"You Are My Peace" - Inhabited

Song: You Are My Peace

Artist: Inhabited

Album: The Revolution

So, a buddy of mine from work passed away recently.  As I was driving to his memorial service, this is the song that rose up in me.  I wanted to share it with you.

I've always enjoyed Inhabited's music, and they deserve more recognition than I'm giving them here. Given the circumstances and the inspiration behind this post, though, I'm going to keep it to this.  Please enjoy the song, and I hope it helps you find peace in whatever situation you are dealing with right now:

"Vanity" - Monday Morning

Song: "Vanity"
Album: Fool's Paradise
Artist: Monday Morning

Let me start with this: most of you probably know the most popular song from this album, "Wonder of it All."  That song has been rock solid for me in helping me to remember that where I am is not where I came from, and qualifies as one of the best Christian music songs ever.  Period.

You probably also know that the song still isn't available on any digital download format.  Go figure.
I, as I did with our previous feature, went the extra step of tracking down the album and buying it second-hand (just like we used to do 20 years ago - buy the whole album just for one track . . .)

I was less impressed with this album, overall, but I did find a couple of songs that I really like.  I'm going to share one with you today: "Vanity."

"Vanity" hits hard.  The song was released at a time when alternative metal was still a large part of pop music (I miss those days), and it has a lot of the attributes you'd expect from an alt-metal classic: thick distortion, drop tuning, minor progressions, and self-reflection.

What I love best about this song is that 1) the lead singer from Monday Morning is singing from his heart, 2) the song has a strong sense of introspection, and 3) the song provides an answer.  So much of the secular alt-metal from those days offered lots of emotional agony and sorrow, but never provided a lot of hope.  "Vanity" points squarely at the reason for the despair: your own vanity.  Solve that, and we can start to repair the emotional hurt that we've put ourselves through by not putting God first.  Nice.

Please, let us know what you think of "Vanity," and stay tuned for more great selections from Christina Music Discovery.

P.S. Did you know that this album was produced by John Elefante?  As in "That's Why God Made The Moon" John Elefante?  Yeah, I was shocked too . . .

P.P.S. I love the imagery of the album artwork.

"Hello Fear" - Kirk Franklin

Kirk Franklin.

When it comes to Kirk Franklin, most of us fall into one of two categories: 1) the people who say "I already know all of Kirk Franklin's Music," and 2) the people who say "Why would I listen to Kirk Franklin?"  Normally, that would make it hard to feature any of his music, because you either already know it, or you have no interest in listening to it, until today . . .

The song "Hello Fear," the title track from Kirk Franklin's 2011 album, is a song that appeals to every listener through it's varied instrumentation, easy vocals, and topical relevance.  In other words, everyone can find a reason to like this song.

"Hello Fear"deals with something we've almost all experienced, and that's . . . well . . . fear.  We've almost all had something in life that we've been afraid to do, whether it's coming to Christ in the first place, leaving our past behind, or following Him when He leads us to do something we've never done before.  The beautiful thing is that God's perfect love has cast out fear, and "Hello Fear" captures that point as both a break-up song with fear and as a make-up song with grace.  Amazing.

You can check out "Hello Fear" below, and as always, stay tuned for more great finds on Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian Music.

"Less Like Scars" - Sara Groves

Did you ever notice how much difference the right perspective can make?  Well, if you've never thought about it, then let me say this: sometimes, taking the time to see things the way God sees them can make all the difference.  This is message behind the Sara Groves song "Less Like Scars."

Now, Sara Groves tends to have that eclectic folk sound to her music, but, on this album, she pumps just enough juice into "Less Like Scars" to give the album "All Right Here" a great start, and to put the necessary energy behind the message, which is all about taking the things that life throws at us and seeing them as opportunities, not setbacks.

Now, she deceives us a little bit with a simple acoustic intro, and the lyrics "it's been a hard year."  You don't get the sense that there's a big shot of optimism coming your way, until it does, and Sara begins to help us to understand how things are when we, in terms of perspective, choose to step out of the darkness and look at things in the light of day.  "Less like tearing, more like building," she says.  That's quite a difference, isn't it?  And so, the song serves as a reminder that we must consistently renew our minds to the fact that we have to see things the way God sees them.  This transforms the seemingly unbearable things of life into opportunities to grow both more like God and closer to Him.

When we get to the chorus, the gentle distortion of the electric guitar perfectly emphasizes and underscores the message, that God is faithful and able to see us through anything, which brings us to the key line: "In your hands, the pain and the hurt feel less like scars and more like character."  Sara's soft but insightful voice helps to bring the point straight to the heart of the listener; it's not shot through like an arrow, but rather gently offered, leaving the listener comforted.

In the bridge, we start to have a little fun: Sara starts to testify about her own struggles with perspective.  She does this by using one of my favorite tools: singing the story.  I love it!  And as she brings us back around, and ultimately home, the listener isn't left feeling overwhelmed or completely catapulted, but gently lifted up and over, sitting on the sunny side of the clouds rather than the dark side.  We're left refreshed, even by the build at the end of the final chorus: it's not too much - it just reassures us that, yeah, we are a lot better off than we thought.  It kinda makes you wanna say, "Thank you, Sara Groves, for that gentle reminder."

You can listen to "Less Like Scars" on the YouTube video below:





I hope you enjoyed today's selection.  As always, keep checking back for more great finds.

If you have any suggestions, please let us know, and thanks for stopping by Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian Music.

"You Were There" - Norman Hutchins

This has simply got to be one of my favorite black gospel songs of all time.

I remember very distinctly, as a child, listening to this song over and over and over again after the passing of my father. The message of this song is so simple: “God, you said you would never leave me or forsake me, and you stayed true to your word.”

The music, as black gospel goes, is relatively simple, but the progressions are skillfully written so as to help take the listener on the same journey down memory lane that Norman Hutchins takes, citing the general idea that, through it all, God was there. It also serves to take the listener back through their own personal experience with God, putting you in remembrance of all the times that God has shown Himself faithful. The addition of that strong mass choir sound after the bridge drives it home, and really serves to bring comfort to the listener. Wow!

Honestly, I'm totally thrilled to be able to share this song with you. It's been extremely helpful to me, and I pray that it is the same with you.

You can listen to "You Were There" on the YouTube video below:

Stay tuned for more great Christian music @ Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christan Music.

"Finder Of The Lost" - Dorothy Savage

Ok, so I've already let you know that I love the alternative sound with female vocals, so it's no surprise that my first plug would fall into the category.

Dorothy Savage has one of those voices that could fit with so many different styles of music. As a matter of fact, the Christmas Album that she just dropped has a lot of that lounge/jazz/pop sound to it.

Here however, we have a powerful ballad that expresses perfectly what it means to be found in Christ. Against the driving pulse and electric guitar riffs, Dorothy's voice cuts through and delivers this message with great clarity, expressing oh so clearly that there is hope even in what seems to be the darkest of times. That message is perfectly summed up in the key line of the chorus: "At the very moment that we're breakin' is the very moment that you breakthrough, and this is how we know we're found."

I also love how the music and the progressions are intelligent and well thought-out, which are elements that tend to get short-changed on songs with powerful messages (this is the musician in me talking.)  Without being overdone, there's enough variety and demonstration of instrumental skill in the music to really reinforce and drive home the point, which is what it's supposed to do.

I hope you enjoy "Finder Of The Lost," and stay tuned for more great music discoveries!

You can listen to "Finder Of The Lost" on the YouTube video below: