Dr. Thunder

You ever been at a party where you are ready to wash down the chips and salsa with, say, a nice cold Dr. Pepper. You spot the deep red can across the room, but as you move in you see it is actually "Dr. Thunder." Wal-Mart's rip off of the original.

Nothing is as good as the original...unless you are in the Christian Music World. There is a disturbing trend to rip off styles and conform them to a "Christian" message. What is a christian message? Hope...read Lamentations. Purity? Read the Old Testament...any of it. Morality...once again, the OT.

But the most unbelievable rip off I heard was tonight...they actually covered "Heaven" by Los Lonely Boys. The LLB are Tex-Mex Rockers, whose guitarist has one of the must luscious throaty Fender tones out on mainstream right now. It is a captivating prayer of a man who stepped back from his world and cried out to God with some deep questions.

Why cover it? Why use a guitarist who isn't as good, sung by a vocalist who doesn't have the same spontaneous passion, and put this sub-par rendition out when the other song is currently being played across the nation. If you are gonna play the song, play the dang original!

I would hate to see what art would become if Christians were the guiding force. Case and Point: the painter of light...

(Writers note: it pisses me off because I am an artist. And I know other passionate and talented artists who are Christians)