song of the week twentythree
fenech-soler - contender (white version)
song of the week twentytwo
the roots - ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around
song of the week twenty
ghost ship - the revelation of jesus christ
song of the week nineteen
rend collective experiment - you are my vision
music twentyeleven | part three
the best album of 2011…
josh garrels | love & war & the sea between
what makes josh garrels so amazing, is that i’m really hard pressed to find any artist who sounds remotely like him. there’s elements of matisyahu, bon iver, iron & wine, van morrison, and he brings a unqiue voice to a christan music scene where unique voices are few and far between. i discovered garrels sometime in the last two years and immediately bought up everything i could. his songs are a mix of folk, hip-hop, country, worship, falsetto, guitar (my brain stopped working on that last one). he inhabits a league unto himself in music. his songs are well crafted and bring more meaning to the table than most anyone i’ve heard.
love & war & the sea between is basically a double album that delves deep into issues of faith, the battle of good and evil, God’s ultimate undying love, and how they all fit together. stylistically speaking, the album literally feels like love and war and the space between. there’s simple low-key folk songs that evoke the idea of love songs, and dark driving battle cries that get in you in the mood for some warfare. and while the songs and styles are so disparate, the lyrics are a constant even voice throughout the album.
“tempted and tried, i wondered why the good man died, the bad man thrives, and Jesus cries because he loves ‘em both”
i’m just going to let that speak for itself.
garrels bucks all stereotypes of what a christian artist should look like. he infuses hip-hop, worship, and folk in a truly organic and authentic way. he’s not playing at a guy who wants to rap about Jesus over a banjo, that’s just who he is. he doesn’t conform lyrically to simple reductions of who God is or what his faith means in his life. it’s complex, challenging, and as a result, more rewarding. he also is giving the album away for free. you can buy it online through itunes, but any money that comes in he’s just giving away!
garrels is probably my favorite artist working today. i need music that’s challenging and evolving. i can’t listen to static worship anymore. i want something that bucks stereotypes and plays into where music should be going, not where it has been. garrels provides that. but that’s not his motivation. he just wants to make the music that God’s placed on his heart, and i just want to listen.
“though they may surround us like lions and crush us on all sides, we may fall, but we will rise. not by my might, or my power, or by the strength of swords, only though your love my lord, all we’ve lost, will be, restored.”
music twentyeleven | part two
part two of the three part breakdown of the best music of the year (albums 4-2)
gungor | ghosts upon the earth
gungor seemed to be the breakout christian artist of the year in 2011, but it seemed (at least to me) that most of the buzz came from 2010’s beautiful things album. if that’s the case that’s all well in good, but this year’s ghosts upon the earth may be even better. gungor is a fringe mainstream christian act that is making it’s way into churches on sunday mornings (or already has), and that makes me happy. i love to see original voices being brought to the forefront, and gungor is definitely an original voice. coming from a instrumentation viewpoint first, gungor brings a dark melodic characteristic that’s sweepingly beautiful but kind of rough around the edges. there’s a raw quality that’s not present in most christian music that favors the polished sounds of radio pop.
it’s not an album that’s got the next huge anthem to sing on sunday mornings, but it doesn’t make it any less of a worship album. it’s a more subtle approach. the way gungor crafts his lyrics is amazing. they’re simple truths that personify or exemplify something about God in a way that you’ve not thought of before. it’s refreshing and so interesting to unpack. i’m a fan of authentic worship and authentic music. and this album is one of the most authentic of the year.
the 2nd and 3rd best albums after the break!
50 films | #47
rushmore by wes anderson
“i saved latin. what did you ever do?”
the countdown of the 50 best films i have ever seen continues with wes anderson’s sophmore effort rushmore. put on your blazer and tie and join as many clubs as you can…
music twentyeleven | part one
counting down the best music of 2011. (in very particular order) (albums 7-5)
the milk carton kids | prologue
i had the opportunity to check out the milk carton kids live twice this year. the first time i had never heard of them. they were the opening and backing band for joe purdy when he came to town. we were really excited to see joe purdy who’s one of my favorite artists, but we didn’t know that the best band that night would be the kids. the milk carton kids are composed of joey ryan and kenneth pattengale, who both had moderately successful solo careers before joining forces to become the kids. they perform very melodramatic folk songs with just two guitars and two voices. they released their first album created of songs written as the milk carton kids with this years prologue. they also released it for free on their website. the songs are well crafted, well versed, and some are hauntingly beautiful while others upbeat and fun. it’s a great album and a band i’m really excited about the future of. check out a video from them here and go get their album for free here.
two more after the break…
