Music Year In Review

The topic comes a little late (seeing as how it's 2009 now...) but I figured I'd give my rundown of my favorite new albums from 2008. These are new releases that came out this past year. The usual links, with a couple songs to take a look at follows:

Honorable Mention: Ever Stays Red - On The Brink Of It All
It's hard to say that a voice is distinctive, but this band certainly has a voice that does not seem to fall in the usual categories. Combine that with some inspired melodies, and some great hooks, and you've got yourself a great album. With 12 tracks of songs that will lead you to think along with some quality lyrics, you really can't go wrong.

Download: On The Brink Of It All, Can't Explain, Look To The Hills
Website: http://www.myspace.com/everstaysred

10) Jeremy Camp - Speaking Louder Than Before
Jeremy Camp has consistently been one of my favorite artists since his debut album in 2002. Now on his 5th studio album, he has managed to find a few new things to try out on his latest effort. While there are the mainstays of his power ballads (Capture Me), and a few rockers (Giving You All Control), he's also brought in a full choir (There Will Be A Day), and enlisted the help of his wife to add some depth to some of his most heart-felt worship (Surrender). Another solid effort.

Download: There Will Be A Day, Capture Me, Surrender
Website: http://www.myspace.com/jeremycamp

9) Sanctus Real - We Need Each Other
Having not really heard much of their music outside of the hit single "I'm Not Alright", I figured I would give their newest album a shot after hearing previews. I was rewarded with 10 tracks of thoughtful rock and worship. With an opening 1-2 punch of "Turn On The Lights" and "We Need Each Other", it's really hard to not be drawn in to the album, and worship highlights such as Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly) show what these guys really are all about. Plus, pick up the album anywhere, and get free access to two additional songs for download.

Download: Turn On The Lights, We Need Each Other, Sing
Website: http://www.myspace.com/sanctusreal

8) Tenth Avenue North - Over And Underneath
The first of 3 debut albums on my list this year, and we find the worship band Tenth Avenue North. While most of the songs fall in to the mid-tempo rocker range, there are a few deviations that occur, such as the high-energy "Break Me Down", and the acoustic-driven ballad "Times". In my opinion, the album could have used a few more up-tempo moments, but the thoughful lyrics, and the overall album theme that points to Christ which is extremely evident makes up for this.

Download: Love Is Here, By Your Side, Hallelujah
Website: http://www.myspace.com/tenthavenuenorth

7) Remedy Drive - Daylight Is Coming
What do you get when you have 4 brothers who all love music? You get Remedy Drive. The 4 Zach brothers have been playing as an indie band for the past 5 years, and have now released their debut full-length album. While a little on the short side (35 minutes), the album certainly doesn't leave you disappointed when you reach the end, except that you are probably wanting more. With an overall vision of hope for the future, Daylight Is Coming will certainly leave you feeling better than you did before you gave it a spin. A fantastic debut.

Download: Stand Up, Daylight
Website: http://www.myspace.com/remedydrive

6) Anberlin - New Surrender
What it year it has been for Anberlin. If you read my music year in review for 2007, you will see that they were my number 1 last year. The stellar success that they had with their previous indie label propelled them on to the radar for the major labels to come bidding for their services. Universal music won out, and just over 18 months after their last full length studio album, here we have New Surrender. A look at the track-listing will make you think twice, as a track from their sophomore album (Feel Good Track) seems to have been ported. It has, and yet it hasn't. There have been some changes, but nothing that takes away from the song, and in fact, the hook is even better in my opinion. The inclusion of this song was the band's decision, as they felt that it was not given enough prominence on the previous release.

The album as a whole, however, continues the strong work that Anberlin has been known for over the past 6 years. The opening song "The Resistance" immediately grabs you doesn't let you go for the rest of the album. Ballads such as "Retrace" and "Breathe" really highlight Christian's vocals, while rockers such as "Disappear" and straight-up pop as heard on "Haight St." show the band rocking with the best of them. The album closes with the epic 6 1/2 minute "Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)" which draws it's inspiration from Revelation, and is hautingly beautiful. Another fantastic effort, and a great step for a band as they continue to grow.

