Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Christian Music Supplement for December 2006
This was the Final post on the outside blog. I've actually had a few requests, or rather inquests, regarding the whereabouts of this information since my space went down. Apparently people had made mental notes to check out these bands, and by the time they got around to it, the Outside Blog was gone. There was only one comment on there at the time.
Monday, November 6, 2006
Christian Music Worth Your Time
Being a music nerd, who is also committed to God, I find myself deeply embarrassed by the religious music industry. But there are Christians who make music for the discerning ear. And I am on a quest to isolate it in it's purest forms, undiluted by wannabe copies of secular bands. So as promised, Christians worth a listen, in no particular order. (This used to say "Complete with lotsa links." But it doesn't have the links anymore. If you want the links, click here and scroll down to the saved older version with links still intact.)
2. Sufjan Stevens. Any of the albums. They're all masterful. I like the Michigan album as a starter. Anyway, Sufjan is a self-made music scene, completely DIY, with his own record label, playing most of the instruments you hear on his albums (which will blow your mind when you hear it). He is the Albert Einstein of Folk music. If The Mars Volta is pointing us to the future of serious rock, Sufjan Stevens is doing the same thing for folk. (But you'll usually find him filed under indie rock.) He also happens to be Christian, and that seeps into his lyrics sometimes.
3. Pedro the Lion. I haven't heard David Bazan's solo stuff yet, and I heard his new side-band "Headphones" isn't as good. But he was the man behind Pedro the Lion, the only Christian band I know that has consistently gotten real respect in the fickle indie rock world (he just announced he's retiring PtL, which is sad.) Any album is great. Warning, PtL is about as far from "twee" as possible. Think lo-fi, with sardonic lyrics. He deals more with sin and conscience than with grace, but both are there. "Control" is their mockumentary rock opera about modern secularist romance. It is very depressing, but mind-blowingly good indie rock. The albums "It's Hard to Find a Friend" and "Achilles Heel" also have some of my favorite Pedro songs.
4. The Snake The Cross The Crown. They only have one album I know of - "Mander Salis." It's just good. Some of the tracks remind me a little of the Juliana Theory, but most of the other tracks hit indie from every angle. There's a Shins-esque ballad and some tracks that sound as musically (lead guitar-istically) profound as Mars Volta or Muse.
5. mewithoutYou. The album I have is entitled "Catch For Us The Foxes," which is a reference to Song of Solomon, where the lovers ask for accountability to keep themselves pure. The sound is like slam poetry vocals over a harder-edge indie guitar sound kindof like And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. The lyrics are more scripturally sound than I have heard since Waterdeep. I seem to recall a lot of 2 Peter references, off the top of my head. Point is, they're not afraid to get into the good stuff, intellectually and spiritually. I am looking forward to hearing their new one, Brother, Sister. It's in the mail. Patience, patience.
7. Bob Dylan. (yeah, that's what I said.) He had three Christian albums, 1979-1981. He won a Grammy for "Slow Train Coming," which was the first one. I like "Shot of Love," but if you're not into gospel-country stylings, it might be an acquired taste. Read up more on the history of it; it's interesting. Either way, the music is unquestionably good.
8. Viva Voce. Any album. I am excited about this band. They are new-ish and growing on me. Their second album, "Lovers, Lead the Way" was released on Asthmatic Kitty, Sufjan Stevens' label. Their third album, "The Heat Can Melt Your Brain" is probably the album I would start with. Sample the track "Lesson No. 1." I love this stuff. The 2006 release is on Barsuk. I am listening to it as I blog this, and it's one of the best albums I've heard this year. Anita is even going to be singing on the Shins' new album, due out in January. Talk about street cred. Disclaimer: they've been called a Christian band by several trusty if not credible sources, BUT if they are, they're the kind not afraid to cuss occasionally, and sing about Vampires. That being said, just check them out.
9. The Waiting. Look for their self-titled release. This is one of the few CCM industry albums I would ever encourage anyone to buy. This is also the furthest out on a limb I go on this list. But the final track, "Hands in the Air" is probably among my favorite epic rock songs ever. They had a sortof tongue-in-cheek acoustic feel, because they were a 90's alternative band, but I like them. There's some REM influence in there, maybe Dinosaur Jr., too, or Soul Asylum. But the frankness in his voice is too crisp to be arty or grungy. Definitely not a hipster album, but I love it.
10. Starflyer 59. Try the album "The Fashion Focus." Before a lot of people even knew what shoegaze was, SF0059 had mastered it. Mopey fuzz rock. (Shhh, they're Christian.)
