One of the first things I did as a new convert in my college years, was to dump all of my albums into the trash. And this was good stuff; Beatles, Manhattan Transfer, Genesis, early Michael Jackson, Boston, Journey ect. There was a lot of great music in the 70's and 80's. And it wasn't as if any Pastor told me it was "the Devil's Music" or anything like that. I just felt a conviction within my soul that music had a certain hold on me. It was my "go-to" for when I was happy or sad or lonely and I realized that a lot of who I was, and the songs seemed to be the soundtrack of events that shaped my character. But I wanted a new life with Christ at the center molding my character. And as a singer, dancer and pianist my choice in music needed to glorify God and break me of the habit of introspective navel gazing. And it was a while before I found anything I considered "good Christian music", other than Handel's Messiah, or great hymns. But I eventually worked my way there and found kindred spirits in artists like Keith Green, John Michael Talbot, Don Francisco, Michael Card, and Twila Paris. I found myself weeping as "In Christ Alone" was introduced at church and stood amazed that such a simple tune could illuminate the heart of Gospel, much like a massive Rose Window on a cathedral takes your breath away. I go back occasionally to the nostalgia of the music of my younger years, but it has lost its grip on me. The weird emotional connection is gone. I can still listen and analyze it and say, "That innovative drum kick in Toto's "Rosanna" is undeniably groovy" and belt out all the lyrics to "Carry on my wayward son" by Kansas. (which, when you think about the lyrics you realize it IS a Christina song). And for the most part, the stuff on Christian radio lacks both lyrical gravitas and melodic inspiration. It's not even catchy. I don't know what it is, but it is reflective of what I would consider a musical desert of the past 20 years, both sacred and secular.
I agree that a conversion changes musical tastes — the vibe just doesn’t work anymore with a lot of it. Looking back it’s almost bizarre how important music was — not that it’s irrelevant, but why does is occupy such a high spot on so many people’s lists? I guess when you don’t have what you really need you need to fill your soul with some kind of a substitute. Still I wish Christians made better music. We will someday!
One of the first things I did as a new convert in my college years, was to dump all of my albums into the trash. And this was good stuff; Beatles, Manhattan Transfer, Genesis, early Michael Jackson, Boston, Journey ect. There was a lot of great music in the 70's and 80's. And it wasn't as if any Pastor told me it was "the Devil's Music" or anything like that. I just felt a conviction within my soul that music had a certain hold on me. It was my "go-to" for when I was happy or sad or lonely and I realized that a lot of who I was, and the songs seemed to be the soundtrack of events that shaped my character. But I wanted a new life with Christ at the center molding my character. And as a singer, dancer and pianist my choice in music needed to glorify God and break me of the habit of introspective navel gazing. And it was a while before I found anything I considered "good Christian music", other than Handel's Messiah, or great hymns. But I eventually worked my way there and found kindred spirits in artists like Keith Green, John Michael Talbot, Don Francisco, Michael Card, and Twila Paris. I found myself weeping as "In Christ Alone" was introduced at church and stood amazed that such a simple tune could illuminate the heart of Gospel, much like a massive Rose Window on a cathedral takes your breath away. I go back occasionally to the nostalgia of the music of my younger years, but it has lost its grip on me. The weird emotional connection is gone. I can still listen and analyze it and say, "That innovative drum kick in Toto's "Rosanna" is undeniably groovy" and belt out all the lyrics to "Carry on my wayward son" by Kansas. (which, when you think about the lyrics you realize it IS a Christina song). And for the most part, the stuff on Christian radio lacks both lyrical gravitas and melodic inspiration. It's not even catchy. I don't know what it is, but it is reflective of what I would consider a musical desert of the past 20 years, both sacred and secular.
I agree that a conversion changes musical tastes — the vibe just doesn’t work anymore with a lot of it. Looking back it’s almost bizarre how important music was — not that it’s irrelevant, but why does is occupy such a high spot on so many people’s lists? I guess when you don’t have what you really need you need to fill your soul with some kind of a substitute. Still I wish Christians made better music. We will someday!