The Conformity of CCM

The other day, as I was surfing the net, I ran across something that made me really, really sad for the Christian music industry - a Contemporary Christian Music comparison chart. This webpage allows you to select genres of music (modern rock, rap, electronic, heavy, rap metal, pop rock, "Christian-y" mainstream, pop, urban, pop punk, worship, or random), view the "Christian" artists under these catagories, and then see what "secular" artist they apparently sound like. So, what you see are things like this:

Steven Curtis Chapman - compares to a mix of Cat Stevens and Toby Keith
Third Day - compares to Black Crowes or Rolling Stones
Avalon - compares to 21st Century ABBA
Delirious? - compares to a mix of U2 and Radiohead
Rebecca St. James - compares to Bjork and Garbage
and my personal favorite...
Mercy Me - compares to "If Steven Curtis Chapman sang for Vertical Horizon"

On the surface, this may not seem like a big deal, but I have several issues with the idea of having such a comparison chart:

1) The comparisons are not accurate, and the information presented in the chart is misleading. Therefore, all of the artists are misrepresented. For example, Rebecca St. James sound nothing like Bjork. In fact, I have never heard any other musician who sounds like Bjork. She has a unique sound and is extremely musically sophisticated. Therefore, it is not fair to compare a mediocre (dare I say poor?) recording artist to Bjork's work. It seems as if the "Christian" artists are attempting to "beef up" their appearance by comparing their very mediocre work to that of some amazingly talented musicians, such as Radiohead, U2, and Bjork.

2) The fact that the chart includes the genre "Christian-y" Mainstream speaks volumes. The website defines this genre as "secular bands whose lyrics reflect a Biblical worldview." Last time I checked, God is Lord of the whole earth and rules over every aspect of life on earth. He reigns over every musician and every song. Through common grace, His glory is reflected in the music of every musician or artists who exudes skill, talent, creativity, etc. I believe Christians should be highly involved in the arts for the purpose of reflecting God's glory - making music, writing poems, painting and sculpting, and participating in all types of creative acts. However, I don't believe that Christians produce Christian music, Christian poems, Christian paintings, etc. I don't believe that the only people capable of glorifying God through their art are Christians. In fact, ideally, I would like to see for the whole "Christian music/secular music" division to disappear.

3) Comparison charts like this suggest something that I fear is true of the Christian music industry. CCM artists are more concerned with trying to fit into the existing forms than in trying to create. For example, when ska music hit the Top 40 radio, the CCM industry introduced several ska bands. When punk found a resurgence at the popular music level, several "Christian" punk bands emerged. When these artists begin trying to conform to the forms that are popular in the secular world, they stop creating. And when Christians stop creating, they have stopped doing art in the way God intended. God is the Creator, and we are created in His image. Therefore, God recieves a special kind of glory when we too create. When we create, we are acting in God's image. When we submit to the forms presented by the world, we have stopped creating and have started conforming.