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| Keeping You in Tune with Today's Music Wednesday, July 25, 2007
In a newsletter just two months ago, I talked about the need for more personal songwriting—and by that I mean lyrics that reflect what's going on in the artist's heart and life. It's a relevant subject again this week. Modern worship is one of the main reasons that lyrics in Christian music have become less personal in recent years. (As a worship leader myself, I simply intend this as an observation, so bear with me a second!) Most "non-worship" songs reflect the unique perspectives and personalities of the songwriters behind them. But worship music is generally intended to take the focus from us and place it all on God—"More of you and less of me," right? Imagine if all pop songwriters wrote with the same person in mind. Well, in essence, all worship music is indeed written with the same "person" in mind—the most amazing, mysterious, powerful, awesome, and loving person in all the universe, worthy of endless praise. But the quality of praise is precisely where so many seem to be falling short. Because our God is a great God, you'd think we'd have endless ways of expressing our love and gratitude through song. You see this in the wide range of hymnody from over the centuries, most of which have endured through generations as timeless testaments to God. But we don't often get that with modern worship music. Yes, I think there are many contemporary standards we'll sing again and again, even beyond this life. But there are equally many that fail to capture God's glory in new, refreshing ways. Such songs are written with limited vocabulary, as if crafted through fridge magnet poetry. And it's not that such songs are insincere in their praise, but one almost gets the sense that the writers believe they have to write using specific, generic worship terminology—or else it can no longer be considered worship. That's where I have to disagree. Some writers say that the limitations of our language prevent us from truly expressing full worship to God. An interesting point, but too often an excuse for trite songwriting. While there's nothing wrong with borrowing from God's Word, there's not enough original lyricism inspired by God's Word. Look at classic hymns like "Amazing Grace," "Fairest Lord Jesus," and "The Old Rugged Cross." They communicate original ideas by the writer, grounded in truth, but without resorting to obvious sentiments like, "I will worship/praise/glorify/exalt/love you." It all goes back to singing new songs to the Lord, which requires originality, poetry, and sometimes even personality, not stock phrases or a "what's worked before" mentality. The subject rings true this week because new Rocketown singer/songwriter Jake Smith addresses it in our interview. We'll talk more about his music next week when his debut releases, but I think you'll find his perspective refreshing in the meantime. And in reviews this week, personal songwriting comes up with strong releases from BarlowGirl and The Rocket Summer. Also check out our reviews for Aly & AJ, Joann Rosario, Pocket Full of Rocks, and Mark Roach. Plus, we catch up with legendary Christian metal band Bloodgood, and there's an independent spotlight for Christina Paul. Finally, thanks for the outpouring of positive e-mails concerning last week's newsletter about responding with grace to artists like Sinéad O'Connor. Most of the responses offered an enthusiastic amen. Grace and peace,  Russ Breimeier ChristianityToday.com To reply to this newsletter: music@christianitytoday.com advertisement
 BarlowGirlHow Can We Be Silent (Fervent/Word) Pop/rock  The Rocket SummerDo You Feel (Island) Power pop/modern rock  Aly & AJInsomniatic (Hollywood Records) Pop/rock  Joann RosarioJoyous Salvation (fHammond/Verity/Zomba) Contemporary gospel  Pocket Full of RocksManifesto (Myrrh/Word) AC pop/rock  Mark RoachEvery Reason Why (Myrrh/Word Records) Worshipful pop/rock  Christina PaulSurrender Inspirational pop/worship | more reviews |
Aiming High After a series of Job-like experiences, Jake Smith writes songs that are Real—the title of his album … and a bit of a push-back to all of the sameness in many CCM lyrics. Catching Up with … Bloodgood One of the original Christian metal bands recently reunited, and here, they share what's been happening since their 1994 breakup. The Scoop Natalie Grant continues to combat human trafficking; Britt Nicole the "Next Big Thing" at iTunes; Bebo's with BEC; dowloadables from Downhere; and much more.
The Long Haul As Third Day celebrates their tenth anniversary with a pair of best-of albums, drummer David Carr reflects on the band's past, present, and future. Catching Up with … Pettidee Christian hip-hop's premier crunk rapper gives his reasons for why the genre has failed to take off, and how he reconciles his look with his ministry. The Scoop Mark Schultz finishes two-month bike ride across America; Michael W. Smith sets sail for Alaska with family, friends, and fans; Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, and others featured on new country compilation of hymns; and more.
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WOW Hits 2007, CD
Five Score and Seven Years Ago, CD
Beverley Mitchell, CD
The Shadow of Your Wings: Hymns and Sacred Songs, CD
