Okay, I’ve decided to poke my head out from “blog retirement” temporarily to post my mid-year music list. I’m still contemplating whether or not I’ll do any more of this or not, but while I’m deciding, I figured I’d go ahead and post my favorites from the year so far.

As is my custom, I’m not picking strictly from music released this year, but new music I’ve acquired this year (actually starting December 2007), even if it was released prior to this year.

So, after sifting through the nearly 70 new albums/ep’s I’ve acquired in the past 7 months, here’s my favorites so far, in no particular order.

• Flying Upside Down - Griffin House
  If I was going to rank these, this one would be #1 on the list, the one I’d recommend above all of the others. It also contains one of my favorite songs of the past six months or so.

  Check out “I Remember (It’s Happening Again)“.
   

• Mudcrutch - Mudcrutch
  I love all things Tom Petty. This year he got together with his original pre-Heartbreakers band (which actually includes two Heartbreakers) to record the album they never did 30+ years ago. I’m glad they did, as the result is a fantastic album.

  Check out “Scare Easy“.
   

• In The Future - Black Mountain
  Canadian psychedelic rock band’s second release. I stumbled across this on eMusic, and have enjoyed it more with each listen.

  Check out “Angels“.
   

• With Arrows, With Poise - The Myriad
  I downloaded an EP from indie band The Myriad earlier this year that contained earlier versions of some of these songs, and got this immediately after it became available more recently. In short, it’s outstanding. Great music with lyrics that occasionally hint at their faith. When year end comes, this will likely be near the top of my list.

  Check out “You Waste Time Like A Grandfather Clock“.
   

• Deconstruction - Justin McRoberts
  I discovered singer/songwriter McRoberts via a review I read of this album, downloading it shortly thereafter. I find him comparable to other favorites of mine like Andrew Osenga and Derek Webb, both musically and lyrically, asking tough questions regarding faith and action. This is another one that may drift to the top part of my list.

  Check out “Done Living“.
   

• Gravity Love - Sandra McCracken
  I used to know of McCracken only as “Mrs. Derek Webb”, but no longer. I’ve heard none of her other work, but I want to now. Elements of pop and folk, occasionally bordering on country, a very good album.

  Check out “Shelter“.
   

• Mission Control - The Whigs
  I first heard The Whigs on Letterman in late January, and immediately liked their sound. They sound familiar (track 2 sounds like it was lifted from an INXS album), although at the moment I can’t quite place all of the other artists they remind me of. Still, a very good disc. The Whigs rock.

  Check out “Right Hand On My Heart“.
   

• Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
  It seems they’re most-often called “afro-pop”, which I admit is a term which I was unfamiliar with. I just downloaded this less than two weeks ago, but I’m enjoying it a lot already. It’s a lot of fun.

  Check out “A-Punk“.
   

• Heretic Pride - The Mountain Goats
  “Urban folk” - another term with which I was unfamiliar. I guess it sounds like this. This one had to grow on me, particularly John Darnielle’s voice. However, after repeated listens, it became a favorite.

  Check out “Sax Rohmer #1“.
   

• Casting Shadows - The Black Hollies
  This album sounds like it’s straight out of the 60’s, and while I’ll probably tire of it eventually and it will fail to make my year-end list, I’m still loving it right now.

  Check out “Paisley Pattern Ground“.
   

And, a few others I’d recommend that didn’t make my top 10:

• XV - King’s X
  If you’ve read this blog over the last few years, you already know King’s X is one of my favorite bands. I also believe they are one of the most underrated bands ever. They continue to get it done.

  Check out “Alright“.
   

• Straightjacket - Steven Delopoulos
  I was a big fan of Burlap To Cashmere’s lone album about 10 years ago, and more from BTC’s frontman was welcomed. Delopoulos’ Greek heritage always comes through in his music, and this is no exception. A very good collection of songs.

  Check out “The Ruin of the Beast“.
   

• Girls and Boys - Ingrid Michaelson
  I was unfamiliar with Ingrid until I found this on eMusic, probably because I don’t watch Old Navy commercials or Grey’s Anatamy, where her music has been featured. Anyway, I really like this album, especially her voice, which, at times, reminds me of Leigh Nash (Sixpence), another favorite of mine.

  Check out “The Way I Am“.
   

• Blackbird - Alter Bridge
  Yes, I realize that Alter Bridge is simply Creed with a new lead singer (albeit a better one.) I am aware that what little credibility I had when it comes to recommending music may now be history. Ridicule me if you must, but I like it nonetheless, and there seems to be nothing I can do about it.

  Check out “Rise Today“.
   

That’s it. That’s the list.

It was 10 days early, but I went ahead and got myself an iPod Nano (8G) last night. We were out shopping for something else, and with my birthday coming up, I was already planning on getting one with my family paying for part of it as my gift. Well, we were there, and there it was, so I went ahead and got it early.

