What Tickles My Ear

So...Music is my favorite thing apart from God, Mary, and QP (our baby, stands for Quarter Puerto Rican, since that's what it'll be)

Today there is really nothing big on my mind, so I think I will talk about some of my favorite bands/singers.  So these are my five favorite, why they mean something to me, and how I feel about their studio albums.  So, no live albums (which Counting Crows has a bunch of), no instrumental albums (see Feedback by Derek Webb), no compilations (which almost all of my favorites have or appear on).

1. Counting Crows. The next four all have a lot of wiggle room, but there is really no question about #1.  Way back in 1994 Mr. Jones showed up on my radio in Moundsville, WV, 100.1 WOMP FM to be exact, and I fell in love with Adam Duritz.  Well, that's not exactly true, it took a little more than just the one song, but once I broke down and asked my mom for the money to buy it, I grew up without an allowance, I had found my band.  Adam's lyrics speak to me at every moment of life, somehow his pain makes sense of my pain, his regret my regret, his love my love.  Whatever is going on in my life it seems that somehow Adam has experienced, which is obviously not true at all.  I am married and expecting my first child and Adam, while having a public relationship life has never been married to my knowledge, and has no children.  But still...

August and Everything After (1st Album) is by far my favorite CD, to me its kinda like that first love that you never forget, and never get over, other loves may come later and be better but there is always the place in your heart that somehow is reserved for your first. Favorite Song: Raining in Baltimore

Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings (5th Album) comes second only becase August is that first love. From beginning to end SN,SM just makes me happy, the first half of the album is about the sin of Saturday Night, the second half about the redemption of Sunday Morning.  I love that, the knowledge that redemption exists and is really only a matter of time from coming through.  Favorite song: Le Ballet D'Or

Recovering the Satellites (2nd Album) took a little while to grow on me, I loved A Long December right away, but the rest of the album is a little harder, a little edgier than August and that took awhile to allow.  Counting Crows, believe in change, which annoys some fans, but I love.  So, after a bit I rallied my love for the album. Favorite Song: Have You Seen Me Lately?

Hard Candy (4th Album) is by far Counting Crows most 'pop' album.  It was written in light of a conversation between Adam and Sir Paul McCartney about how songs are built on melodies.  It is also what I would call CCs 'happy' album, Adam seems to have been in a better place during the writing of the album.  Favorite Song: Up All Night (like Adam I have my bouts with insomnia)

Underwater Sunshine, or what we did on our summer vacation (6th and most recent album) is a cover album, it also has a distinctly Country feel to it, which has angered a lot of fans have raged against.  I enjoy the album for what it is, a look at some of the bands that influenced my favorite band. Favorite Song: Hospital

This Desert Life (3rd Album) saying that This Desert Life is my least favorite CC album is still saying that I would prefer listening to it more than the vast majority of albums I own.  I still like it a lot, just don't love it.  When it came out I was in college and my roommate Scott and I would occasionally serenade people with Colorblind, and in truth sometimes we would just sing it together when we were alone, so obviously, Favorite Song: Colorblind

2. Derek Webb.  I first found this amazing songwriter in the band Caedmon's Call.  My friend R.W. Moody introduced me to them and I liked the band instantly, like Counting Crows they had a very folk feeling to them, no matter what genre they were doing on a particular song.  I enjoyed the band in whole, they had three lead singers at the time, went to four, then back to three, but the songs that Derek wrote and sang spoke to me at a higher level, which was interesting since in the beginning while the band was Christian Derek's songs weren't expressly about Jesus.  I followed Caedmon's but always hoped that one day I would be able to get a CD of just Derek, turns out he must have been thinking the same thing because after awhile he went solo (though after a time did continue working with Caedmon's also). To this point in time no Derek album is like the previous, he started out in acoustic folk, moved to atmospheric rock, then to acoustic rock, then beatlesque, then electronica, then instrumental, his next project is something called Sola-Mi, a concept band working on a soundtrack for a movie about ???  Derek wrote the music but it has a female vocalist, you can go to sola-mi.com and download it for free

Stockholm Syndrome (5th and most recent studio album) Derek has been a controversial 'Christian' artist since his first album, but went so far off the deep end (read used sh$# on my favorite song) that his record company decided to censor his album, so Derek did something crazy and let it out through a series of internet mysteries. This album has been his greatest departure from Caedmon's and She Must and Shall Go Free, having a strong electronic feel, since he and Josh Moore built it around sounds instead of straight up writing songs. Favorite Song: What Matters More

Mockingbird (3rd album) Derek's first foray into blatant political activism.  As a liberal leaning Christian I can appreciate that a lot.  Favorite Song: A King & A Kingdom

