Holiday Music

I was listening to the electro-pop song called "Fireflies" by Owl City. Based on the vocals, I thought maybe this was some solo project by Ben Gibbard from Death Cab or Matt Thiessen from Relient K...but the techno-pop doesn't really seem to fit their style. Anyway, I went to check out Owl City's Myspace and found out that it is Matt Thiessen who does some vocals on the song and also helped to co-produce the album. It's got a catchy beat but I'm not sure if I understand the lyrics which he claims to be a product of many sleepless nights. What I found interesting was that on his MySpace, he has:

"I follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. He is my life, my strength, my all."

I hope he can use his growing fame to proclaim God's fame to the world.

I've listened through "Battle Studies" by John Mayer and I must say I'm disappointed. I would consider myself a pretty big fan of his music - I think I have all of his albums and have attempted to learn how to play through most of them at one point or another. Perhaps it's my high expectations of Mayer but all the songs sounded pretty bland. Memorable riffs that you can find in songs like Neon, Why Georgia, Belief, The Heart of Life, Something's Missing...and pretty much everything by John Mayer Trio...aren't as prominent. The lyrics aren't very impressive either - loving a girl with half your heart while you look around for someone better; moping, heartache and self-pity. I wouldn't mind so much if it was accompanied by some blues-rock like that found in "Try!" I could maybe see myself busting out this album and listening to it after a bad breakup. I'm definitely not feeling any desire to grab my guitar to learn any of these new songs. Sorry John, but this is a FAIL.

Another album I've been listening to is "The Element of Freedom" by the gorgeous Alicia Keys. Why am I listening to all these heartbreak/heartache tunes? Anyway, it's not bad. I'm not sure if I like how she uses classical piano riffs in her songs. I have a feeling Claude Debussy would be rolling in his grave if he heard Like the Sea. But, I still love her voice and that makes this album alright.

I do want to get my hands on Jay-Z's latest at some point (I know I'm like 5 months behind here but with my current budget for music, it's tough! The search for fresh, memorable, biblically sound, congregationally appropriate music takes priority these days).