Despite being a musician, I’ve grown up rather musically oblivious. And when I say oblivious, I mean – under a rock, in-a-hole-in-the-ground oblivious. Just ask any one of my music-savvy friends how many times they have shaken their head in disbelief at my failure to recognize the singer, band or lyrics that they are referencing.
So, after getting good and tired of being the naive wierdo homeschooler who didn’t know a thing about popular music, I made a decision.
I was going to expand my musical bubble…crawl out from under my rock, and have the full experience…just so I’d know what people were talking about. Somehow, I felt like I needed to.
I decided to put an exploratory foot in the genre of contemporary Christian first…since that seemed the safest. New musical doors opened last summer when I started a job working at a frozen custard shop where the local Christian music station played from the time the doors were open to when they closed. At first, I was ecstatic. Here was the perfect chance to expand my music bubble. I listened carefully to every song, picking up on the lyrics and singing them over and over…
But guess what?
I got tired of it. Sick of it. Listen to your contemporary Christian station for even one week straight and I promise you’ll find yourself commiserating. Oh, you’ll find a couple of songs that have the happy beat you like, or maybe a few that you can relate to when it comes to lyrics…but after a while, it gets old. At least it did for me. It didn’t help that the radio station seems to favor a select few (like, five) songs…and plays them over and over and over again.
So I decided to try something else. Country and pop music seemed the next obvious choice. I was a bit more cautious here at first, paying close attention to the songs I heard my friends singing or referencing, and watching the lyric videos they posted on social media websites, and then branching out from there to the radio, but I have to tell you, the novelty is fast wearing off. But maybe it is because I get tired of switching the dial back and forth between a dozen stations, trying to find a song without explicit language and/or blatant sexual content. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of feeling guilty for having the catchy beat & lyrics to that song stuck in my head – the lyrics to that song I wouldn’t feel comfortable singing to your face? Boring as the contemporary Christian station can get, at least it was ‘safe’.
And right here is where I’ve been stuck for the past couple of months. Stuck between critically analyzing the contemporary Christian music genre (finding it falling terribly short of spiritual worth and depth – but that’s a subject for another blog post), and wondering if secular music is worth the risk.
Don’t misunderstand me: I have found some music I enjoy listening to – both of the ‘Christian’ & secular varieties. But as I’m exploring what there is to expand into I’m feeling rather discouraged. Where is all the good music at?
Bear with me people, this is something that has been on my heart for a while, and I’m still pondering it. I’m not trying to bash anything here…just sharing my heart. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and welcome any music suggestions as I continue expanding into new genres & styles.
Wide Awake 