Here is a fun time waster that I have seen posted on several blogs. Also my friend sent it to me in an email (thanks, Lance). It was alot of fun.

So, here’s how it works:

1. Open your music library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc.)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every item in the list (beginning with Opening Credits), type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to the next item, press the next button

I have listed mine below. As you go through this, give each song a listen, it’s funny how you might see how it applies…I said “might”.


Opening Credits: “Touch” by Shaded Red

Waking Up: “History Is Falling for Science” by This Day and Age

First Day At School: “Wake Up Early” by Starflyer 59

Falling In Love: “Primrose” by Black-eyed Sceva

Fight Song: “Shine Like Stars ” by Holland

Breaking Up: “A Day Late (Acoustic Version) ” by Anberlin

Prom: “Alone” by Sanctus Real

Life: “Over You” by Acceptance

Mental Breakdown: “Doin’ Nothin’ ” by Phil Keaggy

Driving: “Indiscreet” by Common Children

Flashback: “POW!” by Denison Marrs

Getting Back Together: “To Hell With the Devil” by Stryper

Wedding: “You Can’t Hide” by Sanctus Real

Birth of First Child: “A Day in the Life” by Mae

Final Battle: “Beautiful Face” by Niacin Flush

Death Scene: “Deeds ” by Sanctus Real

Funeral Song: “On Building” by The Beautiful Mistake

Closing Credits: “New York City Song ” by Eddie & the Cruisers

Some discussion recently with a friend of ours about finding good Christian music sparked my interest in putting together a Christian music guide. I kind of took my inspiration from iTunes. The iTunes Store features what it calls Essentials. Essentials exist for everything from Christian rock to love songs to friendship songs. They then split the Essentials collection into 3 parts. The first part gives songs that make good introductions into whatever category the Essential is about. The next delves deeper and the final part goes even further. I plan to do the same with my 3 part Christian guide.

Finding full versions of most of these songs on the internet would be difficult. However almost any song you can think of can be found as a 30 second clip on iTunes. So I have linked each title to the iTunes store. If you have iTunes installed, clicking the title will take you to the iTunes Store page for that title and you can listen to it and/or buy it. But in case you do not have iTunes installed I have linked the album names to Amazon so that you can hear clips and/or buy the album there. Unfortunately a couple of the albums do not have clips available on Amazon but you can still purchase the album.
I realize that everyone has different tastes so I have tried to choose music that might appeal to a wide variety of tastes. However there is no way I could possibly cover every genre out there. Furthermore some of my own preferences are bound to find there way into this so I can not claim that this guide will be completely unbiased. But hopefully the music featured here will be a springboard and help some of you get started in finding some of the great music that’s out there by Christian artists. For each artist I have listed three songs that I believe represent their style. And I recognize that for each artist there may be albums of theirs that I just have not been exposed to, so I know that there may be some songs or albums that I overlook or just am not able to include for whatever reason, so feel free to leave comments recommending some music that you like.

PFR

• Merry Go Round from the album “Great Lengths”


• The Grace of God from the album “Great Lengths”


• That Kind of Love from the album “Goldie’s Last Day”

Smalltown Poets

• Everything I Hate from the album “Smalltown Poets”


• Monkey’s Paw from the album “Smalltown Poets”


• Every Reason from the album “Third Verse”

Jeremy Camp

• Tonight from the album “Beyond Measure”


• Take You Back from the album “Restored”


• Walk By Faith from the album “Stay”

Common Children

• Delicate Fade from the album “Delicate Fade”


• Eyes of God from the album “Delicate Fade”


• Indiscreet from the album “Delicate Fade”

David Crowder Band

• Here Is Our King from the album “A Collision”


• Open Skies from the album “Illuminate”


• You’re Everything from the album “Can You Hear Us?”

