"[T]he trend for 'touchy-feely-smiley-dancey folk' worship had 'repulsed' young people and 'put them off going to church in their droves' ".

"A leading Scots lay Catholic has claimed the music sung in churches is "lousy" and is the reason why young people have stopped going to Mass."   The article is in the online edition of Scotland's The Herald here. 

It certainly puts me off daily Mass at what is otherwise one of the most orthodox parishes in this area.

ADDENDUM:  Damian Thompson in tomorrow's Daily Telegraph weighs in on church music:

That’s the view of our blogger Rupert Myers, who can’t stand “Christmas tourists” who treat carols like karaoke. Fair enough, but there’s another reason why people restrict their worship to carol services. They’re the only time in the year when you can go to church and be confident that the music won’t be crap.

Put it this way: if you suggested to your typical “with-it” vicar or Catholic priest that the congregation ought to sing Mendelssohn, you’d get a mini-sermon about the dangers of “inaccessible” classical music. But when you sing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, you are performing Mendelssohn, whether you know it nor not. Other carols are not written by such famous composers, but they’ve survived because they marry touching words to a bloody good tune.

You can find the rest here.