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Old 08-20-2012, 04:58 AM   #51 (permalink)
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Yeah, I don't know what led me (hah!) to buy that album. I had no idea who she was. Probably something shallow, like I thought she looked hot (she does), but once I started playing it I just loved the hell out of it. When I discovered she was singing essentially Christian music I was a little taken aback, but then I thought why should that spoil the music for me? Okay now, in fairness if every song had been along the lines of "glory to God in the highest" or "You must repent" then yeah, I'd have enjoyed it less, maybe even stopped listening. But the music is great, and the messages she puts in her music, while quite obviously and overtly Christian, are still basically human emotions and things we all believe in, like love and respect and family and fear of the future, looking back and looking forward. Nothing wrong with that.

As I said, I did get HiM but found it far slicker and poppier than LMO (hah! If there was an "A" in there...) which I feel is more mature, aimed towards the AOR/MOR crowd than the charts or pop singles, and I was quite disappointed with it as I recall. I felt she was taking the path of least resistance, giving in to pressure to have hit singles --- though of course I knew nothing about her situation --- and as a result had produced a much weaker album that meant very little to me, whereas LMO is still an album I play today, especially "What about the love" and "Saved by love", two entirely different songs which truly showcase how versatile Amy is, or was.

As for allowing pop into your journal, hey it's your journal! You feature Norwgian noseflute music if you want! Anyway, I can't talk: Kylie, Pixie Lott, hell I even recently reviewed Wham! Nothing wrong with a bit of pop at all; shows you don't just ignore it out of, er, ignorance.
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Old 08-25-2012, 06:09 PM   #52 (permalink)
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What a week! I've been here there and everywhere, except for in front of my computer screen. As much as I love the internet, It's been so nice to get away from technology for a while and clear my head. After a while, surfing the internet becomes more of a chore than anything else, and I'd prefer to keep it from feeling like an obligation.

You know you've reached some kind of limit when you make a mistake in your sketchbook and then promptly search the page for the "undo" button .

The amount of tangible things I was able to accomplish over the past few days has been amazing to me, since I have a track record of being criminally poor at taking care of my physical well-being. I spend so many days just sitting down, and eventually my inactivity catches up with me- aches, pains, and all those kinds of things I'm not supposed to complain about for another 3 or 4 decades start to creep into my system. Yup, I'm one of those. But whether I'm helping to re-landscape my parents' lawn, or I'm designing a 3D model of the front yard on Goodle SketchUp, I always like to have music playing.

I remember how my granddad would always like to hum songs from the 60s while he did his gardening. I always thought they were the nicest little melodies I'd ever heard. Here are a handful of songs that have recently caught my attention- all light pop from the 1960s.


From the musical Hair (no, I'm not a fan), "Where Do I Go" is a great little daydream song. Lovely instrumentation, and the lyrics are as vivid and surreal as you'd expect from the 60s.



The Harpers Bizarre were an innocent light pop act that I've come to love over the past few months. Their take on Sunshine pop emphasizes the innocence and optimistic attitude of commercial pop in the 60s.



This one's a classic. Remembered by grandparents all across America, 98.6 was one of the spoon-fed treats that space age kids would listen for on the radio. Even though it's essentially musical plastic, you can't replace melodies like this.



This is one of those songs that I'd like to give an award for excellent use of lyrical hooks. The Rose Garden only ever had one "hit," "Next Plane to London" which reached #17 on the Billboard charts in 1967. Too bad, though, since this is a very memorable tune.



While nothing incredibly special, the Critters were a decent pop group in the 60s, and put out some charming pop-rock albums. The big hits of the 60s are played so often that sometimes it's nice to take an alternative view. In my opinion, their stuff is very pleasant listening.



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Old 08-30-2012, 10:32 PM   #53 (permalink)
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As a collector of small interesting doodads and office supplies, I like to stash certain things away that might be handy to hold on to. As a result, I have a bunch of drawers that end up filled with a menagerie of strange and potentially useful objects. But being the disorganized person I am, I always manage to forget about some of the places I store my odds and ends.

