This is the first in my series of posts entitled “Christian Arists to Check Out if You’re Not Really Into Christian Music”  (wow, that’s a mouthful!)

So, what kind of music do you like? 

• R & B
• Soul
• Blues
• Jazz
• Roots/Reggae
• Funk
• Motown
• Pop
• all of the above?

 Then, really, you MUST check out Newworldson.
 
I first heard them on the radio in the Fall of 2009 with their single “There is a Way” from their self-titled sophomore release.  The song was catchy and I loved lead singer Joel Parisien’s voice, but it wasn’t quite enough to get me to run out and buy the album.  Then, I heard a buzz a brewing about how amazingly musically talented these guys are and that their frontman is actually a skinny, white dude.  Woah! (insert screeching brakes here)  HOLD UP!  I thought to myself, “Okay, if that guy is a skinny, white dude, then I seriously need to hear more of his music”.  At the risk of sounding a little stereotypical here, I just thought he had way too much soul in his voice to be white.  So, I bought the album for a mere $7.99, plus I had a coupon!  So, I probably only paid about $5 for it.  And I have not regretted one penny of that purchase. 
 
The best word I can use to describe this band is “eclectic”.  They are all over the map with their style, but what is even more shocking is that they are so good at it.  Each song is an experience you’ll want to have over and over again, which is probably why the album often gets played continously on my ipod.  These guys have captured lightning in a bottle with their musical chemistry.  They have such an ease and authenticity about them which lends to a feeling that the songs were penned on the fly.  But, if you really stop and listen, you’ll hear the truth of the Gospel presented in thoughtful lyrics. 

This is the kind of music you listen to when you need to get your creative juices flowing, get your blood pumping, get your bum off the couch, or if you just feel the sudden desire to do a little jig.  And if none of those things happen as a result of listening to NewWorldSon, well, you’re just kind of a stick in the mud!  I’m pretty sure that when you get to the final cut on the album you’ll be saying, “Really?  Seriously?  Four white dudes from Ontario?  I gotta see them live.”  After all, that’s pretty much what I said and I’m like over the moon excited to see them in concert in November at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond.  The junior higher in me is even hoping I can snag a photo with them.    And if I do, I promise I’ll post it on my blog!

Until the concert, I’ll enjoy some of their cool YouTube videos.  Here’s one of my fav songs from their first album, “Working Man”.  Okay, enough talking from me!  Click the video and check them out for yourself!

Do you get as excited about the smell of concert tix as I do?  

Actually, what excites me even more is when there are NO tickets to smell and the concert is FREE!  I know, I know! It’s amazing!  And another thing I get excited about: date night!  The hubby and I more or less have 3 date night locations: Qwest Field, movie theatre, or concert venue.  Although our fabulous babysitter, Hope, will tell you we always end up at Target.  Maybe you’re looking for a date night idea, too.  Here are a few upcoming concerts that would be perfect.  And if all else fails, Target actually is a pretty good date night.

Tenth Avenue North, featuring Addison Road and Matt Maher

Friday, October 22, 2010, 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:00 PM)
Mars Hill Ballard
General Admission, $22.30
Tickets

I already have my tix in hand to this one!  Be sure to watch out for my upcoming posts on these 3 artists.  I’ve never been to a concert at Mars Hill.  If you have been and have a good recommendation on where to park or where the best seats are, please tell me!

Jars of Clay, Mercy Me, and more…and the best part:  IT’S FREE!!!

These bands are part of the Seattle Harvest event, which is a FREE evangelistic outreach, at Key Arena.  Be sure to get there early if you want good seats!  If you want more info about this outreach, including how to volunteer, go to the Seattle Harvest site.

Jeremy Camp and The Katinas

Friday, November 5, 7:30 PM (doors open at 6 PM)

Kutless, Hawk Nelson, Revive and The Katinas

Saturday, November 6, 7:30 PM (doors open at 6 PM)

Mercy Me, Jars of Clay, and The Katinas

Sunday, November 7, 6:00 PM (doors open at 4:30)
This is the headliner event and will likely be the most publicized.  Jars of Clay should be serving up a lot of their new stuff.

