Music Review: Band of the Week - Andrew Osenga

I have received several e-mail over the past couple of days, from a variety of sources, asking whether or not I knew that I had featured a Christian musician as my Band of the Week. (That would mean a ticket straight to both music journalist and atheist hell – oddly enough they are in exactly the same place, Utah.) Before I review this very talented man’s work I wanted to address this issue. I intensely dislike the corn-fed, watered down, straight-off-the-tractor, comb-in-the-mouth, artistically barren music that is Christian “rock”. As far as I am concerned it has no redeeming artistic or social value in that it neither inspires people to worship nor to appreciate great music. It is, in my opinion, just one more attempt to make Christianity appeal to younger people by showing how much “fun” being a Christian can really be.

Andrew Osenga is a Christian and he is a musician but he is not a Christian musician. He does not make Christian rock. If he were an agnostic, would it be agnostic rock? Maybe he is left-handed- would that make it left-handed rock? Vegetarian rock? 5' 10" rock? Glasses-wearing rock? What it comes down to is this: Christian music is about the promotion of Christianity and Andrew’s album is not.

Andrew talked about Christian music during his interview and said that, although he is a Christian, he hates Christian music. Unfortunately for this diverse, hard-working, and very talented man he has been labeled by some – probably those in the Christian rock movement who would like to claim his talents for their own – as a Christian musician. That is a very hard label for a mainstream artist to shake.

Article Author: A.L. Harper

I'm a writer and music journalist originally from Salt Lake City, but now living in Scotland. I was a Punk/Goth in the '80s and these artistic influences have stayed with me; although a love of Chopin, chamber music, and Spanish guitar would seem to belie this. …

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