The Non-Existent Oldies

Had a "lightbulb" moment Sunday morning.

You know, the 'Holy Crap! I never even THOUGHT about THAT!' moment.

Yeah. Pretty much wrecked me.

SO! I thought I would share it with all my peeps...eventually. HA!

Lemme JUST say, before I get started that this whole Rock Mom life I lead is ridiculous sometimes. Between being a Daughter, a wife, a mom, a vocalist, a guitarist, a keyboardist, and a songwriter, and all the practices and coordinating that goes along with that...there's not much time for a blog, so I apologize if I dont post as often as some would like....as much as I would like.

I mean, I know my ramblings are IMMENSELY important to ALL of you...hahahaha.

Ahem...ANYWHO!

We were on the way to our 'House' and we were flipping stations TRYING to find some decent Christian music...and by decent I dont mean to imply that its indecent or that I think it is...

Those of you who know me, know that I'm kind of a worship snob. If it doesn't move my spirit, if it doesnt spark conversation with Him, then...well...let's just say,

 I'm not into being 'entertained'.

On every station there were songs playing that were at LEAST 6 years old...and the 'new' ones that were played were remakes of the older ones that had been 're-made' by God, Himself, only knows how many(and they sound almost identical to the first one..dont think I'll ever understand that logic)..with a few actual new ones scattered in between. But even those sounded like the 6-10 year old songs that were played before them.

Again, I'm not criticizing. Just stating an observation. 

Then I got to thinking about secular music and how each generation of music has a distinct sound to it. Each generation had a different take on the interpretation music...a couple songs were remade(modernized or re-mixed), but most were new creations that etched that time period in our minds...we can hear certain songs and we know without even KNOWING the song which era it came from.

Example:  1.  Bad..buh buh buh buh Bad to the Bone...   Some might argue, but to me its oldies.

                 2.  Baby, Please Dont Go...Muddy Waters and Rolling Stones...Classic. Yes.

                 3.  Free Bird...Lynard Skynard

                 4.  Mama Kin...Aerosmith...

                 5.  Patience...Guns-n-Roses..

                 6.  Hangin' Tough..(HAHAHAHA) New Kids On The Block..yes..I was a 'Newbie'.

Dont hate. 

You know you were too.

                 7.  Blame It On The Rain...The Infamous MILLI VANILLI

                 8.  Hit Me Baby One More Time...Britney Spears

                 9.  I Want It That Way...Backstreet Boys

                 10.  Hold Her Hand...Hootie and the Blowfish

              

Need I go on?  Every single one of the songs I just listed takes you back to different time, right?

For those music hounds out there, some are from the same era...yes, I know.  ;P

And every song is different. Has a distinctly different style for that time. You want to know why? Every generation had the freedom to write and create what moved them...without boxes...and they did.

And every generation created art....some epic...some not so epic (ahem...Mr. Vanilla Ice...)

And you could ALWAYS tell..and still can...when a new generation had a 'lightbulb' moment because the sound changed and it was fresh and hip and the former generations' music gradually became last year...then two years ago...then "greatest hits"...then golden oldies.

               

Not so with Christian music.

When you think of "Christian Oldies" what do you think of.

I can tell you what I think of. The good ole foot stompin hymns...that are 100 years old or more...what happened to the inbetween??

There are no Christian 'oldies'.

You know why? Because the 'now' stations are still playing songs that were 'now' 10 and 12 years ago. I kid you not, that morning I heard 2, in 20 minutes, mixed in with some semi-newer songs, that were 'new' when my 12 year old was a baby.  

This is why we are losing yet another generation.

In my opinion, (and that's all it is.) Christian radio is destroying the platform that Christian artists have to speak into the lives of the lost, and have instead turned Christian concerts into entertainment for the saved.

Lol, I'm sure that this will probably tick some ppls off, but you dont have to agree with me to love me :) It's my opinion and experience that leads me to say this awful thing(gasp!).  I really dont have a problem with listening to Christian radio or ppl who do, so get your knickers out of a twist. Its MUCH better than the much of the ka-ka being played secularly these days and is played regularly in our vehicle. (althought we DO listen to secular music from time to time..GASP!!!...that's how I know what is relevant to this current culture.) 

