me against the music (britney, madonna)
music and lyrics...a tale as old as time, tune as old as song. who's side are you leaning on?
as for me, i'm all about the lyrics. i recognize that more artistic types see the beauty of god revealed through the pure medium of music. i get it, and have even been known to get caught up in pure music occassionally myself. but as this perspective generally falls to the more artistic types (like my husband), i tend to live in the tangible world of lyrics. if a song has great music, but nothing new to offer me in lyrics, i probably won't give it a fair shot.
so, to all my aspring songwriter friends, and it seems i have more per capita than average, a message from your lyrically minded, musically challenged friend...say something new! not to be overly judgmental, because i get that it's art and a person's art can't really be judged by another, but if you are wanting to write something that connects with me, either give me something new to chew on or voice what i am already working through.
is it sacreligious to say that worship is played out? i don't want a new Delirious cd, even the edgier stuff is not that edgy to me any more...david crowder, chris tomlin...i've heard the new stuff. if you think there is something i'm missing, please let me know. while in oklahoma, tim stumbled onto this new guy, derek webb. he has some seriously meaty lyrics. if you are with me, you should totally check him out. he lyrically struggles with politics, war, apathy, and homelessness and how they should be affected by the command to "love your neighbor as yourself". if i knew how to make a link on this stupid blog i would, but i can't, so you're on your own! they do sell the cd at mardels, for all my midwest readers! (okay, i just checked out tim's blog and he has pretty much just written the same blog...a little scary. but he has a song you can listen to and the lyrics posted. it's not my fave on the album, but it will give you an idea. for the record my fave is number five. no, i don't know the name).
don't get me wrong, i think god is great, but he is alot of other things too. how is it that his being great has cornered the market when it comes to sung worship and other parts of him go unpraised? there is more to the bible than psalms, check out the old testament. if you struggle with the old testament, piggy back on someone ...rob bell, beth moore...there are a whole new generation of bible teachers you can probably relate to. i guess that goes beyond songwriting. maybe the shallow tendency in songwriting is reflecting a shallow experience of god in the church. maybe the problem isn't the writing...it's the fact that the writing is coming from the hearts of people who are ignorant of the scripture. not to place blame, there is a balance of responsibility. each person is ultimately responsible for their own spiritual growth, but it can be hard if the church is not calling you on and instilling a belief that digging in the bible is of critical importance to your own spiritual experience.
so, here are a few of my ideas...
the bitter waters of marah (exodus): come on, that is a song about my hear just begging to be written
isaiah 61: it seems i have heard a song about this before, but i need a rock version. get my blood going and make me believe he has anointed me to bind up the broken hearted, etc. (okay, but rock worship is my bent...it may not be for everyone...but i love the passion that is expressed through the music-instrumental and vocal-...maybe i am a little artsy after all!)
genesis 12: when god tells abram to go to a land to which god will send him. whether we have physically left home or not, god is calling us all to go to a land of some kind.
any song that is pure scripture put to music. it may sound very sunday school, but we all remember words put to music. why is a pure scripture set to music just a kids thing? while we were in oklahoma i bought a cd for olyvia that is just that...unfortunately it is by steve green and all cheesy musically. tim just rolled his eyes when he heard it. he said he was happy we have it and that we will totally play it for her as much as possible, but it is just painful for his personal music taste. the upside is that i have been walking around the last couple days singing "do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good". i guess this has reminded me of the good ol' days in youth group singing "seek ye first the kingdom of god..." and "create in me a clean heart...". does it have to be that way? obviously not. but just like we have become apathetic in bible study as a church culture, we have written off scripture to music as a cheesy kid thing. would someone please find a way to make this relevant to me? and while you're at it, please pick a scripture i haven't heard a thousand times. thanks.
there have been a few exceptions. susan ashton had one about psalm 121. and water deep has one about pslam 18 (one of my favorite psalms). but by and large we are singing warm, fuzzy phrases. i don't mind a little warm and fuzzy, but give me something gut wrenching, that will mess me up and force me to examine my soul. i need conviction, to be disturbed. foster my holy discontent, and challenge me to consider parts of scripture, attributes of god that i would rather ignore. i don't need to be lulled into apathy by focusing on the grace of god any more. i need to be called to die to my flesh and be more than i am now. when i am questioning all the foundations of my faith, warm and fuzzy doesn't give me something to hang my hat on. you know?
okay, i'll step down from my soap box now.
as for me, i'm all about the lyrics. i recognize that more artistic types see the beauty of god revealed through the pure medium of music. i get it, and have even been known to get caught up in pure music occassionally myself. but as this perspective generally falls to the more artistic types (like my husband), i tend to live in the tangible world of lyrics. if a song has great music, but nothing new to offer me in lyrics, i probably won't give it a fair shot.
so, to all my aspring songwriter friends, and it seems i have more per capita than average, a message from your lyrically minded, musically challenged friend...say something new! not to be overly judgmental, because i get that it's art and a person's art can't really be judged by another, but if you are wanting to write something that connects with me, either give me something new to chew on or voice what i am already working through.
