The new Delirious? album, Kingdom of Comfort, drops on Tuesday, April 1 (no joke), and you have an opportunity to get your very own freshly shrink-wrapped copy for FREE!
Just leave me a comment with your take on the state of CCM (Contemporary Christian Music). How do you define CCM? Is it good? Is it bad? Does it lack creativity? Does it have a place in your life? How has it effected you personally? Who’s your favorite?
At the end of the day on Tuesday I will draw a name out of a hat of the (valid) comments and ship out the album on Wednesday.
**UPDATE**
And the winner is Chris From Canada (via random.org)
Thanks for participating everyone! Since we’re on the subject, I had previously only heard of Delirious?, and I couldn’t tell you one song they sang. But after listening to this album for the last couple days, I’d have to say they are pretty good, and not cookie-cutter to be sure. The Kingdom of Comfort is turning out to be a pretty good album.
Filed under: Art, CCM, Delirious?, Freebies, Music
does my blogpost count as a comment? haha…just kidding. however i’d love to have that new delirious record. they are one of the exceptions that are really creating great stuff.
I think the demise of CCM Magazine speaks loads about the state of the CCM industry. People have no idea how to get kids to actually buy music and people are losing their jobs because of it.
I would say that music by Christian artists (I normally HATE when people talk like that) definitely has a place in my life. Obviously as a worship leader I’m looking for music that is written by Christians but I’m also always on the lookout for music that is inspired by something bigger than ourselves. There’s lots of music out there like that but it’s not always foud in CCM – the magazine AND the industry.
I’ve been a customer of the CCM industry for nearly 20 years now, so I think I have some insight…
There are many, many more choices now than there used to be, but I think the ratio of cutting-edge artists to cookie-cutter artists is about the same. This means that there is much more sound-alike stuff out there than there used to be.
I think part of the problem is that all of the CCM radio stations now are nation-wide syndicates playing the same stuff. 5 years ago, there were 3 distinctly different stations here in Wichita. Way FM bought out the harder station. K-Love bought out the softer station. And House came to town. Now we have 4 stations playing the exact same music.
Lastly (is that a word), I think the popularity of “Worship” music in the last 10 years has also drained the creativity of the music. The focus is more on writing corporate worship songs than creating “interesting” music. It’s not necessarily bad, it just doesn’t result in great music that holds it’s own against what the world has to offer.
I respect new artists like NewWorldSon who are doing their own thing, although I don’t think they’ll find much commercial success.
CCM definitely has a place in my life. I don’t listen to it exclusively (I will always love Classic Rock), but it is on my iPod and my car radio.
I am cautiously optimistic about the future of CCM. I think it is breaking out of the “let’s-do-popular-music-with-Christian-lyrics” funk, and that is a good sign. I agree with mandoran that the popularity of “Worship” music has hurt creativity.
But I think lessons are being learned, and we will continue to see a better product.
Delirous is the only band that is actually doing something in the Christian world.
(this coming from a man who is a full time Christian musician, so it sort of counts)
I personally think that it is just like any other form of entertainment, there is good stuff/ and there is bad stuff. There is great music/ and there is cheesy music. It just so happens that there is more cheesy Christian music, partly because most of the time we are just trying to mimic or copy what we’re hearing in the General Market.
I do believe that there is hope though. There are a lot of amazing artists out there that are Christians, that are using their gifts and talents that God has given them in creative and innovative ways.
The way I look at it is: If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it. (Christian or Not) If you do like it than support it. If everyone did that, than we would hear more good music out there. There are a ton of great indie bands that will end up quitting because they can’t survive, because no one will buy there music or support what they’re doing.
i think most of it is bad…but there are some real gems, deliriou5 being one.
I left my thoughts when The Blah Blah first posed the question… I don’t think it completely lacks creativity… Michael W Smith and SCC are great musicians / composers, some of the vocalists are outstanding, and if you look at the crossover bands (most of which were are one time considered CCM), you’ll see a lot of creativity… switchfoot, lifehouse, mutemath, Sulfan Stephens (i can’t spell his name), Jars of Clay (if you want to go old school… they started to cross over, then came back… but they’re creative, none the less) etc.
One problem is that as Christians, we’re afraid to say when something really sucks if the people creating it are christians… this goes for music, books, movies, art, blogs, or whatever. So radio stations play songs that have a good message, but aren’t really good musically and promote artists who have very little to offer beyond one or two songs.
BUT we have a “Christian Rock Station” here… it used to be horrid… now about 50% of it sucks and 50% is not bad at all… that sounds like a low percent, but I can’t listen to any of our “secular” rock stations because the percent is about the same.
I agree with alot of what was said, so i won’t rehash anything further
To each his own. Some people love it, some people hate it.
I, personally, can’t stand to listen to CCM radio because it’s the same handful of artists over and over and over and over. It’s not that the music, lyrics, production, etc. is bad, cheesy, or overly Christian (as some would say), it’s just that it’s monotonous per se.
