Simplicity and Neon Steeple

[I just noticed that over a month ago, on June 13, I suggested that I would write a post on Neon Steeple. Rather than make myself out to be a liar, I'm going to use some time in the backseat of my parents' car here to write this post. I set out to discuss the album and ended up bringing an interesting discussion about worship music I frequently ponder. Enjoy!]

For a very long while the David Crowder*Band was my absolute favorite worship band. I love them very much, and their music will always hold a special place in my heart. (They've only been beat out by Rend Collective!) My favorite thing about the DC*B was that, on top of writing true and worshipful songs, they were musically interesting. In other words, their incredibly variable rock-to-techno-to-bluegrass sound would be worth listening to if it was NOT worship music. Unfortunately, that's not the case for most worship bands out there. Pretty often, the fact that a song is a worship song is used as an excuse for its instrumental (and even vocal) parts to be quite boring.

Blogger's note: It's hard to say whether the "problem" described in my previous two sentences is a bad thing. On the one hand, songs intended for congregational singing need to be easy to learn and sing. Simplicity itself is often a virtue, giving congregations a chance to affirm simple yet amazing truths. On the other hand, the worship music industry is inundated with songs that are boring or uninteresting musically.

What are worship artists to do? Write songs that are easy for bands to learn and congregations to sing, but be criticized by not being worth listening to? Or write songs with musical excellence that can't be brought into a congregational setting easily? Obviously, each artist will approach their craft differently, and many probably don't think of their music in these terms. In the best case scenario, bands prove that these two ideals are not exclusive, producing songs that are interesting to listen to AND to use with congregations.

I think the David Crowder*Band produced songs that were very interesting to listen to but often difficult to bring into a service. Artists like Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman tend to produce songs that are (in varying degrees) instrumentally bland,* but very effective and easy for use in services. I guess that as a worship artist, one has to sit down and decide what role exactly your songs will play. I don't think Chris Tomlin's band is unskilled, I think they consciously play simpler instrumental parts to make the song easier to learn and sing.**

Another blogger's note: All of the above is a discussion that applies to "worship artists," by which I mean the people that write and record worship songs, NOT the ground-level worship band playing at a given church. Each band (with the proper licensing) has the ability to choose exactly which songs to play, giving the worship leader great control over the lyrical and musical complexity of the music. Recreating recordings is boring, people! Simpler songs can easily be made more musically interesting, and vice versa. Every band and every congregation are different. I think enough worship artists produce enough music all along the simple-complex spectrum for each band to find exactly what it needs.

NOW, to what I originally wrote this post for: Neon Steeple! (I know, quite a diversion there. Good talk!) On my first listen through the album, I was unhappy that no songs on the album were going to make their way into my worship sets. Some may, with some work, but for now most of the songs are farther down the complexity spectrum than I usually attempt. This initial disappointment was completely forgotten after I had listened through a couple more times. The truth is, the album is very enjoyable to listen to. I like it for many of the same reasons I liked his work with the DC*B. It may not be easy to sing along to or play, but MAN it is fun to listen to. As I may have mentioned before, the album is a combination of bluegrass and techno- if that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what does! If you'd like to get a feel for the album, here's my favorite song to listen to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQk7RQg5p3k&feature=youtu.be

Let me know what you think! About the song, album, and complexity in worship music. Until next time, cheers!


*I actually regularly listen to Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman, despite the frequent blandness of the instrumental parts and the simplicity of vocal melodies. This is mostly because I am a huge fan of worship music and usually think with congregational singing in mind; true, enjoyable, and worshipful lyrics ARE enough for me (and many others) to buy and listen to music. Writing songs with congregations in mind is not necessarily a terrible business model, and does not necessarily mean the death of the industry.

**Unfortunately, NO Chris Tomlin song is easy to sing (for guys). He has the vocal chords of some sort of Siren. David Crowder, Matt Redman, Kristian Stanfill, and really most male worship artists are also culprits. [To any worship bands reading this: it IS ok to lower songs from their original key! Please do. Even if you can sing it, your congregation probably can't! I don't think there's a hard and fast rule, but when I lead worship I rarely sing any higher than D.]


Final blogger's note: Being the huge Rend Collective fan that I am, I thought it worth mentioning where they seem to fit in this continuum. They are definitely very far to the simple, congregation-minded end. Their songs have very simple chord progressions, simple lyrics, and simple melodies. Besides wanting to write songs for congregations, simple worship is their "thing" (they wrote a song about it). However, their very simple songs are backed up by very energetic and interesting instrumental parts (very Mumford-y folksy sound) making them VERY enjoyable to listen to (for me, at least)!

Babusha

[I just returned from a fantastic mission trip to Jamaica. Some posts about that are coming soon. There's too much material to share in one blog post, so once I figure out how I'd like to organize them I'll post a couple. Today, I'm posting about more recent history.]

My grandmother on my mom's side passed away this week, while I was in Jamaica. After returning to the States on Friday night, I departed with my family early yesterday morning to attend her funeral in Indiana. We had a beautiful service at the funeral home, a procession to the gravesite, and a graveside service. Afterwards, we all ate lunch together and enjoyed an evening of fellowship and memories. I got to see plenty of family, including all of my cousins on my mom's side, some of whom I have not had the joy of seeing for quite a while. All in all it was a great time to spend with family honoring my grandmother and enjoying each other.

My grandmother was always "Babusha" (Ukranian for "grandma") to Silas and myself. Maria was born in Brazil and moved to Argentina at 16, where she met my grandfather Peter Slobodian, from whom I received my middle name. Together they were powerful warriors for the faith, blessed by a fruitful worldwide ministry including church planting, radio ministry into the Soviet Union, and the founding of Baptist International Evangelistic Ministries (BIEM), currently continuing its work under the direction of mom's brother Sam, our host yesterday. A much more in-depth telling of their life and ministry can be found in the book "Giving God the Glory," my grandfather's posthumous biography.

Since my grandfather Peter (or "Dedushio") passed away 9 years ago, Babusha had been living with my aunt Ann (mom's sister) and uncle Rick in Gladstone, Missouri. We have been richly blessed with many opportunities to go and see them since then; we got to see plenty of grandma before she left us. She was very loving and generous, the very embodiment of motherly and grandmotherly affection.

I am very sorry to have seen her go, but I am overjoyed that she is now receiving the rich reward that such a "good and faithful servant" has been promised. I will always love Maria and Peter very much, I am incredibly blessed to call them my grandparents, and I am beyond proud of the rich heritage they have given me.


I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:7-8