The same thing happens with music. I collect it, stash it away on a shelf or in a hard drive or a wishlist, or perhaps in my Grooveshark / last.fm archives, and I eventually forget that certain music even exists. And then one day, I decide to hit "Shuffle," or I go through the files in my external hard drive, and something pops up that I totally forgot I even had. Sometimes what I find ends up being amazing, and it becomes a part of my regular listening; but other times I wonder "why the heck did I even keep this garbage anyway?"

The Junk Drawer section essentially deals with all the particularly interesting finds that have been lurking in the shadows, but for some reason or other, they never found their way into my regular listening cycle- until now. The drawer has officially been opened.

The first dusty set of artifacts that have recently surfaced come from one of my "Take Note" playlists. If I'm ever on a streaming site that allows users to create playlists, I always set one aside called "Take Note" in order to stash away songs that I'm not totally sure I like, but that I'd rather not forget about either... just in case I change my mind later. These playlists end up being pretty eclectic and interesting, and if I'm in the mood for something fresh, my "Take Note" playlists are usually my first choice.

These were in my "Take Note" playlist from earlier this year...







I'd give the above songs 2 thumbs up now, but at first I wasn't too sure...

Be Bop Deluxe and Bill Nelson were notable discoveries for me back in something like March or April. They caught my interest in a way music doesn't usually do, so it kind of caught me off guard. Bill Nelson has just the right kind of eccentricity and "sci-fi" sensibility to fit my taste, but it's backed up with equally as unusual and artistic instrumentation, and a highly distorted emotional palette.

The only thing that kept Be Bop Deluxe from moving in to my iPod permanently is that the band doesn't go well with anything I currently own. Whenever that happens, I end up with "island" artists or groups with songs that don't fit easily with my other music, and so they don't get very many plays, even though I really enjoy the music. I wasn't too fond of many of the similar artist suggestions for Be Bop or Bill Nelson either. But I'll give them a chance, and hope that by some miracle Bill Nelson "the outcast" might be joined by some similar art rock comrades in the near future. If not, at least his music won't ever be overplayed (by me, that is) .

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Another odd find I ended up including in my "Take Note" playlist at that time was Tracie's "The House The Jack Built." When it comes to pop, all I usually care about is the overall mood of the song. Like most of the songs that end up in my "Take Note" playlists, this track has a kind of obscure, low budget B-list feel to it; like something you would hear playing in a second-hand store or an old novelty shop that feels like it should have been closed decades ago.

As I recall, this song kept creeping into my head for about a week, but I'd never sing it out loud (lyrics aren't Tracie's strong suit- actually, I doubt she wrote them at all!). I don't even remember what led me to Tracie in the first place, but I kind of like having a song on hand that feels like it came out of nowhere. I still don't know how I feel about it, though - or even if I like it or not. It's pleasant and interesting, but I think I'll put this one back to rediscover later.



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Lurking in the back of this particular drawer is a specimen of classic Bachelor Pad exotica. I bet I was searching up a storm trying to find some decent lounge music, and this was probably one of the search results. I'm glad I came across this one again, because it's a really amazing track! It plays like a mini-movie- with suspense, action, romance, drama and everything in between wrapped up in the musical plot.

A quick search for 'Esquivel' leads me to discover that he's considered by some as the "king of space age pop." I'll have to check out his other music to verify that claim, but he looks so promising. We'll have to see about this one...




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Old 09-02-2012, 08:32 PM   #54 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Blarobbarg View Post
Ugh. I have a deepseated dislike of Amy Grant. Never liked her. From the time my mother began playing her music to this very day... never liked her, never will.

That said, it's still a great post, as well as all the ones about that I didn't comment on. That Darwinism Electro opera was really, really interesting. Not really my flavor of music, but very interesting.
Gah! I keep missing your posts. I wonder why that is. Maybe Trollheart's go through first or something?

Is there any particular reason why you don't like Amy Grant? Just an instinctual thing, style preference, her as a person... or what? Just wondering...

To put it out there, I kind of have a soft spot for her- not just because I like her music, but because so many people hate her for the decisions she's made in her life (I'm not assuming you do). If you ever did look up one of her videos, you would likely see what I mean. Lots of throwing stones without knowing the whole story, and heated condemnation. I admit that I'm a softy, though- always have been. And everyone likes different music (If I keep saying that I'll sound like a broken record).

