Prog ~ Punk

Texanglican has a post at his blog about Contemporary Christian Music.

My profile says that I like the Hymnal and St. Dunstan's Plainsong Psalter for my musical interests. I don't play those in the car, though. If I had CDs of those "hits" I'd surely listen to them more often. Those are for worship. So what modern music do I like?

As the title indicates, I like a few Prog (progressive rock) and Punk bands. Prog is orchestrated, orchestral, percussive Rock and Metal music. What I mean is-Prog is really heavy on percussion and adventurous arrangement. Think Queen's Bohemian Rapsody. Rush is, of course, the best band of all time. Everyone has heard of Rush. But you may not know that there are 1,000s of Prog bands out there who follow this same style. If you simply must have those 3 chords repeated over & over accompanied by 4th grade lyrics, please stay away from Prog.

A Prog band that I like a lot is Glass Hammer. They have a lot of tribute material to C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. More importantly...it's good music. I challenge you to listen to their new "Compilations" album and not be moved. Give'em a try.

For Punk, I like Flogging Molly. I know, I know... the mind formulates prejudice immediately! For that reason I did not link directly to their official website. Google that one yourself if you like (easily-offended web surfer beware). A friend got me interested in them and I'm glad he did. They are not what you think...if what you're thinking is vile, foul-mouthed lyrics with mad lashing of instruments. If you turn off music when you hear the "F" word, better skip'em, however. It's good music. It makes me laugh. Their music describes people I know. If they don't describe people you know, let me suggest you walk into a pub or a bar with your mighty Christian Faith. What have you got to lose...if you're right?! Anywho, I know that we are right--that Christ is Lord, & that those folk in the pub need Him. Go back to St. Matt. 13 and consider what your part in the story is.

I simply don't listen to much "charted" music. Rock, Country, Pop...all the same stuff. That's probably one reason cross-over artists are increasing. Believe me, they are not crossing very far. As for the "christian" variety of music--I simply don't listen any more. It is usually not good musically, and the words tend toward heresy and heterodoxy. Please stop playing that junk at Church!