Tooth and Nail Records

I'll start this blog off with an explanation of my love for Tooth and Nail Records. I listen to a lot of artists and I would have to say that a majority of the artists signed by Tooth and Nail are on my list of favorites. I don't know what it is about T&N that just clicks for me, I've never really thought about it. I guess they just have a different set-up than most record labels. T&N is technically a christian record label but they don't sign "worship" bands or "christian" artists. At least not in the sense the the world views them. Tooth and Nail is an example of a new generation of Christians who don't have to force feed the world their faith. A lot of the artists on T&N have fans that aren't Christian and maybe some of them (like Underoath) are outnumbered. There's a lot of controversy over whether or not Tooth and Nail is a Christian label signing Christian bands or not. I feel as though they are Christian people who run a record label that signs bands in which their bands are Christian. Tooth and Nail does something totally different. They sign different types of artists with different stories and sounds from all across the world. I would love to meet (or be) the person who gets to go out and find all of this amazing music.

Alright. That brings me to my favorite Tooth and Nail band (and one of my favorites, period) Anberlin. These guys are just great. I've only seen them in concert twice but I met them once and I keep up with everything they do. The lead singer, Stephen Christian, has written a book on injustice and even documented a trip he took to India going into the Red Light Districts. They're just an inspiring group of guys. Their newest CD came out TODAY, "New Surrender." The sad thing is.. I really wasn't too excited about it. They re-made one of their older songs for the CD and the one song I heard I didn't really like. Don't get me wrong, it was good.. it just wasn't the GREATNESS I was used to. But early this morning I check my e-mail and went on iTunes to buy the CD. I listened to a little bit of it while eating my breakfast and I was thankfully surprised. Thank goodness because I really did not want to have to write a bad review on an album by one of my favorite bands. I'm having a lot of fun dancing in my seat right now to "Haight St." but I'd have to say my favorite song is "Breathe." It's so beautiful:

"No need to hide anything anymore, can't return to who I was before. I can finally breathe, suddenly alive. I can finally move, the world feels revived."

These lyrics simply describe a call to new life. Simple, yet very profound. How can we return to who we were before when we've found grace?

I'll make this next one short and sweet:

The Becoming. One of the newest artists signed by Tooth and Nail. Their debut CD, "Vol. 1", came out today as well. I haven't bought it yet.. I'm not really sure about it. Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy it I just need to get over the guilt of spending money on my budget.. which is nothing. However, once I get past that I'm going to buy it. They kind of scared me at first, they've all got funky, black hair and piercings and tattoos, but they're really good! This definitely isn't the first time a band really surprised me and they totally have. I really like the lead singer's voice, it's deep and just resounds really well. It's kind of hard to explain. I've been listening to their full album on Purevolume.com and my favorite song so far is probably "We're Already Dead" or "The Night That Has No Morning." There are 13 songs on the CD and it's only $7.99 on iTunes (this is me convincing myself to buy it)!

Seriously, they're good though. If you like 80's rock or even just rock, you'll like these guys.

Lyrics from The Becoming's song "Your Love":

"Many times I've wandered and more times I've been lost. But You've always found me because You're never gone. Now this single requiem; a funeral in my name. It's a haunting thing to hear.. if it were not for Your grace. Your love it takes me home from all I've ever known."

P.S. That's one of my favorites too.

Yahweh, show me the kingdom!

Today I'm going to talk about Bethany Dillon!

Bethany is an artist that I constantly find myself listening to. Sometimes I don't even consciously do it, I just find myself singing something that describes and/or comforts my exact feelings at the moment. I can always relate to her music and lyrics. They are very personal.

This song is called "The Kingdom":

"Teach me how to hum it
Because I don't know the words yet

Help me see the light
I'm reaching through the fight
Yahweh, show me the Kingdom
Arms open wide
Death swallowed up by life
Yahweh, show me the Kingdom"

I feel sometimes like I'm always dwelling on the uncertainties of life. But aren't we all uncertain most of the time? A relationship with God means we can attempt to put aside our worries and uncertainties and trust Him with it all. This is exactly what this song describes to me. We need to not only ask for help from God but we need to ask for Him to teach us how to get through things. With the gift of strength we can persevere through whatever problems we may be going through at the moment and just open up to God. When we do that, we are shown the kingdom. I think that the kingdom is most definitely heaven but we can see tiny glimpses of that even here on earth when we hand over our all to Christ.

"So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (The Message)

Also, Tooth and Nail Records has a newly signed band that it coming out with an album this coming Tuesday. I might like them, I'm not sure yet: The Becoming.

