Guitar Praise – Solid Rock
So now that my kids are getting older,
and I am getting more responsible,
I have to ask myself when something like this comes out,
do I want them learning a WhiteCross riff or a Rage Against the Machine riff?
I have some friends with songs on this game and this is not a commentary on their tunes. There are some great songs on this that my kids know word for word. More so a commentary on my nausea towards Christian knockoffs. I feel we should make it better or don’t make it at all. I’m sure some of you agree and disagree. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Rage,
Los
RAIN IT DOWN
I’ve seen some really lame Christian products, and they tend to be overpriced. Testamints are a good example of this.
This is about Christians making an easy buck. This does little to nothing to fulfill the Great Commission.
Ask yourself this. Would your christian child play this game with their non-christian friends? If the answer is yes, then it might be worth a look.
sigh
I’ll be honest – at my previous church we bought their version of DDR called Dance Praise. The kids LOVED it. We had 90% unchurched kids coming and they were the ones most excited about it.
Still I ask the same question – is it worth it?
I :sigh: as well. This is dumb. My apologies to your musician friends.
It’s extremely important that there are consumer goods catered to the Christian demographic so that we can tisk-tisk about the evils of the world without missing out on any of the fun. That’s what Jesus was all about.
Heard about this last night on a UK Radio station, and the guys where just laughing about it….and I think I probably agreed with them.
A more feasible approach would be to talk to Guitar Hero and design an extended version with bonus songs that have more positive messages. Why does there have to be something separate?
This thing they are selling is just going to end up as yard sale material very quick.
Yeah we as Christians do an awesome job representing Jesus. This was one of my favorites….
http://www.thegadgetblog.com/2005/10/25/the-ibelieve-ipod-shuffle-cross-cap/
The Un-Churched used to just THINK we were lame but now we keep proving them right!
Having given my snarky reply, I will say this: I’ll watch VeggieTales with my kid any day over The Wiggles or Doodlebops or much of anything on the Disney Channel. Not because it’s Christian entertainment, but because it’s smarter, funnier, and more artful than any of that stuff. That should be the goal of any Christian functioning in a creative realm.
I have HUGE issues with this…..
Why would somebody think that taking something that has been huge in current culture, making a cheesy knock-off of it, slapping a “christian” label on it and marketing it as inovative makes sense?
I have a 9 YO who loves guitar hero….and I have some issues with a few of the songs that are contained in it. But you know what? I would so much rather have a dialogue with him about it and honestly discuss why I think things contained in some of the songs are not okay than tell him he can only play an imitation “christian” version. I want him to make educated well thought out decisions about culture as he moves ahead in life. I want him to learn to live in the world with high standards….not escape into christian pop-culture lala land where everything is God-focused. That’s not reality….and I don’t want my kids growing up thinking it is. The world is all around us, and I’m pretty convinced that Jesus wanted us to participate in life with those who don’t know him….not copy their ideas and make them more acceptable.
*I’ll get off my soapbox now*
I wish it were against the law to produce this crap. What does this say about the ability of the Holy Spirit to inspire us to great and original things?
I’ve only ever played Guitar Hero for a few minutes, so I don’t know the answer to this: would it be appropriate in a youth group meeting context? If not, maybe this is currently your only alternative.
I ask because, with our older elementary boys at church, we’ve played endless hours of Super Smash Bros. and that has led to a lot of opportunities to have conversations we’d never have during a traditional Bible study time.
Testamints are in a whole other category, where the product is EXACTLY the same, except for the packaging. At least this offers songs you can’t get elsewhere.
I don’t think I’ve seen a mainstream video game company show any interest in highlighting more positive music, regardless if it’s “Christian” or not.
Shakes head. Why is it always a Christian version of product X? I know so many talented and creative Christians but can’t think of a product that was knocked off from a Christian product?
As far as this product goes they should have made it a knock off of Rock Band this way there would be more group involvement.
