Are these the 10 worst songs of all time?

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CatholicZ09 said:
I read somewhere that a lot of people do not like Carey Landry’s line of music. I think I like one of his songs, but I can’t remember. I think it might be “Abba, Father”. Meh, I don’t know if I like that one anymore.
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Here’s my proposition: that any tune that makes one feel as though one should be waving a cigarette lighter in the air during Mass should probably not be sung at Mass.
 
benedictgal said:
But, we are not the focus of the Mass; God is. The Mass is not about us; it’s about God. "Here I Am" puts the focus more on us than on God. It focuses on what we are doing and it’s not really focused completely on the Samuel scriptural account. The refrain is more like, “look at me and my willingness to serve”. It makes for bad theology.
Regarding the notion that these songs are scripturally based, while that is true, remember, too, that Satan can also quote Scripture.
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Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on this one.
This song, for me, is all about God, and my relationship with Him.
Mass is about being in communion with God and Church, something I would not have,
if I had not listened to that small, little whisper of the voice of God, calling in the night.
My job, as a Catholic Christian is to love and serve God and others,
this song helps me, more than many, to remember that God is, and always will be the center of my life, and that everything I am and everything I have is because it is His will, not mine.
I respect your opinion, but it is just that. Music is pretty subjective. I have a pretty wide range of musical tastes and I do not disagree that there are many songs that are totally inappropriate for Mass, however most on this list are actually some of my favorites!🙂
 
CatholicZ09 said:
I think they forgot one song that deserves to be on this list:

Carey Landry’s “The Spirit is A-Movin’”. Just the language and tune make my hair curl.

Don’t really mean to be harsh, but I would feel stupid saying “a-movin’” and “a-blowin’”.
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Oh that brings back horrible memories, yuck! 😛
 
Victorious said:
Here’s my proposition: that any tune that makes one feel as though one should be waving a cigarette lighter in the air during Mass should probably not be sung at Mass.
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😃 I’ll probably think about that when we sing it again.
 
benedictgal said:
From our friends at First Things, here is a list of the 10 worst songs of all time. Given the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus’ penchant for truly sacred music, it’s no surprise that the magazine that he founded is carrying the standard.

firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2010/07/06/are-these-the-ten-worst-hymns-of-all-time/

Incidentally, Pescador de Hombres is number 10. I won’t spoil the rest for y’all.
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I’ll agree that they are about the worst, unless you’re at a grade school recital.
 
Oneofthewomen said:
[SIGN]Good One!👍[/SIGN]
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Of course, the same could be said about “Here I am.” Inasmuch as I realize you like that song, both the text and the setting really are not suitable for Mass. It still makes the “I” in the refrain the driving force of the song and it places undue emphasis on the individual rather than on God. It’s just a bad song.
 
If everyone just sang the propers, this would all be moot. I must say, though, that while I like some of these ‘hymns’, I refrain as much as possible from using them. Ever since I purchased the Graduale Romanum and By Flowing Waters, I find myself using those much more frequently.
 
Your post title should have read: Are these the 10 worst songs SUNG AT MASS of all time. There is nothing wrong with listening to these songs for entertainment. In fact, four of them are on my play list when I ride my bike miles and miles everyday…along with many SACRED songs. I almost hate replying to you, 'gal, because I know there is probably something “wrong” with my listening to church music while riding my bike!!! OK, let me have it!!
 
All the songs at my parish are the worst. Some are more worst than others.
 
ProVobis said:
What about the rest of the people in church?
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Strange. When this “horizontal” (“rest of the people”) argument is put forth to defend the much-reviled (around here) Sign of Peace, the rebuttal is always that the “vertical element” is being overlooked. So someone puts forth the “vertical argument” (“Here I am Lord, I come to do your will”), and the retort is that it isn’t horizontal enough or that somehow speaking about “me and God” isn’t focused enough on God. Proving that when someone is determined to impose their taste in liturgy and music on someone else, and to denigrate musical works that might actually be meaningful to someone in the context of Mass, inconsistency is no barrier to the argument.

The phrase “wallowing in Watergate” was popular in the early 70’s as Mr. Nixon was going through that episode. The purposes of “wallowing” threads like these (“Isn’t this song / diocese / scripture translation / religious order, etc.) just the worst. . .”) are always a puzzle to me.
 
SElizabeth said:
I almost hate replying to you, 'gal, because I know there is probably something “wrong” with my listening to church music while riding my bike!!!
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Not at all. As the semarians joke: “It’s okay to pray while you smoke but not okay to smoke while you pray.”

Just don’t ride your bike inside the church. 🙂
 
So, I don’t know if its been mentioned–but why isn’t “One Bread, One Body” on this list? 😛
 
Victorious said:
Here’s my proposition: that any tune that makes one feel as though one should be waving a cigarette lighter in the air during Mass should probably not be sung at Mass.
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You’re behind the times - they’re waving their i-Phones, these days. (And yes, there’s even an app for that, with a little video of a lit bic.) 😛

Praise be, I have not yet seen them doing this in Church. 🙂
 
Mattapoisett64 said:
Strange. When this “horizontal” (“rest of the people”) argument is put forth to defend the much-reviled (around here) Sign of Peace, the rebuttal is always that the “vertical element” is being overlooked. So someone puts forth the “vertical argument” (“Here I am Lord, I come to do your will”), and the retort is that it isn’t horizontal enough or that somehow speaking about “me and God” isn’t focused enough on God. Proving that when someone is determined to impose their taste in liturgy and music on someone else, and to denigrate musical works that might actually be meaningful to someone in the context of Mass, inconsistency is no barrier to the argument.

The phrase “wallowing in Watergate” was popular in the early 70’s as Mr. Nixon was going through that episode. The purposes of “wallowing” threads like these (“Isn’t this song / diocese / scripture translation / religious order, etc.) just the worst. . .”) are always a puzzle to me.
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Another delicious inconsistency - a number of people complain about singing God’s words in the first person. Then someone dares to like “Here I Am, Lord,” and the same people come out to complain about the constant singing about “me.”

Show of hands, please - How many people who complain about singing God’s words in the first person have read the book, Why Catholics Can’t Sing, by Thomas Day?

Lest you think I’m just another terrible pop-music lover, I hate all these songs (well, except the Spanish ones, which I don’t know), and wonder why “Be Not Afraid” and “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman” are not on the list. When I sing a wedding, my fee goes up whenever any of these pieces is requested, and my music director knows that if he schedules “I Am the Bread of Life,” at the Mass I cantor, there will be a substitution.

Betsy
 
WetCatechumen said:
Lord of the Dance doesn’t even get a mention?
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My thought exactly–that has to be #1 at the top of my list of worst “hymns” --in fact, I can’t even bring myself to sing it, it’s SOOOO bad…I cringe every time it appears in Mass

Made me into a true believer–:Din Gregorian Chant!!!
 
“Eye Has Not Seen” and “Here I am Lord” and “Awake” are my least favourites!

Anything by Cary Landry, Marty Haugen, the St. Louis (ex) Jesuits, etc.
 
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