You're a little bit country and I'm a little bit.. folk/soul/alternative?

Welcome to a new week of my music appreciation. It's definitely going to be obvious in this post that I listen to a lot of different types of artists.

(I'm warning you: this is long!)

To the left you see Justin Nozuka. He is a Canadian folk/soul singer. His sound is kind of different from a lot of the stuff I'm into. He's kind of like Jason Mraz but not quite as poppy in his sound; there's way more soul in his voice. I find it really amazing that he can sit on a stage with a guitar and it could sound better than if he had a full band behind him. He's only 19 years old and capable of absolutely beautiful music which blows me away.

Justin's album "Holly" is named after his mother who is Kyra Sedgwick's sister. This makes Justin Kevin Bacon's nephew. That's a little interesting fact for you.

One of my favorite songs off Justin's album is "Down In A Cold Dirty Well."

"Painted a picture of how it’s supposed to turn out
Down in a cold dirty well and I cannot climb out
Can’t see no light
Can’t hear no bells
They walk right over me
Can’t hear my yells

They state me missing and search all over the town
Look left and then right but don’t ever look down
Dig me my grave, I won’t be saved
No I won’t be saved, so dig me my grave

Helpless, Hopeless,
Cold and lonely
Only you can save me now
Trembling and shivering, scared
I want this all to end if only you could hear me now"

These lyrics are very powerful in describing a dark time in a person's life. Even if this was not written as cry out to God it could definitely be interpreted that way. The lyrics speak of being in a state that no one can understand but even if they did only "you" can save.

The next artist I'm going to talk about is Ashton Shepherd. She is a country singer. Country, country. I honestly can't believe I like her but I love her. I recently got pretty into country music and if you would've told me a year ago that I'd be rocking out in my dorm room to country, I would have laughed at you!

Out of all the artists I've come across in my venture into country music Ashton is by far the best (she's up there with Miranda Lambert). She's in her early twenties and already married with a son. You can hear the experiences she's had in her music.

Her album is called "Sounds So Good" (it does!) and the title track is my favorite.

"Hey baby, let's jump in yo' truck
We'll ride and watch for lightnin' bugs
We'll ride with the windows let down
There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now

'Cause there ain't nothin' like the sound
Of a cooler slushin' on the bed 'a yo' truck
And ain't nothin' like the sound of real country music
C'mon, turn it up
And I love to hear the whippoorwill sing any night
And the crickets out in the woods
Ooh, don't it feel so right
Don't it sound so good"

This song just makes me want to go outside and appreciate God's nature. Most of all this song is a tribute to life. Sometimes we take everything we have for granted. God gave us family, friends and millions of other blessings! This song reminds me of how much I love everything I've got.

This one was long, I apologize! But I hope you enjoyed it all the same.

FIRST POST!

Hi! Welcome to my blog.

If you've read the description you already have some idea of what I'm going to do here but, just to cover it again, in this blog I'll pretty much talk about what music I'm listening to at the moment, new artists I've discovered, albums I want to buy, as well as albums I recommend (or don't).

Let's start it off with a bang:

The Jakes.

I came across this band a few days ago when they were featured on Purevolume.com along with one of my favorite bands, Deas Vail. I've made it a habit of checking through the feature artists every once in awhile and sometimes I come across a real gem. The Jakes are way more than a gem. I think I like them because they have a really unique sound but it also reminds me of bands I aldready know and love. They remind me a lot of The Killers, The Feeling, and Mutemath. If you like any of these bands you'll probably like The Jakes even more.

The kicker in this situation is that half of the guys in the band are still under 21. They are so young! I find it amazing when I come across such a talented group of young people.

I'm not sure if their music is meant to be encouraging to my faith, but it is. The lyrics in their song "Cough Syrup" really depict the struggle we all can deal with from day to day:

"Life’s too short to even care at all
I’m losing my mind losing my mind losing control
These fishes in the sea they’re staring at me
A wet world longs for a beat of a drum

If I could find a way to see this straight I’d run away
To some fortune that I should have found by now

So I run to the things they said could restore me
Restore life the way it should be
Waiting for this cough syrup to come down"

When I look at this from a Christian perspective I see a longing for help and guidance. We search for restoration in our times of trouble when we are drowning in this "wet world". God is the "cough syrup" coming down to restore and cure us of our pain forever.

Some CD's coming out soon that I can't wait to own:
- Jonezetta - Cruel To Be Young (9/16)
- Nevertheless - In The Making (9/16)