Contemporary Christian Music Explained

I knew after that last post somebody would ask: a. Do you really dislike contemporary Christian music that much, and; b. Why?

Well, here goes:

a. Yes.

b. Contemporary Christian music is the "Seinfeld" of Christian music - it's songs about nothing. The lyrics are vapid, mind-numbingly repetitive and completely unmemorable (unless, of course, the songwriter simply took a verbatim Biblical passage and set a meandering tune to it in which cases the lyrics are inspired of God).

The music is devoid of "hooks", themes, or even basic melodies that could be remembered all or in part 2 minutes later. I also have little use for three part harmony consisting of soprano, alto and castrated male, which is the usual vocal stack for praise choruses.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

I remember sitting in a church prior to a Sunday morning concert appearance by the quartet, and the church was warming up with a collection of contemporary praise choruses. I leaned over to my baritone singer and bet him $100 on the spot that he couldn't sing to me any part of the song they were currently doing when the concert was over. He wouldn't take the bet.

Sorry, but I'm a traditionalist. I like songs that say something significant and have melodies and lyrics that can be remembered later.