GrayJedi_Lightshade
Member
Hey guys. I'm somewhat new here. I'm enjoying discussions and eaves-dropping on disputes, but I'd like to start one of my own now.
My all-time favorite band has to be Skillet. Ever since I heard their first self-titled album, I was hooked. I have observed how they have mastered each sound and genre they have molded themselves into and am still, to this day, impressed at how well they can meet those specific places that cater to an eager audience's fancy. From Nirvana-esque garage-grunge, to Synth-Rock/Pop, to Contemporary Rock, to straight up hard 'n heavy alternative rock, backed up with unsynthesized violin and cello players (even on stage). I went to AwakeningFest 2009 in Leesburg, VA, and it was worth stayin out in the cold rain to see them. They put on some amazing shows.
I have been toooo...let's see. *scratches head.* ...5 shows of theirs? Yeah, I think that's about right. My first one was at Acquire the Fire before the Twin Towers fell. That was back in their Alien Youth phase. Heavy synth and distortion rattled my brain in a fashion much to my liking. Laser lights and colorful, snazzy oscillatations were going off on huge screens on either side of the stage, and I experienced my first moshe pit...which was amazing. (Then Seventh Day Slumber came out even before anyone knew who they were, but that's not what I'm goin for here. lol)
Back in those days, John Cooper (lead singer), at least took the time to even read something from the Bible ON STAGE. It felt good and just plain fun to be in this whole Jesus-gig back in those days. I was in middle school then. I'm 6 years out of high school currently. Moving on... (I'm getting to a clincher point for those of you who are wondering).
Next album they released I was quick to get. Collide. I made the crude distinction that they sounded quite a bit like Linkin Park in some of their songs. I liked this. Skillet always took a genre of music I LOVED and put a message of hope instead of leaving their audience in a critical sense of despair. bands like Three Days Grace, Linkin Park, HIM, and Hawthorne Heights always tried relating to their audience...but what good is that if you don't have a solution to the problem? Skillet was my answer to those kinds of bands. They always seemed to have a message of hope and a light at the end of the tunnel.
....But now, we have a problem..
They released Comatose. Don't get me wrong. GREAT album. Rebirthing is an excellent depiction of what it sholud feel like crossing over the fence into God's infinite grace. But when I heard "The Older I Get," and even "Open Wounds" from their later release of Collide, I reached a point where I ended up scratching my head. ..."Where is the light at the end of the tunnel, here? Was there one to begin with? ...Did I just miss it or overlook it? Did it get lost in translation?" I began fearing that Skillet's focus on subject matter was becoming too similar to that of the bands that they were touring with. (i.e. Three Days Grace, Saliva, Taking Back Sunday). Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with touring with those kinds of bands. I don't doubt they've reached and touched lives that way...but I'm seeing a pattern. And not just with the band Skillet.
Us, as Christians...we are trying to compete with the world. Even I'M guilty of this. I want to go into movie-making, utilizing 3D CG similar to that of Final Fantasy VII-Advent Children because I wonder why Christians aren't doing this type of awesome work. Then I got to a point where I didn't "mind" having some objectionable material put into it just to buy somemore eyes to watch the movie. But when you get to a point where you are compramising your message for the sake of acceptance...it's like saying your integrity now has a price tag. ..Since when does integrity have a price tag?
...I bought the album Awake just before I went to AwakeningFest...and my heart sank. Out of the 12 songs they have on the album...only about 4, maybe 5, have a message with that light at the end of the tunnel. Not to mention, the last track, "Lucy," is a travesty of a track to leave a listening audience with.
Here, my FAVORITE band....has gone emo on me. Everything in the field of music that I stand against, they have bought.
"Hero" is pretty sick (by that, I mean awesome).
"Monster"....okay, this is a guilty pleasure of mine. No light in the tunnel, but it hypes me up before a sword-match with my friends.
"Don't Wake Me" hit me pretty hard, especially being only the third track on the whole thing. Made me a tinge sad, not hearing a message of hope, but rather more of a false hope instead. It tells about someone who doesn't want to let go of their past. It can't be talking about thinking about how things were with God. The lyrics have to spell out something wordly. A relationship gone wrong.
"Awake and Alive," on the other hand, is my prayer for all my unsaved friends. I LOVe this song. Good stuff. "One Day Too Late" is another great song. Telling of how our time is limited to spread the love of Jesus and to not be ashamed of what we should be doing as Christians.
"It's Not Me, It's You." This song, I related to my girlfriend, being that we both despise her parents, but even she heard it, and then said.."Yeah, okay, they know my situation, but now what?" No light at the end of the tunnel. If I want to hear this song's message, I'll just put in "The Last Night," because they're actually hope there. Not here. Not anymore, at least.
"Should've When You Could've" ticked me off. That was it. I didn't even NEED to hear the rest of the album. My disappointment reached an all time high, and it just kept growing.