Download: Breaking, Breathe, Haight St.
Website: http://www.myspace.com/anberlin

5) Leeland - Opposite Way
For a young band, they really know what they're doing. These 11 tracks show a maturity and thoughtfulness that many cannot quite come close to. The intensity of the music on each of the tracks really plays in to the passion that they have, and the lyrical quality throughout is outstanding. After their critically acclaimed debut Sound of Melodies they really had their work cut out for them, but have come through the test with flying colors on their sophomore effort. With the theme of wanting to be going a different direction than the rest of the world permeating the disc, it's an uplifting disc to play through. Couple that with beautiful melodies, and a passion on display on each song, and you've got yourself a quality album. Wherever these guys are at now, look for it to only get better.

Download: Count Me In, Opposite Way, May Our Praise
Website: http://www.myspace.com/leelandmusic

4) Kutless - To Know That You're Alive
One of my favorite bands, and one of my most anticipated albums of 2008, these guys really know how to rock. I saw them live at Winterfest in Gatlinburg way back in January, and they played a preview of their new album back them, and got me excited to see what was on the way. 6 months later, in June, they released their album, and I was not disappointed. The opening 3 tracks (not including the extended-intro instrumental Sleeping City) just leap out and grab you, with the party-anthem "The Feeling", and the in your face rockers of "To Know That You're Alive" and "The Disease & The Cure". Ballads have been something Kutless has always done well, and tracks such as "Complete" and the minimalistic "You" highlight their ability to set a worshipful tone in the midst of the chaos. They also tread in to some rather dark territory on songs such as "To Know That You're Alive" and especially on "Promise You" about a woman that is being beaten. Kutless has frequently worked and helped raise money for battered women's shelters and similar types of orginizations, so you know that this is a song that really comes from their heart. In my opinion, probably their strongest album of the 6 they have released. If you don't have them in your collection and want to start, pick up this disc.

Download: To Know That You're Alive, Promise You, I Do Not Belong
Website: http://www.kutless.com, http://www.myspace.com/kutless

3) David Crowder Band - Remedy Club Tour Live
There probably isn't a more prominent worship band out there than the David Crowder Band. After their monster album A Collision they really have exploded in terms of popularity. Their 2007 release Remedy was another stellar entry in their library, and with the popularity of their albums, it was only a matter of time until a live compilation was released. Being a fan of live music, I'm always interested when an artist that I enjoy listening to is putting out a live cd/dvd album, as I feel like it really shows you the artist, much moreso than a studio album, if nothing because of the unpredictability of a live performance. Filmed in High Definition, the Remedy Club Tour Live CD/DVD album highlights the David Crowder Band in a live setting, with the album taken from two separate performances and edited together seamlessly to create a fantastic picture of what their live show is like. Their stage is covered in Macbooks which they use to play as instruments, and David Crowder even breaks out a guitar hero controller that has been programmed with the chord progressions and loops to play one of the songs with. With 90 minutes of music, worship, and rock, as well as tutorials, a behind the scences video, and instrument breakdowns for each and every song performed in the concert (for the guitar performer in you), there is plenty for music-loving individuals to pour over. The accompanying cd has all 16 songs performed from the dvd spit-shined to perfection. In all honesty, the superb technical performance from the band makes it hard to tell that it's a live album...at least until the audience kicks in. An excellent addition to anyone's live collection.

Download: The Glory Of It All, ...neverending..., Foreverandever Etc.
Website: http://www.myspace.com/davidcrowderband

2) Safetysuit - Life Left To Go
In one of my wanderings through Best Buy, I heard a song being played over the in-store radio that I actually really liked. I heard the name of the artist, and then did something that I rarely do, which is to make a purchase based on one song of an album. You know how this can end up most of the time; you like the one song that you heard, but the rest of the album is not at all like what you would have expected based on that song. Thankfully, this album was not at all like that, and turned out to be one of my favorites from this past year. The debut album from Safetysuit is an all-out pop record, but man do they know how to play. And I've been hard-pressed to find an album of 12 tracks that are as insanely catchy as these twelve. From the opening guitar hook of "Someone Like You", the repititious "whoa-oh" of "Apology", the vocal hook of "Something I Said", to the emotional closer "Life Left To Go", it's hard to find fault with the album. There is not a weak song on the album, and every song will have you singing along by the time the song is finishing, with the melody stuck in your head for days. The closer, "Life Left To Go" is perhaps their greatest song on the album, and also the one that is most different from anything else that they have on offer. The song tells the story of someone who wants to end their own life, and the call of someone who cares enough enough to tell this person that they matter to them. With a strong melody, and some vocal distortions that offer a different approach, it really stands out as an album highlight, and a fantastic choice for an album title. A sure winner, and well worth the purchase, this album has not been out of my player for the past 6 months.

Download: Someone Like You, Apology, Stay, Life Left To Go
Website: http://www.myspace.com/safetysuit

1) Disciple - Southern Hospitality

In the year 1992, I would have been 9 years old. I would have been playing AYSO soccer, piano, and attending elementary school in the 4th grade. In the year 1992, the band Disciple was formed. 16 years later, they are releasing their 8th full length studio album, titled Souther Hospitality. They have come a long way in their 16 years, with the jump to a major label about 3 years ago coinciding with the release of their self-titled album that has really brought them success. 2006's Scars Remain cemented their position as one of the most prominent hard-rockers in Christian music, with their song "Game On" being heard in sporting stadiums and highlight shows around the country. 2 years later, they return with their latest album, which also happens to be probaby their most melodic album ever. 12 songs inspired by their southern roots (they are local Knoxville, TN natives), the boys from Disciple have brought a different sound to their album, but still keep the rock coming.

For those that are fans of their older albums, this is almost a complete departure, as their is hardly any screaming (with the excpetion of their new "Game On" titled "321"), and melody is really the forefront of each of their songs. Title track "Southern Hospitality" opens with a little groove from the guitar, and slowly builds in to an infectious rock track. "321" will undoubtedly be the new song in sports-arenas that get the fans and team pumped up, while a song like "Liar" comes from the heart of Kevin Young, the lead singer, who was struggling with forgiveness of another.

One of the things about Disciple that has always impressed me is their strong knowledge of the bible, and if you look at the liner notes with the lyrics, you will see countless references to scripture that permeate each of their songs. The song "Whatever Reason" is the story of the prodigal son, told in Luke 15:11-32, and serves as the entire inspiration for the song, and is written from the point of view of the father, or God. "Right There" takes it's inspiration from Deuteronomy 31:6, 8and Hebrews 13:5, with lyrics like "There's nothing that's been stolen that I can not replace (1 Peter 5:10); Fear is just a distant memory, when you find love surrounds you (1 John 4:18)". If you need inspiration, you need not go any farther than listening to and reading these lyrics that Disciple writes.

The album closes on probably my favorite song of the year, "Savior". In my opinion, it is essentially the band's view on Christ, and what he is capable of doing in the lives of someone who is hurting and broken. If someone thinks that you cannot worship with instruments, this would definately be one of my first exhibits to show them that you can. Moving, heart-felt, and honest, it really speaks to their belief and love for Christ, while showing everyone what is possible. Here are the lyrics, and the song is in the sidebar.

Laughter, that's so part of her
Is something that we haven't heard
in such a long, long time
Replaced with crying, long sleepless nights
She needs your power Lord (Psalm 145:11)
Pour it all over (Joel 2:28-29)
In her darkest hour Lord (Psalm 18:4-6)
Pour it all over

Chorus
'Cause I know You love her more than I could love her (Ephesians 3:18-19)
You've already given more than I could offer (1 John 5:11)
So I put my hope in You (Psalm 39:7)
'Cause I know You can save her (John 3:17)
Jesus, Savior (Matthew 1:21)

The problem hidden inside
Is screaming something's not right
And I would lay down my world
To reach out and fix what's broken in her

Deep within every stripe is the hope that I find within You (Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 2:24)

Big News

So, Mandi and I are engaged. It became official on December 14. I'm happy. That's really all that needs to be said.

Beginning And The End

So the big news of the day is that Dustin has gotten himself a job. Exciting stuff, huh? He'll be doing air emissions testing down in the Gainesville, FL area. Essentially just testing the emissions from different companies and entities to ensure that they're within environmental guidelines. He's excited about it, and we're excited that he's gotten himself this job. It'll be interesting to see how things go. He starts training on Monday up in Cleveland, OH which will last for a month before heading back down to Florida to stay there for good. Did I mention that he just got back from Japan?

I've spent the last two weeks running back and forth between my place and the parent's house as they both, along with Dustin, took a two week vacation to Japan to tour as well as see my Grandmother who lives over there in Tokyo. From what I've gathered in the past couple days (they got back Thursday evening) they had a great time, and got to experience a lot of fun things. My dad finally saw Mt. Fuji (it took 6 trips before they could see it), and Dustin thought that they saw the next Amazing Race filming going on at one of the locations they were at. He and my dad couldn't think of anything else that required teams of two to be followed everywhere by a camera-man while they frantically ran around a park and rowed in canoes out to a little island in the middle of a large pond. I never watch it, so I wouldn't have any idea if it shows up in the future...but if they have an episode based out of Japan in the future, my family saw it happening for real.


All the while, it has been busy elsewhere. A couple weekend's ago I went to the youth retreat for our church just to hang out with the kids and help in whatever way was needed. They have it at a little camp that is specifically set up for youth retreats just outside of pigeon forge/Gatlinburg in the Smokies. It was an intense weekend for everyone involved, and I really hadn't seen so much outpouring of emotion at one of these things before. Our youth minister really is doing a fantastic job with the kids. And it wasn't a "everyone get baptized" weekend or anything like that, but just really a weekend to push them spiritually from wherever they were, and encourage them to grow. Probably the most intense part came for the high schooler's where they had a feet washing ceremony where they were all allowed to choose people's feet to wash as a showing of their love for them and their desire to serve. It was really neat seeing how they all responded to that invitation. I hadn't seen anything like that done before, and it was really quite moving. All in all, a great weekend.

I also went with Mandi up to Nashville for a weekend while she was in class. I had told her I would go with her and drive her to give her a break from the practically constant driving to and from that she has to do, as well as just to allow her time to rest since she's pretty much been going non-stop since the start of October. It was a good weekend, as I had time to work on some church things that I had been asked to do (speaking of which...I need to get that to them...) as well as a few other things over the course of two days, all while allowing Mandi time to rest instead of driving. Something on Lipscomb campus that I found amusing (as it was incredibly similar to Harding) came on Friday when I was just wandering around the campus to see what it looked like since I'd not really had the time to do that before. I sat down in a kind of square with a clock to relax, and saw some students coming out of a building. I looked at the clock and saw that it was about 35 after and just assumed that classes all got out around that time. There were quite a few students coming out of this building and going on to the student center or dorms or whatever, so I didn't think anything of it. About 15 minutes later, the campus seemed to explode as all sorts of students began pouring out of the other buildings. I turned to the first building that had emptied, and laughed to myself as I saw that it was the business building that had gotten out early. I guess some things just don't change.

While Mandi wasn't in class, we were able to spend some quality time with the Boren's, who we stayed with, and who I grew up with and practically serve as my 2nd parents. I hadn't seem them in almost a year, so it was really great catching up with them. Mandi and I also went to the ICE! exhibit which is on display each year at the Gaylord Hotel and Convention center. They hire a whole bunch of sculpters, bring them to Nashville a month before-hand, and they carve an entire exhibit out of ice. It's absolutely incredible the detail that you can see when you get in there. I had never been before, but had heard about it, and figured that this was the perfect opportunity. If you're in the area, you should really check it out. This year's theme is the Grinch and Who-vill, along with a spectacular Nativity Scene on your last stop before the door. Be warned, though, that they keep the building at a balmy 9 degrees, so take gloves (and your camera). I think that I'm ready for the holidays now.

Piano Time

So this past week has been interesting. I got a call a week ago from a lady that works at the local YWCA. They were needing music for a benefit dinner that they were putting on, and the band that they originally had asked to come and play canceled on them. She happened to know some friends of ours from church in Oak Ridge, and I was recommended to them, so I got the call. In the end, both my brother and I went and played at the dinner for about 2 hours tonight while they were mingling around and eating. The dinner was a benefit for the YWCA where they honored local women in Oak Ridge in different fields that they thought had done outstanding service work to the community. It turned out to be a pretty decent evening, and we had dinner to boot.

(Seeing as how I'm editing this 3 weeks after I started...I'll just move on to the next post).

Balloons?

The other day, they were having a hot-air balloon festival, I guess you could say, so Mandi and I decided to go on over there and check it out. It wasn't really anything more than a bunch of local artists setting up their shops to sell some of their home-made items, and having about 20 balloons or so set up and lit-up once it got dark. It was a fun time, and we actually got in at quite a discount since we ran in to a church friend who was one of the people taking payments as people were coming in. How great is that? Here's a couple pics, including the Energizer Bunny hot-air balloon, which they said is currently the largest one in the world.

Soccer has been ongoing, and our team is doing alright so far. We didn't play all that well yesterday, but still managed to pull out a 2-2 draw. Mandi has been playing quite well recently, and even completely schooled a guy on the other team a couple weeks ago. I don't think he really did much else the rest of the game after that. I have to say that I was quite impressed. It's still been fun, which is really the main thing, although there seems to be more and more teams that are really complete jerks. And not just the guys either, but even the girls on the teams are jerks. I'm really not liking the fact that everything was combined in to one league like it was, but what can I do about it? At least our team is pretty cool.

Other than that, not a whole lot else going on. Dustin is still looking for a job, so keep him in your prayers as that goes on. Work is going without too much trouble. We're busy, but not overwhelmingly so which is really about where we want to be at. We're having an open house this week in honor of the company being around for 10 years, so I spent a lot of the past month taking pictures of people and all the instruments at work that I'm allowed to for displays that were set up and such. I guess it really is a big deal to have been around for that long, especially with the start that they got. It should be interesting. Just have to see how many people actually show, considering that they sent invitations out to probably around 1000 people. Should be a good time, nonetheless. One thing is for sure though...we won't be working hardly at all that day.

Pain

This past weekend was spent in Tuscaloosa, AL at the 2008 Club Sectionals Ultimate Frisbee tournament. Unfortunately for me, given untimely injuries in the previous months, I was not able to participate as a player, although I still wanted to be there to see friends and just enjoy a weekend away. I assumed "coaching" duties, and basically handled everything off the field to try and help play go without too much of a hitch. The subbing and such seemed to work well, and it seemed like everyone was alright with how I handled it, so hopefully that was the case. The team did well, finishing 5th out of 12 (our highest ever), even with finishing our last game with 8 players (when you play with 7) since a number of our team had to leave to get to the airport in time to get home. For having not played together in so long, our team played remarkably well for a number of games, with quite possibly our best games coming in the morning, which is absolutely unheard of. We destroyed the 2nd-ranked team in our pool 15-5 on Sunday morning, which for an Apocalypse team is absolutely huge. All in all I was quite pleased, although I wish I could have been playing, but I'm glad that I was able to do my part. Hopefully everyone on the team that played has mostly recovered from their injuries and sore muscles at least most of the way by now. For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple pictures and a video of the action.

3 Months in Review?

Man. I don't even know where to start. I'd actually completely forgotten about this over the past few weeks...or months apparently. There has been a lot going on though...let's see.

The first was the trip to Mexico in late June. The trip ended up going quite a bit better than I had thought it might. I rather enjoyed going, and look forward to going back again. Mandi and I met a professor at the college of Monterrey, who just so happened to be a physics professor. He wanted to give us a tour of the college, and we ended up seeing where he worked, both at the college and at the local high school. His boss also ended up offering me a job should I want to go down there at some point. How crazy is that? It seemed more like just a nice comment, but while we were walking out, the professor said that she was serious. I guess things are just a little more laid back down there. It was a great trip though, and it was good working with the church and the kids especially during the VBS. I ended up driving while down there (that's quite a trip), as well as leading singing for the VBS (in Spanish no less). Mandi and I also got some good time working with the members from the church and the kids that went along. All in all, an excellent experience, and one that we hope to go back on next year...although there are a couple changes that we both hope would be made.

Dustin has completed his internship working with me this summer as of Friday. He's now in to the fun phase of hunting for a job. Hopefully he'll be able to find something that he's looking for and excited about soon, but in the meantime he'll continue to stay here and look around.

I made a trip to SC to visit a Mr. Paul Murphy and hang out for a day or two while Mandi went to see Tara. It was nice to go back, seeing as how it had been quite a while, and I even got to witness how a Murphy vacation gets underway. It's really quite impressive when you sit back and think about it. I'm assuming that it ended up going well.

The summer was spent playing soccer, and getting injured in the process. Unfortunately, that is ruling me out of the frisbee tournament coming up this weekend since I haven't been able to really run or anything for a bit. It's healed up now, and I've slowly gotten back in to running and stuff for soccer, but it's too early to get back to it. Plus, I haven't touched a frisbee for about the whole summer, so I'll be going as the official subber for the team. I guess I'll fall under the idea of a coach. That sits fine with me, and it will definately be good to see some old friends that I haven't seen for a while.

We're once again coming up on the new soccer season with the Champions League getting underway starting tomorrow, and European leagues having been in action for a couple weeks. I'm looking forward to it, as usual. World Cup qualifying is in full swing, with the U.S. team having posted 3 victories in their first 3 games of the semi-final round of CONCACAF qualifying. They are definately struggling when it comes to having any quality forwards...but for the time being it's not as pressing an issue since the competition is still fairly early. However, once the finals roll around later on next year, they'll need to start producing the goods. Hopefully they'll be able to pick it up, and get the offensive end going better.

The new TV season is about to pick back up. Say hello to House. Mandi and I just got through watching most all of season 4 on DVD over the course of the past week or so to get her caught back up, so I'm excited to get things back under way. Last season ended under some pretty strenuous circumstances, so it will be interesting to see how things get resolved with the new season.

One of my most nerve-wracking moments of the summer came a couple weeks ago when I ended up speaking at church on Wednesday for our class. As things are currently, we have all the adults (i.e. college and above) in a single class that has a speaker that rotates around between different members of the congregation each week. I spoke on the need to have a song in our hearts for God. I basically took some of the church's most well-known songs (Amazing Grace, Just As I Am, and Take My Hand, Precious Lord) and by telling the story behind why they were written, showed how people need to have a song for God through how they live. The video is what I played at the end just to try it all together. The video is taken from David Crowder Band's Live DVD, with the Scriptures added in by me, plus I just wanted to try and see how the video thing worked. It's just a taste of what I attempted to do. Overall it seemed to go alright, so hopefully it was able to make something of an impression. The song's title, "I'm Just Trying To Make You Sing" basically sums up the message that I was wanting to get across. Enjoy.