venting redux

check out my friend Brian's blog. he has some great stuff to say about "christian" music. i just can't listen to that crap. i mean, there are a few gems in the genre, and i actually do believe that mos of them are trying to do something god, but come on!! my favorite commentary on christian music is south park's season 7, episode 9 entitled "christian rock hard." in this episode, cartman starts a christian rock band in order to reach his goal of making a platinum album before kyle does, only to find out that the best you can do in christian music is to go double-myrrh. he uses the throngs of people who are dying to buy anything that says "jesus" for purely financial gain. luckily, i'm sure that there aren't actually people in the christian music business calling it a ministry while making a mint.

and while i'm rolling, the "christian" music phenomenon is a cog in the larger wheel of religious commercialism and christian subculture wherein an artist, singer, speaker, or clothing designer can succeed with minimal talent; the only requirement seemingly being the ability to choose a hip font and spell j-e-s-u-s correctly. my favorite commentary on this is brian dannelly's "saved" which showcases the ugly side of cristian subculure while also giving the viewer a picture of what i believe is a christ-like perspective.

by the way, we've come up with a rule of thumb here in the office about "christian" industry. one can generally expect anything with a "christian" label to be half as good and twice as expensive as it would be without the "christian label.

a quick post script: it's come to my attention that this entry is pretty cynical and mch more harsh than is my custom. i was gonna change it, but it's what i was feeling when i wrote it, so i'm leaving it. please respond with any comments so we can dialogue about this issue.
-justin