But, ask any Christian artist why they started ministering and if they are honest, they will tell you something about reaching the lost. It had nothing to do with being entertainment for the saved...well for ME it didn't..and I know others who were given the opportunity to go to "The Show" and turned it down because they SAW what Christian music has become.  

Some of you know I was in a band. We started out listing our genre as Christian Rock. Know what? When the promo posters went up with "Christian Rock" on them...guess who showed up? Christians. Funny thing? I'm not interested in being entertainment any more than I am in being entertained.  

The very ones we wanted to reach the most shut us down before we even started...

They shut us down as soon as they read that stinking poster.

Why did very few...if any...apathetic young people show up? Well, where do they get their opinion of Christian Music from??  When asked what their opinion of Christian music was, they answered:

FOGEY, OUTDATED, LAME...

Ouch. 

Lol, If they would hit OUR church up, that would no longer be the case, hahaha...There is some NEW and POWERFUL going on up in VOICE TO THE NATIONS...but anywho...(<--shameless plug)

So here's what I think:

See, there are no 'oldies' because religious spirits were so rocked by the 'Contemporary Christian' movement that they were damned if they were going to allow THAT to happen again and suddenly, the freedom to change and progress stopped in the 90's and so began another attack on future generations...the same one that attacked when music itself was added to the mix of worship hundreds of years ago.

Music is powerful. It stirs up things inside us that are inexplicable. Passions, inspirations, visions, hopes, dreams, anger, devotion...

Lucifer was a musician.

He knows how powerful it is. He also knows how passionate young people can be and what the 'right' kind of tunes can do to a generation...so what does he do? He halts the relativity of spiritual music.

I'm fixing to blow your mind.

Some would say that he is responsible for secular music, but he is not.

That's giving him WAY too much credit.

He is DEFINITELY responsible for the mindsets that create hateful, lewd, and profane lyrics, but he, himself, can't create anything.

We are like our Daddy and so WE create.

We were made to do it.

Christians tend to assume that only music created by other Christians is made by God, but in reality, its ALL His. Satan can only pollute and twist the creation. The melodies and harmonies are born of the hearts and souls of wayward Levites...But that's another blog for another day. :)

SO! Back to topic: Are there artists who are moving and operating in the newness and not chained in by religiousness? Yes. Are there artists who are hearing the new sounds of heaven and bringing them to earth? Yes. Do we hear them on the radio? Not often for some...and never for others...

I would LOVE to turn on Christian radio and hear Steffany Frizzell's impassioned "You Know Me" come out of the speakers and into the lives of those who feel like they have gone too far for God to ever love them.

I would LOVE to turn on Christian radio and hear Jason Upton's "Fly" come out of the speakers and angels sing over people who are tired of fighting and ready to give up.

I would LOVE to turn on Christian radio and think "OH! I LOVE this song!!!" when I hear a good old song from a former era instead of inwardly groaning "oh, this song again??"  

Heaven is contantly singing over us. So why are we so stuck on songs that heaven poured out years and years ago when there is an untapped wealth of passionate, chain-breaking, heart turning, healing songs locked up inside the heart of this generation?  Can you hear the rhythm of their hearts beating? It's the rhythm of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. I can hear it. I can feel it.

This generation will respect and love the older songs, just like we LOVE some classic rock, country, r&b, if we will give them the freedom to do what Daddy made them to do...create.

Part of our House's mission statement is to "Letting the Next Generation Sing Their Song"...and as simple as that sounds...its probably harder than the other two parts which are "Breaking Racism" and "Destroying Poverty". Thankfully in OUR House, under OUR Bishop, OUR young ppl have the freedom to create and we sing it with them. (<--another shameless plug)

It's time to let "Contemporary" become last year..two years ago...greatest hits...golden oldies...still powerful, still moving, but let's allow this generation to sing THEIR songs...not the ones that WE like, know, and are comfy with.

To coin a phrase from an epic Whitney song:

 "I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride and make it easier...."

Older Generation:

Let's teach them well.

Let's show them how beautiful their passion is.

Let's give them a sense of pride instead of fear of judgment.

Let's make it easier for them than it was for us.

Younger Generation:

You are beautiful.

You are talented.

You are a royal preisthood.

You have a voice.

So sing.

Sing LOUD.

We are listening and waiting to be educated by YOU.