It’s my first iPod, as my digital music device up until last night was a sandisk 1G player I got last year about this time. It was the cheapest I could find at the time with 1G at only around $30-$35, I believe. I got it mainly to have something for yard work last summer. Oh, and it was hot pink, but it was the only color they had. It’s been great for what it is, but also somewhat of a pain since it only holds 1G. With eMusic and other music purchases each month, I would fill it up with completely new music on a monthly basis and have to remove anything else. I’m glad to have more space now.

I considered other non-iPod devices - I’m not as thrilled with using iTunes, as I’ve enjoyed the ease of just dragging and dropping from folder to folder. But, everyone I know who has one recommended the iPod, and so I’ve been importing away since last night. I considered the 80G classic, and with over 90G of music on my hard drives right now, it seemed like a better choice. However, I ended up settling on the 8G. I think it will be enough for now.

Now, I’m off to import some Iron Maiden…

Here’s my latest…

Currently listening a lot to some solo work by Andrew Osenga (formerly of The Normals, currently of Caedmon’s Call) and Jon Foreman (Switchfoot).

Also, enjoying the new Delirious?, The Mountain Goats and Sandra McCracken (wife of one of my favorites, Derek Webb).

Anyway, here it is (no embedding this time.)

• Andrew Osenga
  Letters To The Editor Vol 1
  Souvenirs & Postcards
  Listen: “Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates”
   

• Jon Foreman
  Fall EP
  Winter EP
  Spring EP
  Listen: “Southbound Train” & “The Cure for the Pain”
   

• The Mountain Goats
  Heretic Pride
  Listen: “Sax Rohmer #1″
   

• Sandra McCracken
  Gravity Love
  Listen: “Shelter”
   

• Delirious?
  Kingdom of Comfort
  Listen: “Kingdom of Comfort”
   

• M Ward
  Post-War
  Listen: “Requiem”
   

• Matthew Barber
  Ghost Notes
  Listen: “You and Me”
   

• Atomic Opera
  Alpha and Oranges
   
• The Myriad
  Prelude to Arrows
   
  And last but not least…
   

• Bob Dylan
  Dylan
  Listen: “Subterranean Homesick Blues”

That’s it. That’s the list.

I thought I’d try to get in an update post here before I’m gone for a few days. My kids are on spring break this week, and I’m only working through noon today. I’m taking off the rest of the week, starting with taking my daughter to lunch. She’s asked for just the two of us to go out to lunch, so we’re doing that today. The rest of the week is not completely planned, but mostly just some time to spend together as a family, and for me, not working!

We all went to see Horton Hears A Who this weekend. It was pretty good. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did several Pixar movies, but it was still fun. I usually find Jim Carrey to be annoying to some degree, but he wasn’t too bad here. I’ve had Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO) on my DVR for months now, and I’m hoping to find time to watch it this week during my time off.

My eMusic downloads refreshed this past weekend. I’ve not decided what else I’ll be getting yet, but I finally pulled the trigger on John Fogerty’s double-live album The Long Road Home - In Concert, which I’ve had on my list for many months now. It’s part solo, part CCR, and it’s all good. It includes one song I was unfamiliar with, apparently from an album of his a few years ago. It’s called “Déjà Vu (All Over Again)”, where Fogerty expresses his opinion of the Iraq war, suggesting it’s another Vietnam. Check it out.

I finished A.J. Jacob’s book The Year of Living Biblically yesterday. I enjoyed it a lot. First, it was hilarious. Jacobs is pretty funny. But, I also found it thought provoking at times. How seriously do I take the Bible? How do I, at times, interpret it to fit what I want it to say instead of taking it for what it says? My one complaint is that it probably could have been a bit shorter. He tended to include plenty of accounts that really didn’t add anything to the story. But still, I’d definitely recommend it.

I’m currently reading Erwin McManus’ The Barbarian Way. I read this about two and a half years ago, but as I think I mentioned before, I’m a part of a book club with a couple of ministers from my church, and that’s our book for March. I’m about halfway through.

In other books, I’ll start reading Lewis’ Mere Christianity over the next few days. Our small group at church is beginning a study of it this week. I’ve had this book for probably 15 years, and have yet to read it. So, finally, I will. Also, I picked up Shane Claiborne’s new book, Jesus For President, a couple of days ago. I plan to start it next week, after I’m finished with McManus.

I was somewhat sad to see the series finale of Jericho last night. I guess we won’t get to see America’s next civil war, although I understand the producers are still hoping to land it somewhere else after CBS showed them the door. A fair amount of it was beyond belief, but I still enjoyed it while it lasted.

