Anyone else sick of music?

[stephen_can_man]

Ok, maybe not sick, but, I am starting to get tired of all the music that I 'have' to listen to in order to find something good. It seems like lately there are so many albums out there that I just get tired of wading through it all. And quite frankly, most of it is sub-par, poorly written stuff. I remember back in the day everyone was fighting 'the man' and wanting more variety and selection. Well, now everyone has gotten their wish and the market is flooded with everyone's crap.

The digital revolution has made it so easy to record that virtually everyone is putting a CD together and the standards have fallen dramatically. I don't have enough time in a day to listen to find albums that will become classics because quite frankly, most of them won't. We might pull a song or two, but for the most part it just seems like there is too much junk. I get 3-4 songs recommended to me a week by church members and most of them time they are ok at best. Are blogs and forums the only way to go now?

And dude, don't push that Deluge album again. Seriously.

[milepost13]

I basically just stick with what I know (CT, DCB, LB, HSU, etc.) and wait for them to put out their next album cause I know it will have stuff I can use. I stopped hunting for new stuff a long time ago and now just keep my ear open and buy the music that I want to listen to, hoping that I might get lucky.

Nate

[Mike Darley]

And dude, don't push that Deluge album again. Seriously.

Hahahahahahahahaha. I've still got tears in my eyes from laughing. :D

But seriously it is getting old. :mad:

Anyway, yeah I agree. I get kind of tired of listening and also sometimes I don't feel like playing. I know it should always be a joy, but when its not I remember that this is ministering to so many people and is ultimately for the glory of God.

[russhutto]

One word:

WRITE.

[fmckinnon]

One word:

AMEN

[fmckinnon]

milepost -
care to break down your initials - I'm guessing, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band ... then, I'm lost.

[milepost13]

Lincoln Brewster, Hillsong United (which I guess should just be HU).

Nate

[stephen_can_man]

Yes I agree...Tomlin, Crowder, Brewster, and Hillsong are my staples as well. I have written songs, but, they arent very good. I have high standards on myself and the music we do...probably too high. I spend so much time learning songs and breaking them down that they start to lose their "magic.'' Good thing the goal of worship is Christ and not just music...

[recline08]

made some minor adjustments to be more forum-friendly, hope you'll not disregard my input because of previous posts reflecting enthusiasm for a worship group that will remain unnamed.:o

in reply to your post, sometimes the old stuff thats been sitting on the shelf for years is where to go. just this weekend i listened to old Phil Keaggy that i grew up listening to with my dad.. specifically Take Me Closer, which if you haven't heard it before, its worth a listen. "you're the source of my life sweet Jesus, bringing forth a good fruit. like a branch clinging to the vine, so i'm clinging to You..." musically excellent, lyrically pure.

[Sacredise]

I hope you won't mind if I come in on this from a different angle. I want to start with saying that I agree that writing is one good way to go - thanks for that encouragement!

I think I have two major responses to the ideas in this thread. First, I worry about our tendency to find our worship music from a few popular "hit makers". I recognise that these people are gifted artists and song writers, and that their music has inspired many, but to be honest, I find the lack of variety in the themes and lyrical content of most of the popular worship "stars" (if I may use that term) to be frustrating and very limiting. I also worry that much of our evaluation of what makes good worship music has become coloured (South African spelling ;-)) by production quality, listening value and ability to sell CDs. To be honest I have struggled to find fresh and thought-provoking worship music on all but a very small minority of new worship CDs (Vicky Beeching is the one amazing exception for me here - she's awesome!). I long for some new, startling, surprising worship music, that is singable, that explores some of the richness of Christian theology beyond just the basics, and that helps our people engage more deeply in living their life as Christ-followers, rather than just having a "great worship experience" in church. Sorry if this sounds negative, it's not intended to be. It's just a concern I have - even as I use many of the songs from these popular writers, and find them, at times, very helpful.

My second thought, is that perhaps our "music-fatigue" stems from the current trend to place the "weight" of the worship experience on the music. Music was never intended to be the whole deal, or even a major part of it. It was always meant to be a facilitator that leads worshippers into the more personal and participative worship expressions of prayer, liturgy (however you want to view that), symbolism, sacrament and acts of service. How many worship CDs these days include great, inspiring prayers? How many offer any kind of different expression of worship other than the music? In my experience - none. Perhaps if we begin to shift the emphasis off the music, and on to these other expressions of worship, our fatigue will begin to diminish.

Just my rambling thoughts....

