everything that's on my mind

The second ten edition

I’ve had an exceedingly difficult time in ordering my top twenty this time around. Six of these albums were, at one time or another, in the top ten list over the last few weeks. I’ve been re-listening to albums and re-ordering them almost daily, and I know next week I’ll wish I could do it again.

This year has been a remarkable year for music and in another year, most of my top twenty albums could have been in the top ten. Yet, eventually I had to stop and let the list be what it is, and so I’ve settled on what begins below. These are (at least today) my second ten, as difficult as it was to leave some of them out of the top ten.
 

#20 : Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk

A “monster” collaboration like this one – M. Ward, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), and Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) – is bound to generate high expectations. I’m not sure they met them, but for me they came pretty close. I like all of the artists and their distinctive styles on their own, and while the sum of the parts may still be greater than the whole, it’s a wonderful album nonetheless. Listen to: Say Please, The Right Place, Whole Lotta Losin’

#19 : Hello Hurricane – Switchfoot

Three albums later, Switchfoot has finally approached the greatness of their 2004 release The Beautiful Letdown, their best album to date. Hello Hurricane presents a “facing the storms of life” theme throughout the lyrics (evidenced in the album title) and there is a conspicuous U2 influence in the music. It’s not quite Letdown, but it’s as close as they’ve been since. Listen to: “Needle and Haystack Life“, “Mess Of Me“, “Bullet Soul“

#18 : Picket Fence Cartel – Project 86

I’ve been a fan of Project 86 for about eight years now, and their last release Rival Factions was a bit experimental. But they’ve returned to their roots with this seventh release, and it’s their best work in years. Their hard driving rock and Andrew Schwab’s singing/screaming borders on metal, and the lyrics are a bit heavier on spiritual themes than their past work. It might give you a headache, but in a good way. The Butcher, Cement Shoes, The Spectacle of Fearsome Acts

#17 : Church Music – David Crowder Band

David Crowder Band, unlike most “worship genre” artists, continues to remain fresh and innovative. Their newest release is no exception, and demonstrates one of the reasons they’re one of the few in that genre worth listening to at this point. Church Music‘s electronica sound is certainly a different animal than the bluegrass/rock of A Collision a few years ago, but it rivals it as the best of what these guys have done. Listen to: “The Nearness“, “SMS (Shine)“, “Eastern Hymn“

#16 : Hey La Hey – Michael McDermott

Singer-songwriter McDermott is a favorite of mine, and is a master at painting a picture with his lyrics. On his newest release he has shown that he was up to the task of following up Noise From Words (my #1 album in 2007). This is yet another strong album both musically and lyrically, full of compelling characters and stories. And, like Noise…, the best track is the album closer. If you haven’t been listening to McDermott, you need to start right now. Listen to: “The Great American Novel“, “I Wanna Know Why“, “Carry Your Cross“

#15 : Stockholm Syndrome – Derek Webb

The title hints that the church is too at home in the world in which we live. And far be it from Webb to be quiet about it. Lyrically, the familiar themes you expect are present, including calling the church to be more than what he finds in American Christianity. Musically, it’s electronic, programmed sound is unlike his previous work, but for me, it works. And also expected from Webb is the obligatory controversy. Listen to: I Love/Hate You, Cobra Con, What Matters Most

#14 : Curse Your Branches – David Bazan

David Bazan’s (Pedro The Lion) solo debut is an album that seems to have been born from the questions and doubts about God and faith with which he’s wrestled for many years. Lyrically, it’s pretty heavy and at times pointed, as his frustration with God and things spiritual pours out. Maybe an agnostic, maybe not, but he is not afraid to ask tough questions and challenge the standard answers. Listen to: Hard To Be, When We Fell, Curse Your Branches

#13 : Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Elvis Perkins in Dearland

I was completely unfamiliar with Perkins until about a month ago when I encountered this album on eMusic. He is the son of Anthony Perkins, and the tragedy in his life (his father’s death by AIDS, his mothers death on one of the planes on 9/11/01) has shaped his music and lyrics. There’s both darkness and hope here, at times haunting and other times celebratory. An array of instruments and styles are employed with tremendous results. Listen to: “Shampoo“, “Send My Fond Regards To Lonelyville“, “Doomsday“

