The Great HTF Music Challenge (2 Viewers)

[Citizen87645]

You might want to check out the full album that Signposts is from. It's all about the song cycle and where the song fits in context with the others, so the short length seems to make more sense listened in sequence.

 

[Citizen87645]

Yeah, before Perry, Amy Grant was probably the most commercially successful artist to cross over from CC. The difference with Grant was she was very established in CC with several albums under her belt before she made the transition, which made some waves in the community. By comparison, Katy Hudson was a one and done CC artist, who wound breaking out of obscurity by making the switch.

Sam (nee Leslie) Phillips had made three or four CC albums before working with T-Bone Burnett, who produced her transitional album (appropriately titled The Turning) and would produce her next four "Sam" albums (and somewhere in there they formed a romantic relationship and got married).

For Phillips, she probably had more recognition as a CC artist, but the change over for her wasn't driven by those calculations.

A more recent case of a contemporary christian act crossing over and becoming a world famous rockstar, turns out to be Katy Perry. For many years, I had no idea she was once a CC artist under her real name Katy Hudson.

Katy Hudson (album) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

More than a decade ago, there was a neat rock remix of her 2008 smash hit song "Hot n Cold".

 

[jcroy]

Would a heavy metal band like Stryper be consider "contemporary christian" music ?

I had their first several records from the 80s, which were reasonably well produced heavy metal albums. I didn't really pay much attention to the lyrics. Though the few times I read them, they sounded like christian/religious themes.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Sam Phillips (Being a fan of the show Gilmore Girls, I recognized the artist's name.)

"Cruel Inventions" - I like her voice and the overall feeling of the song, but the instrumentation (the repetitive mandolin(?)) that forms the foundation of the song is sort of annoying. It really gets in the way of my enjoyment of this song.

"Signposts" - Once again I like the singer's voice (actually a bit more in this song vs. the first one) but the instrumentation is too dominant in the mix for my liking and hurts the song.

------

Katy Perry - "Hot N Cold" - Immediately disliked the instrumentation. Katy Perry has a decent enough voice, but this song really didn't work for me.

- Walter.

 

[Citizen87645]

Her more recent stuff (post-split from Burnett both maritally and professionally), is less heavily produced and largely acoustic, so you may like that material better. If you like the music from GG, then it is along those lines.

Sam Phillips (Being a fan of the show Gilmore Girls, I recognized the artist's name.)

"Cruel Inventions" - I like her voice and the overall feeling of the song, but the instrumentation (the repetitive mandolin(?)) that forms the foundation of the song is sort of annoying. It really gets in the way of my enjoyment of this song.

"Signposts" - Once again I like the singer's voice (actually a bit more in this song vs. the first one) but the instrumentation is too dominant in the mix for my liking and hurts the song.

------

Katy Perry - "Hot N Cold" - Immediately disliked the instrumentation. Katy Perry has a decent enough voice, but this song really didn't work for me.

- Walter.

Yes, Stryper would be considered CC by most. CC is just a big umbrella term for modern music with Christian content/messages, so from there the standard genres apply, though there is not as much variety, or at least at the time I was following it. For the most part you had heavy metal, rock, pop/top 40 style, and essentially modern country which probably had the most similarity to the majority of CC music at the time. I'm sure there is the largely meaningless "alternative" genre in there, too, but I haven't kept up with it, so I don't really know what it's predominantly like now.

Would a heavy metal band like Stryper be consider "contemporary christian" music ?

I had their first several records from the 80s, which were reasonably well produced heavy metal albums. I didn't really pay much attention to the lyrics. Though the few times I read them, they sounded like christian/religious themes.

 

[jcroy]

Yeah, before Perry, Amy Grant was probably the most commercially successful artist to cross over from CC. The difference with Grant was she was very established in CC with several albums under her belt before she made the transition, which made some waves in the community.

If I had to guess, was this around the time of "Heart In Motion" ? IIRC, the lyrics didn't appear to be overtly religious on that album.

In those days, I didn't even know she was a CC artist. The rather mundane lyrical subject matter didn't really point to anything religious.

 

[Citizen87645]

Yes, Heart in Motion was the crossover album.

The songs that are not overtly religious usually talk about love, and they can be easily interpreted to apply to one's feelings about God.

 

[John Dirk]

Sam Phillips

Cruel Inventions
This has a nice flow that's easy to appreciate. Just a nice song to relax to.

Sign Posts
This one's a bit more hard hitting but I still enjoy the vocals. I think the Easy Listening style is more her forte

Katy Perry

Hot n Cold

That is a strong and powerful backing musical presence. Her vocals aren't up to the task but you can't blame her in this case. Somebody get me Pat Benetar.

 

[Citizen87645]

Cruel Inventions Just a nice song to relax to.

You might feel differently if you listen to the lyrics.

 

[John Dirk]

Sam Phillips

Cruel Inventions
This has a nice flow that's easy to appreciate. Just a nice song to relax to.

Sign Posts
This one's a bit more hard hitting but I still enjoy the vocals. I think the Easy Listening style is more her forte

Katy Perry

Hot n Cold

That is a strong and powerful backing musical presence. Her vocals aren't up to the task but you can't blame her in this case. Somebody get me Pat Benetar.

You might feel differently if you listen to the lyrics.

I re-listened and [of course] see your point but her voice is so mellow and the music so pleasant that the song still goes over as "Easy Listening" to my ears unless I know to focus on the lyrical content. It's hard to know when to do that with some of the selections folks have presented. For most of the Psychedelia and some of the other genres I've been specifically advised to not concentrate on lyrics, even though as an avid Old School Rap fan, it goes against my nature.

 

[BobO'Link]

I said there would be more collaborations...