As for Tomorrow In A Year, pretty weird, eh? When I come across stuff like that, I kind of stop dead in my tracks and become obsessed. But when it comes to experimental stuff, usually I end up only liking certain tracks, and the rest just does nothing for me. Hopefully I can dig up some more electronic oddities
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Old 09-02-2012, 09:38 PM   #55 (permalink)
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This week's focus will be on one of my favorite bands, Sixpence None the Richer, a collaborative effort by Matt Slocum and Leigh Nash. Their name is taken from a passage of C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity"

Quote:
It comes from a book by C. S. Lewis called Mere Christianity. A little boy asks his father if he can get a sixpence—a very small amount of English currency—to go and get a gift for his father. The father gladly accepts the gift and he's really happy with it, but he also realizes that he's not any richer for the transaction. C.S. Lewis was comparing that to his belief that God has given him, and us, the gifts that we possess, and to serve Him the way we should, we should do it humbly—realizing how we got the gifts in the first place.
—Leigh Nash
My favorite music is music that comes from a place of humility. And I think that's the quality that drew me to their music in the first place. They do a little bit of everything that Christian artists tend to do- they have some "preachy" songs, but they come from a place of caring and respect. They have "vertical" worship songs. And they have songs that deal with the everyday things that happen that are universal to the human experience. They are never pushy, and they never come off as having an agenda. Really, at the end of the day, they are just people living out what they believe. There doesn't have to be a self-conscious plan of action or Christian advertising gimmicks; it really seems like Leigh and Matt's music is exactly like they are as people- not 'perfect', not 'above', not 'holier than thou', but genuine people with genuine beliefs.

As with most artists who manage to come off this way, reflecting life and art in unison, Sixpence None the Richer has had many problems with record labels over the years. I actually really like it when artists have to struggle to put out their music, and are able to persevere and see the album through anyway. Leigh has talked about the faith and personal growth that went into their latest album, Lost in Transition. It was released more than 2 full years after it was originally announced, having been pushed back and delayed 4 times. And after listening to it, it really sounds like it was their very best effort. As a long time fan, it was tough to endure the wait.



Sixpence none the Richer's most famous and successful song is "Kiss Me." I remember it was on the top charts the day my little brother was born, and it was the only one that didn't sound like all the others. Leigh's voice is one of my favorites- delicate, gentle, sweet, and very mature. I recognize it anywhere. This song is great to listen to on cool summer nights.



The band also put out a few covers, all of which are lovely in my opinion. They're also songs that I would have listened to anyway, and liked, had I not heard Sixpence's rendition. Having said that, I won't even bother to compare them to the original versions as far as enjoyment goes, just because certain bands do covers in such a way that they seem like separate songs altogether. Sixpence None the Richer is one of those bands.

Cover of Crowded House- Don't Dream It's Over.
What I like about this version is that there is enough attention paid to the original that it feels like the song is getting the respect it deserves, but it's merely being placed in a different light. Leigh's voice suits this song perfectly, so I'm glad they decided to cover it. Ditto for the others...



Cover of The La's- There She Goes



Cover of The Beach Boys- "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times"

If my life had a playlist, this song would be on it. This is precisely how I feel when I'm in a rut and I feel like the world just doesn't understand me at all (I can relate, Brian Wilson). Interestingly enough, from the Christian point of view, this world isn't going to fulfill our deepest longings anyway; which I think is what they were trying to hint at by doing this cover, while still identifying with the emotions expressed in the original song.



This song is special to me, because it's the only one I can always listen to, no matter what mood I'm in or where I am in life. It's also the only song I can listen to on repeat for an hour without pulling my hair out.

What I like most about "Breathe Your Name" is that it talks about basically everything my faith means to me, even though it never mentions God's name once. The point of the song is that the choice to be dedicated to Christ was Leigh's alone; that it's genuine, real, and persists over time. The song also has a piano solo I can't get enough of, and Leigh's voice is just stellar. My favorite song from them, hands down. The video is great, too!



Finally, their most famous worship song, Breathe...
A refreshing and gentle song, Breathe expresses the feeling of redemption and forgiveness; unloading the weight of the world in exchange for transcendent peace. Helps keep me going through difficult times.



