u/Extension_Adagio_590

I was a Christian for 32 years, and a pastor for 4 of those years. I was heavily involved in the music aspect of the church for more than half of my life. As you might infer, I am big on music. Metal is one of my favorite genres. However, being a christian didn't mean you couldn't listen to metal--at least in my particular brand of Jesus--you just had to vet everything you were listening to and completely avoid the obvious ones (Manson, Slipknot, Motionless in White, etc.)

After I walked away from my faith, I started rediscovering all the music I had avoided and found out that 99% of it is FUCKING BEAUTIFUL!
I looked back at all the christian metal bands I used to like and found their music shallow and very performative, not that there's anything wrong with performance. But it just felt very inauthentic. Look at these lyrics.

Stryper — "To hell with the devil! / We're gonna fight / Gonna do what's right!" from "To Hell with the Devil"

Theocracy — "As the battle rages on and on / I face the things that put my faith to the test." from "Laying the Demon to Rest"

Tourniquet — "Men fail me / But the Son of God saves!" from "Broken Chromosomes"

They have to follow certain parameters in their music, JUST so that everyone knows they're all about Jesus. It lacks depth, creativity, and relatability. Every christian lyric can be dissected, reassembled, repackaged and reused at every turn. After a while, it just gets boring

Now, look at these lyrics.

"I won't give up tomorrow just to lose it all today" — Slipknot, "Snuff"

"It's not because you're with me, it's because you never leave" — Bring Me The Horizon, "It Never Ends"

"All I needed was the last thing I wanted, to sit alone in a room and say it all out loud" — Asking Alexandria, "Alone In a Room"

These lyrics feel real and raw. I can feel the pain and emotion behind these lyrics. These lyrics humanize the artists and it gives the listener something to relate to. Yet, all of my life was propagated that any music without a neat and tidy "christian" label was purely satanic.

I guess, in a way, I feel kind of robbed of really good music at a time when I needed it. I'm looking for anyone who can relate to this feeling.

Hi all,
I have a few songs for which I’ve written lyrics from beginning to end. The problem is that the style and genre for my songs are beyond my limits. For instance, most of them are written in a metalcore/post hardcore style. But I’m not a metalcore band. I have my guitar, a mic, and GarageBand on my phone. I have a vision in my head of how the song should be structured. But I don’t know how to put it into sound. I’ve tried reaching out to other musicians for collaboration with almost no feedback. What should I do about this? Do I just keep the lyrics as something never to be completed?

Hi.

So, I made the decision to tell my mom about the struggles I’ve been facing for the last several months and how they’ve impacted me. I wouldn’t have said anything, but she asked and it’s not like I’ve been hiding my depression from anyone(I think it’s mentally unhealthy to hide your sickness).
She told me that she was coming over so we could talk. I told her I’d rather she didn’t, but I didn’t say why.

The reason I don’t want to talk to her is because when I was a child, she was not emotionally present, supportive, aware, present, etc. She was, instead, rather narcissistic and emotionally manipulative and dismissive with guilt trips and making everything about herself. I’m 36 years old now. I don’t look at her as an emotional support. Hell, I only see her a few times a year and our current relationship is pretty much through random text conversations spaced weeks apart. I don’t feel comfortable having intimate, vulnerable conversations like that with her.
The issue is that she, as a narcissist, likely feels that because she’s my mom, she’s entitled to what happens in my life despite barely being involved in it whatsoever. So, putting up this boundary will likely upset her. I just don’t know the right way to address this. I WANT to tell her that she was a shitty mom and she has no right to know anything about me except for what I allow—that she had that chance when I was younger and she missed it.

But… she’s still my mom and I do love her. I want to remain objective and not say something that will unnecessarily hurt her feelings.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!