Backstory:
Darryl McDaniels [of legendary Rap group RUN-DMC] and Sarah Mclachlan were both adopted and originally unaware of it. When the former reached a low point in his personal life, Sarah's song Angel inspired him to carry on. They met later at an industry event and he shared this with her. Three years passed and McDaniels contacted Sarah with the prospect of recording a song together to help others who might be struggling with depression. Up to that point he had not shared the story of his adoption. When he did he learned Sarah was also adopted. McDaniels always loved Harry Chapin's Cat's In The Cradle and decided to remake it but with a happy ending.

DMC ft. Sarah Mclachlan - Just Like Me​

I really like the story - not so much the song. The parts that were turned into rap just don't work at all for me.

There's *one* collaboration with a rap artist I'll listen to on the rare occasion and it just happens to involve Run DMC...\

Run DMC & Aerosmith - "Walk This Way":



That one works for me simply because Tyler pretty much speaks the lyrics anyway...

In spite of that, I very much prefer the original:

 

[BobO'Link]

Bush, "Everything Zen" - I've heard this one many times (on the AOR station I sometimes stream at work) and like it quite a bit. I don't think I ever knew just who it was (never thought to look at the artist ID when it was playing). I'll be purchasing a copy of the album it's on now that I know.

Bush, "Greedy Fly" - Haven't heard this before. I like it - also a purchase item.

Bush, "Letting the Cables Sleep" - Another winner from this group. Why have I not purchased any of their stuff? Is it because I've confused them with Beck (I'm not much of a Beck fan)?

 

[jcroy]

The songs that are not overtly religious usually talk about love, and they can be easily interpreted to apply to one's feelings about God.

This is what I eventually guessed about her writing.

Back in the day, her first song which caught my attention was "You're Not Alone" largely for the reason that it had a very "metal" sounding guitar solo. (I must have first heard it either on the radio, or at a party). After picking up the cd and reading the lyrics, it didn't seem to be about anything religious. On the surface, it reads like what a young adult feels after a breakup and in an unfamiliar place.



In light of later knowing that she was an established CC artist, the lyrics of " You're Not Alone" has a slightly different deeper meaning.

 

[BobO'Link]

Sam Phillips, "Cruel Inventions" - Doesn't work for me. She kind of has a generic voice.

Sam Phillips, "Signposts" - I like this song a bit better but her voice does nothing for me.

 

[BobO'Link]

Katy Perry, "Hot N Cold (Rock Version)" - Generic 80s/90s pop/dance with a rather generic voice on top. Sounds like any of dozens of songs from this era.

 

[BobO'Link]

Amy Grant, "You're Not Alone" - I've never been a fan and this one doesn't change that.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Bush, "Everything Zen" - I've heard this one many times (on the AOR station I sometimes stream at work) and like it quite a bit. I don't think I ever knew just who it was (never thought to look at the artist ID when it was playing). I'll be purchasing a copy of the album it's on now that I know.

Bush, "Greedy Fly" - Haven't heard this before. I like it - also a purchase item.

Bush, "Letting the Cables Sleep" - Another winner from this group. Why have I not purchased any of their stuff? Is it because I've confused them with Beck (I'm not much of a Beck fan)?

Glad you (and others in the thread) enjoyed these (or some of these) selections. I own most of the group's catalog and enjoy it quite a bit. For me, they are one of those groups that tends to display a strong level of musicality across their works and I like them a lot because of that characteristic. This thread has reinforced the self recognition that the overall sonic 'signature' or musical aesthetic of a song or group is one of the primary attributes that I look for in music, more so than a singer's voice or the lyrical content of the song. My enjoyment of the group Bush derives a lot from that approach to music appreciation.

This post also serves as a prelude to the next group I will be highlighting. I'm still sampling their catalog to decide what to post, but will be back later with some suggestions.

- Walter.

 

[jcroy]

I really like the story - not so much the song. The parts that were turned into rap just don't work at all for me.

There's *one* collaboration with a rap artist I'll listen to on the rare occasion and it just happens to involve Run DMC...

Back in the day after rundmc/aerosmith, I remember the next collaboration which immediately caught my attention was "Bring The Noise" from Anthrax + Public Enemy.



It was the first time I heard a rap/metal collab which sounded "organic" and not the two genres "shoehorned" into one another. A few years earlier, Anthrax did a rap/metal song "I'm The Man" which I thought sounded like a parody at the time.

 

[Bryan^H]

Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees covered "Where did you Sleep Last Night?" in 1990 from his album "The Winding Sheet". At around 2:40 he even has backing help from Kurt Cobain (another massive fan of 'Leadbelly') in the chorus. Nirvana covered the song 3 years later in their unplugged segment.

Here is another song from his brilliantly underrated album "Whiskey for the Holy Ghost"
Mark Lanegan - 'Judas Touch'

 

[Walter Kittel]

Oh yeah, the reaction post, before I continue...

Run DMC & Aerosmith - "Walk This Way" - I enjoy both versions of the song. Historically speaking this version is more noteworthy for its effect on music. It helped introduce the hybrid music form of Rap/Rock and it served to revitalize Aerosmith's career and popularity and helped introduce the group Run DMC to a new potential audience. (The Beastie Boys were also introducing elements of Rock to Rap music with their debut album Licensed To Ill around the same time as this single's release.)

Aerosmith - "Walk This Way" - Like I said, I enjoy both versions. Aerosmith is one of those groups that I have listened to a lot over the years on FM radio, but I don't own a lot of their catalog. (I think the dreaded 'over-saturation' has struck again. )

-----

Amy Grant - "You're Not Alone" - I am pretty sure I am alone despite this song's assertions. Just not a style that really resonates with me. I kind of enjoyed some of this artist's crossover songs back in the day; but I never was a huge fan.

- Walter,