Blessings
John
_________________________________________________
Sacredise - Resources for Integrative Worship & Spirituality (http://www.sacredise.com)

[Sacredise]

I hope you won't mind if I come in on this from a different angle. I want to start with saying that I agree that writing is one good way to go - thanks for that encouragement!

I think I have two major responses to the ideas in this thread. First, I worry about our tendency to find our worship music from a few popular "hit makers". I recognise that these people are gifted artists and song writers, and that their music has inspired many, but to be honest, I find the lack of variety in the themes and lyrical content of most of the popular worship "stars" (if I may use that term) to be frustrating and very limiting. I also worry that much of our evaluation of what makes good worship music has become coloured (South African spelling ;-)) by production quality, listening value and ability to sell CDs. To be honest I have struggled to find fresh and thought-provoking worship music on all but a very small minority of new worship CDs (Vicky Beeching is the one amazing exception for me here - she's awesome!). I long for some new, startling, surprising worship music, that is singable, that explores some of the richness of Christian theology beyond just the basics, and that helps our people engage more deeply in living their life as Christ-followers, rather than just having a "great worship experience" in church. Sorry if this sounds negative, it's not intended to be. It's just a concern I have - even as I use many of the songs from these popular writers, and find them, at times, very helpful.

My second thought, is that perhaps our "music-fatigue" stems from the current trend to place the "weight" of the worship experience on the music. Music was never intended to be the whole deal, or even a major part of it. It was always meant to be a facilitator that leads worshippers into the more personal and participative worship expressions of prayer, liturgy (however you want to view that), symbolism, sacrament and acts of service. How many worship CDs these days include great, inspiring prayers? How many offer any kind of different expression of worship other than the music? In my experience - none. Perhaps if we begin to shift the emphasis off the music, and on to these other expressions of worship, our fatigue will begin to diminish.

Just my rambling thoughts....

Blessings
John
_________________________________________________
Sacredise - Resources for Integrative Worship & Spirituality (http://www.sacredise.com)

[milepost13]

excellent points, John.

Nate

[Sacredise]

Thanks, Nate.

BTW - Awesome blogs. I'm keeping you guys in my prayers.

Blessings
John
__________________________________________________ ________
Sacredise - Resources for Integrative Worship & Spirituality (http://www.sacredise.com)

[fmckinnon]

John,
excellent post and reply, one that should be read and re-read several times.

[uh-oh16]

im with the other guy....WRITE....and if you have writer's block - then buy the deluge album...those guys are really good..:p

[Sacredise]

Thanks Fred.

[El Ben]

Another solution exists, people. We could always just lower our standards.

:P

I'm kidding.

All in all, I think that this frustration that you feel, Stephen, is healthy and necessary. My suspicion is that this watered down doggerel set to music that is flooding the market today is a DIRECT result of the continual cross-cultural contamination that is rotting the Church from the inside out.

I listened to a worship album from a popular band (who will remained unnamed) the other day and I was just blown away by how intensely over-produced and downright mechanical it sounded. The thought I had then was: "Boy, these guys have tried so hard to be creative that it's just downright pretentious."

Actually, I think they actual thought process was more like: "Gag me with a fork, this sucks!"

It's kind of like: "Hey, look at how creative I am! Look how many new guitar tones, slash chords, and keyboard patches we can cram into this frequency range we're going to assault your ears with. Feel the hammered awesomeness of our loops and electronic beats! Like us! Like us! We're creative! We're creative, darnit!!!"

Is it possible to try so hard to be relevant that you make yourself completely irrelevant?

[mathnmusic]

Hey I've got that album!

Goes back to the discussion of what worship is: is it music or is it connecting with and loving God? We really have to keep that straight as the ones who are leading if we are ever going to help the folks in our congregation keep it straight.

On the other hand, production or no production, some of the best songs need nothing more than the text to stir the heart and draw you to the Father. Prime example..."Only Always" written by Jamie Harvill and Gary Sadler. Incredibly poetic and pierces my heart everytime. The only album I've seen it on is a compilation that I got direct from Jamie that appears to have been reproduced and packaged from a home computer setup. But you may be able to find it on iTunes. I've typed up a chord chart for it. If any of you would like a copy let me know.