"Sometimes." ...Excuse me?!?! The part in the fricking CHORUS where it says "I had no idea someone else could be as messed up as me." and "Sometimes I don't wanna feel better. Sometimes I DON'T want to be put back together." What the CRAP is this?!
And then...they change it up with the song "Never Surrender." Good lyrics, but it sounds way too mopy for me to enjoy it.
"Forgiven" I can enjoy a little more, but by the time I reached the song through all that shin-digging non-sense of emotional poo, I shrugged it off.
....And the icing on the cake....."Lucy." I don't even know if I wanna tell you what I heard in this song, for those of you who still wish to hold Skillet in the high esteem I once did. It made me want to cry, two-fold. One, it was EXTREMELY depressing, and two, I had to realize how far my most revered group of people, ones who were so ON FIRE and SHAMELESS, and OPEN about how in love they were with Jesus, has gone emo and bought into the conformist mindset.
Veering off topic for a moment, I have HD cable now, and my family recently got this new Gospel Music Channel. They had a "Faith and Fame" thing goin on, and tobymac was featured. The show gave the full-out synopsis of how dcTalk got started and how they progressed. Censors actually approached dctalk and asked them to TONE DOWN the Jesus thing in their songs in order to attract more listeners and to not offend too many people. This was back in the early 90's people. Shocking, huh? What's even more shocking is this. ...Do you guys know what their response was?
"Jesus Freak" - "I don't really care if they label me a Jesus Freak. There ain't disguising the truth."
A resounding "NO!" When I saw that, I had the biggest smile on my face. I was touched, even though I wasn't the biggest dctalk fan. That song sold MILLIONS and MILLIONS of copies, btw. Christian Music history in the making.
THAT is how we should respond. Conforming is easy. Now Skillet is just another emo band. If they stood their ground, EVERYONE would turn and still notice them, but in case you haven't noticed, they're starting to take the backburner already.
I still listen to Ardent Worship to put me in a good uplifted mood. I still listen to the song "Rest" from their Invincible album to help me know that God has me in His hands. Skillet is now a reminder to me how we ALL should be careful to not conform and to stand our ground no matter how many times the censors approach us asking us to tone things down or to compramise our message for more $$.
I'm awake and I'm alive. Now I know what I believe inside. Now, it's my time. I'll do what I (He) want, Cuz this is my life. Right here. Right now. I'll stand my ground, I'll never back down. I know what I believe inside. I'm awake and I'm alive.
Questions? Comments? Forwards? I'm eager to hear what others have to say.
My all-time favorite band has to be Skillet. Ever since I heard their first self-titled album, I was hooked. I have observed how they have mastered each sound and genre they have molded themselves into and am still, to this day, impressed at how well they can meet those specific places that cater to an eager audience's fancy. From Nirvana-esque garage-grunge, to Synth-Rock/Pop, to Contemporary Rock, to straight up hard 'n heavy alternative rock, backed up with unsynthesized violin and cello players (even on stage). I went to AwakeningFest 2009 in Leesburg, VA, and it was worth stayin out in the cold rain to see them. They put on some amazing shows.
I have been toooo...let's see. *scratches head.* ...5 shows of theirs? Yeah, I think that's about right. My first one was at Acquire the Fire before the Twin Towers fell. That was back in their Alien Youth phase. Heavy synth and distortion rattled my brain in a fashion much to my liking. Laser lights and colorful, snazzy oscillatations were going off on huge screens on either side of the stage, and I experienced my first moshe pit...which was amazing. (Then Seventh Day Slumber came out even before anyone knew who they were, but that's not what I'm goin for here. lol)
Back in those days, John Cooper (lead singer), at least took the time to even read something from the Bible ON STAGE. It felt good and just plain fun to be in this whole Jesus-gig back in those days. I was in middle school then. I'm 6 years out of high school currently. Moving on... (I'm getting to a clincher point for those of you who are wondering).
Next album they released I was quick to get. Collide. I made the crude distinction that they sounded quite a bit like Linkin Park in some of their songs. I liked this. Skillet always took a genre of music I LOVED and put a message of hope instead of leaving their audience in a critical sense of despair. bands like Three Days Grace, Linkin Park, HIM, and Hawthorne Heights always tried relating to their audience...but what good is that if you don't have a solution to the problem? Skillet was my answer to those kinds of bands. They always seemed to have a message of hope and a light at the end of the tunnel.
....But now, we have a problem..
They released Comatose. Don't get me wrong. GREAT album. Rebirthing is an excellent depiction of what it sholud feel like crossing over the fence into God's infinite grace. But when I heard "The Older I Get," and even "Open Wounds" from their later release of Collide, I reached a point where I ended up scratching my head. ..."Where is the light at the end of the tunnel, here? Was there one to begin with? ...Did I just miss it or overlook it? Did it get lost in translation?" I began fearing that Skillet's focus on subject matter was becoming too similar to that of the bands that they were touring with. (i.e. Three Days Grace, Saliva, Taking Back Sunday). Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with touring with those kinds of bands. I don't doubt they've reached and touched lives that way...but I'm seeing a pattern. And not just with the band Skillet.