She Must and Shall Go Free (1st album) Derek started off on a very acoustic, very folk, very Christian road (although he did use whore and bastard (in the correct use) in his lyrics).  The simple fact that Derek is willing to get into trouble for what he believes makes me love him a little more. Favorite Songs: A tie between Take to the World (a song of entering the world to save it) & Wedding Dress (a song about the church being whorish)

The Ringing Bell (4th Album) While Derek continued his political statements he moved from the acoustic sound of Mockingbird to a more Beatles influenced sound with this album. Favorite Song: This Too Shall Be Made Right (a song I have already used in two sermons)

I see things upside down (2nd album) Derek moved from the folk sound of She Must into an atmospheric sound reminiscent of some Radiohead. Favorite Song: T-Shirts (another DWebb song that I have used in a sermon)

3. Jars of Clay. When I first heard Flood, their first single, it was on a secular radio station and I had no clue that they were a Christian band until after I had purchased the album.  To be honest Flood is not really like the album, so it took me a while to really embrace the band, but embrace them I did, then they had somewhat of a sophomore slump with Much Afraid, and my love affair with Jars didn't really start until their third album, If I Left the Zoo.  While I was in college I worked at Reardon Auditorium and when Jars came to town I took them across town searching for marbles, it is one of my claims to fame.

the Long Fall Back to Earth (8th Album) is a great album, full of amazing song after amazing song, Dan, the lead singer keeps getting better and better as a vocalist. I have to mention my second favorite song on this album, Boys (Lesson One), which is a song to Dan's son, it is a beautiful and moving song, as a guy about to have his first child I love that song, but it still isn't as infectious as my favorite one.  Favorite Song: Headphones

the Shelter (9th and most recent album) is a communal album about community.  Jars invited several artists to help out with the Album, including Derek Webb, Burlap to Cashmere and Mac Powell (lead singer of Third Day), among others.  It is a collection of songs for the church about the church, a new way to look at the collection of people with the four walls of a church and to spur them toward living out the command to be the body of Christ. I have used the song Shelter in a sermon that Mary and I preached during our time at Discover Church.  Favorite Song: Small Rebellions

Good Monsters (7th Album) while I am a ginormous fan of music and a rather obsessive one at that, once I like an artist I will buy every album they ever make, Mary is nothing like that, she hardly ever gains a band and she will walk away content with liking only one album of theirs, this is that one album of Jars that I got Mary to like, so if you haven't tried Jars, maybe this could be your entry also.  Favorite Song: Oh My God

Jars of Clay (1st Album), like I said it took me a bit to warm up to the album as a whole, because I expected it to be a more 'rock' album, which didn't come until the 11th hour.  But once I realized what it was, a pop/rock album with singer/songwriter tendencies I loved it.  Favorite Song: Worlds Apart

Who We Are Instead (5th Album) was a surprising album when it arrived, it was a little more acoustic, it was a little more folky, it has a decidedly 'hippee' fell to it at times, and I loved it right away.  It was somehow more focused and universal at the same time.  Favorite Song: Faith Enough

If I Left the Zoo (3rd Album) when this album came out I had an disagreement with my friend Dan about whether or not the lead singer was sounding better or worse, I thought better, Dan thought worse.  While Much Afraid was a more mellow and introspective album If I Left the Zoo has a decidedly more fun and fancy free feel to it.  For that reason I was probably a little biased for it, so maybe I gave Dan a harder time then I needed to, sorry bout that. Favorite Song: Famous Last Words

the Eleventh Hour (4th Album) is what I would call Jars first rock album, it has a more driving edge to it, it is also a more relational album as opposed to their previous three albums. Favorite Song: Something Beautiful

Redemption Songs (6th Album) is a hymns album, not much else to say about that, I like it.  Favorite Song: They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love ('Nuff said)

Much Afraid (2nd Album) is Jars most mellow album, as such I was disappointed by it.  It is not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, it just wasn't what I wanted at the time.  Favorite Song: Tea and Sympathy

4. Collective Soul.  I had heard Shine on the radio, both Christian and secular radio at that, and I liked it, but I wasn't really looking for another band to follow at the time.  I was reintroduced to them, by my best friend at the time John Depto, on the second album, which was their first self-titled album, it had World I Know, December, and Gel and I was blown away.  Ed and Dean Roland, lead singer and rhythm guitarist respectively, were sons of a Baptist minister so Ed's lyrics have a spiritual undertones, which I always like in my music (not exclusively obviously by the list of artists at the bottom of this post).  Like everyone else on this list Ed's lyrics speak to something inside of me, that is the real determination of a band that stays with me as opposed to those that I like a little but can live without.  The one negative about Collective is that there is not much range in their CDs they each walk that line between pop/rock, some are a little harder, some a little lighter, but not much difference between their hardest album (Blender maybe) and their lightest album (hmm, Youth)