And on another note: I will be releasing the Praise-o-Mix 4000 just in time for the holidays. It’s a Christian knockoff of the Magic Bullet food processor.
SIGH…..
I agree with you man! Don’t mimic the world in a crappy way!
Wouldn’t some say that the way we are doing worship in the modern church is simply a knock-off of modern rock concerts?
To me it’s all in the motivation. If it’s to make a buck off of the already convinced, which this appears to be, It’s pretty lame. If it’s to make a product that has a positive focus and causes kids to consider spiritual things then I’m all for it.
I think the way a product is packages tells you a lot about the motivation of the marketer.
I know my 11 year-old is already learning those songs on Guitar Hero. I think some kool Christian riffs are in order.
I blogged on this just this morning. I am completely annoyed by this type of product. I’m at the “whatever” stage now though.
Los.
I blogged just a little about this yesterday here.
I’d rather see christians teach their children/teens to discern between positive music and negative music, instead of just saying no to Guitar Hero and yes to Guitar Praise.
the reality of it is when the “christian world” goes up against the “secular world.” that direct competition is the problem because secularism will win every time.
i’ve actually have had this conversation in my head recently, i’m trying to get a college ministry group off the ground and my pastor wants it to be event driven. by that, he said he wants me to create a club atmosphere. what good is that going to do when the secular club scene will be much more appealing to those who don’t know christ. i don’t think we should always cater to the happy christian medium because like this example…it ends up being very lame.
i think david crowder is a good example of taking a popular items and leveraging it for the cause of christ. if you don’t know, he modified a guitar hero controller and is using it in his band. now THAT is something very unique and allows people who don’t know his music or christianity in general to connect in some way.
by the by, as a gamer, i would choose guitar hero over this any day. just sayin.
how original.
Hopefully it’s not awful.
I agree with Gene. They should’ve worked along side GH and licensed something that could be used alongside GH. Maybe in a digital download or something.
But making a cheaper looking version just to alienate yourself from the “world” is just dumb.
…although I would like to play some FamilyForce5 stuff on GuitarHero!!!!
Just used the alongside twice and in two different forms.
Yup. I’m awesome.
hahaha. this topic has been blowing up on twitter and on the blogs. I wrote about it yesterday at http://www.scottoverpeck.com/2008/08/more-cheesy-christian-knockoffs.html
Christian is not an adjective. When we make it one we defile the gospel.
this is why people laugh at us
this sort of thing ranks right over there with god tube. cheap S**t that non-Christians use to make fun of the rest of us. being a fan of the Tom Morello sound, all of it, i would prefer guitar hero death metal version to this “cheap” knock-off
Should we not, as followers of Christ, want to glorify Him? Should that not mean producing product / art / music / whatever that is BETTER than what the so-called world produces?
So why do we settle for crappy second-rate knockoffs of what’s already out there? Why do we, children of the Creator, not use the very best of our creative impulses to glorify Him? That’s the root of my disgust with products such as this. Don’t make one like they made. Make one different and BETTER. Make the Mac to their PC. Show the creativity that God has gifted you!
This is sort of on the same topic…
My personal pet peeve is when Christian artists cover secular songs and then suddenly they play the songs on Christian radio. Um…what makes the song all of a sudden “Christian” enough to play on Christian radio? The person singing it? And why is the quality of the Christian remake usually worse? It’s usually done by a way-lesser known artist who doesn’t have half the musical capabilities that the original artist did. (There are exceptions. I can’t think of them right now.) If you can’t make it better by redoing it, just leave it alone! I really don’t understand the thinking behind this. If you do get it, being in music and everything, please enlighten me so I don’t growl every time I hear a secular song covered on Christian radio.
Tim Keel, a really smart dude who wrote a great book just blogged about this same idea the other day. Here’s his link (this is #2 of 2 posts on this topic.) he says some good things…
http://www.timkeel.com/timkeel/2008/08/cheap-copies-fo.html
This thing may be horrible but…
I think it functions a lot the same the whole world over. A few originals and millions of knock-offs. I mean, think about Guitar Hero. It arose as a modified Dance Dance Revolution. And then there’s Rock Band, which pretty blatantly copied Guitar Hero’s interface and added a few new instruments. Now the latest Guitar Hero is copying Rock Band, the game that copied it, by adding more instruments.
