New Years Eve, it must have been 1997 or so, I was the DJ for the Youth Group's party. I played a lot of the normal Christian Rock we all listened to. Towards the end of the night I slipped in some Bride. Nobody seemed to notice as everybody was heavily into the variety of Board and card games going on. As the night continued I wondered who was in charge of the countdown, it seemed like it was getting late. As some random Bride song was blaring from the chrome 80s era turntable cassette deck combo that had a sony discman with the cassette adapter plugged into it I happened to look down it my watch. It was 12:30. I didn't know what to do. I looked over at the youth leader Tony, he was very into an almost too violent game of spoons, he had no idea we missed the countdown. I then looked over at my best friend Josh, he was taking his turn at Monopoly. I didn't know what else to do So I just loudly said, "10!" and everybody just started counting down. Nobody ever knew any better.
If you were a teenager in the mid-90s listening to Christian Rock you had to listen to the holy trinity of Gospel Alternative Jars of Clay, who I covered yesterday, DC Talk, and The Newsboys. Sometimes I include Audio Adrenaline in that short list but trinity is better sounding that quadrinity. I was going along the same path as everyone else in the youth group until I started listening to late night Christian Radio.
I think there was a real sweet spot of edgier Christian music in that era right before the influence of bands like Limp Bizkit spoiled everything for me. Skillet's debut album was awesome with the hit single Gasoline was awesome. There were a few Metal bands struggling with the whole grunge thing floating around. You had Guardian, who's earlier stuff was typical hair metal, release a grunge song called bottle rocket (which I loved). There was Tourniquet, one of my favorite bands, whose early stuff was thrash metal that sounded like Megadeth, release an album of grungy rock called Crawl to China with one of my favorite songs as a mid teen. Then there was Bride.
Bride was a successful Christian Metal act in the 80s with a sound similar to Guns 'n Roses. By the time I first heard them they were trying out the whole grunge thing too. They're album the Jesus Experience is one of my favorites, it's even got scripture references in the lyric sheet! The first song that got me hooked on them was The Worm.
The part that hooked me wasn't the bass line, raspy vocals or catchy chorus it was the BGVs. I loved the harmonies in the chorus. I think I taped this song off of the radio and played it over and over again until I finally bought the CD, A CD I've owned 3 different times and bought again on eMusic.
On a trip to Dallas with the new youth group leader Tony, who was a mid-20s guy that was a great friend to us and son of the worship leader, I convinced everybody to let me pop in Bride. By this time my church friends knew that I had quirky music tastes, I'm surprised they let me listen to anything. The guys in the car didn't like The Worm but they went nuts for a song called I Love You.
We cranked this song all the way up and for a couple hours we head banged all the way to the Dawson McCallister Conference about broken families.
Tomorrow I'll cover another teenage classic, Fiver Iron Frenzy, a band my wife is not repulsed by.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Jars of Clay at age 15
Music meant a whole lot to me when I was in my mid-teens which is something most people would say. For me it was an escape, a release and sometimes an idol. It wasn't until I was 19 or so that I was convicted about how I ran to music, "Christian" music, when I was in pain or hurting and not to God. Jars of Clay's debut self-titled album was super-important to me at that tender young age.
The hit song Flood was everywhere in 1995. I hadn't fully committed to listening to only Christian music at the time so I heard it on the local pop radio stations a ton. I had been going to youthgroup at the local church for a while with my best friend and I was very excited when Melissa, our youth pastor, announced that we would be going to see Jars of Clay and the then unknown band Third Day at the state fair. I had their CD! This was going to be awesome. And it was.
We had terrible seats, worse than the nosebleed section, but I didn't care. I couldn't wait for the opening band to hurry up so that Jars of Clay and what I presumed would be a full orchestra would take the stage. I played viola in the orchestra at school, so I really identified with the strings on songs like Love Song for a Savior.
When Jars of Clay took the stage and played their first song of the evening the place went crazy. There was an honest to goodness mosh pit. A mosh pit at a soft rock show... I remember Vern Marks saying on the radio station the next night that a lot of people got hurt because there were a lot of little kids that didn't know how to mosh properly accidentally punching people and stuff.
Ultimately I was disappointed in the concert. There was no strings section! And halfway through the set they started playing what they called Coffee shop music which included an impression of a cappuccino machine and a rainmaker (I can't find any clips of a rainmaker online, hopefully that means that they've vanished into obscurity.)
After the show I made a decision to only listen to Christian music. I forced myself to listen to music I was unfamiliar with on the local christian rock station kokf 91fm (which has recently resurfaced as a streaming radio station). It took a few weeks of listening but I found favorite songs quickly. This was one of my early 91fm favorites.
Tomorrow I'll continue down this mid-90s Christian Retrospective with a look at the band Bride.
The hit song Flood was everywhere in 1995. I hadn't fully committed to listening to only Christian music at the time so I heard it on the local pop radio stations a ton. I had been going to youthgroup at the local church for a while with my best friend and I was very excited when Melissa, our youth pastor, announced that we would be going to see Jars of Clay and the then unknown band Third Day at the state fair. I had their CD! This was going to be awesome. And it was.
We had terrible seats, worse than the nosebleed section, but I didn't care. I couldn't wait for the opening band to hurry up so that Jars of Clay and what I presumed would be a full orchestra would take the stage. I played viola in the orchestra at school, so I really identified with the strings on songs like Love Song for a Savior.
When Jars of Clay took the stage and played their first song of the evening the place went crazy. There was an honest to goodness mosh pit. A mosh pit at a soft rock show... I remember Vern Marks saying on the radio station the next night that a lot of people got hurt because there were a lot of little kids that didn't know how to mosh properly accidentally punching people and stuff.
Ultimately I was disappointed in the concert. There was no strings section! And halfway through the set they started playing what they called Coffee shop music which included an impression of a cappuccino machine and a rainmaker (I can't find any clips of a rainmaker online, hopefully that means that they've vanished into obscurity.)
After the show I made a decision to only listen to Christian music. I forced myself to listen to music I was unfamiliar with on the local christian rock station kokf 91fm (which has recently resurfaced as a streaming radio station). It took a few weeks of listening but I found favorite songs quickly. This was one of my early 91fm favorites.
Tomorrow I'll continue down this mid-90s Christian Retrospective with a look at the band Bride.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Keith Green
I must have been 15 or so at the time. I was with my best friend and his family in their minivan on the way back from a family retreat in Missouri. A family retreat that my family didn't go to. I always wanted to be part of their family, they seemed so perfect and loving. My family had the love part but I found myself fleeing them to be with his family more and more as Dad's drinking got worse. I wanted the approval of my best friend's Dad so much. So, It meant the world to me when he gave me a blue cassette called No Compromise by Keith Green and said I reminded him of Keith. John and Susan, my friend's parents, said that my zeal and boldness were reminiscent of Keith Green's. They then told me of how Keith died in July of 1982, 6 months after I was born, in a plane wreck with his 2 oldest children. They were certain that had he lived he would still be making music and it would be less seventies sounding.
I couldn't wait to pop the tape in and find out what they thought of me. I instantly fell in love with the music, it was a breath of fresh air. They style of music reminded me of one of my favorite songs at the tim, Piano Man by Billy Joel. It was cheesy in places but it had a timeless and urgent feel to it. The first song I fell in love with was Dear John Letter (to the devil)
It's such an upbeat and funny song about how Keith turned his back on the devil and the ways of the world after he got saved. I remember laughing at the little asides that Keith says right before each chorus, "Is it soup yet? Awww no!"
All of the songs on No Compromise are classics in my eyes but after all of those years since first hearing the tape that John and Susan gave me I still find myself thinking about the convicting lyrics to the song To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice.
To Obey is better than sacrifice
I don't need your money, I want your life.
And I hear you say that I'm coming back soon,
But you act like I'll never return.
Well you speak of grace and my love so sweet,
How you thrive on milk, but reject my meat,
And I can't help weeping of how it will be,
If you keep on ignoring my words.
Well you pray to prosper and succeed,
But your flesh is something I just can't feed.
To obey is better than sacrifice.
I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights,
Cause if you can't come to me every day,
Then don't bother coming at all.
Lah, lah,lah….
To obey is better than sacrifice.
I want hearts of fire, not your prayers of ice.
And I'm coming quickly, to give back to you,
According to what you have done,
According to what you have done,
According to what you have done.
I don't know how much I was like Keith Green 14 years or so ago but I identify with his none compromising attitude and un-failing devotion to God. His biography is amazing, I've read it a few times and each time I take something different from it. I think that if I hadn't been given that fateful cassette tape all of those years ago I wouldn't have mellowed out and became comfortable in my own skin as a christian.
I have a lot more to say about Keith Green, this will have to be somewhat of a regular feature. My next post will cover another classic: Jars of Clay's debut album.
I couldn't wait to pop the tape in and find out what they thought of me. I instantly fell in love with the music, it was a breath of fresh air. They style of music reminded me of one of my favorite songs at the tim, Piano Man by Billy Joel. It was cheesy in places but it had a timeless and urgent feel to it. The first song I fell in love with was Dear John Letter (to the devil)
It's such an upbeat and funny song about how Keith turned his back on the devil and the ways of the world after he got saved. I remember laughing at the little asides that Keith says right before each chorus, "Is it soup yet? Awww no!"
All of the songs on No Compromise are classics in my eyes but after all of those years since first hearing the tape that John and Susan gave me I still find myself thinking about the convicting lyrics to the song To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice.
To Obey is better than sacrifice
I don't need your money, I want your life.
And I hear you say that I'm coming back soon,
But you act like I'll never return.
Well you speak of grace and my love so sweet,
How you thrive on milk, but reject my meat,
And I can't help weeping of how it will be,
If you keep on ignoring my words.
Well you pray to prosper and succeed,
But your flesh is something I just can't feed.
To obey is better than sacrifice.
I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights,
Cause if you can't come to me every day,
Then don't bother coming at all.
Lah, lah,lah….
To obey is better than sacrifice.
I want hearts of fire, not your prayers of ice.
And I'm coming quickly, to give back to you,
According to what you have done,
According to what you have done,
According to what you have done.
I don't know how much I was like Keith Green 14 years or so ago but I identify with his none compromising attitude and un-failing devotion to God. His biography is amazing, I've read it a few times and each time I take something different from it. I think that if I hadn't been given that fateful cassette tape all of those years ago I wouldn't have mellowed out and became comfortable in my own skin as a christian.
I have a lot more to say about Keith Green, this will have to be somewhat of a regular feature. My next post will cover another classic: Jars of Clay's debut album.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Songs that didn't make the cut.
I just finished up my top 25 songs of 2010. The first criteria for the top 25 was that I had to have first heard the song this year (Which made songs like Kodachrome eligible). I created an iTunes smart playlist that only included songs I added to my library this year. I then sorted the list by playcount and sifted through songs that I had first heard this year. However, I made a few strategic edits... These are the songs that for one reason or another I vetoed out of the top 25. They all have the credentials but not the special something a song needs to make it to the next level.
Unattainable by Little Joy
This would have been in the top 10 according to playcounts but I didn't feel like putting a song that I didn't really like anymore in my top songs of the year. This is from the Whip It soundtrack and the only thing I really like about it is how the opening line is sung.
Cotton Fields by Creedence Clearwater Revival
I genuinely love this song but I know the effect it has on people that don't care for this style of music and I felt I had included too many old songs on the list already. After being married for 8+ years I know many ways to annoy my wife one of the most effective is to either play, sing or hum this song. CCR has a very special place in my heart and this is one of my favorites by them and I didn't ever hear it until Pandora suggested it. Thanks again Pandora!
Never My Love by Har Mar Superstar
This song had the playcounts to justify it ending up in the top 25 but I only rated it 4 stars. Back in April or so I must have listened to nothing but the Whip It soundtrack, that's the only explanation for the proliferation of songs from that album ending up all over this list. This is an alright song but not top 25 worthy.
Let Your Love Flow by The Bellamy Brothers
I didn't include this because even though I "discovered" this song this year I never liked it sincerely. I mainly would put this song on to make fun of in the car with my wife which explains all the playcounts.
Something in Common by Free Energy
This is a catchy song and I recommend it but I had the misfortune of forever associating it with the disturbing fan made video on youtube set to scenes of the movie Mysterious Skin. Nothing can turn me off from a song like Child Molestation (you can quote me on that).
These next few songs are favorites of mine but due to when they came out in the year or whatnot they just weren't listened to enough to show up on my list. I recommend all of these.
Uprising by Muse
I love Muse. Muse has about 5 songs that will be favorites of mine forever but this song, while better than most music out there, is not as good a Muse song as I'm used to. It's good but not as good as a Starlight or Knights of Cydonia in my opinion.
Fences by Phoenix
I can't stand the first 30 seconds or so of this song so I find myself hitting next a lot whenever this comes on. If I remember that it gets good and abstain from skipping it I'm always treated to a great tune from a great band.
Don't Haunt This Place by The Rural Alberta Advantage
This song is just a victim of circumstance. My iPod must not like this song or something, while not as good as the other song by them on the list (Frank, AB) it's still an excellent song. Drums are little busy for my taste but the main draw here are the vocals. I want this man to cover Neutral Milk Hotel songs immediately!
Age of Adz by Sufjan Stevens
This is one of the better songs from the album it shares a title with. If I did a top albums of 2010 this would be #1 but I don't really listen to music in that way anymore so it'd be a really short list. If you need something to listen to while taking a long walk or going on a road trip just pop this in and listen to it from beginning to end. Impossible Soul is another hit from this album but it clocks in at 25 minutes and it's not very suitable to casual listening.
Home by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes
The reason I liked this song so much in the beginning was ultimately the reason why I quit listening to it. It's just such an adorable song. The banter between the male and female vocalist gets a little too cute after repeated listening. It's a good tune for about 5 or 6 listens but you might want to never hear it again after that though.
One special thing I'll be doing in honor of the first anniversary of my daughter Isabel's death is posting the thought process behind picking music for my infant daughter's funeral. There were 5 or so worship songs and 2 very special songs that my wife and I picked. These songs were always very meaningful to me but this year they've taken on a whole different subtext that I really want to share. The anniversary is 12/27/2010 but I won't likely post on the day of.
That wraps it up for songs I fell in (and out) of love this year with. I'm going to start a few different lists over the next couple weeks or so. The next thing I want to write about will definitely be Keith Green, I'll talk about my 5 favorite songs of his and probably do the same for other obscure Christian musicians and bands that had a big effect on me like Poor Old Lu, Bride, Tourniquet, Five Iron Frenzy and more mainstream mid-90s christian rock pop like DC Talk, The Newsboys, Jars of Clay and Third Day. I want to get to a point where I'm reviewing stuff as it comes out so that the older stuff is more of a special feature and not the main thing. So, send me your recommendations by posting band names and songs or whatnot in the comments!
Unattainable by Little Joy
This would have been in the top 10 according to playcounts but I didn't feel like putting a song that I didn't really like anymore in my top songs of the year. This is from the Whip It soundtrack and the only thing I really like about it is how the opening line is sung.
Cotton Fields by Creedence Clearwater Revival
I genuinely love this song but I know the effect it has on people that don't care for this style of music and I felt I had included too many old songs on the list already. After being married for 8+ years I know many ways to annoy my wife one of the most effective is to either play, sing or hum this song. CCR has a very special place in my heart and this is one of my favorites by them and I didn't ever hear it until Pandora suggested it. Thanks again Pandora!
Never My Love by Har Mar Superstar
This song had the playcounts to justify it ending up in the top 25 but I only rated it 4 stars. Back in April or so I must have listened to nothing but the Whip It soundtrack, that's the only explanation for the proliferation of songs from that album ending up all over this list. This is an alright song but not top 25 worthy.
Let Your Love Flow by The Bellamy Brothers
I didn't include this because even though I "discovered" this song this year I never liked it sincerely. I mainly would put this song on to make fun of in the car with my wife which explains all the playcounts.
Something in Common by Free Energy
This is a catchy song and I recommend it but I had the misfortune of forever associating it with the disturbing fan made video on youtube set to scenes of the movie Mysterious Skin. Nothing can turn me off from a song like Child Molestation (you can quote me on that).
These next few songs are favorites of mine but due to when they came out in the year or whatnot they just weren't listened to enough to show up on my list. I recommend all of these.
Uprising by Muse
I love Muse. Muse has about 5 songs that will be favorites of mine forever but this song, while better than most music out there, is not as good a Muse song as I'm used to. It's good but not as good as a Starlight or Knights of Cydonia in my opinion.
Fences by Phoenix
I can't stand the first 30 seconds or so of this song so I find myself hitting next a lot whenever this comes on. If I remember that it gets good and abstain from skipping it I'm always treated to a great tune from a great band.
Don't Haunt This Place by The Rural Alberta Advantage
This song is just a victim of circumstance. My iPod must not like this song or something, while not as good as the other song by them on the list (Frank, AB) it's still an excellent song. Drums are little busy for my taste but the main draw here are the vocals. I want this man to cover Neutral Milk Hotel songs immediately!
Age of Adz by Sufjan Stevens
This is one of the better songs from the album it shares a title with. If I did a top albums of 2010 this would be #1 but I don't really listen to music in that way anymore so it'd be a really short list. If you need something to listen to while taking a long walk or going on a road trip just pop this in and listen to it from beginning to end. Impossible Soul is another hit from this album but it clocks in at 25 minutes and it's not very suitable to casual listening.
Home by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes
The reason I liked this song so much in the beginning was ultimately the reason why I quit listening to it. It's just such an adorable song. The banter between the male and female vocalist gets a little too cute after repeated listening. It's a good tune for about 5 or 6 listens but you might want to never hear it again after that though.
One special thing I'll be doing in honor of the first anniversary of my daughter Isabel's death is posting the thought process behind picking music for my infant daughter's funeral. There were 5 or so worship songs and 2 very special songs that my wife and I picked. These songs were always very meaningful to me but this year they've taken on a whole different subtext that I really want to share. The anniversary is 12/27/2010 but I won't likely post on the day of.
That wraps it up for songs I fell in (and out) of love this year with. I'm going to start a few different lists over the next couple weeks or so. The next thing I want to write about will definitely be Keith Green, I'll talk about my 5 favorite songs of his and probably do the same for other obscure Christian musicians and bands that had a big effect on me like Poor Old Lu, Bride, Tourniquet, Five Iron Frenzy and more mainstream mid-90s christian rock pop like DC Talk, The Newsboys, Jars of Clay and Third Day. I want to get to a point where I'm reviewing stuff as it comes out so that the older stuff is more of a special feature and not the main thing. So, send me your recommendations by posting band names and songs or whatnot in the comments!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Top 25 songs of 2010 #1
1. Your Arms Around Me by Jens Lekman
I first heard this song in that movie Whip It. That movie doesn't crack my top 50 movies of the year, it was fun but not very good. The best thing about the movie though was the music. I got a lot of good songs from the soundtrack, it's a really good eclectic mix of punk, southern rock, and whatever you'd call this song (swedish indie pop?).
The way I calculated that this was my #1 song of the year was by taking into account that it was discovered by me this year (even though it's about 3 years old), that it was added to my iTunes library this year, and that it had the most plays of any other songs that were added this year. I can remember listening to this on the way to and from work a lot, it's a great song to blast (with the windows up). I love singing the chorus at the top of my lungs in my best Jens Lekman impression.
The lyrics are awesome. Jens really captures that moment of dizzying love you feel when you accidently cut of your finger because your lover sneaks up behind you while you're cutting up an avocado. I don't even know how many times that's happened to me but I'm guessing the maximum amount of times possible would be 10 or so.
I'm aware that I'm writing this a little tongue-in-cheek. Maybe that's because the list didn't really pan out the way I thought it would. This is a great song and I recommend it but I'm a little embarrassed something cooler and better wasn't #1. To more understand myself I'm going to end this countdown by posting my other #1's for as long as my iTunes library goes back.
2009's #1 was: Noticed by Mute Math
2008's #1 was: Tarantula by The Smashing Pumpkins
2007's #1 was: Robo by How I became the Bomb which I can't find a good video of but check out that song it's amazing, I'll include the #2 song from that year: O Valencia by The Decemberists.
2006's #1 was: Say it Ain't So by The Thrills which is not anywhere on youtube. But #2 that year was July July by The Decemberists.
2005's #1 was: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt1 by The Flaming Lips
2004's #1 was: Ocean Breathes Salty by Modest Mouse
This was fun. I love music, I love statistics and lists so this will have to continue somehow. This is now my music blog! Next up will be honorable mentions and the songs I didn't want in my top 25 of the year.
I first heard this song in that movie Whip It. That movie doesn't crack my top 50 movies of the year, it was fun but not very good. The best thing about the movie though was the music. I got a lot of good songs from the soundtrack, it's a really good eclectic mix of punk, southern rock, and whatever you'd call this song (swedish indie pop?).
The way I calculated that this was my #1 song of the year was by taking into account that it was discovered by me this year (even though it's about 3 years old), that it was added to my iTunes library this year, and that it had the most plays of any other songs that were added this year. I can remember listening to this on the way to and from work a lot, it's a great song to blast (with the windows up). I love singing the chorus at the top of my lungs in my best Jens Lekman impression.
The lyrics are awesome. Jens really captures that moment of dizzying love you feel when you accidently cut of your finger because your lover sneaks up behind you while you're cutting up an avocado. I don't even know how many times that's happened to me but I'm guessing the maximum amount of times possible would be 10 or so.
I'm aware that I'm writing this a little tongue-in-cheek. Maybe that's because the list didn't really pan out the way I thought it would. This is a great song and I recommend it but I'm a little embarrassed something cooler and better wasn't #1. To more understand myself I'm going to end this countdown by posting my other #1's for as long as my iTunes library goes back.
2009's #1 was: Noticed by Mute Math
2008's #1 was: Tarantula by The Smashing Pumpkins
2007's #1 was: Robo by How I became the Bomb which I can't find a good video of but check out that song it's amazing, I'll include the #2 song from that year: O Valencia by The Decemberists.
2006's #1 was: Say it Ain't So by The Thrills which is not anywhere on youtube. But #2 that year was July July by The Decemberists.
2005's #1 was: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt1 by The Flaming Lips
2004's #1 was: Ocean Breathes Salty by Modest Mouse
This was fun. I love music, I love statistics and lists so this will have to continue somehow. This is now my music blog! Next up will be honorable mentions and the songs I didn't want in my top 25 of the year.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Top 25 songs of 2010 the final countdown #2
2. Splash Woman by Random aka Mega Ran
I love how this song takes music from the Splash Woman stage in Mega Man 9 and makes a pretty good beat out of it. I'm not really a Mega Man fan, I could never beat a level of it when I was a kid, but I am a geek and this has got to be one of my favorite songs.
The story in the song is great. The premise of any Mega Man game is that you have several bosses with levels that match the theme of the boss. Splash Woman is a mermaid type robot and her level is a water motif. When you beat a boss in Mega Man you get to use their special power in the next level i.e, Splash Woman's laser trident water power thingee can be used against a fire guy or something. I love how the story of Mega Ran and Splash Woman's romance and fight ties into how the game works.
You can tell that Random really loves video games. So it must have been amazing when Capcom, the company that makes the Mega Man video games, offered him a liscensing deal and let him perform at their comic-con booth in 2007.
The song was recently featured in a segment of TNA wrestling but only because the Gentlemen's club the they were filming at was playing it in the background. I was unaware that strip clubs played nerdcore songs...
As a bonus, here's the original music from Mega Man 9 that the song samples.
Tommorrow is the last day of the countdown! The #1 song is from a Swedish indie pop artist residing in Australia that was featured on a soundtrack to a movie about roller derby...
