Entertainment

‘Darkness Has No Weight’: Singers Matt Maher & Kalai Discuss the State of Music in America (Bonus: Acoustic Performances!)

TheBlaze already brought you extensive profiles this week about two of the musical artists involved with Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Love” — Matt Maher and Kalai. On Wednesday, we caught up with both performers to speak further about music, culture and their careers.

Aside from chatting about these elements, both artists performed acoustic selections. Maher talked about the lack of positive messaging in music and discussed the difference between “light” and “darkness” in the industry. While the beats and melodies are attractive, he claims that much of what is popular leaves listeners with little perspective and insight. This music is, essentially, meaningless.

(Related: Find Out More About Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Love”)

Below, watch Maher chat about his career and see him perform:

Kalai, too, spoke about the negativity that exists in the music world, claiming that “darkness has no weight.” Watch him chat and perform, here:

Comments (17)

  • strewth_cobber
    Posted on July 30, 2012 at 12:57am

    Helloooo, Cleveland!

    Thank God for the gift of music! Variety is the splice of life – Classical, Blues, Rock, Jazz etc.

    Can only recommend everyone learn an instrument. Can’t play guitar? Then try another instrument. Everyone has a gift & ability to play a musical instrument, be it strings or brass or percussion etc. It’s a good cure for boredom, and more useful than TV and pc games.

    My poor nephew had chance to learn saxophone, guitar, drums, piano – all family played one or several type. He chose to go scratch records and good fortune to him, as there are some (for whatever reason) who do enjoy the techno- cRap- doof-doof whatever-its-called (I don’t know – I only listen and play music that is played by real musicians who play real instruments) and, fortunately, that is still a free choice.

    I just wonder how he will perform when there is no electricity to power his ‘instrument’ (a record turntable). My acoustic guitar works just fine by a campfire in the middle of nowhere.

    If you do take up an instrument – remember that, as much as you may be enthusiastic to learn, don’t expect to be playing like Eddie Van Halen or Andre Segovia five minutes after you pick up instrument for first time. Be patient, don’t give up. Practice, play what you like – if not like something you won’t bother. Like school, unless the subject is of interest to you – you won’t bother to study it.

    Minor chords sad (Nigel Tufnel: “D minor, saddest of all keys”) – Majo

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  • zipzap
    Posted on July 27, 2012 at 2:06am

    I’m not a hiphop fan, but I really found myself getting into a song by Trachead Family called “We on now.” It is a group and a song that I could have never imagined myself getting into. I’m decades too old for it. It seems intellectually simple, and yet the passion of the group and the fresh purity of their otherwise misfit souls is so compelling. Do I love hip hop? No, but that group and that song move me.

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  • dtcomposer
    Posted on July 26, 2012 at 7:09pm

    It always makes me cringe a little bit, as somebody who has dedicated a good part of my life to the study of music in all its genres, when I hear such ridiculously narrow, and uneducated talk from under educated “musicians”.

    Rather than go into a long diatribe about all the reasons why they have it so wrong, I’ll just invite people to go listen to some really incredible music. Go find some Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, MAhler, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Debussy…. and so many others. What is passed off as expressive art by today‘s musicians has all the craft and artistic integrity of a child’s finger painting. There are some great popular songs, and some really great music out there, but American’s view of “great” music has diminished so much…it is sad.

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    • The0bserver
      Posted on July 26, 2012 at 10:55pm

      And an awful lot of that classical music is repetitive, boring, and predictable. It’s not all good.

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    • Ali Bubba
      Posted on July 27, 2012 at 1:16am

      @DTComposer…. are u referring to Kalai with the uneducated musician remark? If so, is the only thing that stayed with u from everything that was said the fact that he is not along the lines of Brahms, Mahler and the like? Sorry but i find that to be quite “narrow” of u. Just because someone doesn’t have a tremendous understanding of every aspect of his craft or is not university educated diminishes neither his talent nor the things that he has to say. I thought that the things that he said in the interview were amazing to be quite frank. It is apparent to me that this man spends a lot of time thinking about this world that we live in and how it relates to his music and spiritual life and that thought is reflected in his words. Impressive for a young person in todays music culture.

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  • Modern_Cicero
    Posted on July 26, 2012 at 5:36pm

    Musical icons like Nat King Cole, Marvin Gaye and Donnie Hathatway would be sad to see what’s become of modern music.

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    • TRUTHandFREEDOM
      Posted on July 26, 2012 at 9:56pm

      It seems to me that the most decadent stuff gets the most effort from the industry.

      Rock lyrics always had a certain percent of that, but it seems like the majority of radio lyrics in rock, pop and whatever you want to call modern dance music is massively recycled trash talk and 14 year old hormone / locker room lyrics. Not inspiring or deep. Beyond simple. The reason I listen mostly or CDs or talk radio.

      I’m a hard rock guitarist with diverse influences. I’ve been playing for decades anywhere from NYC to Brazil, although it’s work to have time and energy to continue these days, I am working on some tunes relative to the eye opening that we’ve had in the last 3 1/2 years.. I find it interesting that many guitarists turn out to be conservatives. If anyone in a band is conservative, I’ve learned that the most likely one is the lead guitarist. That isn’t 100% though.