[worshiptrench]

One Word: TalkRadio (in Dallas area, 1310the Ticket and 90.1 KERA public radio)

also, some of the boredom i believe comes from the incomplexity of the music. i listened to John Tavener's Lamentations and Praises and marvelled at its richness of both lyric and compositional complexity. He is one composer whom the secular music world adores. Musical ears tend to be drawn to the unpredictable in terms of richness (why country music tends to bore so many musicians quickly as you can predict the chordal structures very quickly, not much different than most worship music). In contrast, listen to Pat Metheny or other composers who use either some unexpected chord changes or uniqueness of patterns or textures. Of course a difficulty arises, the melody line usually grows more unexpected and complex as well, making quick congregation acquisition more difficult. So writers tend to go back to the straight ahead and simple, which then makes stuff start to sound the same. The geniuses are those who can add unexpected elements yet keep the lines accesible to congregations while using rich lyrical metaphor and creative poetry. There isn't that much of those combinations existing....no?

[fmckinnon]

Hey ya'll,

Ya know, from a guy whose primary instrument is piano/keys ... part of me is absolutely TIRED of 99% of the music, because it's all guitar driven ... and typically, not just guitar-driven, but U2-ish rock, pulsing 8th note bass line driven ... song after song.

I might not be so sick of all the music if I heard something new. I've really enjoyed hearing some of the more simple music from artists like Sarah Groves on piano ....

Recently, I heard a cut on the radio, and I was discouraged because I think it was Nichole Nordemon (who I really like), but it was all over-produced, and I remembered how much I loved the more simple music!

Just my early-AM $.02.

[Doc Kavanagh]

Hey , guys . There is plenty of great worship music available on indie labels .

Check out Leann Albrecht , Mark Roach , Jesse Schuster , Ricardo , Rita Springer , Lenny Leblanc , Spring Hill Worship .

I've bought a bunch of stuff for $8 or $10 bucks a CD . Sampled on line , then ordered . Delivered to my door .

Check out Song discovery as well .

There is some great new music out there .

God bless

Doc

[chipshot0701]

How difficult is it to play (as an example-Mercy Me music) during a normal church service? I love to jam along with the new stuff but the special effects on so much of the new songs is way overboard. So many of them are way overboard for a normal church service....now a concert type venue.....thats a different story.

I did get the free mp3 download from worshiptogether.com this week of Matt Maher's "Great Things". and I like the beat and change of pace.

Peace n Love!!!
mike

[carguy1]

I too agree with so much of what has been said here. However, I think that one thing we have to remember is that while we are all musicians and therefore very picky about our music, most of our congregation is not filled with musicians. Therefore, as someone pointed out, if a song get's complex enough to keep us happy and interested, we may loose a chunk of the congregation in the process. I believe this is probably why so much of what is written specifically as "praise and worship" music is so similar, often simple and sometimes even boring.

Anyways, these are just the ramblings of an inexperienced worship leader that has been up since 0300 for no good reason. So take it for what it is worth.......

[carguy1]

It was always meant to be a facilitator that leads worshippers into the more personal and participative worship expressions of prayer, liturgy (however you want to view that), symbolism, sacrament and acts of service.
Blessings
John
_________________________________________________
Sacredise - Resources for Integrative Worship & Spirituality (http://www.sacredise.com)

In my sleep deprived state I forgot that I wanted to comment on this. John, I completely agree with what you have said here. In my blog (http://onebigg.com/2008/03/14/are-we-really-worshipping/) I talked about this exact thing. All to often we, yes even those of us called to lead worship, tend to think of worship as something that happens on Sunday morning in a "worship service." However, In my blog (http://onebigg.com/2008/03/14/are-we-really-worshipping/) this is what I had to say about worship.

"When we sing we tell God how much we love him. This is important; in the same way that it is important that I tell my wife and my son that I love them. However, the way I live should show them that I love them. Sometimes when my wife tells me she loves me, I will tease her by responding, “I know.” While I am only teasing her, the truth is that she lives her life in such a way that I do know that she loves me, even before she says it. In the same way, how we live should show God that we love Him. Are we telling God how much we love him on Sunday mornings then living a life that says differently. Does our life show “reverent love and devotion” to God. Do we daily display “ardent devotion” to Him through our actions?"

Those last two lines are from the dictionary definition of worship.

I also believe that as leaders of worship we are, at times, far too narrow minded. Any expression that shows how much we love God is worship. So,if we are called to be "leaders of worship" and as such are called by God to lead others to worship are we fullfilling our call if all we do is help them sing? As "leaders of worship" shouldn't it be our goal to help each individual to find their personal expression. For some this may be music, for others it may be visual arts, for others dance. For some it might mean working on the landscaping of the property, for others it might be vacuuming the sanctuary. For some it may be feeding the poor, or helping repair a home for someone who can not afford it.. All of these things are worship if they are done because of how much that person loves God.

