I apologize to Boid and everyone else for the previous post: I've got some real life shit going on that is probably making me extra touchy. With that said I don't appreciate it when people jump to conclusions. The fact is I like a lot of Classical music and not all Classical music is Opera. Perhaps I do not like Opera for some of the same reasons I do not like Broadway Showtunes, but my distaste for Opera nowhere near approaches my hatred for Showtunes.
Comparing Rappers to Rockers is akin to comparing apples to chocolate. Both apples and chocolate are both edible but they are different subgenres and at times can go well together. As for Mike and the Mechanics, they were a pop group and not a Christian Rock group. Sure they may have had a song that inspired by their belief in Christianity (or at least the songwriter's) but that doesn't them a Christian Rock band. Here are some examples of Christian Rock just to clarify:
Stryper: an 80's Hair Metal band that is awful even by Hair Metal standards. Other than the Bible-banging message there is nothing that sets them apart. They use cheesy 80's Metal riffs and really any half-competant jackass can copy this sound in their garage.
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Larry Norman: The late "Grandfather of Jesus Rock". Here's one of his called "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" which is an insipid Rapture ballad. Other Norman tunes include "Why Don't You Look Into Jesus" and "Put Your Life In Jesus' Nail Scarred Hands".
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Finally we have dc Talk: A wannabe 90's "Christian Grunge" band that basically went through the paces but without the creativity or musical pathos of some of their secular counterparts. This one is called "Jesus Freak".
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Those are examples of the subgenre "Christian Rock". There have been some great songs done by more mainstream, secular artists that have Christian messages in them. For instance this classic Doobie Bros. cover of "Jesus Is Just Alright" kicks ass (and this is coming from an irreligious atheist).
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That's not to say I like Mike and the Mechanics mind you, I think they are terrible.