So I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but, as you will come to find, that will not be much of a hindrance. I'm a singer/songwriter who's basically out to let the world know that there doesn't have to be a huge rift between what is called "formal" music and what is called "pop" music. Music is not a set of similar yet incompatible languages, but rather a set of very similar dialects within the same language. Music by its nature is completely and utterly understandable and yet mysterious to all. It is Panlingual. Get ready for more in the near future.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music." Sergei Rachmaninov
You kids and your pop music...
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteJust so you know where I'm coming from, I'm a Junior in college, completing a BM in Music Composition, as well as a "pop-music lover." I understand and love both idioms (although there are many more than two in the world of music.) "Panlingual" is about bringing the two together because they are equally important.
Hmmmm, true - today's "pop music" can even become tomorrow's classics.
ReplyDeleteTrancendental,
ReplyDeleteVery true! Mozart's music (now widely appreciated for it's technical and compositional prestige, was, at one point, the "pop" music of the time. The beatles are in my Music History textbook, come to think of it. I look forward to more posts from you. Kepp 'em comin'!
It's this fallen generation's addiction to pop music that is leading them away from the Lord. We should be singing praises, not belting out the Devil's gospel.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteIt is exactly your kind of narrow minded dogmatism that is driving young people away from the church. We are to use this generation's tools to reach the current generation. Need I remind you that long ago, organ's were considered newfangled technology!
Hey John,
ReplyDeletePlease understand that praise comes from the heart; not from a particular genre or sound. Some people hear "new," "contemporary," and "pop" music and it reminds them of their selfish ways and sinful desires. Others, like me, hear God's beauty in pop music as much as anything else. It is, in fact, possible that one might hear traditional praise and worship music and it might remind them of a bad experience at a misguided and hipocritical church. It isn't about the sound I am too a Christ follower, sir. Remember that praise comes from the heart and sould of a human who is being filled with the Holy Spirit.
As a side note, I am sorry about the harshness of my first comment back to you. I realize that it was not out of love. I hope you will forgive me. God bless you in all of your endeavors.
Preach it Shep. You totally have it right on the money.
ReplyDeleteAnd John, if you disagree so strongly, why on earth bother to post antying at all? No one is forcefully subjecting you to Shep's viewpoint. If you don't like it, just go away lol.
I stumbled across the blog, and if you're going to post something, you have to be prepared for opposing viewpoints, Katie.
ReplyDeleteDo not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
If there is anything to be sorry for, Shep, it's that this generation has let itself be lead away from God by the false idols of Pop Stars and their seductive, suggestive, unholy lyrics.
John, I understand where you are coming from. To be prefectly honest, I have found myself listening to some songs which seem harmless and fun at first; but a more careful analysis yields immoral lyrics, and an ungodly worldview for both the song and the artist. Those messages in such songs are capable of worming their way into the minds of the strongest Christians, and can and have caused people to stumble.
ReplyDeleteHowever, to condemn an entire genre of music simply because some artists choose to use it inappropriately seems a bit harsh. Are the harmonies or rhythms inherently evil on their own? I believe that such music can and has been used to glorify God, not only through the artist's act of praise, but also by speaking to an audience that might not otherwise listen to "Christian" music.
We should break away from the pattern of the world - it's time we stopped allowing Satan to claim what God has given. I would no more dismiss the possibility of pop music being used to glorify God than I would the drums of African tribes, although they may have been used in pagan rituals at one time. God has given the human race a broad array of sounds which speak to the soul, and with which the soul can answer in praise.
A (don't know if you're a guy or gal),
ReplyDeleteIf the entire genre's roots are in sin and evil, can we be surprised at the results?
Modern electronic-rock music, inaugurated in the early 1960s, is, and always has been, a joint enterprise of British military intelligence and Satanic cults. On the one side, the Satanists control the major rock groups through drugs, sex, threats of violence, and even murder. On the otherside, publicity, tours, and recordings are financed by record companies connected to British military intelligence circles. Both sides are intimately entwined with the biggest business in the world, the international drug trade.
The rest of the article is here, a very good read http://www.av1611.org/othpubls/roots.html
The modern music movement is one that has been spearheaded by those who claim no affiliation with God and therefore must be shunned.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. Mark 9:47
John,
ReplyDeleteSeriously? I read half of that website before I quit in disgust. You spew half baked ideas and accusations with NO hard evidence to back any of it up.
Everything we do can be used for good and bad. Some of the "Roots" of modern medical methods come from the Nazis, are you going to pass up on cancer treatments because of that?
Katie, be nice :) I do concur with you on one point, though: much of the information comes without concrete support from unbiased sources.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I will reiterate an earlier question - are the rhythms or harmonies evil all by themselves? You are correct is assessing that the larger portion of the secular music industry promotes a lifestyle that is unholy and not spiritually edifying. But we are not talking about the music industry; we are talking about the music itself. I know personally several musicians who are faithful, passionate followers of Christ, who feel they are most capable of expressing the joy and love in their hearts through a less formal style of music. Who are we to judge one form of praise as better than another if in both cases the praise is sincere?
I would call your attention to the words that Joseph spoke to his brothers after they had tried to kill him: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Gen. 50:20). Regardless of any machinations of the early pop industry workers, God IS using that genre for good. I can't tell you how many times He has spoken to me through the lyrics AND the sound of certain contemporary Christian songs.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Rom. 8:28
God uses the most unlikely people throughout the Bible to complete parts of His perfect purpose for the world. For example: David conquering Goliath. God is in the business of using the unlikely to glorify Himself. Yes, much pop music is dead-set against God (as one can only be for or against God) and that makes it unlikely to glorify God, but that, in turn, makes it all the more likely that God will use it for His purpose. God can and will use the modern sound to reach His people. If this new sound is what God's children understand, our loving Father God will use it for His glory and to bring more of this fallen world to Himself.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of your comments John, Transcendental, Katie, and "A". May God bless all of you!
In Christ,
Shep <><