      I really like ALL of the diverse talent that Glenn is working with. I have been continually impressed. I’m really impressed with these 2. Their guitar playing is great. Excellent voices and song writing too. I was also impressed with the musical line up on GBTV yesterday.

      I’m not a big itunes user. I prefer CDBaby.com and amazon, but I’ll download the music from these people and listen when I drive.

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  • thesnark
    Posted on July 26, 2012 at 5:13pm

    Nobody with a functioning brain stem would disagree that rap music is total garbage and void of any musical or lyrical integrity. However it shouldn’t be obligatory that musicians meet some arbitrary measure of capability or talent prescribed by the first commentator. Neither of these musicians should have to change their sound or genre to “make it”. The best thing about independent music is just that it is independent. Not bastardized or perverted by some suit that wants to commercialize it for recognition or monetary gain. Some of the most talented people in music are not mainstream or well known. Kudos to Kalai for staying true and doing his thing. People should support these guys for their authenticity.

    Report Post » thesnark  
    • The-Real-Enrico
      Posted on July 26, 2012 at 6:21pm

      @thesnark “Nobody with a functioning brain stem would disagree that rap music is total garbage and void of any musical or lyrical integrity”

      I actually 100% dis-agree with you beside the “lyrical integrity” part. Rap & hip-hop is a multi million dollar industry for a reason. You don’t have to like a certain type of music to know that it is a form of music.

      Music is opinion. Music is to the ear of the beholder.

      This why we conservatives, libertarians, patriots and Christians are losing in the arena of pop and popular culture and art.

      We need to be able to use the same art and mediums to promote our values. It’s not the music that is the problem, it is the culture!

      Report Post » The-Real-Enrico  
    • The-Real-Enrico
      Posted on July 26, 2012 at 6:39pm

      Rap is and can be good if content & subject-matter is good. They very few Hip-hop and rap artist that are have some good content and value and they do not have much support or popularity.

      We can not be the anti everything people and expect others to follow. How are we suppose to influence the younger generation and other cultures? Reject the content not the art form.

      Anything can be used for good.

      The rule of spoken music.

      It must first sound good then have content. The liberals, marxist, anarchist are great with quality of sound then influence with their content. We need to learn and do the same.

      Wake up.

      Report Post » The-Real-Enrico  
  • Guitar Master
    Posted on July 26, 2012 at 4:32pm

    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
    From THE REPORTER
    zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Let me give all of you a brief music history lesson.

    All genres of music were going along very nicely until the early 1990′s when Rap music was popularized. Coincidentally, Bill Clinton came into office during the same period.

    Did anyone ever stop to realize that RAP music is part of the large conspiracy to corrupt the listening public and especially the youth. We know the communists have infiltrated our school system and government but nobody ever thought about how the family has been corrupted.

    They decided to put their tentacles deeply in a music they called RAP which is a perversion of real music. Any illiterate numb-skull can sit down, put pen to paper and write about killing cops, smoking dope and having sex. Nearly all of the so called rappers have absolutely no idea what real music is. Most of them wouldn’t take the time to devote themselves to learning an instrument. Rap is vehicle communists used to infiltrate and pervert the family unit.

    Matt Maher is extremely talented, he just needs to stop strumming between chord changes. As for Kalai, can anyone understand anything that he said in the above video? Man, this guy has to come down from the stratosphere and get real. Although gospel music is beautiful the chances of making it big with gospel are slim and none. It is suggested to get into the pop or country field if you gents want to make it big. I hope you get the idea

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    • guz75
      Posted on July 26, 2012 at 4:45pm

      There was me thinking nobody could be more narcissistic, self-righteous and display such a narrow concept of what music is about than these two, but congratulations sir you’ve succeeded. Frankly anyone that would describe Matt Maher – who is the musical equivalent of ‘stating the bleeding obvious’ – as extremely talented, clearly doesn’t know as much as they think.

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    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on July 26, 2012 at 4:54pm

      That’s what I keep telling my teenagers. Popular music, nowadays, is full of untalented people. It seems like very few can hold a note, harmonize, much less be on pitch, or can play an instrument.
      1990 was about the year grunge came onto the scene, too. Grunge wasl, and still is awful, but not as bad as rap or hip-hop.

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • Steelhead
      Posted on July 26, 2012 at 5:12pm

      Guitar Master- you are a decade off – Rap Music was popular in the eighties under Reagan.

      Report Post » Steelhead  
    • Balthazor
      Posted on July 26, 2012 at 5:25pm

      Yeah rap sucks, but popular music has been going downhill since the 80′s, maybe even late 70′s, when music became less about art and more about money, less about talent and more about image. Before the 70′s, unless you were the Beatles or Elvis or maybe the Rolling Stones, you just didn’t make money in the pop music business. You did it because you loved doing it. By the time the 80′s rolled around, pop music became just another get rich quick scheme for losers too talentless to make money in the real world.

      Report Post » Balthazor  
  • brezzeone
    Posted on July 26, 2012 at 4:23pm

    Lets how that it is heard. Glen should get the songs on the radio.

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