Rock'n'Roll...YOU'RE LETTING ME DOWN!!!

Robin and I have AT&T U-Verse here at the house...and it's awesome! Why? Because at any given time during the day or night you can find a show on practically any topic. The down-side of AT&T U-Verse...is that your children can ALSO wander across those same shows that you wish they didn't see.

Which is what happened last night.

Around 9:45p.m., Robin was in the bathtub while I was in the living room trying to get my two younger children ready for bed. Elijah, a.k.a, The Grand Inquisitor, was sitting on the bed in our room watching a channel that my wife had abandoned in favor of a warm bath.

After I sent the younger two up to bed, I went to check on Elijah and found him watching said show. It was a "Behind The Music" wannabe featuring Aerosmith. Granted, I'm not a huge Aerosmith fan, but they do have a handful of catchy tunes that I enjoy (see "Toys In The Attic"). I'm enjoying the tales of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and the gang's wild destructions of backstage dressing rooms and hotel rooms...when the show moves promptly into the band's well-documented drug addictions. I quickly dive for the remote control hoping Elijah didn't catch the quick transition.

"Why did you change the channel, Daddy," he asked pointedly.
"Uh...they're not very nice people, so we don't need to watch their show," I replied...a little disappointed with my lame response.
"But you like rock'n'roll, Daddy, right?"
"Yes, quite a bit."

Then the stinger. "Do any of the bands you like have nice guys? What about KISS," he asked, knowing full-well his Daddy has been to three of his favorite band's concerts?

Hmm. My mind raced through the titles of their songs: "Christine Sixteen" (a song about an infatuation with an under aged beauty); "Plaster Caster" (a tribute to a group of lady that made plaster molds of a specific body part; "Let's Put The 'X' in Sex" (geez, enough said!); and the list goes on.

"Um...no, KISS doesn't have very nice guys."

"What about yout other favorites? Are they nice?"

I ran through my CD/MP3 catalog:
AC/DC? - Uh, no.
Judas Priest? - No way - the name says it all!
Motley Crue? - The upside down pentagram is not a good thing
The Cult? - I can hear it now: "Daddy, what a cult?"
The Ramones? - Maybe...but way too many drugs

And then it hit me....THANK GOD FOR BONO!!!!

So I started to preach the gospel of U2 to Elijah. I told him about "40," a song whose lyrics are taken from the first 3 verses of Psalm 40. I told him about "Where The Streets Have No Name," a song that has become an anthem about life in Heaven for those who believe. I then began to tell him how important it was for him to surround himself with good thoughts and good influences and good friends...and that included the music that he listened to.

And that's when I began to feel like the biggest hypocrite walking the face of the Earth.

So this morning, on my way to work, I listened to 89.7 Power FM. I found a couple of songs that were catchy...so I'll check out more from those folks. But if either of you have any suggestions on contemporary Christian music with a nice punk or 80's metal twist (and no, I don't mean Stryper, Petra, or Whiteheart) I'd love to hear about it!