In an article this week entitled "Who Killed Contemporary Christian Music," former dcTalk member Kevin Max left a memorable impression with his quote. "Back in the '90s, you could believe that Jesus Christ was God and create art that was still interesting, and the general market would respond," he said.

Thinking about the implications of Max's quote brings to mind another era of Christian music; one where record labels could actually give artists a budget to produce music videos that rivaled their more mainstream counterparts. See if you remember any of these crazy and creative Christian alternative rock songs videos, and tell us about your memory in the comments!

#4

So maybe this video is mostly close-ups of Jason Wade's face as he sings the band's biggest hit off of 2000's No Name Face. "Hanging by a Moment" is a song with incredible energy and an unforgettable pop hook; the kind of song that songwriters dream of writing one day and bands love to perform. At the time that Dreamworks released No Name Face, this song got major airplay on mostly secular radio stations. After the song took off, it became clear (through, you know, actually listening to the lyrics, as well as through interviews with Jason Wade himself) that this band (and this song!) was about one thing: a personal relationship with Jesus. Though the tides of Lifehouse's fortunes have both ebbed and surged in recent years ("Everything" is now a go-to song at every wedding, and their song "You and Me" featured in several feature films, despite a relative lack of media presence), Christian audiences continue to embrace their new releases.

#3

This music video is the Newboys at their most weird and wacky, and it's awesome. The video features a flash mob (waaay before flash mobs were a thing) of city workers that are being transformed with happiness by the exciting crooning of the Newsboys. It also features breakdancing and so, so much eyeliner. The idea of being set free, both by the Gospel and by music, is illustrated by several scenes of people being transformed out of their every day clothes and into glamorous dancers clad in white and ready to get down. The 70s pop elements of the song collide with the trademark quirky rock styles of the Newsboys and the result is a joy to watch.

#2

Jars' lead singer Dan Haseltine looks about twenty years old in this art-house style video. Featuring a random girl walking around in a white fur coat, things happening backwards, and shopping carts crashing into each other, the concept of "crazy stuff happening" is thoroughly communicated. Watching the members of Jars of Clay in this video, one can't help but imagine that being given the creative control and attention over a project like this one must have been so exciting for the young band at the time. Not to mention high simultaneously earnest and awkward the band members look lip syncing on the subway. 

#1

"So Long (My Friend") : dcTalk

This one-of-a-kind concept video, about a music-industry friend that chooses fame over spiritual authenticity, manages to delve into the philosophical and the post-modern while still delivering a rollicking, poppy adventure with our friends Michael Tait, Toby McKeehan and Kevin Max. Personally, my favorite part is when Toby is in the hospital room wearing scrubs and miming words that Kevin is obviously singing. There are dancing nurses with fans made of feathers, a wonderfully shot hospital waiting room scene, and Kevin Max pretending to be dying in an ambulance. But the real highlight of this video comes at the end with the postmodern twist: all three members rise from the empty hospital bed, implying that this situation could easily be a story about any of their lives; and also that we are all just as capable of redemption and forgiveness. A morality tale wrapped in a real live rock music video? Leave it to dcTalk.

What do you think? What is your favorite Christian alternative rock video from the 90s?