When I drive to work in the mornings, I usually listen to the Christian music station to help me keep calm in traffic and to help me remember that flipping off the person who cut me off is not a very Christian thing to do. I listen to a lot of Christian music, usually while I'm in my car. I wish I could be cool and say that I listen to all of these alternative Christian rock bands, Jars of Clay and Audio Adrenaline clones whom my nephew likes but I've never heard of, but no, it's just mainstream music, Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith and Point of Grace and such. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's good stuff; but I would never listen to their secular counterparts, because normally I hate that easy listening, pop, and pseudo hip-hop crap. If I'm going to listen to secular music (which I do, quite often), give me The Cure, Sleater-Kinney, Smashmouth, Cake, Depeche Mode ... you get the idea. Needless to say, groups (I refuse to call them bands) like N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys give me the willies.

I've noticed lately that this boy group virus is beginning to infect Christian music. First there was Brother's Keeper, Christan music's answer to the Backstreet Boys. Now there's a Christian N'Sync clone, Plus One, who're getting a lot of airplay. This scares me; but what truly scares me is that I find myself liking their music, in spite of myself. On my way to work this morning, I caught myself singing enthusiastically along with Plus One's new song. When I realized what I was doing, it really startled me. I wanted to hate the song on principal, but I really couldn't find anything to dislike about it. Maybe it's because, being Christian groups (and therefore being underexposed in the media), these guys aren't in my face all the time like their secular counterparts, so I can't really hold them in contempt. Also, it's easier for me to take teenage boys singing about their love for God than it is to listen to them sing about how they want to make sweet love to their girls.

What truly bothers me is that this might signify some kind of repressed desire I have to bop to shiny, happy bubblegum music. That thought makes my blood run cold.