i got this today. christian rock...very interesting

haha

Well....sorta....

1. Michael Knott w/ Aunt Bettys - Jesus
2. Lost Dogs - Mexico
3. Michael Knott - Liar
4. Adam Again - Deep
5. Daniel Amos - My Frontier
6. Lost Dogs - Bullet Train
7. The Throes - Tell
8. Poor Old Lu - Cannon-Fire Orange
9. Adam Again - Walk Between the Raindrops
10. Daniel Amos - Big, Warm, Sweet, Interior Glowing
11. The Choir - Yellow Skies
12. Starflyer 59 - Hazel Would
13. The Choir - If You're Listening
14. The 77s - God Sends Quails
15. The 77s - The Jig is Up
16. Starflyer 59 - Blue Collar Love
17. The Violet Burning - Fever
18. The Violet Burning - Ilaria
19. The Prayer Chain - Mercury

listening to this mix now... have yet to write a review, so I'll try and do that today or tomorrow.

Jesus, Won’t You Send Me Some Money in the Mail - a mix by Kit aka Naked

1. Michael Knott w/ Aunt Bettys - Jesus – During the first spin of this mix, the intro to this song had me, candidly, a little concerned. It sounded exactly like I thought a CCM mix would – heavy acoustic and bible-thumpin’ – a sound I’ve never been into. But when all things went to hell around 0:39, it was a pleasant surprise, and the track has become one of my faves on the mix. Chorus has a Foo Fighters feel to it. 4/5

2. Lost Dogs - Mexico – The lyrics are so elementary that it detracts from the track. Guitar saves it for me. 2.5/5

3. Michael Knott - Liar – A bit reminiscent of Suede, and I dig the interlude at 2:40. So far, the music on this mix is much darker than I initially suspected it might be. 4/5

4. Adam Again - Deep – Yup, your “folk/funk” description is apropos. Musically, it feels a lot like Blind Melon. Tight little jam. 3/5

5. Daniel Amos - My Frontier – Listening in headphones, there’s quite a bit more going on here than I’ve been hearing in the car – I particularly like the acoustic guitar, intermittent piano, and near constant but barely distinguishable screams in the background. Interesting stuff, for sure. Nice driving tune as well. 3.5/5

6. Lost Dogs - Bullet Train – Hmmm, this is one that I’ve only listened through a couple of times. Run o’ the mill blues/rock that just runs on too damn long and never gets my interest. For a “supergroup”, they’re trying too hard. 1/5

7. The Throes - Tell – Much better. As a fan of late-80’s jangle, I really dig this track as it reminds me quite a bit of the Rave-ups or Dumptruck. Although it could use a little remasterin’, it's one of my faves on the mix. 4.5/5

8. Poor Old Lu - Cannon-Fire Orange – Not really sure what they’re trying to pull off here. Whatever it is, it ain’t working for me. 2/5

9. Adam Again - Walk Between the Raindrops – Yeah, there’s definitely a Stipe thing happening here. Other than that, nothing special. 2/5

10. Daniel Amos - Big, Warm, Sweet, Interior Glowing – This one really starts out promising – absolutely love the instrumental intro. Dude starts singing and it takes a very slight turn for the worse – I guess I was expecting something a bit warmer. Anyway, it’s grown on me over repeated listens (catchy as hell), but I’d prefer it as an instrumental. 4/5

11. The Choir - Yellow Skies – Something about this track screams 80’s to me, and I’m completely cool with that. Gets better with time. 3.5/5

12. Starflyer 59 - Hazel Would – I love Starflyer 59 and, color me ignorant, owned a handful of their releases before realizing they were ‘Contemporary Christian’. Early releases definitely had a shoegaze feel, and they pulled it off relatively well. Despite their walking away from that sound, I still love this band. Haven’t picked up their last two but may have to after listening to this again. 5/5

13. The Choir - If You're Listening – I may burn in hell for this, but holy crap, is that intro tough to get through – feels like the first couple chapters of Genesis in a crawling verse. Lyrically, I'm quite impressed. The track is, overall, a song of forgiveness, and while it comes across as preachy at times, I imagine this was written during a time of great pain. For that, I respect it and will give it a spin when needed. 3/5

14. The 77s - God Sends Quails – The intro solo runs on a bit long, but the remainder of the track is well worth the wait. Sprawling in a very good way. 4/5