And that's just my favorite stuff from Sixpence. Their earlier work is much moodier and guitar-oriented, as they were signed on to a Christian metal record label in the early 1990s. Here's just one example of their earlier sound, before they went mainstream....




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Old 09-08-2012, 08:17 AM   #56 (permalink)
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Once again, Geekoid, I don't actually like the music that you're posting but am thoroughly enjoying the writing about the music. Weird how that works.

Tell me, do you listen to Gungor or John Mark McMillan? I may be a bit biased since they're two of my favorite artists period, but I feel like you'd like them. John Mark McMillan is a kind of folky, sometimes countryish, sometimes experimental indie rock guy. Gungor is the name of Michael and Lisa Gungor's band, which is self-described as a "liturgical post-rock collective." It's fantastic. They're both technically worship bands, but are far better than many of their peers.

John Mark:





Gungor:





And now I have to stop, because I could literally post every single song from Ghosts Upon The Earth. Such a freaking fantastic album.
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Old 10-05-2012, 09:14 AM   #57 (permalink)
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Hey, Blarobbarg.
Haven't been here in a while, (obviously). Darned video driver stuff. Glad to be back to reply to that post!

I came across Gungor a few years back when iTunes recommended them. I liked their music- excellent lyrics! I also tend to like a lot of folky-sounding CCM, because it's so down-to-earth. I never got completely into them, because they didn't evoke a strong response from me musically at the time. Sometimes when that happens, I don't take the time to stop for a while and really listen to the music. I had some time today to take a listen to your suggestions, and I was really taken by some of the tracks. "Let There Be" is gorgeous.

Actually, this couldn't be a better time to listen to these kinds of tracks because I've been getting into to a lot of bluegrass and more "downcast" folk lately. I don't remember ever hearing John Mark McMillan, but he's certainly compatible with my taste. Again, very passionate. What I appreciate about these guys is that their lyrics are honest- sometimes painfully so. Really make you examine where your heart's at.

I think you actually just inspired my next journal post. Hopefully I get around to posting something new soon. I definitely wasn't intending to be on hiatus for this long...
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Old 10-05-2012, 06:04 PM   #58 (permalink)
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Another odd find I ended up including in my "Take Note" playlist at that time was Tracie's "The House The Jack Built." When it comes to pop, all I usually care about is the overall mood of the song. Like most of the songs that end up in my "Take Note" playlists, this track has a kind of obscure, low budget B-list feel to it; like something you would hear playing in a second-hand store or an old novelty shop that feels like it should have been closed decades ago.

As I recall, this song kept creeping into my head for about a week, but I'd never sing it out loud (lyrics aren't Tracie's strong suit- actually, I doubt she wrote them at all!). I don't even remember what led me to Tracie in the first place, but I kind of like having a song on hand that feels like it came out of nowhere. I still don't know how I feel about it, though - or even if I like it or not. It's pleasant and interesting, but I think I'll put this one back to rediscover later.

She did not write the song, in fact one of the two who wrote the song, Paul Berry, was I think one half of The Questions, who were label mates of Tracie in the UK on Respond Records, which was ran by The Modfather himself, Paul Weller. Weller wrote the B-Side to the single.

Still a nice tune, though.
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Old 10-05-2012, 08:39 PM   #59 (permalink)
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Actually I have to say that I like your journal. I know you have said that you want me to hear some African music. My advice just take time. Maybe it can start with people like Youssou N'Dour and a band like Zaiko Langa Langa. These two artists I like. I know you would enjoy them.
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Old 10-05-2012, 09:40 PM   #60 (permalink)
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Hey, Blarobbarg.

Actually, this couldn't be a better time to listen to these kinds of tracks because I've been getting into to a lot of bluegrass and more "downcast" folk lately. I don't remember ever hearing John Mark McMillan, but he's certainly compatible with my taste. Again, very passionate. What I appreciate about these guys is that their lyrics are honest- sometimes painfully so. Really make you examine where your heart's at.

I think you actually just inspired my next journal post. Hopefully I get around to posting something new soon. I definitely wasn't intending to be on hiatus for this long...
Awesome! Glad you liked the bands, and will be looking forward to reading whatever it is I have inspired!

On that note, check out All Sons & Daughters, you'd probably like them too. They're a folk duo (I think... I may be wrong). Very, very good.
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