What Makes Music Christian?

A question asked by many a listener. Terry Mattingly seems to think it sure isn't rock. How dare music show some semblance of talent or a back beat of any kind? Would this then rule out artists like Toby Mac? Strangely the Rock/Nu-Metal group Chevelle was considered to be a Christian band for many years. They were sold under the Squint Entertainment label for their first three albums. Squint is most famously known for the band Six Pence None the Richer. The lyrics of Chevelle sounded Christian, though strangely the never mentioned a deity other than El Diablo.

A sample from The Clincher:
Could we have known,
Never would I, Helped to nail down,
With nothing to gain
Here's the clincher, This should be you!
Now saturate.

Sounds like it could be Christian. SURPRISE! When asked in an interview, the drummer, Sam Loeffler said, "It's something that's probably going to follow us around forever and that's fine. It's pretty simple. We originally signed with a record company that was backed by Word (known for artists such as Amy grant), so the record was in Christian bookstores. It was really an accidental thing. The Band promptly changed labels and lyrical quality the swearing abounded with titles like, Antisaint.

This is just one example. Another would be the band Evanescence. One of their first big hits Bring Me to Life was accompanied by the lead vocalist from the Christian band 12 stones. Stories shot through the roof that there was this hot new "christian" band called Evanescence. Those voices were silenced quickly.

Now we turn to the band Paramore, I have yet to actually listen to them. But they claim be Christians. WAIT! Pause for a second, these guys are signed under Fueled by Ramen. The same company that signed Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy. You don't see these guys being sold at your local Christian book store.

So really what makes music Christian? I'm going to agree with Bono on this one and say that, Christian music doesn't exist.