Jars of Clay

• Fade To Grey from the album “Much Afraid”


• Waiting for the World to Fall from the album “Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”


• Sinking from the album “Jars of Clay”

Sanctus Real

• Nothing to Lose from the album “Say It Loud”


• Audience of One from the album “Say It Loud”


• I’m Not Alright from the album “The Face of Love”

Keith Green

• Because of You from the album from the album “For Him Who Has Ears To Hear “


• He’ll Take Care of the Rest from the album “For Him Who Has Ears To Hear “


• Dear John Letter (to the Devil) from the album “No Compromise “

The Elms

• Nothing To Do With Love from the album “The Chess Hotel”


• Speaking In Tongues from the album “Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll


• You Saved Me from the album “Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll

Switchfoot

• Dare You To Move from the album “The Beautiful Letdown”


• Learning to Breathe from the album “Learning to Breathe”


• Oh! Gravity from the album “Oh! Gravity”

This is part two of our Christian Music Guide. If you haven’t already, check out Part I. And feel free to leave a comment listing some of your favorite Christian music.

Mourning September

• Glorietta from the album “A Man Can Change His Stars”


• Closer to Closure from the album “A Man Can Change His Stars”


• Tonight, Tonight from the album “A Man Can Change His Stars”

King’s X

• It’s Love from the album “Faith Hope Love”


• Complain from the album “Dogman”


• Ocean from the album “Tape Head”

Dogs of Peace

• I Wanna Know from the album “Dogs of Peace”


• Dogs of Peace from the album “Dogs of Peace”


• Do You Know? from the album “Dogs of Peace”

Pillar

• Bring Me Down from the album “Where Do We Go From Here?”


• Hypnotized* from the album “Where Do We Go From Here?”


• Everything from the album “The Reckoning”

Mainstay

• These Pages from the album “Well Meaning Fiction”


• Take Away from the album “Well Meaning Fiction”


• Mirrors from the album “Well Meaning Fiction”

Number One Gun

• On & On from the album “Celebrate Mistakes”


• Starting Line from the album “Celebrate Mistakes”


• We Are from the album “Promises for the Imperfect”

Phil Keaggy

• Don’t Pass Me By from the album “Crimson and Blue”


• John the Revelator from the album “Crimson and Blue”


• When Will I Ever Learn to Live In God from the album “Crimson and Blue”

Acceptance

• Take Cover from the album “Phantoms”


• Different from the album “Phantoms”


• Seeing Is Believing from the album “Black Lines to Battlefields

By the Tree

• Reveal from the album “Invade My Soul”


• Wonderful Again from the album “Invade My Soul”


• Remain from the album “These Days”

Skillet

• Savior from the album “Collide”


• Earth Invasion from the album “Alien Youth”


• Rebirthing from the album “Comatose”

*Song not available from iTunes

Here it is: the final installment of our guide to Christian music. The lack of comments on the previous two installments tell me that you all are either stunned at the wealth of quality music that Christian musicians have to offer or else you’re bored to tears and wish it would just end. For the former, here’s another sampling of some great Christian artists for you to sink your teeth into; and for the latter, sorry.

Forever Changed

• Encounter from the album “The Need to Feel Alive”


• The Need to Feel Alive from the album “The Need to Feel Alive”


• Refusal from the album “Chapters”

Starflyer 59

• Good Sons from the album “Talking Voice Vs. Singing Voice


• I Win from the album “My Island”


• Wake Up Early from the album “I Am the Portuguese Blues”

Mae

• Someone Else’s Arms from the album “The Everglow”


• Summertime from the album “Destination: Beautiful”


• Tisbury Lane from the album “Destination: B-Sides”

Anberlin

• Readyfuels from the album “Blueprints for the Black Market”


• Paperthin Hymn from the album “Never Take Friendship Personal”


• Godspeed from the album “Cities”

Dead Poetic

• New Medicines from the album “New Medicines”


• Pretty Pretty from the album “Vices”


• Narcotic from the album “Vices”

Blindside

• Pitiful from the album “Silence”


• All of Us from the album “About a Burning Fire”


• Fell In Love With the Game from the album “The Great Depression”

Denison Marrs

• What Life Has from the album “Then Is the New Now”


• The Real Ones from the album “Then Is the New Now”


• Disappear from the album “Denison Marrs”

Let’s set this city ablaze
We’ll burn down the monuments and
Build mountains in their place

This is the opening line to the title track to Further Seems Forever’s album “How To Start a Fire”. And I turned on this song in my car the other evening after picking Lyndsay up for her play practice. Now surely all of you had experiences reading the Bible in which you read a very familiar passage (one that you may have read numerous times before) and suddenly its like God sheds light on the passage and you see it in a new way. This happens to me with Christian music as well.