Israel Houghton 

Also featuring Michael Gungor, Phil Keaggy, and Songwriters in the Round                                               
Overlake Chrisitian Church, Redmond
Friday, Nov 12, 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30)
General Admission, $15*
Tickets

Overlake is a HUGE church in Redmond. I’ve heard their sanctuary seats something like 5,000.  This concert should be lots of fun and a really good time of worship.  Israel Houghton is a three time Grammy award winning worship leader.  He has tons of charisma and is super fun!  Phil Keaggy is a legendary acoustic guitarist, who is often listed as one of the top 3 guitarists in the world.  The Songwriters in the Round portion of the show is a quieter, more intimate, unplugged time.  The songwriters usually share the background to some of their most popular songs, followed by a performance.  For $15, this concert is a must see.

NewWorldSon and Brenton Brown

Overlake Christian Church, Redmond
Saturday, November 13, 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30)
General Admission, $15*
Tickets

There is so much I could say about NewWorldSon.  Numerous people of varying ages and musical tastes have said of last year’s NewWorldSon show: “Best concert I’ve ever been to”.  Pretty much says it all.  

*Both of these concerts are FREE if you are going to the Christian Musician Summit (CMS).  What’s CMS?  Go here to find out and to register.

NeedtoBreathe and The Daylights

Monday, December 6, 7:00 PM
Showbox SoDo
General Admission, $21
Tickets

I am uber excited for this concert.  One, it’s a unique venue for a “Christian” concert, and two, I’m banking on the fact that this is gonna be an awesome show.  I love everything about this band and will be posting about them very soon.  I’m also really interested in the opening act, The Daylights, who I had not heard of until today.  The few songs I listened to were cool, kind of Coldplay-ish; you can check it out for yourself at their site.

The show is at one of the newer concert locales in Seattle, the Showbox SoDo (opened in 2007), which is a small, general admission venue, with standing room only.  I know what you’re thinking, “No seats?  What am I paying for?!”  Concerts like this are intimate, up close and personal. And LOUD.  Wear good shoes, put on a happy face, go potty before you get in the line at the door, and be sure to carpool/take public transit.  Did I mention it’s gonna be LOUD?  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  You can always bring earplugs.  And just so you all know, they do serve alcohol here and the place has a club vibe, but this is an all ages event.

I thought I’d let all of you know about the FREE audio book downloads offered monthly at Christianaudio.com 

This month’s offer is Love is a Verb: Stories of What Happens When Love Comes Alive by Gary Chapman.  On Amazon, this book is selling for $15.19 for the hardcover and $18.98 for the audiobook.  So, FREE is a super deal!

Wondering what the book is all about?  Here’s the description:

Dr. Gary Chapman has spent his life helping people communicate love more effectively and in turn build more satisfying and lasting relationships. His book The Five Love Languages is a regular on the New York Times Best Sellers list–even after being in print for fifteen years–and has made the term “love language” a part of everyday speech.

Love Is a Verb takes his teaching to the next level. Rather than a typical marriage self-help book filled with lengthy explanations of principles and techniques, it is a compilation of true stories displaying love in action. These stories–written by everyday people–go straight to the hearts of readers, who often say that illustrations are the most effective parts of a book. Gary Chapman adds a “Love Lesson” to each story, showing readers how they can apply the same principles to their own relationships.

I started listening to the book as I was writing up this post, and was intrigued by this statement:  “These are the success stories that make you want to go out and try harder.”  I don’t know about you, but I could always use some inspiration on how I can love others better than I already do.

You will have to create a user account and go through the checkout process to get the free audiobook, but it is absolutely FREE!  I’ve never downloaded a book from here before.  But, after I went through the checkout process, my account lists the book as available for an entire year!  And of course, once you download it, you’ll have it on your iTunes forever.  That’s a sweeter deal than my library can offer.  I love audio books.  They are perfect for road trips, a distraction while housecleaning, or just listening to when you’re stuck in traffic.

I’ll keep you posted on any more offers from Christianaudio.com!

Let me preface this post by stating that I DO in fact listen to “secular” music. Some of my ultimate favs include Jack Johnson, Coldplay, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, Tim McGraw, and Mariah Carey, to name a few. But, the majority of the albums that receive the most plays in my iTunes generically fall under the genre “Christian”.

