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I had the pleasure of
seeing Casting Crowns perform at, of all places, The Tyler Oil Palace in Tyler, TX. They certainly don’t act like rock stars. That’s because they’re ministers of The Gospel. When
you hear their music, you’ll realize that it’s not by a stroke of luck that they’re skyrocketing to success. The Holy Spirit is in their music. The
beauty of it is that the music is appealing to the secular world. I’ll
admit that for years, I avoided “Contemporary Christian” music because much of what I’d heard seemed so
contrived. I could appreciate the lyrics, but the flat, unimaginative music was
simply not appealing to me. One day, my wife convinced me to listen to their
debut album (it was a road-trip, and she was driving---what could I do?). I was
blown away. We then watched the DVD extras on their Live From Atlanta album, we were surprised to find that these extremely
talented “rock stars” are youth ministers. Whether you’re a
Christian or not, check ‘em out.
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band is one of my all-time favorite groups. I’ve never seen a band like this:
where each member is a powerhouse, yet their combined efforts far exceed even their individual talents. Each member has an intimate knowledge of music and specifically their instruments. The lyrics are sheer
poetry and always deep and thought provoking---clearly a result of Dave Matthews’ world travels. In their live performances, they seem to reinvent their own music
and allow the songs to evolve over time.
Jars of Clay
Here’s another Christian
“rock/pop” group that surprised me. Rarely can you refer to one of
Jars of Clay’s songs as “catchy”, but rather their music is meant to be absorbed. The
lyrics are often haunting, passionate, and comforting all at once, while the imagined composition of the music is truly unique
and artfully crafted. These are gifted, brave musicians.
Third Day
Praise Music and Southern
Rock. Seems incongruous, no? Well,
these terms define Third Day.
Aerosmith
This band’s been rockin’ for over 35 years. They’ve had their ups and downs with the presumably unavoidable temptations of famed youth and rock
n’ roll. I remember first hearing Aerosmith on my brother’s 8-track:
Toys In The Attic. I’ve been captivated ever since. Only after I learned to understand music (and a little music theory) did I really learn to appreciate what
these 5 bad boys from Boston had. On the surface, their music is simply in-your-face
rock, and anyone can appreciate it for that, alone. However, when you analyze
their music---classic 70’s as well as their current stuff---you realize just how talented this band is. They apply some complicated music theory, but I suspect the real beauty is that they don’t realize
that’s what they’re doing. I suspect that drugs and alcohol influenced
their early works, but now their survival of those times appears to have influenced their current stuff. They sound as awesome today as they ever did. I love this band!
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