If you don’t read Greg Boyd’s blog, go check it out. He’s had some great stuff over the last month. Start with his Feburary 28th post and read up to the present.

I’ll probably have a tournament update next week, but until then, here’s #3:

I was going to comment on each one of these, but I just don’t have the time. In fact, I’m finding it hard to find time to post anything here lately, and that may continue for a while.

So, without further commentary, here are the newest albums that I’m listening to this month . . .

That’s it. That’s the list.

I have 31 downloads left on eMusic but am taking my time before deciding on what’s up next (and if you have recommendations, feel free to pass them along.)

I haven’t done one of these in a while (other than my year end lists), so I figured it was about time. My eMusic downloads refreshed yesterday and I’ve already used nearly half of them, plus I’ve acquired a few others in the past month or so. Here are some samples of what I’m listening to these days. This is all from eMusic, iTunes, used CD’s or free downloads. (Some of the YouTube audio is good quality, others not as good.)

By the way, one of these - the Scott Orr album - is available for free download here. (That’s where I got it.)

Also, there’s a Great Lake Swimmers live EP available here, which is where I was introduced to them initially.

Last week I downloaded Griffin House’s Flying Upside Down. This is the song that’s stuck with me over the last few days - “I Remember (It’s Happening Again).” A great song from a great album.

I’ve been listening to some Christmas music the past week or so. Here’s a few samples.

If you missed the intro and the second ten, check them out in yesterday’s post. One thing I failed to mention (although I suppose it’s obvious) is that I have included a clip with each entry so you can hear a little of what the album is like. So, with that, here’s the rest of the list - my top ten favorites of the year.

10. The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me - Brand New   (2006)

The latest from Brand New is, in my opinion, their best by far. I really like Jesse Lacey’s vocals and songwriting here, both lyrically and musically. Several reviews I read invoked the name of Pink Floyd, so I suppose that’s a valid comparison. And the song “Jesus Christ” is one of my favorites of the year. Also, it gets my favorite album cover award this year.

9. Raising Sand - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss   (2007)

What happens when one of the fathers of heavy metal and the reigning queen of bluegrass get together to make a record? Well, Raising Sand happens, and it’s far better than I would have imagined it could be. Plant and Krauss sound magnificent together, and there’s a lot here - country, folk, blues, rock - a little of everything. And it’s all done very well.

8. Emotionalism - The Avett Brothers   (2007)

Bluegrass, rock, country, pop - The Avett Brothers have it all. Scott describes them as “a meld of the Beatles and bluegrass.” That’s pretty much right on. I first heard them via a performance on Conan O’Brien’s show which left me wanting more. I grabbed the album shortly thereafter, and I was not disappointed.

7. The Crane Wife - The Decemberists   (2006)

The title is from Japanese folklore, a story told in three of the album tracks, among other often strange and sometimes dark lyrics. I recently remembered how great this album is as I watched them perform several of the songs on Austin City Limits. I had a hard time placing this one. It’s so good that I hate not to place it higher, but everything above it is also very good, so it lands here.

6. So Much More - Brett Dennen   (2006)

Dennen is a young singer-songwriter sometimes compared to the likes of Bob Dylan. I stayed away from this for a while because something about Dennen’s voice bothered me. But eventually I got over it and this became one of my favorites of the year. This is a great collection of songs, and very impressive considering it’s only his second album.

5. Hope & Other Casualties - Mark Erelli   (2006)

This album was the first I downloaded from eMusic (along with Ty Tabor) during my free trial back in February. Folk music wasn’t what I was looking for when I signed up, but I’m glad I found this one. Erelli is a terrific storyteller and his post-9/11 song “The Only Way” is the highlight of an album full of great songs.

4. The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance   (2006)

This probably doesn’t seem right, considering the other artists/albums in this list. But it is my favorites list, and this was a definite favorite. It’s a Queen-influenced concept album centered around a dying hospital patient, and despite the dark subject matter, I found it an extremely fun album. Granted, it’s not for everyone, but I couldn’t stop listening to it.

3. Magic - Bruce Springsteen   (2007)

I haven’t really paid as close attention to “The Boss” since my college days, but this newest release was one of the few I bought this year that was an instant favorite upon first listen. There is simply not a bad song on this disc, and if you’ve ever liked Springsteen’s work, you have to own this one.

2. The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter - Josh Ritter   (2007)

Early this year I was introduced to singer-songwriter Josh Ritter via The Animal Years, his release from last year. It was outstanding, and so, the day this newest release hit iTunes in August, I went from my bed to my PC that morning to download it immediately. He’s one of the best out there, and proves it yet again with this album. If you’re not listening to Ritter, you need to start today.