15. The 77s - The Jig is Up – Smiths-y in both sound and lyric. I’m quite impressed with both 77s tracks you’ve included here. 4.5/5

16. Starflyer 59 - Blue Collar Love – This is the exact SF59 sound I was referring to in my review of track 12. I might have gone with something a little lighter (No New Kinda Story, Fell In Love at 22, etc.) as the shift from the last track was jarring to say the least. 3/5

17. The Violet Burning - Fever – I can appreciate this for the passion and anger that emanates from the track, but I’ve begun skipping it on repeated mix spins. 2/5

18. The Violet Burning - Ilaria – For some reason, I keep hearing hints of the Smashing Pumpkins in both of these tracks. I prefer this song over the previous. 3/5

19. The Prayer Chain – Mercury – The deep, dark lyrics and prevalent bass line that guide this track gives it a Pedro the Lion-feel. Not bad at all. 4/5

Summary
Having been raised a Catholic, I was exposed to very traditional Christian music from an early age. That said, I’ve historically listened to little, if any, Christian music outside of the four walls of the church and avoided the ‘CCM’ genre altogether for a couple of reasons. First, it’s always felt very preachy to me (the “calculated evangelical message” to which you refer in your liner notes). Second, there’s just too damn much other music out there to explore.

During the last few years, I’ve purchased and thoroughly enjoyed releases by SF59 and Pedro the Lion due primarily to the musicianship and often dark/bleak lyrics for which those bands are known. Your mix has exposed me to some new bands in this space and even shifted my thinking a bit about the genre as a whole. Re-reading my review, I realize that I’ve leaned heavily on comparisons. Probably an easy crutch, but I simply wrote what came to mind after repeated listens. I really appreciate your taking the time to throw it together, Kit. Mix score – 3.3/5

Jesus, Won’t You Send Me Some Money in the Mail - a mix by Kit aka Naked

1. Michael Knott w/ Aunt Bettys - Jesus – When I hear the beginning of this song, I believe this guy is actually pleading with Jesus, as opposed to listening to some guy who's bottomed out in his bathroom with a needle on the floor saying 'Jesus, god, I need to stop this'. It's an empty plea, he's not really asking a legitimate entity, whereas this guy really seems to be doing that. This bothers me right out of the gate. What doesn't help is slow-fast-slow 90s tempo of the song and the terrible thrashing chorus. 0.5/5

2. Lost Dogs - Mexico – Some more 90s alt-rock. Lyrically this isn't very good, the part about New Orleans and people partying in their underwear stuck with me for some reason, and not in a good way. Kind of the way whole wheat bread does. 1/5

3. Michael Knott - Liar – I can't even hear this guy singing. The music is perfectly fine, but he's buried way in the back so I can't really hear a thing he's saying. Musically another 90s feel, part of the song reminds me of 'Low' by Cracker, but the singer's inarticulate wailing reminds me of Perry Ferrell. I was going to rate this higher but the chanting at the end fucking ruined it. 1/5

4. Adam Again - Deep – This is REM crossed up with the Dave Matthews Band with a Red Hot Chili Pepper swirl. It's not a popular flavour. Ben and Jerry discontinued it after those kids went insane. Sad story. 1/5

5. Daniel Amos - My Frontier – The vocals again are buried beneath some surfy guitar that evokes kind of a dark mood. I'm kind of reminded of Chris Rea, but he never pulled back from the mic. This is passable, but not very memorable. 2/5

6. Lost Dogs - Bullet Train – This song was just too damn long for something so MOR. I guess he's telling a story here, but by the 4 min mark, I really don't care. 1/5

7. The Throes - Tell – This is the most explicit ripoff of REM's 'Radio Free Europe' I've ever heard. I swear at every moment I kept expecting 'Calling all in transit, calling all in transit..' That being said, they do play it well, and I love REM so I can't hate this all that much, however, like the previous song, it goes on too damn long. Songs like this NEED to end at around 3 min, 3.25 at the latest. 2/5

8. Poor Old Lu - Cannon-Fire Orange – This kind of took me by surprise, I wasn't expecting a weird flamenco beginning. I liked this music and the song ended before the 2.5 minute mark. Nice. 3.5/5

9. Adam Again - Walk Between the Raindrops – REM/DMB/RHCP again. 1/5

10. Daniel Amos - Big, Warm, Sweet, Interior Glowing – This has a nice, jaunty beat going that I immediately liked a lot. This was a pretty great song, and is far and away my favourite on the mix. 4.5/5