There are revolutions and there are iterations, and the latter is a lot more common than the former.
And then there are crappy iterations, which, sadly, often have “Christian” in their title.
I don’t think we should imitate at all…crappy or otherwise…drives me crazy! why can’t we lead the way and come up with something innovative that everyone else wants to copy?!
that’s funny i wrote a blog on this very subject yesterday. haha http://thehoov143.wordpress.com
I hate the term “christian” anything!
I used to work for a couple of “Christian bookstores” (another topic of discussion or the same?). When products like this came in to one store, our shipping/receiving guy would always say, “Great. More overpriced Jesus junk.”
Bush, I tend to agree with your comment.
I wanna to gag at Jesus Junk found in some bookstores….but when my 6 year old came home from playing DDR with her friend singing, “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends”, we decided that her sweet little head could be filled with some better options. We bought Dance Praise and I think it was a good choice.
What we need is a shopocalypse. (wwjbmovie.com)
Rev. Billy and his robed sidekicks could save the day!
What would Jesus buy?
i just like the song list. it alone is hilarious. there is a slim chance that i might buy guitar praise if it had rockin riffs. but i really don’t wanna rock to the acoustic guitar riff from a caedmons song. dont get me wrong, i love caedmons call, great musicians, great singers/songwriters, but not sure about rock.
overall this ranks right near the sprite logo ripped off by the words “holy spirit”
i still can’t get over this.
this is the dumbest thing i’ve ever seen. but i wish i had thought of it cause it a million dollar idea
This is just the latest incarnation of what has been a pet peeve of mine for years.
As followers of Christ, we profess to have a relationship with the Almighty Creator who SPOKE and created all that exists. He didn’t create something out of parts and pieces… He created all that is from NOTHING. Quite a feat if you ask me.
So… we have a relationship with the Creator, and the most creative thing we can do is find a fad and copy it? How creative is that? This has happened time and again within the Christian subculture. In the past, the church was a place of great creativity in the arts. In some ways, this is still true. Unfortunately, the church is also a place of stale copies.
oh this wasn’t a joke? ohh…wow..ohhhh. hahahah, only kidding. unfortunately, i know it’s fro real. everyone wants to make a few bucks and lets just be honest there’s enough of us cheezy christians that will actually buy the thing. i’ve gotta have one just to historicize this most hilarious moment in what we do.
hhaha…oh christian music.
Why not figure out a way to make these artist’s songs downloadable for Guitar Hero or Rock Band?
Yeah man, I almost didn’t even click through to look at it. I’m glad I did, because the song list does have some great tunes on there.
HOWEVER, can you imagine a high school student going over to his friend’s house saying: Yeah Guitar Hero is cool but let’s check out GUITAR PRAISE! SOLID ROCK!!
I laugh just thinking about it! I only see this succeeding in youth groups. Christian media is a step behind, again it seems.
Is it really lame mimicking?.
Or is it just taking a cool idea and making it a little more positive?
Give me a break.
I bet half the people who bashed this idea have absolutely NO problem with the real deal — Guitar Hero — and wouldn’t bat an eyelash if their kids brought it home.
But, if someone wants to use even this to glorify God, it’s suddenly lame? Nice double standard.
Modern Christian praise and worship —> cheap imitation of rock music or a new and innovative way to worship?
Don’t be a hypocrite.
Christians come up with second-rate knockoffs of secular (whatever that means) stuff to MAKE MONEY. Plain and simple.
There is a niche market out there consisting of folks who will not buy Guitar Hero for their kids as they don’t want their children virtually rocking out w/ Ozzy or whatever. Products like this one fill that niche.
