the past can be a great eye opener.tonight i had a few friends over at my house. yes, we were watching lost, and no, that doesn't contradict my last post. just because i think it's going to end badly doesn't mean i don't enjoy watching it with friends.
anyway, somehow we ended up talking about cheesy christian music from almost 15 or 20 years ago. you see, one of our friends didn't grow up in a christian home so any christian music earlier than 5 years ago is foreign to her. that led to us pulling up youtube clips of old DC Talk. I mean, let's just say TobyMac has come a long way. and let me say that i think toby is awesome. my first cassette tape was DC Talk's Nu Thang. the title alone should give some sort of inkling about what kind of late 80's, baggy and bright colored bib overalls type of rap it was. i'm not saying that to bash toby at all. i have a feeling he's probably proud of it. i know i would be. eddie degarmo from degarmo and key is the head of EMI publishing and the last time i was at that office building a saw an old picture of him with long hair and keytar displayed proudly on the wall. when i'm in my 50's i'm going to look back at pictures of me with pointy guitars and mohawks and i'm going to be proud. seriously.
so all of this eventually led us to the king of all cheesy christian music - CARMAN. anybody who grew up in a christian home in the 80's and early 90's knows who Carman is. For those of you who didn't, he was a very very Italian solo singer. but singer is the wrong word. his "songs" were more like elaborately narrated and sometimes sung epic tales of God triumphing over the Debbil. his theatrical opuses were best experienced at his live events where he would whip the crowd into such a frenzy that by the end of the song people were literally jumping up and down out of their seats and screaming 10 times as much as any excited 11 year old girl at a Hannah Montana show. Some of his biggest hits were titled as follows:
The Champion
Satan, Bite The Dust
A 2 J: Addicted to Jesus
Lazarus, Come Forth
The Witch's Invitation
If you haven't experienced it, you need to watch at least one of these videos:
We all had a good laugh at how dated and cheesy these videos were. and after everyone left, i found myself watching them all and remembering experiencing this as a kid. slowly, my delight from laughing at how corny the videos were turned into a bit of genuine respect. As i watched the climax of one of these live events on video, i couldn't help but think about the fact that nobody in christian music is doing anything close to this. the applause and screams we hear as we take the stage are nothing compared to the frenzy that Carman routinely whipped his crowds into. the videos may not show it that well, but anybody who went to one of his shows can tell you that he created an experience that took you from one place to another and could literally be more exciting than a roller coaster ride.
now i'm not saying that i'm about to start writing cheesy allegories about jesus verses the devil in some sort of combat situation, but let's just say that G. I. Jesus is gonna be a huge hit. hahaha. ok seriously though, instead of writing the most vague feel good christian song just to try to get a song on K-LOVE, i'd rather write something that evokes real emotion. well done Carman. you may be a cheesy guido from the past, but you absolutely knew what the heck you were doing and were very good at it.
7 comments:
I remember Carman! My youth group used one of his songs in a church skit... and you could probably guess which one it was, too!
I agree. as christians, don't we have more to sing and shout about than anyone else?
christian music is just too bland. it outta be the most emotional, moving stuff out there and serve as an outward extension of what we feel inside.
Did you leave TFK & FM Static? </3 You quit my dream, man. Working with Trevor McNevan... But good luck with everything your doing now.
okay so you can't post about Carman and not mention "Who's In The House?" come on..total youth group pump up song.
I do admit 'Satan, Bite the dust" is an interesting music video.
ahh good old Christian music.
first Christian concert ever was Carman... and I have a lot of respect for him... he was ahead of his time when it came to recording, stage use, etc... and he is a real true Christ follower... I always wished he'd manage me or something... and honestly, I saw theatre used for God's glory in a way I never had before. I hope he is proud... I would be. It was the 80's and he did a great job.
Carman looks like Richard Alpert, has songs like R Kelly, but loves Jesus.
If that's not diversification then I don't know what is.
My first concert, ever, was Carman, and you're absolutely right. It was nearly as much theater as it was concert and, like you say, once you get over the 80s-ness of it all, there's a LOT to respect.
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