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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | erhoek@comcast.net |
| Subject | Re: Recommendation Request for Good Christian Music |
| Date | Tue, 6 Jul 2010 22:22:43 +0000 (UTC) |
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Shawn,
If you should decide to replace your cassettes you may be surprised to find that for the most part there is no cut throat collectors market like there is for other stuff.
This stuff goes in and out of print constantly...for instance Da-Darn Floor Big Bite came out on Arena Rock a few years back with a bonus disc of material. I rediscovered that disc after rebuying it from one of Not Lame's blow out sales. I had to buy it again after all it had a bonus disc. Amirite?
Anyway...you should be able to find a majority of the stuff on cd on ebay for just a few dollars here and there.
I can't believe I forgot Jacob's Trouble in my list. I used to listen to their stuff all the time.
Also...the Choir reissued their entire catalog in a box set a while back. That should be floating around out there as well.
I saw them a couple times live. They encored with No Matter What by Badfinger (=WIN).
they also toured with the Throes who i should have added to my list. They were part of that early Slumberland/Brilliant Records scene in Virgina/Maryland/DC and were related to Poole. I think Harold Evans left the Throes to form Poole.
anyway..happy hunting
----- Original Message -----
From: "shawn campbell" <thursdayinjune@yahoo.com>
To: audities@smoe.org
Sent: Tuesday, July 6, 2010 1:39:12 PM
Subject: Re: Recommendation Request for Good Christian Music
I've let this thread go for some time, but I just can't resist it any longer. Who knew that Christian rock would prompt my first post in ages to audities? Anyway...
When I was in college, I had a thing for a guy who was completely into alternative Christian rock, so for a period of time, I immersed myself in the stuff, even ending up briefly taking over a Christian alt-rock radio show (hello, Mission Rock!).
What I found was that there actually was a lot of good music flying under the radar that wasn't as blatantly preachy as the mainstream stuff like Petra or Carmen. I still really like a lot of these records (although sadly I own most of them on cassette only). Unfortunately, I also did discover that with a lot of these bands, even when their lyrics weren't blatantly Christian, their live shows were, and after a half dozen sermons on wives submitting to their husbands and the evils of reproductive choice, I had to give it all up.
But in any case, here are some favorites (this is all circa 1990-91, so note that most of the material has a decidedly late 80s/early 90s alt-rock feel:
The 77s - already noted here, jangly pop in the Athens mold, highly catchy, celebratory songs (The Word is Love stands out), and a great live band.
Guadalcanal Diary - Jangly pop that was *actually* out of Athens -- friends of R.E.M. who had some crossover success, but always got a lot of play in the Christian alt-rock world too (standout track: Litany (Life Goes On))
Altar Boys - Known as the first Christian punk band, Altar Boys ended up sounding kind of like a cross between the Replacements and the Alarm. Catchy, anthemic, high energy songs, and a lead singer who adopted the fine name "Mike Stand."
Absence of Ceramics - another poppy little Christian punk band, I include them because I love their name, and they had at least one great song called Soul Surgery.
The Choir - super-catchy (and sometimes atmospheric), guitar-based pop. Some of the albums are full of of sweet love songs to God and the band members' wives and children (About Love is the quintessential ode to the girl back home from the traveling musician, but with a Christian take. and When She Sees Me is a song I'd happily include on any mix tape for a new parent), while others tackle loss and questioning. Oh man, I forgot how much I loved the Choir!
Jacob's Trouble - sweet, Beatlesque pop -- in fact, because I'd explored the Beatles deeply but not broadly at that point in my life, I think my first encounter with "Tell Me What You See" was on a Jacob's Trouble album.
John Austin and the Embarrassing Young -- pleasant-voiced singer-songwriter of catchy, clever tunes still working today with a lot of high profile artists (Buddy Miller, Sean Mullins, Pierce Pettis, etc.)
The Violet Burning - 'Chosen' was perhaps the first album I ever heard that I would purely describe as "alternative." I remember thinking, "I don't know how to explain what this is to people." Definitely a rock record, guitar-based, dark and dramatic, lyrically interesting (and appropriately vague) and 20-year-old me is thinking, what IS this?" Helpfully, as a celebration of the record's 20th anniversary (gah!), it's available as a free download on the band's website, http://thevioletburning.com.
Chagall Guevara - this was your alt-Christian supergroup, featuring solo
artist Steve Taylor and other members of assorted alt-y Christian
groups, theirs was a conscious effort to escape the confines of the CCM
world and try to do something different. A little bit funky, a little
bit rock, and just kind of all over the place, but in a pretty
interesting way.
Dead Artist Syndrome and LSU were both really gothy - dramatic and dark, with spooky deep-voiced male singers.
This was quite a trip down memory lane for me -- hope it's helpful!
--Shawne.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?func=lists-long-full&extra=audities>
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