11. The Choir - Yellow Skies – This has kind of a shoegazing feel to it, and reminded me a lot of a CDN band called Ginger. It actually also reminded me of an indie band called Freebooter. I like both of those bands (the latter actually had a childhood friend of mine in it). That being said, I kind of like this song as well. 3/5

12. Starflyer 59 - Hazel Would – More shoegazin' here. I normally love this type of music, but I'm not getting a real appreciation for this song. The singer is tuneless even by the genre's typical standards. 1.5/5

13. The Choir - If You're Listening – The Ginger band again. I like the other song much better. The weird percussive sounds in the background were distracting and detracted from the song. Once I focused on it, I could hear nothing else. The song isn't horrible, but that background noise started to physiologically affect me in a negative way. I'm not sure if it's backwards masked or not, but I'm starting to think less and less that it's to help me lose weight. 1.5/5

14. The 77s - God Sends Quails – This was kind of strange song, because of the long jammy intro. I was immediately reminded of the Allman Brothers Band, which is fine with me. The vocals were quite obviously not Gregg, though and it initially didn't jive well with the music but then the chorus kind of hooked me in. So yeah, a strange song all together and I didn't even mind that it pushed over 6 min. And remarkable for one other reason. How many first and last times does one get in life? Probably a lot, but when you're in a moment, you never really appreciate it, do you? I realize that while listening to this song it is the first and probably last song I'll ever hear about God and quails. That alone makes it quite special. And to quote the songs' theme "you can't go back". 3.5/5

15. The 77s - The Jig is Up – This reminded me of Morrissey right off the bat, but lacked Moz's hilarious pathos. Kind of bland song, and a bit of a letdown after the last couple which I was really enjoying. It's not terrible, but not all that it could be. Morrissey sung about loneliness incessantly, but he made it work. This didn't. 2/5

16. Starflyer 59 - Blue Collar Love – This was a weird transitional track from previous one. Heavy MBV distortion and feedback. I like this song better than the previous Starflyer 59 track. 3/5

17. The Violet Burning - Fever – This song has some unremarkable guitar rock with a moody, somewhat goth feel to it. Didn't like it. 1/5

18. The Violet Burning - Ilaria – Same band as above. Same moody, guitar rock. I liked it better than the previous one, but that's not saying much. 1.5/5

19. The Prayer Chain – Mercury – Another spare, moody track with vocals buried beneath the mix. I can't follow him, but probably wouldn't even if I could. 1/5

Summary
Thanks to Naked for putting this together. He's got tremendous moxie for putting together a disc with some Contemporary Christian music in it, and I admire his honesty. I've clearly rated this mix quite negatively, so I will also be honest. I dislike religious themed music, fairly intensely. I'm also from a strong Catholic upbringing, and whether this has anything to do with my current feelings, I don't know. I more suspect it has to do with me being a scientist and rejecting practically all issues regarding faith (although not all). That being said, this is my problem, I realize, however I suspect I'm not alone in this feeling. Mine might be a little more severe, in that it is essentially a full blown Prejudice. When I hear that a band is (a) Christian or (b) made up of practicing Christians I simply can't take them seriously. This is probably ridiculous as Van Morrison is undoubtedly a Catholic and a practicing one, no less, and it doesn't affect my love of Astral Weeks one iota. (Maybe that's because he's singing about 'Madame George', I don't know). In fact there were a couple of bands who came out in 2006 that I might have a had a shot at enjoying, but then I read that their music has a Christian slant to it and I lost all desire to hear them. Anyway, this mix was obviously was not for me. Was it the Christian slant? Probably, but even without the knowledge that this music could be purchased in Christian music stores, I probably wouldn't like much of it. The music just didn't really appeal to what I normally enjoy in a song. But I'd like to thank Naked/Kit for sending this to me and exposing me to some stuff that I would normally never even bother listening to in my day to day life. 4/10

Jesus, Won’t You Send Me Some Money in the Mail - a mix by Kit aka Naked

1. Michael Knott w/ Aunt Bettys - Jesus – i dont violently hate this (that's coming later) but its not my cup o' tea either. I don't like the freak outs. But, he's gettin' high. 1/5

2. Lost Dogs - Mexico – i don't like this either. Repetitive. I like this just about the same as the first one. 1/5.

3. Michael Knott - Liar – this starts out pretty ok. Reminds me of Jane's Addiction a little bit. It goes on a bit too long for me with the chanting bit and everything. 2/5

4. Adam Again - Deep – bass. I think my sister would like this. Some kind of Ben Harper thing going on here. I don't like this type of thing at all. Again, not offensively bad, though. 2/5.

