worship music overkill!

ChristianityToday had an article about this. actually, it was a bunch of readers' comments put together in one place. i'm taking a few out that i happen to agree with. this is one of my hugest peeves. i hate how the concept of "worship" has been commercialized, and actually made into the label of a genre. isn't worship more of the way you act, than a certain "style" of music? and if it must be a kind of song, shouldn't it be the absolute best there is? none of this eight-minute repetition stuff, with the same generic lyrics. if i had my way, there would be no christian music out there except what the singer/group wrote themselves. and worship would be what you are, not what you sing. (BOCTAOE = but of course there are obvious exceptions.) so on to the comments (which i have, of course, edited)....

I am appalled that worship songs are added to an album because of pressure from a record label. ...I love worship songs, but there are plenty out on the market, and some start to feel homogenized after a while. Why do the record companies assume we all want the same music done in the same way? Any song that can stir my soul toward God and give me pause to appreciate what he did for me is worship music in my mind.

Honestly, I stopped buying worship albums a while ago when I noticed that they were becoming like Christmas albums—everyone has to do [at least] one and they all rehash the same music.

Not that we don't appreciate good worship music, but it seems like it's become a fad and a marketing ploy. The songs are so simplistic, and seem to be something that artists can record quickly to keep beans on the table. I get excited when I learn that one of my favorite artists is putting out a new album, only to groan when I find out it's another worship album. I personally can't wait until the whole phase is over.

...Worship music is the worst quality "music" in existence today! When I see Christian musicians dedicating songs that offer little in the way of creativity, it makes me grieve for what I think God deserves. Music that is truly worshipful should be our best efforts, not dumbed-down melodies that someone wrote in a ten-minute session. Worship music is severely boring and melodically tedious at best, so let's move on in spite of what the trend is!

Contemporary Christian music is definitely too formulaic. I would love to see more airplay of music that doesn't fit the so-called "worship model." It's getting so that as you drive across the country and scan the radio stations, you can clearly tell when you've hit a Christian station, even if you don't know the song that's playing. It all sounds the same.