Should I feel guilty for being a Christian and yet hating CCM?

[ElizabethGould]

Seriously, no matter what I do, I simply cannot find a modern Christian band I actually like.

I used to be a worship musician and whilst I loved the more traditional stuff and stuff like Hillsong or Chris Tomlin, when it came to doing stuff like Skillet (for example) I used to detest it.

I don't even know what it is about CCM which turns me off, but it's frustrating because in my mind I'm 'supposed' to like it.

Seriously, why do I feel guilty?

 

[NiobiumTragedy]

Nothing wrong with disliking a style of music. There is actually very little Christian music I can stand to listen to because it's more often than not poorly written/produced. Right now the only stuff I listen to that fits in the Christian market is Skillet and Red.

Maybe that will change when these artists start writing better music.

 

[ElizabethGould]

I think a lot of it is to do with production, but also I think a lot of it is to do with the cheesy lyrics and usually fairly poor backing music. Seriously, I listen to some music and think 'are four note basslines and three-chord melodies all you can do?''

 

[Vambram]

I think a lot of it is to do with production, but also I think a lot of it is to do with the cheesy lyrics and usually fairly poor backing music. Seriously, I listen to some music and think 'are four note basslines and three-chord melodies all you can do?''

What styles of music do you enjoy listening to?

I enjoy several different genres of Christian music, and if you post what genres of music that you enjoy, I'm sure that myself and others can offer you suggestions among Christian artists that you might like.

 

[cobweb]

Nope. I can't stand it either.

 

[lightninboy]

I don't blame you.

I think part of the problem is there are no disc jockeys today. We are supposed to like digital computer-generated CCM stuff today, but there aren't even any disc jockeys willing to put in the time to play it and listen to it too and have enthusiasm for it. Probably because nobody could stand it.

 

[JazzAnarchy]

Yes, you should feel guilty, you heathens!

Not really, but keep in mind there is alot of really good Christian music out there that's not played on the top 40 (equivalent) stations.

 

[holyrokker]

...keep in mind there is alot of really good Christian music out there that's not played on the top 40 (equivalent) stations.

Exactly! It takes work to find good music from a Christian perspective.

I listen mostly to Neal Morse these days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1yWC-42wOk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yyg7vxE3zA

 

[AdamKane]

Why on Earth would you feel guilty about that?!

 

[The Theory]

Remember--Christianity (as a religious institution) loves instilling white guilt into its followers. So any good Christian should definitely feel guilty about hating CCM. ;-)

Seriously, though... if you WANT to like some Christian music, then there is probably some out there you will enjoy if you take the time/effort to search it out. But I'd say only search it out because you want to find new, interesting music--not out of some sort of submissive reaction because you think that is what good Christians do.

 

[Standing_Ultraviolet]

Whether you can enjoy CCM or not depends a lot on which genres you enjoy to begin with. There are some genres that just really don't have a lot of Christian singers (or a lot of singers in general), and if you have a small pool to choose from, odds are that only a handful if any are going to be good. It's inevitable. There's also personal preference to take into account. There are some types of music I don't listen to just because I quite frankly don't like that type of music, and I have no good explanation for it. No problems there, although I would suggest that you look into different bands in the genres that you do listen to, because there are good Christian singers out there that are more than worth listening to.

 

[Lance E.]

I agree that most of the good contemporary Christian music doesn't make it onto the radio. You have to seek it out.

As I said in post elsewhere I have been a Christian for 41 years and I never liked very much Christian music until recently. But there's so many more artists now than there used to be and so many different styles that I would think it would be hard for anyone to say that they don't like any CCM.

I used to be strictly classic and hard rock. Now I like many different kinds of music including CCM.

 

[Jeffersonian]

you don't need to feel guilty for not liking it. but make sure you never stop loving praising the Lord, this is more an attitude of the heart than music itself.

 

[QueenMommy]

Absolutely not! I can't stand most of it either.

Though I discovered Air1 Radio while on vacation and through them, found Relient K, who I like (I realize Relient K, and specifically Matt Thiesen, is not without controversy).

 

[djsciple]

Hi ElizabethGould. I had the EXACT SAME problem. I did find bands I enjoyed, mostly the top Christian rock bands everyone listens to. There is a benefit to CCM is when you go to church the praise team also listens to it and you'll enjoy singing along to a song you have already heard.

I on the other hand went on a quest to find Christian music in the genres I ENJOYED. Now I fully enjoy listening to music I want to hear, and usually other seem to enjoy it as well since I play it in my car mostly or when I'm DJ'ing.

I made a blog about it.
louisanthonys.wordpress.com