11. Danielson. If you like the idea of experimental bass-pop twee-sounding folky indie rock, check this guy out. Incidentally, his name changes a lot. He also goes buy The Danielson Famile and Bro Danielson. He basically surrounds himself with a million musician friends (including, incidentally, Sufjan Stevens) to make his albums. My favorite album is "Brother Is To Son" (by Bro Danielson.) I find that his stuff flows well in a mix with Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire, and Modest Mouse.
12. Some other thoughts... (No links. Don't even trip. Google's got your back.)
• Christians seem to do well in niches. For instance, some of the best ska bands were Christian, such as Five Iron Frenzy (their "All The Hype That Money Can Buy" is the greatest ska album I have ever heard). The same is true of late-90's hardcore (c.f. early POD, Project 86),and also applies to shoegaze bands. Apparently Starflyer 59 isn't the only one. Alt-Country is also strong; I recommend Nickel Creek, Sandra McCracken, and Stephanie Chapman if you're into that Alison Krauss kind of bluegrass-country.
• Pretty much all Keith Green, Rich Mullins, or John Michael Talbot material is respectable both musically and in regards to spiritual depth, but I didn't list them above because they're not exactly stylistically hip.
• The same can be said for the 90's college rock band, 100 Portraits. Mostly, their stuff would appeal to the same crowd of potheads who might have liked Dave Matthews, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Dispatch in 1995. The difference is that they're sonically more sparse, relying heavily on that sortof 90's coffee-shop world-beat feel. There's lot of djimbe and acoustic guitar and throaty grrrl singing probably influenced by Joni Mitchell and the Alanis/Fiona/Jewel/Tori/etc. movement. The music is very unique though, and the lyrics lean heavily on beautiful, sound Biblical imagery. They're also very, very strong when it comes to praise recordings. Their "Enter The Worship Circle" albums are great (The first one is a collaboration with Waterdeep recorded as a jam in someone's living room. The song "You Are So Good To Me," made famous by Third Day was originally from a worship circle album.)
• Also, not everything by a supercheesy Christian band like Newsboys or Switchfoot is lame. I still kindof like Switchfoot's first album, "The Legend of Chin" while I would definitely steer clear of the rest of their stuff. Some of my favorite Christian songs of all time aren't even represented in the list above: "Two Sets of Joneses" by Big Tent Revival; "Lost the Plot" and "Breakfast" by the Newsboys; "Chevette" by Audio Adrenaline; and "Love Song" by Third Day. Also, if you like acoustic, singer-songwriter stuff, like you might hear from a local artist in a coffee shop, see if you can hunt down the album "Music" by Justin Rosolino, "Hinge" by Zoubek & Bryant, or "Cry for Me" by Ryan Long. All three are very much independent, small-time stuff, and are pretty high quality. (PS - Those albums all seem to be on Amazon. You gotta love it.)
• Labels. There used to be a great grassroots Christian music movement centred around Grassrootsmusic.com, but it was bought out and diluted by CCM interests, so most of the good Christian production seems to loosely orbit either Tooth & Nail (mewithoutYou, Starflyer 59) or Asthmatic Kitty (Sufjan). If there are other good little Christian labels, I don't know about them. The rest seem to be on secular indie labels. Waterdeep is basically their own label and were on Squint along with Sixpence None The Richer before that label folded; Pedro The Lion was on Jade Tree (who have hosted The Promise Ring, My Morning Jacket, Songs:Ohia, Alkaline Trio, and Jets to Brazil at different times); Innocence Mission is on Badman (Call & Response, Mark Kozelek, My Morning Jacket, The Posies, Lanterna); TSTCTC is on Equal Vision (Coheed & Cambria); Viva Voce is on Barsuk (Death Cab for Cutie, Mates of State, John Vanderslice, Rocky Votolato, Rilo Kiley, Nada Surf); The Waiting were a mainstream CCM band on Sparrow I think; and Danielson has been working through Secretly Canadian (Songs:Ohia, Damien Jurado, Antony & The Johnsons, Jens Lekman, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness) since he left T&N.
• Matisyahu. Yes, he's Jewish, i.e., not saved. But to the extent that a lot of his lyrics are based unapologetically in Old Testament scripture, I find that listening to his stuff makes for a good attitude toward God. I have found that God will use it to work on me, and allow me to worship him, if I am already in the Spirit. I can't help but be reminded though, how much he still needs Jesus. You be the judge of whether to put his stuff in your Christian mix.
Currently listening :
Get Yr Blood Sucked Out
By Viva Voce
Release date: By 12 September, 2006
10:19 PM - 5 Comments - 4 Kudos
[EDIT 1/28/2008] Waterdeep came out with an album since I posted this. Haven't heard it.