It’s the collision of Christianity and Capitalism… personally, I’m not a fan, but hey, it’s an industry, and this is America, so more power to ‘em, I guess.
The market will sort out whether this is a good idea or not. If people don’t buy it… they’ll quit making it.
LIGHTS OUT! GUERILLA RADIO!
I can’t speak for everyone, but I certainly don’t find modern praise and worship to be a rip off of rock music. When I spoke of copying fads, I was not referring to praise and worship music as much as I was speaking of music which seems to have been created for some other purpose.
But do I find a LOT of “contemporary Christian music” as found in your local Christian bookstores or on the air of your local Christian radio stations to be a cheap knock off of secular stuff? (There I go again, using the word Christian as an adjective!)
Abso-freakin-lutely! If a band becomes popular on Top 40 radio, it is only a matter of time before a sound-alike Christian band is found. The only difference is, the Christian band will be prettier.
(I read an article once that accused Christians of being more superficial. The author made his point by challenging readers to go look at the covers of CDs at a music store and then go check out the cover of CDs in a Christian bookstore. Apparently, it is easier to make it is an ugly musician if you aren’t a believer. Try this yourselves if you don’t believe me!)
We were wondering how hard this game could be. Guitar Hero is all about hard guitar riffs. That’s not a real big trademark in Christian music. I am curious.
I think it’s the kind of thing parents trying to shelter their kids from the real world would buy.
I agree with ideas like “make some of the songs downloadable for Guitar Hero” and Rock Band for that matter (my personal favorite).
I love what Worship Fan said about games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band giving us the opportunity to talk to our kids about what is good or not, and why.
My wife always has to shush me at the Christian Bookstore when I see the “testamints”-type stuff at the checkout.
I’d much rather people spend their money on something like this: http://occasionalsanity.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-i-want-for-my-birthday.html
To answer your question: neither.
You want them learning the riff for Metallica’s “Fade To Black”. If they incline more to bass, then Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” should do the trick.
“I feel we should make it better or don’t make it at all. I’m sure some of you agree and disagree. I would love to hear your thoughts.”
Who gets to decide what’s ‘better’, you/me/us or the Holy Spirit? I’m not trying to be all spiritual but seriously…
worshipcity…i am a youth pastor, and this is definitely not going to succeed in my youth group. we will continue using guitar hero.
i hate this stuff. i feel your rage, man. this does a disservice to the creativity God gave us as part of being made in God’s image. we are not to replicate or mimic. we are to create. let us not be conformed…
I would rather my kids play rage than petra….
Thanks, Chilly. You said exactly what I was going to say. I’ve spent the last few years annoyed and scoffing the Testamint-like paraphenalia. Until I felt convicted that it’s not my job to judge the motives of others. This isn’t a product I would buy, but who’s to say God can’t use it?
This reminds me of these verses…
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
When Christian rock artists were first coming on the scene, they were LAMBASTED for trying to mimic secular music.
Many of the things y’all are saying here about this are exactly the kinds of things that were said about pop and rock Christian artists.
I listen to Christian rap (LeCrae, GRITS); does that make me a poser? No; I happen to like rap music and I just think listening to rap that honors God is better than rap that glorifies smoking dope or raping women.
I don’t think this “Guitar Praise” idea is earth-shattering or anything; honestly, I don’t see myself ever buying it. I’m not promoting this product, per se.
But I don’t like the hypocrisy of saying this is lame when SOOO many other things (that we now take for granted) came from SECULAR influences.
Let’s see:
sermon podcasts
Christian blogs
Christian websites
Christian tattoos
T-Shirts with catchy “Christian” messages
Christian rock concerts
Veggie Tales
Didn’t ALL of these start out with secular models? I’m just sayin’.
Reason number 321 why the church can’t connect with the world. We need to stop hiding!
While I am not a fan of these types of products (and for the record, I’ve never played Guitar Hero or anything similar either), I’m definitely leaning with Summer Kelly and others.
