Gone

Gone, like Frank Sinatra,
Like Elvis and his mom
Like Al Pacino’s cash
Nothing lasts in this life

I don’t know why, but I’m really digging this new Switchfoot CD. I’ve only been hearing the songs from it for the past week, and it just rocks my face off. Jon Foreman knows his way around a melody and a catchy turn of phrase, and some of these songs (Beautiful Letdown, On Fire) are just fantastic. I’m disappointed that this hasn’t made the splash in the mainstream that Columbia was hoping for – it’s good enough to stand on its own outside the “faith ghetto.”

Speaking of the “faith ghetto,” it looks like the most recent CCM controversy is what’s going on with Evanescence. I’m not a huge fan, but I can see how they’d want to be left alone, instead of under the CCM microscope. They’re being a little immature about it, but it reminds me quite a bit of the flap that was made almost 20 years ago when Leslie Phillips left the CCM industry to start recording “secular” music as Sam Phillips, and didn’t have very nice things to say about her former employers.

In the modern music business (and really, it’s been this way since the beginning of the “music business”) it’s all about money, and maybe Evanescence or their “handlers” saw that they could make more of it by divorcing themselves from the community of faith altogether, although some mainstream industry insiders seem to think they’ve shot themselves in the foot by abandoning an audience that will be there after the glow of their Daredevil soundtrack hit fades away. Warning: the preceding link may contain profanity if you’re easily offended by that sort of thing.

For those of you who don’t want to read the whole thing, here are some choice quotes

in my dealings with christian retailers i have found them the most ruthless when it comes to pricing and the most lackadaisical when it comes to payment

…the (marketing) idelogy of the Christian artist set by that industry and its fan base is a tall lopsided pedestal that can be toppled with a tap of the finger. Wind-up just grabbed the vase on top (their reputation) before it fell. Can’t blame ‘em.

Interesting stuff…