Paul O'Donnell: February 2009 Archives

It makes sense that, when young Christian rockers began to struggle free of the mannered CCM format, they would gravitate toward emo, the brooding, melodic rock genre that trades punk's teenage angst for teenage "issues."

Exhibit A: The Fray, a band of Christian believers from Denver, had a strong debut with "How to Save a Life," a passionate and catchy radio hit (thanks in part to its appearance on the TV show "Grey's Anatomy") that might be a public service announcement for the importance of talking to your teenager. It showed what a short leap it is from Christian Nashville's plaintive, "where were you, God?" soft rock to swirling, Nashville-tinged emo pop (Chremo?) about reaching out when life gets hard.

Who would get your Grammy for best rock song: L'il Wayne, Springsteen, Beck, Brad Paisley or Mary J. Blige? What, you say these artists have nothing to do with one another in terms of genre, audience, or even sales? Why would the Grammy voters have to choose among them? Yet there were some heartbreaking losses this year in the Christian music Grammy competition that can be chalked up to the illogical way Christian artists are pigeonholed.

Consider the category of Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album. The mainstream Grammys have long since split rap and rock, but in the Christian world, a light, pop-oriented rapper like tobyMac faces off against a pure guitar band like After Edmund as if they were after the same ears. Casting Crowns, a powerhouse Christian Contemporary band of the last decade, went up against R&B inflected "Mary, Mary" for best gospel song.

I'm betraying myself as incorrigibly uncool by mentioning this, but David Byrne has a couple of new albums out. "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today," made with Brian Eno, slunk onto the web last August with the lack of fanfare that denotes hipster disdain for the record business nowadays. The other is, " Hymnal," a soundtrack of Bryne instrumentals for "Big Love," the HBO show about the fictitious, upscale, fundamentalist polygamist Mormon family. Both recordings have given critics to see a spiritual moment in Byrne's work, and Bryne has encouraged that kind of talk.

Still in the early going, the Grammys telecast has a savvy mix of blasphemy and gospel going. Notice how Kid Rock dressed as a parson and sang "Rock and Roll Jesus," followed (after a palate cleanser of pure spun sugar in Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus) by Jennifer Hudson backed by risers of singers in black robes--looking a bit more like Supreme Court justices than choir members, but we got the point. At this hour Katy Perry is singing "I Kissed a Girl." Can a country tune mentioning the Good Lord be far behind-oh, nevermind, bingo: it's the Lord himself, Morgan Freeman.

Christian rock/rapper Toby Mac's "Alive and Transported" was not to be denied this year, at the Dove Awards this Spring or at the Grammys last night, when he took home the award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album. Toby's comeback album hit a nerve with young Christians with its message of inclusion and diversity wrapped in a bright pop package. What Toby is saying is what many evangelicals are thinking about these days: how to drop the us-versus-them posture and broaden the tent.

There are some great books out there to introduce your kids to Christian Bible stories. But how to get your kids to make the leap from books of Bible stories or children's Bibles to the real thing? You won't be...