1. Noise From Words - Michael McDermott   (2007)

I suppose there are many injustices in the world of music, but the fact that Michael McDermott is not a more celebrated artist than he is may be the greatest. This is one of the best albums in my entire collection (of nearly 1,300 albums.) He can stand toe to toe with anyone out there today, and I defy you not to love this album. There’s not a bad song to be found here and the closing track is probably my favorite song of the year. Get this album today.

Okay. That’s it. That’s the list.

My next list will be my favorite books of the year. Again this year, I’ve read far less than I would like to have (you can see my list here), but I’ll nonetheless produce a favorites list from what I’ve read sometime next week, or perhaps the final week of the year.

It’s time for the latest of my annual “year in music” posts, detailing my favorite albums of the year. Due to an unusual amount of new music (over 100 new albums this year), I’ve chosen to go past simply a top ten, and include a second ten as well. The top ten will be forthcoming in the next day or two, but for now, the second half of the list.

A few notes:

• It’s not limited to albums released in the past year, but albums “new to me” (although most are from the last two years)
• I chose only one album per artist (the most recent) for the list, since I acquired multiple albums by some of the artists on the list
• Regarding links to the albums, all links below are to eMusic where available, with the rest pointing to Amazon.

So, with that said, here’s this year’s list, part one:

20. Five Score And Seven Years Ago - Relient K   (2007)

Relient K has always been a good pop-punk band, but they’ve also gotten better over time. I think this is probably their best to date. Their songwriting has improved over the years, particularly with this collection, and the 11-minute closer “Deathbed” is one of their best tracks to date.

19. Remedy - David Crowder Band   (2007)

The problem with recording an album like 2005’s A Collision is that you have to follow it up. And no, Remedy is not A Collision II, and, of course, it shouldn’t be. It’s also not as good (an unreasonable expectation), but is probably more accessible. If you don’t expect more than you should (which, granted, is difficult), it’s a very good album.

18. Freedom’s Road - John Mellencamp   (2007)

Scarecrow will always be my favorite Mellencamp album, but this is likely my second favorite, with some similarities to Scarecrow. I really have enjoyed it a lot this year. By now, you’re probably sick of hearing “Our Country” all over the place, but there’s other good stuff here as well, which sounds more like what he was doing in the mid-80’s.

17. Rival Factions - Project 86   (2007)

Project 86 first appeared on my radar in 2001 via the now-defunct Webrock.net. Since then I’ve become a huge fan of their brand of hard music and vocalist Andrew Schwaub. This new disc, while not their best (in my opinion), is probably their most accessible album yet. It’s varied in number of ways from their earlier stuff, but is still Project 86 and is outstanding in it’s own right.

16. Cassadaga - Bright Eyes   (2007)

I first heard Bright Eyes on one of my digital music channels earlier this year. Singer and songwriter Conor Oberst has one of those trembling voices that I tend to enjoy. I’ve seen it called alt country, indie rock, folk rock, and others. Seems to be a little of them all, but I just call it very good.

15. The Ringing Bell - Derek Webb   (2007)

Like Crowder, Webb’s recent work has caused expectations of future work to be high and perhaps unrealistic as well. Webb did not, for me at least, exceed his work on Mockingbird, but did create another very good album, continuing to speak to things other “Christian” artists don’t (or won’t). It also has, like his previous works, a slightly different musical feel from anything else he’s done.

14. Rock Garden - Ty Tabor   (2006)

I’m a long time King’s X fan, and so anything that any of these guys puts out immediately gets my attention. Ty Tabor has recorded several very good solo albums now, and while his previous solo work has been rightly labeled “Beatle-esque”, this one seems to be a mixture of his previous solo work and as well as his King’s X work. The result is his best album to date.

13. Some Mad Hope - Matt Nathanson   (2007)

I’d never heard of Nathanson until this year when I downloaded an acoustic live album from eMusic. This newest release was good the first time I listened to it, but seemed to get better with each listen. He’s been “under the radar” for quite a while, or so I read. Hopefully, he won’t remain there.

12. Vena Sera - Chevelle   (2007)

I found Chevelle at the time (and place) as Project 86, and this, their fourth album, is more of the same. Nothing new here, but I like what they do and so I’m fine with that. Often compared to Tool and Helmet, the heavy guitars, occasional screams and melodic choruses make for quite a good disc.

11. The Trumpet Child - Over The Rhine   (2007)

The newest disc by married duo Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist consists largely of love songs, although the excellent title track speaks to the end of time when Christ returns and makes all things new. I’ve heard of OTR for years, but only this year began listening to their stuff (thanks to eMusic.) It’s really great and I absolutely love Bergquist’s voice and the way she sings these songs.

That’s it for now. Up next, the top ten…

Since I had so much new music this year, here are a few albums that didn’t quite make the cut. Consider this my “honorable mention” list (in no particular order):