Y'see, the problem with CCM, from a musical standpoint, is: it ruins the
plot of all the songs. What I mean is, you know ahead of time what the singer's eventually gonna come around to:
The Big J. It doesn't matter what it
seems to be about; the song's really about how Jesus is the one and only savior and how
God loves you, even if you do have
tattoos and
trim your beard.
Let's look at one of the better (in my humble opinion) CCM bands out there: Denver's own Five Iron Frenzy.
A sampling of random songs (chosen mostly because they're pretty much the only CCM music I own... But I digress):
Every New Day. Let's start off easy, ok? A prayer song, no two ways about it. Talks about JC, God... A lot. There're a bunch of prayer songs, which I will skip.
One Girl Army. The plot thickens - a song about feminism and the terrible things our society does to female body image. FIF seems to be in the clear, from a secular standpoint... But, what's this? Oh, of course. The Virgin Mary. How could they not mention the Virgin Mary? Oh well. Let's keep going.
Suckerpunch. Ok, how's this? A song all about being a grade school loser. Picked on, wedgies, that crap. Oh, no! Jesus! You thought you could run, couldn't you! Y'see, even when no one else does, Jesus loves you. Ok, fine... Keep going...
And finally we get to Oh, Canada, some might say FIF's crowning musical acheivement. And what's this? William Shatner aside, nary a Jesus reference to be seen. Salvation.
And so what have we learned? Well, for one thing, no matter what your favorite CCM singer seems to be singing about, it's always Jesus in the end. And a second point: Canada is a religious wasteland, full of atheists. The whole country is going to hell. Or maybe, Canada is Hell. Makes sense to me.