one of the oldest people on the board and have been around to see many christian bands try to buck the system.  it just seems rather immature to sign with a christian label and then complain.  mutemath signed with tedd t's label.  he was clearly a christian music veterean who sold stuff in christian bookstores.  and then they want to complain?  artists limit themselves by their actions.

it seems rather strange for me to have to answer your questions about what makes a christian band when we're on a board for a band who obviously shares the same opinion as myself.  in fact, jason and ronnie both been outspoken (ronnie more so than jason, but that's his personality) about the christians-in-a-band-makes-them-a-christian-band thing.  the point is that it's really nothing to hide from because labels don't make the music.

i'm not here to cause problems.  my original comment was just because i can't see how any of you guys would expect jason to be into the earthsuit bands.  i'm not saying that everything he listens to is great, but haven't you guys been around long enough to know that he doesn't care about mainstream christian music?  i was just shocked.  it's probably on the level of expecting him to dig the last jars of clay record.  sure, it was great, but that's just not him.

[Zelönka 22]

Mainstream christian music?..

Anyways, I like how you just completely trashed all the points instead of actually answering them.
"My opinion is right, even Jason/Ronnie agree!"

Looking from a Christian's perspective, "secular music" is bad so we have "christian music" which is a category of artists who are Christians - because we don't want bad music we can't trust to buy and listen to. This is no longer the case.
I can also say to further the discussion that "Christian" is not a category, but a genre. Which is simply plain wrong as there is no such thing as a "Christian sound". Yet all other music genres are based on describing/labeling a sound style. If Christian is a genre, then Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight should be labeled as a "Christian" album.

[crunchee]

Which is simply plain wrong as there is no such thing as a "Christian sound".

are you actually serious? 

maybe i should have said "inspirational," but it's still true.  there's room for bob carlisle and mercy me on even crappy shows like delilah, but stuff like point of grace, ffh and casting crowns could not make it in the mainstream as they are.  (the same was kinda true for carlisle, until he wrote that song.)  there's clearly a safe christian sound that makes even barbara streisand seem edgy.

[Zelönka 22]

Are you aware that you just said if it's "inspirational" then it's Christian?

Underoath sounds exactly like any "secualar" screamo/metal band.

[unhappybirthday]

Signing with an Xian label, but not expecting to be considered as such is a bit ignorant. Obviously, you're going to be associated with company you keep. That is very different than the original argument of 'being in line with such and such religion makes your band of the same affiliation too'.

[unhappybirthday]

I do not see why it should come as a surprise that Jason does not listen to/ know of earthsuit/mutemath. Any band he has ever mentioned listening to is nothing like those two. Even the Xian stuff he listens to is of a different quality than the above two. So, when you consider what he has mentioned for musical preferences his reply should come as no surprise.

[crunchee]

That is very different than the original argument of 'being in line with such and such religion makes your band of the same affiliation too'.

true.  but mutemath was guilty of both signing with a christian label and then trying the whole, we're-just-christians-in-a-band thing.  i'm done with that.

and to respond to decade's post, don't bring up underoath.  they obviously don't fit the christian sound that i'm talking about, and you probably know it.  if you want to play that game, then demon hunter doesn't sound like steven curtis chapman, either.

[Uncle Pete]

maybe Mute Math or bands like that dont want be included in that "Christian sound"..

[Jono]

[Spirit Flyer]

Somehow I don't think this thread has been very productive. I think we all just have to agree to disagree.

Some thoughts: I don't like that there is a Christian industry, but it does serve a purpose. People will label music in all sorts of ways, so bands will just have to learn to get over the stigma attached with Christianity. A lot of people want to be a rockstar for Jesus and I don't think that's what it ought to be about. The bigger issue is whether bands consider their music a ministry or just entertainment; are you doing it unto Lord or is it only to make money? People have gotten too uptight about the whole thing with these analogies about Christian fast food (Chick-Fil-A) or Christian mechanic. My opinion is that your job is your ministry. If we are the body of Christ then the music we play, the kids we teach and the cars we fix ought to be done for the Glory of God, how explicit people are about ministering through their work ought to be up to them.

[Metaphizzle]

I really don't know much about Earthsuit and Mute Math's history, but I do think that a band shouldn't play at a venue like Cornerstone if they aren't okay with being labeled a Christian band.

I think the stigma against "Christian music", and the idea of any kind of tension between Jesus and rock music, is wrong-headed and stupid. (The TV Tropes Wiki's article on Dead Horse Genres is pretty much exactly how I feel. Full disclosure: I helped write the bit about Christian Music halfway down the page.) And Christians who make music but insist they aren't a "Christian band" only helps to reinforce this artificial dichotomy.

As a whole, "Christian music", whatever the heck it means, is not any worse than mainstream music. Sturgeon's Revelation ("90% of everything is crud") applies to all.

[Spirit Flyer]

I think the stigma against "Christian music", and the idea of any kind of tension between Jesus and rock music, is wrong-headed and stupid... And Christians who make music but insist they aren't a "Christian band" only helps to reinforce this artificial dichotomy.

As a whole, "Christian music", whatever the heck it means, is not any worse than mainstream music. Sturgeon's Revelation ("90% of everything is crud") applies to all.

I wrote a blog about this today: The Stigma of Christian Rock. I read your article. POD was in the Christian underground, but the message was pretty pro-Christian. So the group wasn't CCM, but the message was Christian rock and they gained prominence through the Cornerstone scene.

I don't think if you play Christian shows you can't get gigs at bars or clubs too. I've seen bands do both and have no problems.

There is actually a stigma that non-Christians have against Christian rock. I remember a Starflyer review in a Seattle magazine where the reviewer went on about how he hated anything Christian before he could actually just listen to the CD.

Ronnie had some good thoughts on this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SpEYy-BS-Vs