Collective Soul (2nd Album) like I said I was blown away by this CD, each and every song is great.  Favorite Song: the World I Know

Dosage (4th Album) Favorite Song: She Said (a hidden track that appeared on the Scream 2 soundtrack)

Youth (6th Album) after a couple years in limbo Collective Soul reappeared on their own label and put out a really good CD.  Favorite Song: Better Now

Afterwords (7th Album) Favorite Song: New Vibration

Blender (5th Album) is Collective Soul's last album with their original guitarist Ross Childress, who was really good.  Favorite Song: Perfect Day

Collective Soul (Rabbit) (8th and most recent album) this is the only band I know that has multiple self-titled albums, this one is colloquially known as rabbit, because of the rabbit on the cover.  Favorite Song: Staring Down

Disciplined Breakdown (3rd Album) Favorite Song: Crowded Head

Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid (1st album) the one thing I would say is that while I wasn't blown away with CD in the beginning or even later, there were a couple songs that did speak to me at different times in my life, including Wasting Time, a song about holding about telling someone to leave you alone, because they aren't going to get you to think the way they want you to.  Favorite Song: Wasting Time

5. Joshua Kadison. So, the first time I heard Joshua on the radio I thought it was Elton John, in addition I thought that there was a line in his first single, Jessie, that I thought said 'we can go to Mexico Youth Academy' in reality it was 'we can go to Mexico, you, the cat, and me.' The reason I know that it was not correct was because he had lyrics in his liner notes, unlike a certain singer named Seal, I have no clue what the lyrics are for Kiss from a rose (on the brain, in the rain, across the grain...who knows? who?).  Joshua was what a lot of people would call a two hit wonder, which is not true at all each CD of his are full of great music and great stories.

Painted Desert Serenade (1st Album) is Josh's only major hit, and for a long time it was the only CD of his I knew about, then one day at work a couple of years ago a customer told me that he liked his follow up more, so I went looking, and there were two others at the time, then a fourth became available.  Favorite Song: Georgia Rain, a sequel to the hit Jessie.

the Complete Storyville Sessions (4th and most recent album) is Josh's most story oriented album, as you may have been able to tell by the title.  The first time I listened to Paris I cried while driving home from Ohio, not the best time for that to happen.  I have become a rather emotional guy as I age, I cry when I hear people tell stories, I cry at movies occasionally, but I have only cried at two songs, Seventeen by Mat Kearney and Paris by Joshua Kadison.  Favorite Song: Paris

the Complete Venice Beach Sessions (3rd Album) is what I would call Josh's most spiritual album, over and over it has a feeling of love and a greater power/spirit.  It is an extremely uplifting CD, a CD that calls us to love the people around us and leave the rest in grace's hands. To some extent it is a more 'Christian' album than most Christian albums, and he isn't even a Christian.  Favorite Song: Do You Know How Beautiful You Are?

Delilah Blue (2nd Album) is a very gospel tinged CD, in truth it is the one I have listened to the least, not because it is bad, but because I absolutely love the other three.  Favorite Song: The Gospel According to My Ol' Man

The next ones up (In Alphabetical Order): Andrew Osenga, Andrew Peterson, the Avett Brothers, Billy Joel, Blessid Union of Souls, B.O.B., Breaking Benjamin, Caedmon's Call, the Classic Crime, Coldplay, Creed, Darius Rucker, Dave Matthews Band, David Crowder Band, DC Talk, Death Cab for Cutie, Duncan Shiek, Edwin McCain, Eli, Eminem (yep, you read that right), Everclear, Five for Fighting, Fort Minor, the Fray, Garth Brooks, the Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, the Hawk in Paris, Hootie and the Blowfish, Jimmy Buffet, Jimmy Eat World, Jon Foreman, Kevin Max, Kutless, Lecrae, Leeland, Lifehouse, Linkin Park, Mat Kearney, Matchbox Twenty, MercyMe, Michael Jackson, Michael W. Smith, Mumford & Sons, Newsboys, Nine Days, the Normals, Owl City, Paul Colman, P.O.D., R. Kelly, RED, Relient K, Rob Thomas, Robbie Seay Band, the Rocket Summer, Santus Real, the Script, Sister Hazel, Steven Curtis Chapman, Sting, Switchfoot, Tait, Tim McGraw, TobyMac, Train, U2, Will Smith (including the DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince years), 30 Second to Mars

As you may be able to tell if you actually read that list, a) I like a wide range of music, perhaps wider than any other pastor I know, b) I have a lot of music, 25.5 days worth according to itunes, and c) I buy too much music....ahhhh!!!