“The best musicians are either running away from God or running towards God.” -Bono

There’s definitely a difference between the two, but…

What do you think of this quote?

I’m stuck on a music post thing. But, music is one thing that helped me through some crazy times. Maybe you know what I’m talking about.

Anyways, the last time that I saw Kings of Leon was in Charleston, South Carolina. They put on a mighty good show. It’s actually my favorite concert I’ve ever been to. If you’ve been to one of their shows, then I know that you loved the show, too. The energy, emotion, the crowd…
I’ve been to tons of shows, and it’s just amazing. Sorry that they aren’t a “Christian group”. Maybe I should say that Lecrae puts on the best show. That might make you Christian folks happier with me.

The main reason that I like KOL the best is that they have vocals that sound the same live as it does on their album. (I can’t stand when that doesn’t happens i.e. Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts). You end up feeling that Hollywood put out an image rather than a voice when you see that kind of stuff happens.
That new show “The Voice” is pretty great, by the way
Well, we just bought tickets to the Kings of Leon show in Morrison, CO at Red Rocks Ampitheatre and I can’t wait to hear what music sounds like at this place. I’ve heard tons of great stuff about Red Rocks. It will be the only band I’ve ever seen more than once. I’m not a two-show kind of guy.

So, what’s your favorite concert you’ve ever been to?

amazon?
itunes?
physical store?

Or some other way?

How do you purchase your tunes?

2010 was a huge year for music. It had some awesome music and it had some letdowns along the way. For me, the biggest letdown of the year was Brooke Fraser’s album Flags by the way. She usually out does herself, but this time it just didn’t work for me.

Keep in mind as you see my favorites of the year, that I rated entire albums, not individual songs.

Here are my favorite albums of 2010:

1. Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown // this did it for me because they took a risk and went with something totally different and it was amazing. They mixed the sound that they had in the beginning with their last album and it ended up working. It was actually so different that it took a few listens to grow on me, but ended up being my favorite album of the year. Not by much though…

2. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy // This is my second favorite album of the year. Kanye is used to pushing the limits, but really pushed it here. There’s nothing like it out there and that’s what I appreciate. I can bet you there are a lot of folks that don’t like this one though. I mean it’s Kanye, folks.

3.Trip Lee – Between Two Worlds // Yes Trip, you are above Lecrae in my books this year. And no, this isn’t just in the “Christian Rap” genre. He knocked it out of the park whether you’re talking Trip or Jay-Z. Don’t even bother arguing on this one.

4. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More // A truly amazing, inspiring, listen to over and over kind of album. They take that easy, but catchy music and gives it great lyrics to back it up. Looking forward to hearing what’s next for this band.

5. Kid Cudi – Man On The Man II // Here’s another innovative guy that even Kanye has said is his favorite artist out there. He brings it every time, folks.

6. Eminem – Recovery // Here’s a guy that I usually can’t stand, but I can’t ignore the lyrics and beats this time around…when there are actually enough to make out. Yes, I listen to edited. Anyways, this project is his best ever and it inspires to create better music.

7. Jesus Culture – Come Away // With “Come Away” they did what they always do. They brought great music, with great lyrics, with great emotion and made a connection with the audience. You really can’t ask for much more. They might have been higher up on this list if Kim Walker would have had more solos on the album and would’ve wowed me. It was a little less amazing  for me than “Consumed” and it almost felt like a step backwards.

8. Bruno Mars – Doo-Wops & Hooligans // Bruno brings those huge songs that top the charts and he brings good songs to accompany them. It’s hard to find a good album throughout, but he pulled it off besides one “filler” song that you could tell was one of those last minute add ons. I’ll let you figure what that one is.

9. Lecrae – Rehab // Lecrae’s newest album is among the best I’ve heard this year, but there was one fault I found with it. It had two “filler” songs. Other than that, the album was solid. The other songs definitely hit hard.

It’s definitely a mixture of artists and genres, but this is the music that did it for me this year. I’m pretty sure I heard everything this year. Every album I’ve listed does have something in common, though. They inspired me in some way. Hopefully you’ve heard them sometime this year or are purchasing them in the near future.

So, that’s 9 albums…

What album would you add to this list and make #10? What albums do you agree with? What album(s) would you take off of this list?

First of all, let me just say I love this time of year. We celebrate Jesus’ birth, spend time with family, play in the snow, get new toys, eat great food, yada yada yada.

Ok. So, don’t laugh at what you’re about to hear.

*NSYNC’s Home For Christmas is my favorite Christmas album of all time. I even know to put the “*” with NSYNC. Wow.

Your view on who I am has probably changed now and you now know something new about me that’s slightly embarrassing.

The main reasons are that it was the first Christmas album Jasmine and I listened to together and it was background music for our first kiss.

…That was awesome.

I know most of you will answer this question with Mariah Carey’s album, but I want to know…

What is your favorite Christmas album?

iTunes is definitely my one-stop-shop for music these days and it’s probably yours, too.

It’s just so easy. Being able to get a CD at 12:01 the day an album comes out instead of going out to get it is just spectacular. With iTunes you don’t have to worry about scratches on CD’s, either.

I guess the only perks to getting a physical album is the physical album artwork and maybe some sound quality.

It’s actually been years since I’ve walked into a store to buy a CD.

So, when is the last time you walked into a physical store to buy music?

If you remember my music post from last year, I recommended NeedtoBreathe’s last album, “The Outsiders”. Well, a lot of great music has come out since then. My favorite album right now is “Sigh No More” from Mumford & Sons, but I need about seventeen more albums to listen to.

What new or old music would you recommend?

Here are some videos I’ve seen in the past week that I keep thinking about.

This one is weird, sort of funny…

And this one made me think…

Moments from Everynone on Vimeo.

Enjoy.

Got anything to share?

Here are my 10 favorite songs at the moment:

If I’m in my car with no cd’s or an iPod, there is no way I’m listening to the Christian radio station longer than 3 songs. They play the same stuff from ten years ago.

My playlist has changed quite a bit from what it was just a few weeks ago. My top ten songs last month would have been a mixture of Snow Patrol, Drake and 3OH!3. This month, every one of my favorite songs are “Christian” songs. I mean, I still listen to “secular” music (whatever “secular” means), but Jesus Culture and Trip Lee have been hitting me hard lately. That’s a good thing, by the way. I like all kinds of music. If it has good music behind some good lyrics, I’m all for it, whether it be from Kim Walker or Eminem. There’s definitely a feeling I get from different types of music, though. With Kim I get an uplifting feeling and with Eminem, I get some sort of an angry feeling.

So, here’s my question for you…

Do you think Christians should only listen to “Christian” music? Oh, and what music are you listening to these days?

There are a lot of good lyrics out there. There are also a lot of terrible lines in songs. Some people tell me they just like the beat of the song and don’t even pay attention to the lyrics, which has never made sense to me. Anyways, one of my favorite lines is “…Break my heart from what breaks yours…”. You probably know what song it’s from, but just in case you don’t, it’s from a worship song named “Hosanna”. That line really describes the relationship I ultimately want with God. I want to get to that point, folks.

So, what’s your favorite song lyrics? What do the words mean to you?