"In grammar school they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fairy tale. In the university they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fact!" -Ron Carlson
Ok, so I was listening to the radio tonight, and one of the radio stations around here has started playing Christmas music already. They say it's only through the weekend, but really, it's not even Thanksgiving yet. Honestly, eventually they're gonna start playng Christmas music on the 4th of July. Anyway, the DJ was introducing the next song, and said that he wished they had a regular hit, so they could play this group more than just at Christmas. Then he said the group's name. Jars of Clay. I seriously started yelling at the radio. Which probably wasn't a good idea, as I was driving at the time, but that comment just made me, well, shocked at first, then mad. Jars of Clay has a ton of great songs. What do you mean "if they had a regular hit." Ok, so maybe their songs aren't as well known as N*Stink, but that's 'cause they never get air time. They could play Jars songs anytime they wanted to. But they won't. Because they're, heaven forbid, a Christian band. *gasp* That doesn't stop some stations. Channel 933, of all stations, played "Shackles" by the group Mary Mary a lot when that song first came out, and I still hear it occaisionally. And if you bother to listen to the lyrics, it's not ambiguous at all what that song's about.
In the corners of mind
I just can't seem to find a reason to believe
That I can break free
Cause you see I have been down for so long
Feel like the hope is gone
But as I lift my hands, I understand
That I should praise you through my circumstance
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you
Everything that could go wrong
All went wrong at one time
So much pressure fell on me
I thought I was gon lose my mind
But I know you wanna see
If I will hold on through these trials
But I need you to lift this load
Cause I can't take it anymore
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you
Been through the fire and the rain
Bound in every kind of way
But God has broken every chain So let me go right now
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you
(emphasis mine)
There's a bit more, but that's most of the song. And a secular (very secular) radio station plays this. And they can't play even one non-Christmas song by Jars of Clay? Granted, Jars of Clay is well known as being Christian, and Mary Mary was a relatively new group which I guess hadn't really billed themselves heavily as Christian, or were maybe considered Christian in the way P.O.D. is. But seriously, Jars has songs more ambiguous than that. And why is it they can play overtly Christian songs at Christmas and not other times. The Jars song they played today was God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Nothing subtle about that song. "Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day / To save us all from Satan's power . . ." Can't get much more obvious than that.
Ok, I kind of went off on a tangent there. What I really wanted to get across was that it really bugged, hearing someone claim that a fabulous musical group with more talent in their big toes than some superstars have, doesn't have any other songs worth playing besides a nice arrangement of a classic Christmas carol. It was like saying, well, this Christmas song is ok, because it's Christmas, but their other songs are no good, because they actually talk about Jesus in a non-Christmas context. I really hate how our modern, secular world likes to shove religion into one little corner of one little holiday, if they acknowledge it at all, and at all other times it's a taboo subject.
I dunno. Maybe I'm reading too much into that comment. It just kind of got to me. And now I'm not sure where I'm going with this post. That bugged me and I wanted to write about it. It's my blog. I can do that.