5. Daniel Amos - My Frontier – the voice is way down in the mix and I can't hear a thing. Just a bunch of weird noises and a bad mix. I kind of like the jangly guitar though...nice. A little bit of a surf guitar feel. This goes on and on....repetitive... Kind of like this review. 2/5.

6. Lost Dogs - Bullet Train – i really hate this one. The lyrics are bad. Real bad. Is this a Tom Arico cover? 1/5.

7. The Throes - Tell – Sounds like REM A lot. I like REM. This is soulless, however. I'm finding 2 things that weave through all these songs - soullessness and repetition. Just nothing to grab you. 2/5.

8. Poor Old Lu - Cannon-Fire Orange – i like this one a little bit more. Interesting instrumentation and nice and short. Get your point out there, get out. 3/5.

9. Adam Again - Walk Between the Raindrops – a little of that funkiness again. Well faux funkiness. More REM type thing with a little DMB or something. This sounds like something you'd hear at a college battle of the bands competition or something. 1/5.

10. Daniel Amos - Big, Warm, Sweet, Interior Glowing – Nice little ditty with a kind of weak vocal. Reminds me of a lot of that alterna-stuff from the 90s but its done competently. 3/5.

11. The Choir - Yellow Skies – The mix is picking up. Reminds me of another band or song that I just can't place. Its ok. 2+/5.

12. Starflyer 59 - Hazel Would – I enjoyed this. Better production than a lot of the other stuff on here. Kind of a cool lead guitar sound. 3/5.

13. The Choir - If You're Listening – Some interesting instrumentation going on behind a Sufjan-esque vocal. It really goes on and on, however. This does sound like something that the obners might like in another context.

14. The 77s - God Sends Quails – long intro. Very long. Sounds a little proggy or something. Not really the type of thing I'm into, but others might like this...I guess. Exhausting. 2/5.

15. The 77s - The Jig is Up – I like this one better than the last 77s song. Its got a nice flow and a nice chorus. 3/5.

16. Starflyer 59 - Blue Collar Love – quite different than the last starflyer 59 song. I liked the previous one better. At least this brings a little rock and sounds professional. 2/5.

17. The Violet Burning - Fever – I really don't like this much at all but I am running out of things to say. Turns into some Marilyn Manson dirge at the end. Not good. 1/5.

18. The Violet Burning - Ilaria – starts off bad and maintains that level throughout. I should admit I just don't like this type of music. 1/5.

19. The Prayer Chain – Mercury – this one is pretty cool and a nice way to end the mix. Just has the sound of an ending song. Not sure why so many of these guys have such whiny whispering voices, though. 2/5.

I didn't try to be a dick on this, I just wasn't into much of this. I recognize the risk you took in doing this. I grew up listening to a lot of christian stuff at church and most of it just wasn't very good. I haven't heard many of these songs or bands so that is a plus.

Interesting.

Thanks for taking the time to express your opinions, thoughts, etc.

Since other people reading these reviews didn't get the mix description, I'll expound...

OPA!'s suggestion was to make a mix that describes you, from what I remember. I kind of took it one step further and decided to make a mix that described me in a certain period, that being the period of my life between age 16 and 24 (1990-1998).

Although I never listened exclusively to this kind of stuff, I decided on this mix to share some of the music I listened to in that rather confusing period that came from artists that profess a Christian faith. With the exception of the Aunt Bettys song and The Violet Burning song "Fever," I did reveal that all this stuff was bought at Christian bookstores between 1990-1998. So, I suppose it's appropriate to refer to some of it as "Christian rock." And since it was all bought in the 90s, that's kind of why some of it sounds 90s. I made the mix assuming, but not necessarily expecting, a universal panning across the board. I was fairly certain The Violet Burning tracks would not go over well given the overall tastes of obner-ites. I was kind of testing the waters with this and not trying to convert people to Christian rock fandom. But I should mention that SF59, 77s, Choir, Adam Again and Mike Knott songs have appeared on previous obner/CMJ mixes and, for the most part, went over well. So, it might be my song selection...I don't know...

