"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.

"Truth About God" - All Together Separate

Song: "Truth About God"
Album: All Together Separate
Artist: All Together Separate

This whole album is amazing, but today we're featuring the blues.  This track hits hard but maintains a wonderful, bluesy attitude, nicely integrating some organ and a fantastic guitar solo. 

As far as what the song's about, the title says it all: you can look everywhere you want to, but ultimately, God is the final answer, and to look for fulfillment elsewhere is to commit yourself to a struggle that leaves you weary and restless.

Enjoy!

"Depraved" - Anberlin

Have you ever purchased a new album, gone to listen all the way through, and maybe skipped a song or two based on the intro to the song?  Maybe it just hit you the wrong way that day?  Maybe you weren't in the mood?  Then, when you finally go back and listen to the song, it's so amazing that you have to ask, "How have I never listen to this song before?"  Well, that was "Depraved" for me.

From Anberlin's album "Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place," "Depraved" is the quintessential sin song, a song that takes the issue of habitual sin and forces the listener to face a harsh truth:

"Are you depraved, or are you deceived?  Excuses aside, stop saying please . . ."

Excuses aside.  Wow.  There's more:

"You're not a slave, so get off your knees . . ."

They're right: ultimately, it is for freedom that Christ set us free, that we should no longer under the yoke of slavery to sin.  So, if we're free, do we keep sinning because we're depraved, or because we're deceived?  Since we're free in Christ, there really is no excuse for habitual sin.

Amazing.

Now, I've always admired how well put-together Anberlin's music is; their synergy as a group is incredible, starting with the way the instruments are arranged, all the way down to the breaks and the breakdowns (especially the breakdowns).  The music they put together for "Depraved" is the most important key to their effective delivery of the song, and it makes the song a great listen, even if you're not actually dealing with habitual sin (it's a great reminder not to start, though!)

You will enjoy this song, and if you are dealing with habitual sin, I hope this song helps you:



As always, thanks for checking in, and stay tuned for more great finds from Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian music.

"Sweetly Broken" - Casey Corum

The best version of "Sweetly Broken" out there, done by Vineyard worship leader Casey Corum. Rocks hard and drives from start to finish, yet is clean, melodic, and very well put together. Love it. Hope you do too. From the album "More Than Ever."


 


Now, I realized that the posts have been slow to come for a while (understatement), but we're back underway, so stay tuned for more selections from Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian music.

Anberlin's Next Single?

I'm going to be honest with you right now:

I LOVE ANBERLIN!

I was so excited when I got the e-mail last year that Anberlin's latest album, "Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place," was launching on Amazon MP3 for only $2.99.  You had better believe that I bought it that night!

I was even more excited when I found out that it debuted at the #2 position on the album download charts on both Billboard and iTunes.  What a huge leap in the right direction for Anberlin!  What an opportunity to expose more people to the Gospel with a greater reach!

As I listened to the album, I was astounded by some of the new elements they incorporated (a topic we may cover in a future post.)  I was especially surprised by their choice of "Impossible" as the first single.  It's a skillfully executed song with a strong melody, but what surprised me was the fact that the "Impossible" starts on a major chord (D major, to be precise.)  This is unusual for Anberlin, given their apparent love of minor-dominated singles (all of which I love, by the way.)  Take a look:

Change The World (Lost Ones) - D minor
Cadence - F# minor
Paperthin Hymn - D minor
Feel Good Drag - F minor
The Unwinding Cable Car - C# minor
A Whisper & A Clamor - C minor

Now that I've listened to the album all the way through a few times, I think I have an idea of what their next single may be, but I'm torn between two songs: the separation conflict "Closer," and the relationship conflict "Art Of War."  Both are songs that open in minor keys, and both would make excellent singles that would follow nicely in the footsteps of Anberlin's previous singles.  I would love to hear your opinion as to which you like better!

"Closer" is a simple-enough work that seems to explore one man's cry to be closer to his creator after a time of separation.  Apparently, the separation was cause in part by the man's inability to receive God from a standpoint of faith ("Do you expect me to beyond believe you?")  It relates to a place that almost all of us have been at in our walk with God, and rightly expresses the desperation and longing of such times.  The atypical drum line really helps to drive the song.  You can check out the the song below:



Now, "Art Of War" is a whole different beast entirely.  We get started here with bass, drums, and organ.  Seriously, organ!  It's a step in a completely different direction, and one of the new elements we're seeing from Anberlin that I mentioned before.  "Art Of War" seems to take us through a story of looking back on a painful relationship, though we're not really sure with whom (songs like this make me think of the lyrics from "Impossible" - "You're impossible to figure out.")  We see that the pain from the relationship has been overcome, though there are certain parts of the pain that will never go away.  Many of us have had relationships with mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, significant others that have left us feeling this way, but at least we know that, with Jesus, we can always overcome the pain.  I will say this: this is really a moving song, even if you aren't quite sure what it's about.



Now, the tough part: let us know which one you like better, and which one Anberlin is more likely to release as a single!  And don't forget to stay tuned for more great finds from Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian music!

"Glory" - Casting Crowns

I love to talk about Casting Crowns: who would've thought that this youth ministry band from Atlanta would have an album that hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 200, and after 54 weeks only fall to #39?  I believe that we can officially say that God is using them to make a positive impact in our world, especially given some of their greatest hits: "Voice Of Truth," "Lifesong," "Slow Fade," "Until The Whole World Hears," and the list goes on. 

Now, while we're all well-acquainted with Casting Crown's hits, I wanted to take the time to introduce you to one of their lessor-know songs: "Glory," from their debut self-titled album. 