It’s clear that this song is about being set on fire. That is, being changed in a radical way and becoming zealous about making changes where you are. But when I listened to this line on this particular occasion I was reminded of the prophet Daniel’s vision in chapter 2 of his Old Testament book. King Nebuchadnezzar had a puzzling dream which Daniel explained to him. In his dream the King saw a great statue made of different types of metal. The head was gold, the breast and arms silver, the belly and thighs brass, and the legs and feet were a mixture of iron and clay. These various parts represented a series of future kingdoms. At the end of it all he saw a rock cut out without hands which struck the feet of the statue, and toppled it and the whole statue became like chaff and was blown away by the wind. This rock then became a mountain that filled the whole earth.

It is clear when we look at Daniel’s interpretation and then compare it with history that the Kingdom of God is represented by the rock “cut out without hands”. It became a mountain and replaced the image which represented earthly kingdoms. The opening line of “How To Start a Fire” made me think of that rock which became a mountain. I do want to be set ablaze by a zeal for God. I do want to play a part in setting cities ablaze with this same passion for God. I want to see the expanding Kingdom of God change hearts, lives, cities, and countries. To me that line in the song spoke of replacing temporal things (i.e. mere monuments) with permanent mountains, that is, God’s Kingdom and the principles and benefits thereof.

Josh H.

I realize that the drab title of this post doesn’t really grab ya and draw you in but if you enjoy good music (especially those that reflect our faith) then I think you’ll want to keep reading.

Thanks to the internet and podcasts like the Bored-again Christian I have been able to find some music this past year that would otherwise have been impossible to discover. Many of the artists featured on the BAC are independent. That is they either self-finance and distribute their recordings or they are on a small label that handles their recording but the artist still does most of their own promotion and distribution. I never realized there was so much overlooked Christian talent out there. Many of these artists have managed to get their music onto the iTunes Store and some even offer tracks for free on their websites or other sites like purevolume.com. It is amazing to see “art”come back to music. These artists lay aside trends, popularity, and the playing of the record industry game and just make music that they enjoy playing with content that upholds what they believe.

One artist that surprised me when I discovered him was John Davis. I could not figure why the voice on the song I was hearing sounded so familiar. Then I found out: he is the former lead singer of the secular band Superdrag, who had a hit in the nineties entitled “Sucked Out”. His style has changed some and his message has changed drastically. You can find some great demos on his website and download them for free in the Media section of johndavismusic.com. I highly suggest the track “Watch Me Walk Away”. Also his latest posted update to his site tells of his recent opportunity to record for Tooth and Nail Records’ upcoming Christmas album. You can download the song “Jesus Is Real (God Is Alive)” from within that post. It starts off with a droning, eastern feel but has a great The Who-esque finale.

Andrew Osenga is another such artist. If you recognize the name it is because he also plays for Caedmon’s Call and The Normals. But in my opinion his solo work is his best. He like John Davis has songs on iTunes and he has two tracks available for free download through his website. I recommend both. Andrew has also released Letters to the Editor Vol. 1 a six-song acoustic e.p. consisting of songs written from ideas submitted by fans and supporters of his music. The album is available on iTunes for $6 but he also has made it available for free (or on a donation basis) for those who may not have the cash. He believes that this community aspect is at the heart of independent music.

Jack In the Pulpit, Pushstart Wagon (“Paul” is a great song), and Leaving Araby are some of the other bands that I’ve discovered. It is really inspiring to see these bands living out their dream and putting so much into making good music (whether or not they get filthy rich doing so).

Josh H.

This video by one of my favorite new bands, The Fold, is for the first single off their new album “Secrets Keep You Sick”. I really love the feel of this song and the main guitar riff is very stripped down and raw sounding.

I think the theme of the video is very interesting. These two teeny-boppers are watching The Fold on television seemingly oblivious to the fact that the band they are watching is actually there playing behind them in the same room. It reminds me of Plato’s allegory of the cave.