2. Sufjan Stevens. Any of the albums. They're all masterful. I like the Michigan album as a starter. Anyway, Sufjan is a self-made music scene, completely DIY, with his own record label, playing most of the instruments you hear on his albums (which will blow your mind when you hear it). He is the Albert Einstein of Folk music. If The Mars Volta is pointing us to the future of serious rock, Sufjan Stevens is doing the same thing for folk. (But you'll usually find him filed under indie rock.) He also happens to be Christian, and that seeps into his lyrics sometimes.
3. Pedro the Lion. I haven't heard David Bazan's solo stuff yet, and I heard his new side-band "Headphones" isn't as good. But he was the man behind Pedro the Lion, the only Christian band I know that has consistently gotten real respect in the fickle indie rock world (he just announced he's retiring PtL, which is sad.) Any album is great. Warning, PtL is about as far from "twee" as possible. Think lo-fi, with sardonic lyrics. He deals more with sin and conscience than with grace, but both are there. "Control" is their mockumentary rock opera about modern secularist romance. It is very depressing, but mind-blowingly good indie rock. The albums "It's Hard to Find a Friend" and "Achilles Heel" also have some of my favorite Pedro songs.
[EDIT 1/28/2008] Since this post was written, Dave Bazan has said at live shows that while Christianity was once true of his life, he no longer believes in it. Weird situation, by all accounts.
4. The Snake The Cross The Crown. They only have one album I know of - "Mander Salis." It's just good. Some of the tracks remind me a little of the Juliana Theory, but most of the other tracks hit indie from every angle. There's a Shins-esque ballad and some tracks that sound as musically (lead guitar-istically) profound as Mars Volta or Muse.
[EDIT 1/28/2008] Since this post, TSTCTC came out with another album, Cotton Teeth which is a little mopey but overall very pleasing.
5. mewithoutYou. The album I have is entitled "Catch For Us The Foxes," which is a reference to Song of Solomon, where the lovers ask for accountability to keep themselves pure. The sound is like slam poetry vocals over a harder-edge indie guitar sound kindof like And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. The lyrics are more scripturally sound than I have heard since Waterdeep. I seem to recall a lot of 2 Peter references, off the top of my head. Point is, they're not afraid to get into the good stuff, intellectually and spiritually. I am looking forward to hearing their new one, Brother, Sister. It's in the mail. Patience, patience.
[EDIT 1/28/2008] Brother, Sister came out and was great. Get it if you don't have it.
[EDIT 1/28/2008] Brotherhood of Men, their 2007 release, was good, but not their best ever. I Recommend Befriended.
7. Bob Dylan. (yeah, that's what I said.) He had three Christian albums, 1979-1981. He won a Grammy for "Slow Train Coming," which was the first one. I like "Shot of Love," but if you're not into gospel-country stylings, it might be an acquired taste. Read up more on the history of it; it's interesting. Either way, the music is unquestionably good.
8. Viva Voce. Any album. I am excited about this band. They are new-ish and growing on me. Their second album, "Lovers, Lead the Way" was released on Asthmatic Kitty, Sufjan Stevens' label. Their third album, "The Heat Can Melt Your Brain" is probably the album I would start with. Sample the track "Lesson No. 1." I love this stuff. The 2006 release is on Barsuk. I am listening to it as I blog this, and it's one of the best albums I've heard this year. Anita is even going to be singing on the Shins' new album, due out in January. Talk about street cred. Disclaimer: they've been called a Christian band by several trusty if not credible sources, BUT if they are, they're the kind not afraid to cuss occasionally, and sing about Vampires. That being said, just check them out.
[EDIT 1/28/2008] Since this post, I have come to the opinion (though not to the conclusion) that these guys are not believers.
9. The Waiting. Look for their self-titled release. This is one of the few CCM industry albums I would ever encourage anyone to buy. This is also the furthest out on a limb I go on this list. But the final track, "Hands in the Air" is probably among my favorite epic rock songs ever. They had a sortof tongue-in-cheek acoustic feel, because they were a 90's alternative band, but I like them. There's some REM influence in there, maybe Dinosaur Jr., too, or Soul Asylum. But the frankness in his voice is too crisp to be arty or grungy. Definitely not a hipster album, but I love it.
10. Starflyer 59. Try the album "The Fashion Focus." Before a lot of people even knew what shoegaze was, SF0059 had mastered it. Mopey fuzz rock. (Shhh, they're Christian.)
