I have two CDs that are on heavy rotation this August. And they're on the opposite ends of the spectrum. One's got a "Parental Advisory/Explicit Lyrics" sticker on the case, the other's a goody two-shoes Praise & Worship CD.
Call me schizo, but that's my music selection this month. I'm no angel, but I'm no devil either.
Ok, lets kick the month off with the "bad" album. I'm hooked on the techno, industrial beats and metal riffs of this CD. Being an unabashedly big Matrix fan, this CD helps me get into kick-ass mode (good for background music while hacking away on a very difficult program at work or for driving like a madman on my way to Bakersfield).
I especially love the instrumental tracks on the first CD (Furious Angels by Rob Dougan, Dread Rock by Oakenfold, The Passportal by Team Sleep, and Zion by Fluke). The second CD of the set boasts the score used in the movie, and is just as good.
That is, if you're into techno/metal/industrial, which I suddenly found myself smack-dab in the middle of.
In short, I loved this CD set, loved the sequel, hated the game-- but loved the in-game movies.
And am eagerly awaiting November for the hopefully satisfying, mind-bending conclusion to the trilogy.
Let it not be said that I can't find balance in all things... because inspite of my rather questionable choices of music (by religious authorities' standards) I do find Praise & Worship songs to my liking (being a once-keyboardist in a worship band, and a sometimes-worship leader).
This CD set's got quite a number of my favorites, from covers of P&W songs by popular CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) artists to popular ones by the original artist(s)/songwriter(s).
Understand this though: I do not like Christian Contemporary Music. In fact, I have a strange aversion to it. Maybe because I feel that they've become too commercialized. Maybe it's because they're marketing themselves as "Christian" alternatives to pop music ("If you like <insert name of popular secular artist here> you'll like &lgt;name of CCM artist here>").
I just don't know. I mean sure, there are bound to be some good songs in the mish-mash of styles that is CCM (heck I've even seen ads for a Christian Rastafarian artist!), but I like my Christian music clearly and definitely separated from my secular music, thank you very much.
Thus my profound respect for groups like Sixpence None the Richer, Creed, Lifehouse and Evanescence that shy away from the we-are-goody-two-shoes-Christian-singers-and-we-play-goody-two-shoes-Christian-music types. Instead they sing their meaningful songs, and their demonstrations of faith, however shaky or misguided, are kept separate from their musical acts.
I guess I its just that I believe that Christianity shouldn't be a performance or a business. It is, on the other hand, a way of life, not dictated by your choice of clothes, music, reading or gaming material, but by your faith/devotion/love for that Special Someone up there (*points upward*), and your undconditional love for your fellow man.