The idea for this post came from an all too common conversation I have had with numerous people, which goes a little something like this:

Me: “I just can’t get enough of Needtobreathe’s new album.”
Uncool person: “Really? Who’s Needtobreathe?”
Me: “Oh, a newish Christian band that I love. Maybe you’ve heard of them?”
Uncool person: Rolls eyes and then says, “Um, I don’t listen to Christian music.”
Me: “Really? How come?”
Uncool person: “Because it’s totally lame and only for people my parents’ age.”
Me: “Wow, you just called me totally lame AND old!”

In an effort to avoid a repeat of said conversation, I have written the following post.  I also thought this would be a good time to let the readers know that most of the music I intend to post about here on Pop Parables will be “Christian” music. It’s the music I listen to the most and where I most find God, so I think it’s appropriate. Wait!  Before you navigate away from this post because of what I just said, please at least read the whole thing.

Drumroll please…here we go.

Top Five Reasons You Should Give Christian Music a Chance

Reason #1:  It’s actually much better than it used to be
As a child of the ’80s, I remember the early days of Christian music when the selection was minimal, the lyrics boring, and the expertise virtually non existent. No disrespect to the early pioneers like Steve Green, Sandi Patty, or Petra, but Christian music as a whole has come a loooooooooooong way since I was wearing t-shirt clips and L.A. Gear. Nowadays, there are 40+ Christian music labels out there producing a plethora of musical selections to satisfy a variety of tastes. Some secular labels (i.e. Sony BMG/Columbia, Atlantic) even produce Christian artists who have achieved crossover appeal, including Needtobreathe and Switchfoot. And more importantly, the musical prowess of many artists is comparable to music in the secular arena, currently garnering six separate categories at the Grammy awards under the umbrella of “Gospel”.

Reason #2:  It’s family friendly
As a mom of three who spends a lot of time in the car, I try to be aware of what my kids are hearing and listening to. I find that if I tune my radio to the Top 40 station, there is often content that I don’t want my kids repeating. I just don’t like hearing lyrics like “You’ll have me suicidal, suicidal” coming out of the mouths of my little men! Christian music lyrics are completely G rated and you won’t find a “Parental Advisory” icon on these albums.

Reason #3:  It’s inspirational and aspirational
On a bad day, Christian music can lift my spirits. Focusing on God rather than myself can bring fresh perspective and motivation for a difficult situation. When I was living in Louisiana, I had a particularly hostile work environment. Every day while driving to work, it was a variety of worship albums that gave me strength to face the day. I can also think of times in my life when I just felt down about myself. There were very specific songs that helped me to look beyond myself and focus on God’s purpose for my life.

Reason #4:  It’s praise and worship
I believe we were made to worship God, and are commanded to do so. In I Corinthians 10:31, Paul encourages Christians by saying, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Our pastor has often referred to “worshipping yourself strong”, an idea that it’s through genuine worship to God that we gain strength to fulfill His purpose for our lives. Christian music is imperative to this effort, after all its’ primary intention is to glorify God. And that doesn’t mean that you have to listen to only “worship” music. Some of my favorite artists’ songs would never appear in a worship set, but they are truly worshipful in the sense that they bring glory to God.

Reason #5:  It’s relevant and relatable
A quick glance at this week’s Billboard Top 10 reveals the following themes: painful breakup, beauty of a woman’s body (to put it nicely), getting rich, abusive relationship, sexual fantasies, egotistical rants, intoxication and substance abuse. Hmmm, most none of those things are relevant to me. Of course we all have had times in our lives, such as a painful breakup, where a song just so vividly expresses your feelings that you want to listen to it over and over again, for therapeutic reasons of course. But, really, do you want to revisit those emotions every time you turn on the radio? I sure don’t! But, with Christian music, I find themes such as reconciliation, forgiveness, hope, and perseverance. These are things that are relevant to me, things I can relate to day after day that just don’t get old because they are what propel me on in the journey of faith.

Now that you’re ready to give Christian music a chance, I’m sure you’re wondering what artists in particular satisfy the above criteria. Fear not, your favorite blogger (ahem…yours truly) will be offering an upcoming series of posts starting next week entitled “Christian Artists to Check Out if You’re Really Not Into Christian Music”. In the meantime, perhaps a few of the readers would like to share.

What are some of your fav Christian artists?  What is your reason for listening to Christian music?  Can you think of some secular artists who satisfy all of the reasons listed above?