A Quick ‘What’s In The Changer?’
I know I know. I should change the title of this to “What’s on the Playlist”. I know few people use multi-CD changers in their everyday lives. All of us build our quick greatest hits playlists. But that often means that we only have one song from each artist. And as for now, we’re all still making whole records whether or not anyone listens to them that way. So I’ll keep doing the Changer and listening to the records as a whole. So here are the records I’m listening to right now.
The Medicine – John Mark McMillan
John Mark McMillan wrote How He Loves, made accessible to the general CCM listener by the David Crowder Band. As that song reveals, here lies a beautiful poetic soul in love with Christ with a great talent for lyrics and music. And he doesn’t really sound like anything else. And he sings in my keys. I love all of that. His new record is tops on my listening list right now along with the next one. I can’t wait for the next time I get to lead worship because I’m going to pull out “Death In His Grave”. Incredible song. But so are many of these tunes. I love the creativity both lyrically, musically, and production wise. Take a listen.
The House You’re Building – Audrey Assad
I’ve been wondering when someone was going to pull this girl into the limelight. I’ve been listening to her for a couple of years now. She’s a great singer and a great songwriter. I don’t say she’s a singer/songwriter because that often conveys that the person is mainly a songwriter who can sing. She really does all well. It’s dangerous to compare people. And it’s hard. Maybe she’s a combination of Sarah Mclachlan and Karen Carpenter. What? Does that even make sense? It took me a while to find the comparison for the single “For Love of You” but that’s because it was too recent. It reminded me of our dear friend Meredith Andrews. Meredith leans toward worship, while Audrey leans toward writing. I love how she stretches her words, pulling melodies you wouldn’t expect out of a single word or phrase. Great record. Check it out.
Hello Hurricane – Switchfoot
Have I talked about this record yet? Probably. But I’ve been listening to it a lot lately. Incredible. Plus I’ve been using it as an educational piece for my kids. Kids, this is how you make a rock record. And I’ve been learning from it myself. Awesome.
Nightlights – Jimmy Needham
I’m always excited about a new project from my friend Jimmy Needham. I love him as a person and as a musician. He’s a wonderful funny talented guy. If you haven’t seen him live, you should. Again, Jimmy digs into some funky rhythmic music in a way nobody else in CCM does. Maybe like Stevie Wonder with an acoustic guitar. And all completely in love with Jesus. It’s kind of hard to explain. Just listen.
Sea of Cowards – Dead Weather
I usually include mainstream music in here too. But recently there has been great Christian stuff coming out. This record did crack the list though. I love Jack White. I love how he approaches the guitar and the crazy sounds he gets out of it. Pairing with a female lead singer put a really different spin on his music. I love “No Horse”. Could listen to it over and over. And it’s best really loud. Really loud.
Till next time, listen well.
Todd