#12 : Hold Time – M. Ward

You know by now that I’ve grown to love M. Ward this year (this being his third appearance in my lists) and this album is the reason why. It prompted me to get more from his catalog, thanks to eMusic, and I’ve yet to be disappointed. Ward’s influences appear to be all over the map – folk, rock, blues, country, Americana, and more. I love his distinctive vocals and he’s a phenomenal musician. Listen to: “Never Had Nobody Like You“, “Rave On“, “To Save Me“

#11 : The Hazards of Love – The Decemberists

The Decemberists can tell a good story, and they do so again on their newest – a love story in the form of a rock opera. The occasional dark and disturbing lyrics are there as expected, and the music is aptly described as 70′s prog folk opera. The songs aren’t as instantly memorable like some from previous albums, but of course it’s meant to be listened to as a whole. It is an exceptional piece of work, and in my opinion, their best work to date. Listen to: “The Hazards of Love 1“, “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid“, “The Rake’s Song“

That’s it. That’s the list.

Up next: the top ten.

I completely missed Derek Webb’s first disc when he left Caedmon’s Call earlier this decade, and only heard his second, I See Things Upside Down, because I received the CD free. But it was good and I have since become a huge fan. His third disc, Mockingbird, is one of my favorites from the last few years.

On this fifth release, Stockholm Syndrome, you could say – to quote a Byrne/Eno lyric – that “nothing has changed but nothing’s the same.” As the title suggests, Webb contends that the church is a bit too comfortable with the world in which we live. Lyrically, there are the familiar themes of social justice, politics and calling the church to be something more than is generally found in American Christianity. He even includes a song from Jesus to hatemonger Fred Phelps. Musically, however, it’s electronic, programmed sound is unlike any of his previous work. It’s not my favorite kind of music and it didn’t click with me right away. But after listening to it for a couple of months, I’ve grown to really like it a lot.

And then, of course, there’s the controversy, which we’ve come to expect from a new Webb release. In this case, it’s not only the lyrics – in fact it’s probably not the lyrics at all – but a word used in the song “What Matters More.” The song is about Christians’ response to both homosexuality and poverty, about our the church’s tendency to focus on minors instead of majors, but includes the word “shit.” This resulted in problems with his record company and eventually, the song being dropped from the official release (but available on the download from his website, where I obtained my copy.)

The offending lyric:

If I can tell what’s in your heart by what comes out of your mouth
Then it sure looks to me like being straight is all it’s about
It looks like being hated for all the wrong things
Like chasin’ the wind while the pendulum swings

‘Cause we can talk and debate until we’re blue in the face
About the language and tradition that he’s comin’ to save
Meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a shit
About 50,000 people who are dyin’ today

The line is a nod, I assume, to Tony Campolo, who has on occasion used the following line in speeches or sermons:

I have three things to say today. 1st: While you were sleeping last night 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. 2nd: Most of you don’t give a shit. 3rd: What’s worse is that you are more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.

It’s a good line, in my opinion, even if it’s been used before.

There are some who’ve argued that Webb’s lyrics tend to lack balance. As one reviewer pointed out, Rich Mullins (one of my very favorite artists) was not afraid to say what needed to be said to the church, but balanced it out with the love and grace of God more so than Webb. But I’m not sure Webb’s lack of balance is necessarily a bad thing. Contemporary “Christian” music has lacked balance pretty much from it’s inception, and maybe it’s okay for Webb to swing too far in the other direction for a while. I have hope that he’ll eventually have more balance, but I have no problem with what he’s doing right now. Rich left us 12 years ago this coming Saturday, and it seems Webb is the only one attempting to fill the hole he left.

If you like Webb for his music, this is a bit of a change, although I’ve enjoyed it a lot. If you like him for his words, then this is more of what you would expect. If you’ve never heard him, I’d recommend Mockingbird first, but this one is more than worth a listen as well.

Here’s “Cobra Con” and the aforementioned “What Matters More”: