Great New Music

I think I commented a few blogs ago on what I thought of the current state of pop music. Even now, you’re hard pressed to find a trend-setting, mind-changing record come out that totally sweeps you off of your feet. Well, while some of these releases may not have changed my world of music, there have been a few that I thought necessary to mention; everyone loves a good listen every now and then. Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately and what’s been prompting me to write a bit differently and influence me as it pertains to recording the next JSB record.
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Thrice – Beggars

At first listen, “Beggars” is not your typical Thrice record. Although, you’ve got a light “scream” or “yell” here and there, Thrice haven’t completely left their post-hardcore sound behind. The prototypical pop-rock and Brit-pop influences have been subtly added to the familiar hard-rock/prog-rock sound in songs like “The Weight”, “Beggars”, and “Circles”. Add Teppei's soothing electric piano sounds, Dustin ethereal guitar textures and soaring melodies, layered vocals, and tight bass & drum grooves and you get a great body of work by Thrice whom also self-produced/engineered the album. Although I wasn’t as blown away with Beggars as I was the “Alchemy Index” volumes, Beggars is not a far cry from what you’d expect from the ever-evolving band of uber-talented Orange County countrymen.
Akthough I would never consider Thrice a Christian band, singer and primary lyricist Dwight Kensrue is open about Christian influence in his life. Again, Thrice's lyrics are immersed in a lot of biblical imagery and examples of Christ's teaching. "In Exile" hints has a Psalm-like longing for Jerusalem, "All the World is Mad" takes notice of man's fall from sinlessness to its loss of perfection, and "At the Last" seems to reflect teh thoughts of the Prodigal Son. Whether the lyrics are truly biblical annotations or not (I believe they are), the lyrics are just as thgouth provoking and true while the music takes you on many levels from loud to melodic ballad. While it sits second or third on my list of fave Thrice albums, I still reccomend it to anyone looking for seomthing loud, yet melodic and musical.

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mutemath – Armistice

Honestly, who wasn’t waiting for this record to come out? It’s been a long wait since 2006’s self-titled release. I’ve been following the various scattered vlogs, blogs, and youtube vids since the beginning of the recordings, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting to hear it. Paul Meany said two interesting things during the making of this record that made me question whether I’d like it not. First, he said, “Our goal is to embarrass the first record, that's what we're trying to do here, and I think we're on point to pull it off” then adding, “Anyone who thinks first album is perfect will hate this [new] record”. I quickly became cynical in the possibility that MM “sold out to the man” and made a record the labels and MTV-cronies would want while leaving behind the sound that make them who they are. I was wrong.
While some of Armistice’s song structures follow a familiar pop-formula, MM still take you to sonic territory that not many other bands do. I am certainly interested to see how some of these will be performed live; I don’t doubt they’ll deliver one of the greatest lives shows. From the opening statement of “set it on fire!” on the opening track “The Nerve”, MM light it up on every track. From a Stevie Wonder-esque “Armistice” to a jazzy “Pins and Needles” to the Brit-pop rip-off track “Goodbye” to the Radiohead-like outro in “Burden”, mutemath take you on a roller coaster of soundscapes. Though not extremely known in the mainstream, I can’t see how Armistice gets passed by for some Grammy nominations as this record has certainly surpassed their previous release and EP.

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Derek Webb – Stockholm Syndrome

This is another album I was following the progress on through Derek Webb’s Twitter account. What makes this release so interesting is the controversy that came along with it despite Webb being a well-known Christian song-writer and member of Caedmon’s Call. Derek’s INO record label wouldn’t let him release the album based on some controversial content, and some particular lyrics found in the song "What Matters More" (which contains the words "damn" and "shit" which, ironically, came from a popular quote by well-known theologian Tony Campolo). Derek and INO decided to agree upon releasing the record with a censored version after Derek took the liberty of making a digital copy of the album (along with other goodies) available on his website.
Lyrically, Stolkhom Syndrome doesn't stray too far from Webb's other albums where he often dances the line between what is spiritually acceptable in the Christian music market. Songs like What Matters More, What You Give Up to Get It (about the prominence of materialism) and Freddie Please (which is a response to anti-gay activist preacher Fred Phelps) contain material that often offend the squeamish of Christian cynics. Musically, however, Webb takes a 180° turn. Derek, along with co-writer and producer Josh Moore, trades in his guitar for midi controller, samples, techo-beats and many electronic sounds. While its boggling to imagine how Webb would re-create this album to his regular coffee-house crowd, Derek creates something really different and special with this album. There's a lot of toe-tapping grooves (Spirit vs Kick Drum) while also taking you on fragile soundscapes (The Proverbial Gun). If you enjoy blending sounds from the likes Radiohead, Wilco, and Muse then you might like Stockholm Syndrome. However, if you are hoping to pick up a singer/songwriter acoustic album from Webb, buy something else; this is not for you or the light-hearted Christian for that matter. Webb has some really challenging things to sing about, especially for the conservative dogmatist.

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Leeland - Love is On the Move

Leeland's debut album, The Sound of Melodies, took everyone by surprise with its mature worship-rock style of writing from a mere 16 year old Leeland Mooring. However, their sophmore album, Opposite Way, was mediocre in my opinion as they left a lot of their worship-tinged tunes behind for some straight up rock ballads (which are pretty good, mind you). Luckily, Love is On the Move returns to a more worship-centric genre and really create some great tunes including the hymn-like Via Dolorosa, Weak Man, and My Jesus.
Taking a familiar step with having well-known Christian-music producer Ed Cash come on board to engineer the album (and even help write a few songs), Leeland continue their quest to make great worship music while also entering the heights of great worship writers like Tomlin, Hughes, Redman, and the Neufeld brothers. This album is a great pickup if you liked Sound of Melodies, yet does bring some sparkle left behind by some great gems from Opposite Way like "Count Me In" and "Enter This Temple". I'm not overly gaga over it yet, but I've only given it one or two listens straight so the more I listen to it, the more the melodies will stick with me.

Top 5's of 2008

New Year has never been anything particularly special to me in the past, but the one thing I consistently love each year is watching "Top-10" or "Best Of..." lists. Whether it's the best in the years' sports clip, plays, music, movies, or car accidents, I love to see how certain things are categorized. It's probably because I've got a knack for things that're organized and listed. So, as I do every year, here is my Top 5 albums, movies, and websites of the year. Enjoy.

Top 5 Albums of 2008:

“With Arrows, With Poise” by The Myriad – about half the songs from this album are on my iPod’s “Most Played” playlist. I saw them open for David Crowder in New York and they blew me away and stole the show (imo). Fantastic sound and some great grooves & textures.


“The Alchemy Index: Vol. I-IV (Fire, Water, Air, Earth)” by Thrice – this 4-volume manifesto explores music that reflects the four elements; fire, water, air, and earth. Each elements uniquely defines and shapes teh music. In Volume I (Fire), Thrice burn it up and show where they’ve come from with some heavy/loud/fiery songs while Volume II (Water) shows Thrice’s penchant for the digital & organic side of music. (“Digital Sea” may be one of my favorite songs in a long time). Vol. III (Air) takes you on a musical flight and takes your breath away with textured sound-scapes while Earth sees the band get down-to-earth with an acoustic and scaled-down audiophoria.


“New Surrender” by Anberlin – although Anberlin has become less hard-rock, lyrically and musically they’ve become much more defined and exploratory while keeping a lot of their post-punk/post-hardcore beginnings. This is a great follow-up to their previous album, “Cities”.


“Where the Light Is: Live in L.A.” by John Mayer – I’ve never been shy to promote my love for John’s music. Although I think he’s a bit full of himself in reality, this live show gives him a million reasons to be. He does 3 different sets in this concert (acoustic, blues trio, and full-band) and there’re gems in each one. John’s virtuoso tag takes off with plenty of solos & band jams, as well as some great renditions of his Grammy-award winning songs like Daughters (which, sounds fantastic with Robbie McIntosh’s slide/resonator guitar playing).


“Hello Love” by Chris Tomlin – there weren’t many fantastic worship albums that came out this year, but Tomlin’s Hello Love topped them all on my list. Yes, most songs are carbon copies of Tomlin’s previous church anthems, but there are a few songs on this album that really have hymn-like and traditional vibes to them. I feel Tomlin turned it up a bit on this album and it pays off.