Although I disagree with some criticisms and agree with others, I doubt offering my perspective will sway opinions either way. I've always respected the tastes of the people on this board, even though I don't really know anybody personally. So again, thanks for the feedback. It is duly noted.

I'm probably going to make it a point that my next mix will be as secular as possible. heh But I can't guarantee that all future mixes will be devoid of 77s, The Choir and SF59, as I am still adamantly fond of those artists.

Kit – Jesus, Won’t You Send Me Some Money in the Mail?

Admittedly, I was a bit concerned about a Christian rock mix, but hey, I’m a team player… I’ll give it a go.

1. Jesus – Michael Knott with Aunt Bettys
This song sounds kinda schizophrenic to me. It goes from being lilting and acoustic singer-songwriter-worthy, to pseudo-mosh pit aggro. I’m a bit confused by it honestly. 2/5
2. Mexico – Lost Dogs
This isn’t bad, per se… it just sounds like a lot of other things. And I’ll agree with Dumpjack in that the lyrics leave a lot to be desired. I wonder… if I read “Green Eggs and Ham” with the music, would that have worked? 2/5
3. Liar – Michael Knott
Is there a guy in a closet singing? It sounds vaguely like singing. Someone turn up the vocal, please. 2/5
4. Deep – Adam Again
Funk/folk/rock hybrid. This in itself kinda turned me off. I’m sorry, Kit, this just isn’t my thing. I’m pretty tired of the RHCP shtick, and while I know this is an older tune, it’s just not very good. 2/5
5. My Frontier – Daniel Amos
This isn’t so bad… so far, the best track on the disc. I think I’m being generous giving it a 3/5.
6. Bullet Train – Lost Dogs
Any particular reason why you’re repeating artists again? I mean, I know I’m guilty of doing the same thing myself, but I’m getting the sense that the CCM genre doesn’t have a lot to offer, which I think is a mistake.2/5
7. Tell – The Throes
Oh wow, this DOES sound like early REM doesn’t it? Which is not necessarily a bad thing. 3/5
8. Cannon-Fire Orange – Poor Old Lu
This is actually pretty interesting and different from what I’d expect. 3/5
9. Walk Between the Raindrops – Adam Again
See review of track 4 above. 1/5
10. Big, Warm, Sweet, Interior Glowing – Daniel Amos
Upbeat and catchy. Easily one of the better tracks on the disc. 3/5
11. Yellow Skies – the Choir
Not bad, it’s been done before by other bands. 2/5
12. Hazel Would – Starflyer 69
Actually, I really like this one. It’s got a bit of a Peter Hook guitar sound going on, doesn’t it? 3/5
13. If You’re Listening – the Choir
This one didn’t do as much for me as the previous track… maybe I’m just not digging their style in general. 2/5
14. God Sends Quails – The 77s
“you can’t go back”… no, you certainly can’t. The song itself is ok. 2/5
15. The Jig is Up – the 77s
This is actually quite nice. 3/5
16. Blue Collar Love – Starflyer 69
I’m kinda liking Starflyer 69… not really familiar with their stuff honestly, but what I’m hearing is quite nice. 3/5
17. Fever – the Violet Burning
This is rather murky and meandering. It’s not the worst thing I’ve heard, but it’s not great. It completely lost me at 3:10. 1/5
18. Ilaria – the Violet Burning
Mmm, again, not feeling it. 1/5
19. Mercury – The Prayer Chain
Not a bad way to end the mix… quite lovely. 3/5

Overall: 2/5

Kit, thanks for introducing me to some bands I hadn’t heard before, and I appreciate your effort.

Thanks for the review, Dnorwood!

CCM doesn't have much to offer, especially now. But I don't really consider the stuff on this mix to be CCM in the purest sense. I kind of had my own interpretation of what that is, having been over-exposed to it in the early 90s.

I guess my reasoning for including 2 songs for certain artists was because I didn't think one song was a good enough representation, but that kind of back-fired to say the least.

So, did I think some songs would go over better? Yes. Could I have chosen better songs in some cases? In retrospect, yes. For example...looking back at my last mix, you specifically gave the Adam Again song a 4/5. I think what might have crippled this effort the most was my self-imposed limitations in regard to making it a "period" mix. Perhaps it would have been better to just focus more on the qual and not so much the history. I don't think I'll be doing this type of mix again though. Once is enough.

It's Starflyer "59" by the way. But "69" would be interesting.

Again, thanks everyone for taking the time....