I had the pleasure of attending a Chris Tomlin concert this past weekend. Southside Baptist Church of Warner Robins held their annual Freedom Fest which included live performances by not only Tomlin (the headliner) but also the band Starfield, another favorite of mine.

I was able to get a few shots of Tomlin and his band. Check them out on my Chris Tomlin Flickr photo set. The pictures are not terribly clear because I was far away and it was dark. My camera is difficult to photograph in when the lighting is bad. But trust me it was a great concert and Chris Tomlin’s band was spot on!

Josh H.

I’ve been thinking about how much more I used to be into music. I still love music and I always have something playing or I always seem to have a song in my head. But I used to be a lot more passionate about playing music. My afternoons during high school, once I was home, consisted of cranking my amp and learning or creating some great riffs. More often than not I would load up the 5-disc CD player on my rather large stereo system in my room with Smashing Pumpkins Cs, put it on random and play along with what ever song came on (since I knew how to play practically every one of their songs). Or sometimes I would load it up with different artists’ CD’s and play along.

Only very seldom do I still practice in this way (and with Christian artists rather than secular ones). I practiced and played a lot more at home when I was with my band The Courage a few years ago. We were together for nearly 4 years and played all over Georgia (and a couple of times in Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama). Since then it seems that my passion for playing has waned. Yes, I am thankful that I get to play at church with our great praise team every Sunday. And I certainly have not lost my desire and passion for leading the church in worship. But what I’m talking about is different. I can’t say how it is different; it just is.

It’s like Theoden, king of Rohan from The Lord of the Rings. He had been under a spell and was letting his kingdom and his authority as king waste away. Finally Gandalf came and set him free so that he could rule his dominion once again. But right after the spell was broken Theoden was still somewhat weak until Gandalf suggested “perhaps your fingers would remember their old strength if they grasped your sword.” Maybe if I just begin to play rock music and practice it and experience it again, then I will remember what a wonderful thing it is to play music.

Josh H.

The world of hip-hop and rap (what is the difference anyway?) has always been riddled with rivalries and confrontations. It seems that every generation of rappers finds at least two factions drawing PR battle lines and firing insults at one another through the media. The 90’s was overrun with east vs. west references in music with the likes of Puff Daddy on one side and Tupac Shakur on the other. That particular rivalry may have even led to the deaths of Tupac in 1996 and Notorious B.I.G. in 1997. This generation is now seeing the heated professional rivalry between rappers Kanye West and 50 Cent. So far this has been a war of words and “put-downs”, however these things have a way of turning ugly, especially when hip-hop artists are involved. This recent confrontation is as petty and ridiculous as you might as expect from these two hoodlums: basically, my album is better than your album.

I personally place rap/hip-hop (as a form of entertainment) on par with the debauchery of the events of the Roman Coliseum: disgusting, antisocial, destructive and lewd. And in the same way that the bloodthirsty Romans would cheer when gladiators would tear one another apart, hip-hop fans and the media alike seem to enjoy, promote and even participate vicariously in these rivalries.

There have been some who have dismissed these seething rivalries as merely a publicity stunt. If that is the case then the real question becomes “why in the world would fans support an ‘art form’ (I use the term loosely) that promotes its wares through arguments and rivalries?” You never see U2 and Coldplay arguing. You never see Kenny Chesney and Big & Rich putting each other’s country records down. Musicians from every other genre support one another. But the hip-hop industry is built on manufactured images, much hype and pure ego. If you think this criticism is too harsh just read the recent MTV reports of West’s behavior at the MTV Video Music Awards. Since he was not invited to perform on the main stage at the VMA’s, West has sworn never to return to MTV. This of course is a lie. Without the hype machines of MTV and BET, West and his ilk would be nothing. Consider also his juvenile fits thrown at other similar events whereby he establishes and maintains his reputation as a sore loser and a crybaby.

Even as Rome’s fall was brought about by inner deterioration so will the industry of hip-hop and rap continue to decline into moral, creative and professional decay until music fans can no longer tolerate the childish antics of these so-called music artists. That day is approaching, albeit slowly. May it dawn within my lifetime so that I might relish it.

Josh H.