On the bubble:

“The Bright Sadness” by Charlie Hall – not worshippy, but great writing, arranging, and producing
“Play: The Guitar Album” by Brad Paisley – I don’t like country enough to fully enjoy this album, but some of the best guitar work I’ve seen ina long time.
“Viva La Vida (Death and All His Friends)” by Coldplay – this might have made my Top 5 list if Coldplay hadn’t ripped off Joe Satriani’s song “If I could Fly” for their hit-single “Vida la Vida”. Satriani is now suing Coldplay for their stealing his art & creativity. Click here to read more about the lawsuit. Also, click here to hear the difference/similarities in the two songs.

Disappointed:
“Kingdom of Comfort” by Delirious – not their worst effort, but what’s most disappointing about this album was that it was their last record before officially disbanding.
“Death Magnetic” by Metallica – yes, it was an improvement from “t Anger”, but it’s obvious that ‘tallica tried far too hard to go back to their metal roots.
“Drastic Fantastic” by KT Tunstall – there’re some great songs on the album, but aren’t as strong as the songs from her folk-rock gem “Eye to the Telescope”




Top Movies of 2008:


The Dark Knight – everybody and their dog loved this movie. Heath Ledger’s posthumous role aside, the directing, cinematography, and writing are all fantastic. It was a non-stop roller-coaster ride leaving you wanting more. The only down-side of this movie is Christian Bale’s “voice” as Batman; he sounds like he has throat cancer.


Iron Man – even as comic-geek when I was growing up, I’m surprised my top 2 movies of the year are both super-hero movies. Iron Man far exceeded my expectations and I liked this movie a lot. Lots of action, great story (with enough background and pre-text to dismiss any terrible prequels), and great casting.


Wall-E – when I went to the theater to see The Dark Knight for the third time, the only seats that were left were front row. I can’t watch a movie from the front-row, I don’t care how good it is. So, when we decided to go see something else, the Pixar-animated “Wall-E” was the only thing yet to play. Surprisingly, I absolutely loved it and thought Pixar’s take on global warming & materialism in a child’s animated feature was outstanding. This is a buyer for me and will go beside “The Incredibles” on my DVD shelf.


Cloverfield – I may get some flack from some, but since I was a faithful follower of all the Internet hoopla & build-up for this movie, so it made it all the more special for me. I loved Monster movies growing up, and this is a well-crafted take on a Godzilla movie taking place in NYC. The constantly-moving camera took some getting used to, but the large movie screen helped. I loved this movie and bought it the day it came out on DVD. Sure, the acting wasn’t fantastic, but the story and efx were great and it’s really entertaining.


Street Kings – ok, so this is a Keanu Reeves movie, but although it wasn’t a block-buster in the theaters, it made for a great rental and kept me really entertained. It wasn’t the caliber of Scorsese’s “The Departed”, but it was a great dirty-cop/internal affairs movie that kept you guessing.

On the Bubble:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – I haven’t seen this yet, but I imagine it’ll be great and garner some Oscar nods.
Step Brothers – because of it’s crass & tasteless jokes, constant innuendo, and dirty language, I couldn’t put myself up to putting this on my Top 5 list. But, it was freakin’ hilarious. Funnier than most recent Farrell movies, but the story was kinda weak. But funny.

Disappointed:
007: Quantum of Solace – this wasn’t a bad movie at all, but it was a bit disappointing since it didn’t live up to Casino Royale’s hype. It was a bit confusing, especially if you don’t recap Casino Royale before-hand. Less gadgets, less girls, and less cars makes James a dull boy.



Top 5 Websites:

www.stuffchristianslike.net - Jon is a fantastic wirter and blogger. He's got something interesting, funny, and spirtually fulfilling everyday.
www.hockeybuzz.com - the internet's best place for hockey rumors and stories
www.facebook.com - Facebook overpowers MySpace now. Although, I'm sure, Facebook will fizzle out in 2009, I will create the next best networking site: FaceSpace.
www.blogger.com - I raelly got into blogging this past year. Ienjoy reading them as much as I do writing them.
www.tsn.ca/nhl - I've become particularly enthralled with hockey these past two years. This is where I go for all my scores, news, and highlights.