11. Danielson. If you like the idea of experimental bass-pop twee-sounding folky indie rock, check this guy out. Incidentally, his name changes a lot. He also goes buy The Danielson Famile and Bro Danielson. He basically surrounds himself with a million musician friends (including, incidentally, Sufjan Stevens) to make his albums. My favorite album is "Brother Is To Son" (by Bro Danielson.) I find that his stuff flows well in a mix with Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire, and Modest Mouse.
[EDIT 1/28/2008] His album Fetch the Compass Kids got me through art finals Fall 2007, almost singlehandedly.
12. Some other thoughts... (No links. Don't even trip. Google's got your back.)• Christians seem to do well in niches. For instance, some of the best ska bands were Christian, such as Five Iron Frenzy (their "All The Hype That Money Can Buy" is the greatest ska album I have ever heard). The same is true of late-90's hardcore (c.f. early POD, Project 86),and also applies to shoegaze bands. Apparently Starflyer 59 isn't the only one. Alt-Country is also strong; I recommend Nickel Creek, Sandra McCracken, and Stephanie Chapman if you're into that Alison Krauss kind of bluegrass-country.
• Pretty much all Keith Green, Rich Mullins, or John Michael Talbot material is respectable both musically and in regards to spiritual depth, but I didn't list them above because they're not exactly stylistically hip.
• The same can be said for the 90's college rock band, 100 Portraits. Mostly, their stuff would appeal to the same crowd of potheads who might have liked Dave Matthews, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Dispatch in 1995. The difference is that they're sonically more sparse, relying heavily on that sortof 90's coffee-shop world-beat feel. There's lot of djimbe and acoustic guitar and throaty grrrl singing probably influenced by Joni Mitchell and the Alanis/Fiona/Jewel/Tori/etc. movement. The music is very unique though, and the lyrics lean heavily on beautiful, sound Biblical imagery. They're also very, very strong when it comes to praise recordings. Their "Enter The Worship Circle" albums are great (The first one is a collaboration with Waterdeep recorded as a jam in someone's living room. The song "You Are So Good To Me," made famous by Third Day was originally from a worship circle album.)
• Also, not everything by a supercheesy Christian band like Newsboys or Switchfoot is lame. I still kindof like Switchfoot's first album, "The Legend of Chin" while I would definitely steer clear of the rest of their stuff. Some of my favorite Christian songs of all time aren't even represented in the list above: "Two Sets of Joneses" by Big Tent Revival; "Lost the Plot" and "Breakfast" by the Newsboys; "Chevette" by Audio Adrenaline; and "Love Song" by Third Day. Also, if you like acoustic, singer-songwriter stuff, like you might hear from a local artist in a coffee shop, see if you can hunt down the album "Music" by Justin Rosolino, "Hinge" by Zoubek & Bryant, or "Cry for Me" by Ryan Long. All three are very much independent, small-time stuff, and are pretty high quality. (PS - Those albums all seem to be on Amazon. You gotta love it.)
• Labels. There used to be a great grassroots Christian music movement centred around Grassrootsmusic.com, but it was bought out and diluted by CCM interests, so most of the good Christian production seems to loosely orbit either Tooth & Nail (mewithoutYou, Starflyer 59) or Asthmatic Kitty (Sufjan). If there are other good little Christian labels, I don't know about them. The rest seem to be on secular indie labels. Waterdeep is basically their own label and were on Squint along with Sixpence None The Richer before that label folded; Pedro The Lion was on Jade Tree (who have hosted The Promise Ring, My Morning Jacket, Songs:Ohia, Alkaline Trio, and Jets to Brazil at different times); Innocence Mission is on Badman (Call & Response, Mark Kozelek, My Morning Jacket, The Posies, Lanterna); TSTCTC is on Equal Vision (Coheed & Cambria); Viva Voce is on Barsuk (Death Cab for Cutie, Mates of State, John Vanderslice, Rocky Votolato, Rilo Kiley, Nada Surf); The Waiting were a mainstream CCM band on Sparrow I think; and Danielson has been working through Secretly Canadian (Songs:Ohia, Damien Jurado, Antony & The Johnsons, Jens Lekman, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness) since he left T&N.
• Matisyahu. Yes, he's Jewish, i.e., not saved. But to the extent that a lot of his lyrics are based unapologetically in Old Testament scripture, I find that listening to his stuff makes for a good attitude toward God. I have found that God will use it to work on me, and allow me to worship him, if I am already in the Spirit. I can't help but be reminded though, how much he still needs Jesus. You be the judge of whether to put his stuff in your Christian mix.
Currently listening :Get Yr Blood Sucked Out
By Viva Voce
Release date: By 12 September, 2006
10:19 PM - 5 Comments - 4 Kudos
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