I need to set the record straight about something. As many of you are aware, I removed a post over the weekend that was just a simple news bullet about a Paramore video. It caused a firestorm of comments on the site, many of which were offensive to Hayley and myself. The fact that people still have to bring “Sex” into a discussion on Haley and her band is beyond my scope of understanding. Please read more for full blog.

To hear young people bring up her photos and start accusing the band of “selling out” or sexing up their (her) image is just plain ridiculous. Paramore is just a rock band that happens to have a female singer. They don’t claim to be the saviors of the universe, they’re just here to rock out, give us a good time, hopefully share a little bit about their struggles, the human condition, and where their love comes from. I hate when I have to delete a post but I do it to save us all the embarrassment. Apparently someone shared our post with Hayley and she read up on the comments. I don’t know her opinion but I am sure it led to a little disappointment. You guys have to understand what the world at large thinks when they come to IndieVisionMusic.com and read our comments. You’re representing not only our website but also yourself as a “Christian” living in this world. If people really want to learn about Jesus, they aren’t getting that sentiment from reading a bunch of accusations and spoken ill will coming from our users. I’m not pointing any fingers at certain individuals, I think if you said something offensive, you know who you are. It’s okay to question but to slam the personal lives of members in popular bands is unreal. I’ve been one to accuse bands as well and there are still some artists we don’t cover here because of profane matter but that’s another discussion for another day. This is a message to Haley and the rest of Paramore, the sentiment expressed in comments under our posts is not necessarily the overall opinion of Indie Vision Music and our staff. We can’t control comments and I rarely delete any of them so if something comes across as offensive, I apologize. In the future, if any of our readers comes across something that is “offensive” on our website, I would like to be the first to know about it. You can all email me here anytime during the day brandon[at]indievisionmusic.com and I’ll answer whenever I get a free moment.

A lot of our readers and supporters here at IVM are “Christians” and I just want to encourage those of you of Faith to express a little more self discipline when it comes to spouting your mouth off in the comments. P.S. It’s not the end of the world if member(s) of popular “Christian” bands have a drink or two after a show or in their off hours. If you’re over 21 (in the U.S.), then it’s legal and as long as you aren’t “abusing” alcohol, I see no problem with it. I get so tired of hearing other Christians, especially young kids, slam their favorite bands or burn their cds in some ritual because they find out a band member had a drink or two. SXE is great and all but it too can become your religion after a while. I think everything should be taken in moderation whether it be SXE, or drinking, or dare I say smoking. Smoking is a nasty habit and it’s one I personally have stayed away from my entire life because I can’t stand the smell of it, however, this doesn’t mean a band member who does it is all of a sudden and magically, not a “Christian” any longer. There are some common misconceptions here in the conservative Christian country of the USA and I think it’s leading a lot of people away from Faith and from a relationship with God. I am just tired of all the accusations and personal attacks on some of our most beloved artists. This is what turns people away from God when they see fellow Christians who can’t even put up with one another in the simplest fashions. Christ didn’t die on that cross so we could all sit around attacking each other for “slipping up”.

I also get tired of reading people quote Bible scripture to suit their own needs. We all come from different view points and we could all throw Bible scriptures around till we’re blue in the face to justify our uneasiness with a particular subject, no matter what side of the fence we’re sitting on. This is another reason why some of these comments on our website get out of hand fast, because each of us is coming from a different situation and it leads to some dissension among us. Whether it be emotional, physical, mental, or spiritual, each of us is in a different place than the guy sitting next to you. We are all uniquely individual people with diverse opinions on the world and how we conduct ourselves in it. I just want to plead with you to please show respect and careful restraint when speaking to one another here at IVM. Like I said above, I HATE to delete posts and censor this site but sometimes I am left with no choice.

The standards of IVM: We are careful in our choosing of artists to feature and write about here on IVM. There is no precise “selection process” for choosing bands to cover and not to cover, it’s all based upon our instincts for who feel the crowds want to hear about. I usually cover music from any artist living the “Christian” life regardless of their opinions on politics, and such. Though I am somewhat of a moderate conservative, I show no ill will towards anyone who disagrees with my standpoints and personal opinions on life. We can all agree to disagree and vice versa. I may not agree with the personal politics of every band we cover here at IVM, I respectfully choose to cover them because we all share a common bond of Faith in Jesus Christ and knowledge of his unconditional love for our lives. Not every member of every band we cover here is a “Christian” but usually the songwriters are and/or singer. We’re a bit independent in terms of our coverage and who we choose to feature here. I don’t operate on anyone else’s terms and/or standards set by other sites. I choose to cover whoever the heck I feel like covering and it’s my hope that you’ll all trust my judgment (as well as our staff’s judgment). The only hidden agenda of IVM that I would like to share is my overall desire to see people led to freedom through Christ and recognize his love for our lives. His love for us is unconditional and because of it, we have hope to see another day. Hope is something I want to share because personally in our current society, hope is not something openly shared. It’s quite dreary everyday when you flip on the news or read a headline, it’s enough to make some people end their lives prematurely. With hope, there is a reason to persevere and the desire to see another day through. If the salvation of Christ on the cross was all a joke or some “fairy tale” then there is literally no hope, no conscience, no morals, no boundaries, and no unconditional love. Without “Christians” in this world, there would be little charity and relief organizations, less hospitals, and a whole lot of angry people. We can get into this whole debate on the beginnings of “morals” and it’s place in our world but I think I’ll save that for another day. This is getting lengthy. Basically our standards are this, “Faith and Entertainment With and Independent Perspective”. Meaning we cover everything within the scope of “Faith and Entertainment” but with an independent focus that sets us a part from other like minded media sources.

I want to thank each of you for your unending support of Indie Vision Music and everything I try to accomplish with this site. It’s because of you and my love for music that I carry this site on each and every day. Will I be doing this when I’m 40? I guess if I still have something important to say at that age and a breath left within me to speak out, then I’ll definitely still be pushing and promoting independent music on into the future. I rely on staff to keep me updated on what’s happening in the music scene when I’m too busy to check it out on my own. I’ll never get bored of music and the passion I have for sharing the love of Christ with an unbelieving world, will never die out no matter what curve balls are thrown my way.

This is quite possibly the longest blog post I’ve ever written on this site so thank you for reading and for your support. God bless each of you and may his love carry you through to see a new day.

In Him,
Brandon Jones
Indie Vision Music