I get excited when I talk about "Glory:" as far as praise and worship songs go, it's a cut above.  It's incredibly simple (as far as the lyrics go,) yet it's an anthem of praise if ever one existed.  It soars in it's communication, yet serves as a congregational chorus easily lifted in unity.  Let me walk you through it:

We start out with a simple fade-in of super-delayed electric guitar, which is then punctuated by a splashes of distortion.  The kick drum then gets us moving rapidly in a forward direction; we're going somewhere now.  The bass serves to reinforce this forward progress of praise into God's presence, and then the lyrics come: "You are Holy in this place."  Yes, absolutely.  We're onto something good here.

From here, the song doesn't let up.  It takes the listener full-bore into the adoration of our great and glorious savior, Jesus, acknowledging who He is and why we worship Him.  As we get into the chorus, "Glory " then solicits something from the worshipper - a commitment: "When you call my name, I'll run to you."  Yes, after all Jesus has done for me, I'll come running!  Now questions asked!

Now, my absolute favorite part of this song is the bridge.  Why?  Because of the descant part.  Megan and Melodee offer up a song of Alleluias that makes for the most beautiful descant part I've heard in music.  The listener is lifted up and given the inward longing to sing with the angels in adoration.  The first time I heard it, I was amazed at the gifting that God had bestowed upon these two, and it ministered to me greatly. 

I believe it will minister to you greatly as well, and I'm quite sure that "Glory" will do for you exactly what it did for me: ignite an instant desire to praise God with all your might.

You can listen to "Glory" on the Youtube video below:




Stay tuned for our next review, where we'll take a look at "Like You Promised," a worship song by up-and-coming worshipper Amber Brooks.

Did you like today's selection?  Let us know!  Leave us a comment, or click on the profile link and send us a message. 

Stay tuned for more great picks from Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian Music.

Artist of the Week: Sanctus Real

Well, what can I say? When Sanctus Real started making a splash on the national scene with the hit single "Everything About You" from their second major release, "Fight The Tide," it seemed that they would have a relatively small impact as moderately successful Christian rock band. Of course, that was before having five successful single releases from that album. Sanctus Real was now well on it's way.

Ultimately, 2 songs would catapult Sanctus Real new levels: "Whatever Your Doing" took the group from the middle of the pack to the forefront, especially given the timing of the song (the recession having started toward it's worst point), and “Lead Me,” which gave them a permanent place among the most important Christian songs of all time, even if the group were never to release another song

Those two songs lead me (no pun intended) to the two topics that Sanctus Real seems to speak to best: the Christian growth process, and relationships (of all kinds.)

In terms of our growth process, SR speaks well to different parts of the matter, from the breaking of pride (“I'm Not Alright”) to re-asserting ones dedication after wandering away (“Closer.”) Whenever Matt Hammitt sings one of these ballads, you immediately sense two things: 1) he's been there, and knows what he's talking about, and 2) the emotion that he communicates is genuine. I don't think SR's music would be nearly as impacting if anyone else were singing it, but Matt does a great job of showing that he feels and has felt the same feelings that you and I do.

Now, you may be surprised that I said that Sanctus Real speaks to relationships well, but think about it: “The Fight Song,” “Don't Give Up,” “We Need Each Other,” and “Lead Me” all speak (very well) to issues in relationships. Honestly, the first time I heard “Don't Give Up,” I thought to myself, “Wow, he took the words right out of my mouth.” A lot of other people must have thought the same thing, and I'm sure that most of them were glad that someone actually said something. In a similar fashion, “Lead Me” spoke to something that many people were already feeling as well, the difference being that most of the people who heard it didn't know they needed to. All that, and Hammitt had the courage to share that he wrote it from his own marriage struggles. Wow.

For all these reasons, and more (including their continued emphasis on love, which the Bible calls the greatest of “these things”), Sanctus Real has become, and always will be, one of my absolute favorites.

Favorite Album: “Fight The Tide”

Favorite Songs: “Don't Give Up”                 (from "The Face Of Love)
                        “Where Will They Go"       (from "Fight The Tide")
                        “We Need Each Other”     (title track)
                        “The Show"                      (from "Fight The Tide)
                        "Whatever You're Doing"   (from "We Need Each Other")

You can three of these songs on the right.

You can listen to "Where Will They Go" using the YouTube below:

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more weekly artist spotlights on Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian Music.

“Cross The Line (Box Office Blockbuster Remix)” - Superchick

If P. Diddy invented the remix, Max Hsu of Superchick perfected it, and this remix of the hit “Cross The Line” proves it.

Whereas the original version of the song was simple, tight, driven rock, the Box Office Blockbuster Remix comes from a completely different angle.

Here we have a super-expansive, even explosive, alt-metal-ish sound laced with just enough electronic backing as to add the superbly blended background noise.

The guitars have a completely different attitude from the first version: whereas, with the original cut of “Cross The Line,” you got the impression of a group of twenty Gen X-ers running through the city streets, yelling at the top of their lungs at the establishment, the Blockbuster Remix paints the picture of a crowd of twenty-thousand marching into the city, ready to break down the walls and take it over. From the get-go, you'd almost assume that it's a different song, if you didn't know better, which only serves to reinforce Hsu's gift for remixing Superchick's music.

In a word, lead singer Tricia Brock's vocals on “Cross The Line” can be described as “genuine.” The listener can completely relate to her cries as the leader of a movement of people who are willing to take the demonstration of their faith to the next level, and, most importantly, she's believable as the driving force behind such an idea.

I loved the original of “Cross The Line,” but the Box Office Blockbuster Remix took me to a whole new place with the idea.

You can listen to the remix on the YouTube video below:

I hope you enjoy the remix (and the original), and keep coming back for more great music at Christian Music Discovery, the place for good Christian Music.