is it sacreligious to say that worship is played out? i don't want a new Delirious cd, even the edgier stuff is not that edgy to me any more...david crowder, chris tomlin...i've heard the new stuff. if you think there is something i'm missing, please let me know. while in oklahoma, tim stumbled onto this new guy, derek webb. he has some seriously meaty lyrics. if you are with me, you should totally check him out. he lyrically struggles with politics, war, apathy, and homelessness and how they should be affected by the command to "love your neighbor as yourself". if i knew how to make a link on this stupid blog i would, but i can't, so you're on your own! they do sell the cd at mardels, for all my midwest readers! (okay, i just checked out tim's blog and he has pretty much just written the same blog...a little scary. but he has a song you can listen to and the lyrics posted. it's not my fave on the album, but it will give you an idea. for the record my fave is number five. no, i don't know the name).
don't get me wrong, i think god is great, but he is alot of other things too. how is it that his being great has cornered the market when it comes to sung worship and other parts of him go unpraised? there is more to the bible than psalms, check out the old testament. if you struggle with the old testament, piggy back on someone ...rob bell, beth moore...there are a whole new generation of bible teachers you can probably relate to. i guess that goes beyond songwriting. maybe the shallow tendency in songwriting is reflecting a shallow experience of god in the church. maybe the problem isn't the writing...it's the fact that the writing is coming from the hearts of people who are ignorant of the scripture. not to place blame, there is a balance of responsibility. each person is ultimately responsible for their own spiritual growth, but it can be hard if the church is not calling you on and instilling a belief that digging in the bible is of critical importance to your own spiritual experience.
so, here are a few of my ideas...
the bitter waters of marah (exodus): come on, that is a song about my hear just begging to be written
isaiah 61: it seems i have heard a song about this before, but i need a rock version. get my blood going and make me believe he has anointed me to bind up the broken hearted, etc. (okay, but rock worship is my bent...it may not be for everyone...but i love the passion that is expressed through the music-instrumental and vocal-...maybe i am a little artsy after all!)
genesis 12: when god tells abram to go to a land to which god will send him. whether we have physically left home or not, god is calling us all to go to a land of some kind.
any song that is pure scripture put to music. it may sound very sunday school, but we all remember words put to music. why is a pure scripture set to music just a kids thing? while we were in oklahoma i bought a cd for olyvia that is just that...unfortunately it is by steve green and all cheesy musically. tim just rolled his eyes when he heard it. he said he was happy we have it and that we will totally play it for her as much as possible, but it is just painful for his personal music taste. the upside is that i have been walking around the last couple days singing "do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good". i guess this has reminded me of the good ol' days in youth group singing "seek ye first the kingdom of god..." and "create in me a clean heart...". does it have to be that way? obviously not. but just like we have become apathetic in bible study as a church culture, we have written off scripture to music as a cheesy kid thing. would someone please find a way to make this relevant to me? and while you're at it, please pick a scripture i haven't heard a thousand times. thanks.
there have been a few exceptions. susan ashton had one about psalm 121. and water deep has one about pslam 18 (one of my favorite psalms). but by and large we are singing warm, fuzzy phrases. i don't mind a little warm and fuzzy, but give me something gut wrenching, that will mess me up and force me to examine my soul. i need conviction, to be disturbed. foster my holy discontent, and challenge me to consider parts of scripture, attributes of god that i would rather ignore. i don't need to be lulled into apathy by focusing on the grace of god any more. i need to be called to die to my flesh and be more than i am now. when i am questioning all the foundations of my faith, warm and fuzzy doesn't give me something to hang my hat on. you know?
okay, i'll step down from my soap box now.
posted by jamie at 5:30 AM
Comments on "me against the music (britney, madonna)"
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Anonymous said ... (9:36 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (6:58 AM) :
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Cari said ... (3:31 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (6:48 AM) :
post a commentI love it and aspire to fulfill your dreams cause they are similar in my own head. Have you ever heard of a band called U2 by any chance?....
Das Right,(in a farmish accent)
wow, you went off the hook there.
Are they all this good? You threw down some serious beef. I'm a Fan.
Just wanted to say congrats to you and Tim, Olyvia is precious. I hope the three of you are experiencing blessing upon blessing. I am encouraged by your obedience and faith. Thanks for modelling Christ and investing in me.
-matt
Hey, great blog. Incidentally, I'm struggling in the same way. I joined a group called BSF (bible study fellowship) International, and that's just what it is. (Over a thousand groups worldwide...look it up! In quotes!!) I was so convicted on my first day by how lacking I am in OT history and knowledge, realizing that after elementary Sunday School we get really shallow. It's all feely-good, popular life application, memorize the cool verses (let no man despise thy youth, dude!) and NO MEAT! Same with our music. Be all political now, and you're edgy. I love the idea of pure scripture as music. Sing it. Force me to look into it and glean truths I didn't see before. God put a whole lotta stuff in Genesis that I didn't see previously. I'd love to have to think about music and what true worship is. Check out my blog www.evotionsbycari.blogspot.com because I wrote about it. We had a two hour argument (I mean business meeting...) on worship service and whether we should present traditional and contemporary worship seperately on Sunday nights or blend the service (nice big holy blender) or have one contemporary service a month. People said the most ridiculous things. Read Genesis...um...19 I think, about Abe preparing to worship with God. Pretty cool.
Try a new group called Starfield. They are awesome.