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April 28, 2006

The NYT Reviews MercyMe

(Filed under: Industry)

The New York Times reviews Christian band MercyMe, which shouldn't be as surprising as it sounds, considering they moved two million copies of the album Almost There, thanks to the hit song "I Can Only Imagine."

But what is surprising is this statement about the genre of Christian rock:

In an overwhelmingly Christian country, it may seem strange that Christian rock even exists as a niche genre; if rock better reflected American demographics, then secular rock would be the niche.

I'm not sure what planet the reviewer lives on, but the fervent brand of Christianity expressed in the niche genre of Christian rock doesn't quite match up with the watered-down brand of Christianity weakly embraced by this "overwhelmingly Christian country." That's the reason Christian rock is such a niche, and, interestingly enough, it's the same reason bands like MxPx, P.O.D., Switchfoot, dc Talk and more are branded as sellouts by some in the fervent Christian niche who see mainstream success as an embracing of a watered-down Christianity.

Posted by kevin at April 28, 2006 9:23 AM

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