How far do you take this argument before the entire church becomes a cheap knockoff?
http://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Christianity-Exploring-Church-Practices/dp/141431485X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220053808&sr=8-1
AB.SOLUTE. TRASH.
Sorry, this is SOOOoooo typical of the Christian Ghetto that cannot produce creative, inspired, and EXCELLENT products and instead, just “rips off” the competition because we are “living in Laodicea” and too lazy to understand the culture and relationally meet people where they are at.
I believe in the church and God’s power to reach the world through us, but the church CONSTANTLY finds ways to make my job harder with laughable things like this.
Save me. Please.
So many better ways to get this idea/alternative out there… how about using your brain and get licensing with Rock Band or Guitar Hero… they just did it with Aerosmith, why not try it with “Christian” bands…. which is kind of funny sounding in itself because I am Nashvegas and most of the Christian bands are… well… I Digress. Anyways, if you want an alternative get licensing with people who already have corned the market…
1. You’d make more money. (although that’s not why it’s out… right
2. Better Packaging… the box looks completely lame
But reinventing the wheel has never been a good idea.
And it’s not a judgement of one’s motives. That’s between them and God, my beef is with the excellence level of crap Christian products.
By better, I think it means that there is no alternative that even comes close… practically. God looks at the heart but let’s face it, people look at the exterior (1Sam. 16:7) so the exterior needs to rock. It needs to be better on every level… graphics, gameplay, packaging… every level. Not spiritually, that is obviously there on this product, but it needs to compete. This doesn’t even compete, it’s a safe alternative to parents who want their kids raised on ‘christian’ music. If that is your reason to buy, then more power. But if anybody thinks this product is at the level of Guitar Hero, you’re delusional. It would be sweet if Christians could put out products that are more excellent than it’s competitors. Daniel did. (Dan. 1:15-20)
Coulld it be that we (Christian) are becoming way too cynical! DL Moody was critisized for sharing his faith. His retort was, “Well, tell me how you share your faith?” The reply was, “I don’t”. He said, “Well, I like the way I share my faith better than the way you don’t.”
Coulld it be that we (Christian) are becoming way too cynical? DL Moody was critisized for sharing his faith. His retort was, “Well, tell me how you share your faith?” The reply was, “I don’t”. He said, “Well, I like the way I share my faith better than the way you don’t.”
don’t like it? don’t buy it. it’s a free country.
you guys crack me up. who cares if someone makes a “rip off” or an alternative? some people care more than you do about what their kids listen to and what video games they play.
my 2-1/2 year old loves led zeppelin and i have no intention of taking it away from him. i will, however use those weird situations when he asks “what’s ’squeeze my lemon til the juice runs down my leg’ mean, daddy?” as teaching moments. i probably would buy my kids the regular guitar hero over this version..
to quote rodney king – can’t we all just get along? you do your thing and folks like the Duggars can do theirs
As a father of three I enjoy having alternatives to certain cultural offerings. I have no problem with this although I would have rather seen a game that could go along with our guitar hero equipment. I like the idea of the kiddos having a chance to choose their favorite songs christian or non. I find myself from time to time thinking… “Dude this Toby Mac song would be awesome to play on Guitar Hero” or “Why cant Lincoln Brewster have a song in this game? his licks are sick”. Christian Music has changed so much over the last decade. I find myself putting old DC Talk and Jars of Clay right along with Nirvana and Blind Melon in my 90’s playlists, just because I grew up with it. How much more will our kids remember the influence of Christian music in this decade? Idea- Guitar Hero 5: Religious Rock!
How about, “Rrrr! Rock” (short for… “Righteous Rock”). New Guitar Hero disk. Somebody out there has the networking I’m-roads to bridge the gap.
Are You Serious?!
Why can’t we think out of the box and do something on our own? why are we marketing things that are like follow ups?
It’s like we wait and let the world do all the work and then we come along and look at what we have….For once cant we do something that Rocks the World First and not the other way around? Come on People God has not given us these talents and abilities to throw away and pass up.