Occasionally, a jewel of a song will rise above the “noise” and grab me. I can’t NOT listen to CCM radio because my wife loves it and we have about 4 CCM stations readily available for her listening pleasure in our area.
Personally, I’d love to hear more Indie stuff.
I’ve been rocking with Delirou5? since the early days back when I was a pup in youth group.
i generally don’t listen to ccm because it lacks creativity. if i wanted to listen to u2, i’d listen to u2.
I’ve always been a huge deliriou5? fan, woo hoo! PIck me.
I’m not a huge CCM fan. The majority of the music that I grew up purchasing though was made by ‘Christian’ artists though. I think it’s in the same state as the current secular music industry. They’ve built their business around a few select major artists, but now people aren’t as interested in that as they used to be.
Even when I bought my Christian CDs growing up, it wasn’t the popular acts of the day. I was buying Five Minute Walk Records artists, and tooth and nail artists.
I think like the majors, CCM has perfected a formula for creating music and promoting artists, and people (at least those in my generation) are tired of it and getting good music from wherever they can find it, whether secular or not.
Is this just an April Fool’s joke?
@Zack: Not a joke.
I like and dislike CCM.
I think there is much to say about the label called CCM, and there is much to say about the marketing of CCM. There is good and genuine artistry, and there are those parts that come across as canned or forced, or contrived. Still, everyone has the opportunity to choose which song appeals to them and affects them and ministers to them.
I was listening to a local CCM station and swapped over to another CCM station and came to the realization that we have TWO CCM stations! I can remember several years back when we didn’t have a true (non-talk) CCM station and complaining of the lack of one. Then when we did get one, I complained about the “lousy” choice of tunes they were playing.
To this day, I am complaining about the style of tunes they play on BOTH of the CCM stations in my area.
Preference? Maybe.
I guess what it boils down to is the fact that there is less and less variety that is played on the CCM airwaves. I won’t call it lack of creativity, but but the song rotation on both the secular and CCM airwaves have been so much more market driven than ever before, and that jades the way I listen to radio — both secular and CCM.
So, I oftentimes opt to listen to sports talk radio instead, and default to my iPod and tunes I cull together that I would rather listen to.
I remember when Delirious first became popular. I have their old King of Fools cd. They are amazing, like a more Christian version of U2.
I was directed to this by a friend and personally do not and have not read CCM or listened to the radio stations, so I might not count. But I would like to drop a comment on this topic. I don’t listen to Christian radio, but I don’t listen to much radio period. I used to listen to a lot of Christian music when I was younger, then went through a period of time when I hardly listened to it at all because I found out that not all secular music was from the devil as I was brought up to believe.
I don’t listen to Christian radio for the same reason I don’t listen to secular radio. Either too many commercials, too much of the same song being played over and over, and too much cookie cutter style. I have been searching out there for some Christian music (separating from worship music) that has some good creativity and ingenuity and it really is hard to find. A lot of it fits a certain mold, and that’s ok, and some of it I admit is pretty good. However I personally am a fan of whatever breaks the mold and steps outside the box. (by the way to whoever mentioned Sufjan Stevens – right on!)
Obviously there’s not as much to choose from Christian-wise as there is non-Christian, so we can’t expect a lot of Christian versions of Stereolab, Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, etc, but it’s harder for those who try to make a living from it. But do you go secular to make a living, occasionally throwing in lyrics with deeper spiritual meaning? Some feel that would be selling out. It depends on what your motives are and what you feel the Lord is telling you to do. Many Christians in the secular music world can reach out to people in other ways and not turning people off by being too “preachy” in their music. (Over the Rhine anyone?) However Christian music can encourage those who are new to the faith and tired of listening to secular music.
Basically, the market is driving the whole CCM thing. Maybe we as consumers need to demand something different, something besides our favorite Sunday morning worship songs being recorded by the same select group of artists over and over again. Right now, CCM is in a very ‘safe’ mode, and that’s really too bad. When I run across some anonymous poster somewhere saying “Christian music sucks”…I can’t say that I disagree with them.
Well, it depends. I don’t listen to Christian music on the radio any more–it’s all the same. There are some GREAT things going on off-radio, though; Starflyer 59, Woven Hand, Anathallo, Danielson, OTR (as mentioned above)…there are MANY great bands out there that will never get a minute of radio play because of the system. There’s wonderful music out there done by christians, but you have to be willing to dig for it.
Sweet…pick me pick me!
PS Christian Music: I listen to it!
@thepatriot lol!
So, who’s the winner. I’d like to save a few bucks on this album.
eye double you eye in
[...] of Haley Joel Osment I’m going to pay it forward. I’ll use the same rules as the Mud Puppy did – Just leave me a comment with your take on the state of CCM (Contemporary Christian Music). [...]