I love how this song takes music from the Splash Woman stage in Mega Man 9 and makes a pretty good beat out of it. I'm not really a Mega Man fan, I could never beat a level of it when I was a kid, but I am a geek and this has got to be one of my favorite songs.
The story in the song is great. The premise of any Mega Man game is that you have several bosses with levels that match the theme of the boss. Splash Woman is a mermaid type robot and her level is a water motif. When you beat a boss in Mega Man you get to use their special power in the next level i.e, Splash Woman's laser trident water power thingee can be used against a fire guy or something. I love how the story of Mega Ran and Splash Woman's romance and fight ties into how the game works.
You can tell that Random really loves video games. So it must have been amazing when Capcom, the company that makes the Mega Man video games, offered him a liscensing deal and let him perform at their comic-con booth in 2007.
The song was recently featured in a segment of TNA wrestling but only because the Gentlemen's club the they were filming at was playing it in the background. I was unaware that strip clubs played nerdcore songs...
As a bonus, here's the original music from Mega Man 9 that the song samples.
Tommorrow is the last day of the countdown! The #1 song is from a Swedish indie pop artist residing in Australia that was featured on a soundtrack to a movie about roller derby...
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Top 25 songs of 2010 the final countdown part 3
3. Freedom is Here by Hillsong United
This was definitely my favorite worship song of the year. The first time I heard it was at some staff event during a worship set. I couldn't figure out how to sing the "is here" part of the chorus. I kept singing "freeeedom asheere", I guess the way the guy who was leading worship made it hard to hear the "it" or I'm an idiot.
I've had so many great moments of worship with this song this year. I've always said substance over style and preference when it comes to worship music. The thought being that I should be able to worship at God's feet with any type of music, but it sure helps when the song is as catchy and awesome as this one.
One criticism I have with the Hillsong stuff is the live crowds in the background, I've never cared for live recordings that much but I think I've actually enjoyed this song more when it's performed masterfully by the worship leaders I work with. I especially remember when this was the first song played at the annual Family Reunion we have at lifechurch when all the employees get together. It was the first song of the worship set and the band had Joe Dingwall from Albany on lead vox, Stephen Cole from NW OKC on drums, Justin Cowell from Owasso on Bass, JT Murrell from South OKC on Keyboard and I'm forgetting who was lead guitar. If that was a slice of what corporate worship in heaven will be like then I can't wait to see what we have in store for us up there. It was so great being surrounded with all my colleagues during that special time of worship and the presence of GOD was THICK. It really made me thankful for everything GOD has given me.
Tomorrow's song is the oddball, the blacksheep if you weeeel of the list. It's about a video game I loved as a kid but could never beat a level of.
This was definitely my favorite worship song of the year. The first time I heard it was at some staff event during a worship set. I couldn't figure out how to sing the "is here" part of the chorus. I kept singing "freeeedom asheere", I guess the way the guy who was leading worship made it hard to hear the "it" or I'm an idiot.
I've had so many great moments of worship with this song this year. I've always said substance over style and preference when it comes to worship music. The thought being that I should be able to worship at God's feet with any type of music, but it sure helps when the song is as catchy and awesome as this one.
One criticism I have with the Hillsong stuff is the live crowds in the background, I've never cared for live recordings that much but I think I've actually enjoyed this song more when it's performed masterfully by the worship leaders I work with. I especially remember when this was the first song played at the annual Family Reunion we have at lifechurch when all the employees get together. It was the first song of the worship set and the band had Joe Dingwall from Albany on lead vox, Stephen Cole from NW OKC on drums, Justin Cowell from Owasso on Bass, JT Murrell from South OKC on Keyboard and I'm forgetting who was lead guitar. If that was a slice of what corporate worship in heaven will be like then I can't wait to see what we have in store for us up there. It was so great being surrounded with all my colleagues during that special time of worship and the presence of GOD was THICK. It really made me thankful for everything GOD has given me.
Tomorrow's song is the oddball, the blacksheep if you weeeel of the list. It's about a video game I loved as a kid but could never beat a level of.
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