Perhaps the cure for music burn out is, as John said, to place less emphasis on the music and begin to help people find their personal expression of worship. I am sure that we have all stood in front of the congregation and looked at the faces realizing that some of them were experiencing a deep worship experience, while others are just as obviously not. These others can experience the same worship experience if they find the right way to express it.

[NLoomis]

There is an inherent problem for me in writing. Most of what I would write would likely fall into the "sub-par crap" category. :) Now what?

Nathan

[stephen_can_man]

There is an inherent problem for me in writing. Most of what I would write would likely fall into the "sub-par crap" category. :) Now what?

Nathan

I'm right there with you man. We are supposed to put together a CD to sell within our church in the next couple months. I will promise not to mass distribute anything we do until the quality (song writing not production only) is worth offering to the church community at large.

[Doc Kavanagh]

It's quite possible that no one can force new music of any degree of quality .

I came back from Kingdom Bound last year after a day of hearing lincoln , lenny leblanc, Paul Baloche , etc. sat down on the back porch and opened the Book . Ten minutes into the Word I jumped up , ran into the garage
( studio ) and " wrote " a fairly good worship song .

My guess is I was inspired by my day of being around the greats , in the proper place spiritually ( in the Word ) and was given this song .

This has happened to me more than once . When I am as close to " right "
as I can be , I am given songs . Sometimes a hook ; sometimes a whole song . Sometimes a chorus ; sometimes verse, bridge , chorus , hook , intro , outro and horn parts. It's not me ! It could never be me . It is so much more than me !

My guess is that the formula is this : pray , read scripture , pray some more ,
submit , pray a little more , then go pick up your guitar .

Let me know if that formula works for you .

God bless

Doc

[sifuentes.daniela]

yeah
CT=chris tomlim
HSU=Hillsong United
DCB=David Crowed Band

but I still cant figure out the next one


help?

[Trent]

I agree very strongly with WORSHIPTRENCH's comments regarding musical complexity. "Commercially viable" worship songs are crafted for instant musical gratification (do not necessarily read in a negative vibe here). For the most part, if average Joe "pew-sitter" can't hop on board the second time through--forget it.

I write a lot of "non-worship" music (how's that for a dubious distinction?) just to stay sane. It's a catch 22, because to make the music sound great you want to keep good players around, but really good players have a hard time taking 99% of worship music seriously. It's the musical equivalent of cotton candy. Honestly, when I deliberately write stuff that I know my congregation will sing easily I almost feel resentful--like I'm selling out my real artistic side. I try to get creative lyrically to make up for it. I tell myself that I am being "incarnational" in order to minister to "normal" people--but then I feel like a total snob which isn't much better. I'm great at carrying guilt around...a pro, in fact.

If you want to hear someof my "non-worship music" just for giggles I have samples on my myspace--the album is called "Honest to God." www.myspace.com/trentsmithmusic It's also on itunes, probably getting a whopping one hit a day. I teamed up with Gary Cambra, (Tubes/Jefferson Starship), a "secular" producer, deliberately so I didn't end up with KLove 101.

The result: I have a very creative record...that is probably useless commercially.

I'm not sure if I have a point here--excep to say that I get weary of "church-pop" too.


trent

[yod1948]

great stuff, Trent!


OK...there's one more alternative for the OP



I find that most of the stuff coming out today isn't necessarily "bad" as much as it is uninspired. They kinda sound like they threw it together without consulting their guts.

[tobywan]

Wow.. you guys have given me alot to chew on.
This sort of reminds me of the times when I have been requested to play during altar calls and prayer times at the end of the service. There have been times when I have tried to pick a song that seems to fit the theme of the sermon. Other times, I have gone up and played with what I know or feel is on my heart.
Over the past many months, I have been gaining a greater appreciation of the "old" hymns. I dont play them as written of course. I play them with the passion and creativity that would express sincere worship to God.
If there is something that truly touches one's heart, then as a leader, chances are that this is what should be used.
It sounds like this is a time of thirsting that you are going through. Although frustration can be difficult, it can be channeled to seeking God and what and where He would lead you as well as possibly writing some great music.
I remember a few times I have been up on stage playing the piano and in the back of my mind I wondered what I was doing there becuase I just didnt feel like I had the creativity to express. After the service was told that people were blessed by my playing and it helped them to enter in. Of course, my response was one of wonder.
God does truly work in mysterious ways.