With Love
Megan
I can’t wait for “CHRISTIAN” Rock Band!
What areas do Christians set the bar in? Anyone?
maybe parents could teach use the lyrics of normal music to teach their kids about real life and coping and tolerance and truth instead of isolating them in a pretend world where nothing inappropriate is ever said. wake up! seriously… this is why the world hates Christians!
I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.
This has been my soapbox for so long I feel like I now live on it.
Ugh, Few things get me as fired up as Christians being behind the curve. I checked wikipedia for the time the original Garage Band came out. It was Nov. of 2005. That seems about right. The coolest thing on “Christian” radio right now is what a descent mainstream band did 3 years ago.
How does a poor copy 3 years late represent the Creator of the Universe? (mumbles and fuming)
They should have created a generic game with a song construction kit, allowing you to build your own levels to any music you want. Then released some awesome songs from every genre (Christian, Country, R&B, Etc). Then giving players the ability to upload their new song/levels to an online repository for all to download and enjoy.
This way they would be adding something to the marketplace that doesnt exist (guitar hero song construction kit). while giving us the ability to build out our fav songs.
Oh, and when given 2 options, one of them being RAtM, the answer is *always* Rage Against the Machine.
Calm like a bomb,
dewde
http://dewde.com
I just realized my band is on this game. Wow…an example of bands not knowing what a label does with your songs. I will never lives this down. Let the ridicule begin.
It’s my personal belief that being connected to the author of creativity, Christians should be leading the way with innovative sounds. It’s okay to copy. That’s how we learn. But I don’t want to be a carbon copy of someone else. I wanna be unique and have a unique sound.
sigh…
what if we all just listened to christian music, in a christian city, with out christian clothes, and our christian church, and oh yeah, we need christian video games!
live and let live.
I think this company would have been better off releasing a supplement to Guitar Hero, much like what Activision has already done with Aerosmith and will be doing Metallica this fall. Would have been a lot less lame than a knockoff.
P.S.
My roommate just asked if a tambourine comes with this game?
Oh we’re sooo lame and our music is so lame and our witnessing techniques are so lame and our posters are so lame and our t-shirts are so lame and we’re just so lame… Nothing like a jug of whine to wash down all that cheeze.
I don’t hear a lot of complaining when secular bands imitate each other. That’s all cool. Interesting though, to watch a post like this and check out all the Christians slapping each other around. That’s not lame, right?
After all, Jesus did say, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have creative riffs and original ideas and call anyone lame who doesn’t.”
So let’s all praise Him with the tymbral and the dance, but be careful not to copy anyone else’s ideas and be sure you don’t do anything to make a living by spreading His words or name because that’s all so crass, especially if you produce something by your own labor and expect someone to reimburse you for it. How commercial! How selfish! How greedy! How, how, how…
…LAME!!!
good grief…
What?!?
No Stryper?!?
I was almost sold.
on behalf of everyone that has Jesus in their hearts… i apologize.
At least it isn’t my sweet jesus…
Wow, love the crucifix iShuffle case Brad!
I will buy it for our kids rooms at church for kids under 6th grade so they can play the “guitar game” without having parents complaining left and right over some of the songs content. We have Guitar Hero in the Youth rooms, but this will be a fun addition to the younger kids without having to sit through endless meetings with homeschool parents.
I would NEVER buy this for my kids or our household. Our father allows us to be tempted and make choices. We should be teaching our kids the same principles.
Rage…definitely Rage….
Adam – “don’t like it? don’t buy it. it’s a free country…”
BINGO!
ps – how’s this any different than designing christian t-shirts that are similar to all the big $$ cool guy graphic shirts like affliction? if you don’t know what i’m talking about look a post or 2 below…
skulls n stuff on affliction shirts too rough n tough for you? get a myblogisawesome.com shirt that looks like one, but is printed on a hanes beefy-t!
I’m so behind. We just got Guitar Hero and I suck at it. Maybe I would actually be good at this one