About a week ago, I went to see the band Anberlin with two close friends of mine. Did I really want to see Anberlin? Not really, but we were having a girl's night, so I figured I would just go along with what my two friends wanted to do...which was see Anberlin for free (aka for a suggested $10 donation). I don't have anything against Anberlin. I was once an actual fan of them, but that was when I was 13. It seems that my two friends are now getting into a lot of bands I listened to when I was in 7th and 8th grade, so it's like music nostalgia for me when I'm with them. The way they get excited over these bands is entertaining sometimes, mainly because I just don't get that excited anymore...
Anyway, so one of my friends opened up about her recent dissatisfaction with Christianity and how she's distancing herself from it. So I guess she's agnostic now, on a journey to find where she belongs faith-wise. After seeing Anberlin and looking up more info about them, she read that they were a Christian band. She then said how she's not a fan of Christian bands (or really Christian music in general) because it's all praise and worship-y and preachy and pointless (another sign that she's clearly not digging Christianity much at all lol). Luckily for Anberlin, she thought that they were good. My friend isn't the only one to hold this opinion about "Christian" bands, dismissing them before really even listening to them. The thing is, Anberlin doesn't actually label themselves as a "Christian band" (you can thank the press and critics for that), even though all of the members are Christian.
So how can people separate a band full of Christian members from a band that actually labels itself "Christian"? Give them a chance, listen to the lyrics, see whether or not the band labels itself that way, etc.
There are many bands out there full of Christian members that don't label themselves as a Christian band, but don't think they won't talk about faith in at least a few of their songs. These bands approach songs about faith differently than a band truly labeled as Christian- this is usually obvious when the subject matter is questioning faith and whatnot vs directly praising God. You will also notice that many of these bands try to distance themselves from the Christian label. I'll give some examples of bands:
bands with Christian members (who have been mislabeled as "Christian" bands):
Anberlin
Oceana
Thrice
Acceptance
Chevelle
mewithoutYou
The Devil Wears Prada
Switchfoot
Christian bands:
Underoath
Leeland
Showbread
The Almost
Building 429
Children 18:3
P.O.D
Family Force 5
Demon Hunter
Some of the bands I listed on the latter list don't necessarily "preach" in their music, therefore allowing them to be open to a wider audience. Most of these bands aren't trying to preach in their music, regardless of their label, but their faith does play an important role in how they write the great music they make.
My friend's feelings about Christian bands is a common misconception held my many people, but she will eventually learn how to truly spot the difference in Christian bands. I mean, my ex is a freakin' atheist, and he's the one who introduced me to Oceana and bonded with me over listening to Underoath back in the day. He also introduced me to Listener, and those guys are Christians too. So...
In a way, it feels like my friend is currently going through the short phase I had at 12 years of age- my discovery of music other than Top 40 hits and oldies, a world of music that was mainly underground at the time. You grow tired of all of the overly sexual and objectifying and demeaning songs, and you relate to music with lyrics full of meaning. This usually translates to having a strong dislike for mainstream hip hop and pop and taking a strong liking to rock and its sub-genres. But in all fairness, we can't assume all hip hop and pop doesn't have meaning or that all rock has meaning (because there are plenty of examples out there to prove this point).
In conclusion to this random post, all I'm asking is to give the Christian bands a chance even if you aren't one. I say give any musician a chance until you've actually listened to them, that way you be proven right or wrong with evidence and not just prejudice.
The end.