Us, as Christians...we are trying to compete with the world. Even I'M guilty of this. I want to go into movie-making, utilizing 3D CG similar to that of Final Fantasy VII-Advent Children because I wonder why Christians aren't doing this type of awesome work. Then I got to a point where I didn't "mind" having some objectionable material put into it just to buy somemore eyes to watch the movie. But when you get to a point where you are compramising your message for the sake of acceptance...it's like saying your integrity now has a price tag. ..Since when does integrity have a price tag?
...I bought the album Awake just before I went to AwakeningFest...and my heart sank. Out of the 12 songs they have on the album...only about 4, maybe 5, have a message with that light at the end of the tunnel. Not to mention, the last track, "Lucy," is a travesty of a track to leave a listening audience with.
Here, my FAVORITE band....has gone emo on me. Everything in the field of music that I stand against, they have bought.
"Hero" is pretty sick (by that, I mean awesome).
"Monster"....okay, this is a guilty pleasure of mine. No light in the tunnel, but it hypes me up before a sword-match with my friends.
"Don't Wake Me" hit me pretty hard, especially being only the third track on the whole thing. Made me a tinge sad, not hearing a message of hope, but rather more of a false hope instead. It tells about someone who doesn't want to let go of their past. It can't be talking about thinking about how things were with God. The lyrics have to spell out something wordly. A relationship gone wrong.
"Awake and Alive," on the other hand, is my prayer for all my unsaved friends. I LOVe this song. Good stuff. "One Day Too Late" is another great song. Telling of how our time is limited to spread the love of Jesus and to not be ashamed of what we should be doing as Christians.
"It's Not Me, It's You." This song, I related to my girlfriend, being that we both despise her parents, but even she heard it, and then said.."Yeah, okay, they know my situation, but now what?" No light at the end of the tunnel. If I want to hear this song's message, I'll just put in "The Last Night," because they're actually hope there. Not here. Not anymore, at least.
"Should've When You Could've" ticked me off. That was it. I didn't even NEED to hear the rest of the album. My disappointment reached an all time high, and it just kept growing.
"Sometimes." ...Excuse me?!?! The part in the fricking CHORUS where it says "I had no idea someone else could be as messed up as me." and "Sometimes I don't wanna feel better. Sometimes I DON'T want to be put back together." What the CRAP is this?!
And then...they change it up with the song "Never Surrender." Good lyrics, but it sounds way too mopy for me to enjoy it.
"Forgiven" I can enjoy a little more, but by the time I reached the song through all that shin-digging non-sense of emotional poo, I shrugged it off.
....And the icing on the cake....."Lucy." I don't even know if I wanna tell you what I heard in this song, for those of you who still wish to hold Skillet in the high esteem I once did. It made me want to cry, two-fold. One, it was EXTREMELY depressing, and two, I had to realize how far my most revered group of people, ones who were so ON FIRE and SHAMELESS, and OPEN about how in love they were with Jesus, has gone emo and bought into the conformist mindset.
Veering off topic for a moment, I have HD cable now, and my family recently got this new Gospel Music Channel. They had a "Faith and Fame" thing goin on, and tobymac was featured. The show gave the full-out synopsis of how dcTalk got started and how they progressed. Censors actually approached dctalk and asked them to TONE DOWN the Jesus thing in their songs in order to attract more listeners and to not offend too many people. This was back in the early 90's people. Shocking, huh? What's even more shocking is this. ...Do you guys know what their response was?
"Jesus Freak" - "I don't really care if they label me a Jesus Freak. There ain't disguising the truth."
A resounding "NO!" When I saw that, I had the biggest smile on my face. I was touched, even though I wasn't the biggest dctalk fan. That song sold MILLIONS and MILLIONS of copies, btw. Christian Music history in the making.
THAT is how we should respond. Conforming is easy. Now Skillet is just another emo band. If they stood their ground, EVERYONE would turn and still notice them, but in case you haven't noticed, they're starting to take the backburner already.
I still listen to Ardent Worship to put me in a good uplifted mood. I still listen to the song "Rest" from their Invincible album to help me know that God has me in His hands. Skillet is now a reminder to me how we ALL should be careful to not conform and to stand our ground no matter how many times the censors approach us asking us to tone things down or to compramise our message for more $$.
I'm awake and I'm alive. Now I know what I believe inside. Now, it's my time. I'll do what I (He) want, Cuz this is my life. Right here. Right now. I'll stand my ground, I'll never back down. I know what I believe inside. I'm awake and I'm alive.
Questions? Comments? Forwards? I'm eager to hear what others have to say.
