Here's a handful of......well, what I'd probably call fresh & "eclectic" worship projects I've been listening to as of late. They're not all new, but they're all pretty rich.
Sojourn: Before The Throne
Trinity
Anglican Mission: The Anima Christi & Prayers of The Saints
NA Band: (Sovereign Grace) Looked Upon
Grace-Midtown: Songs For The City (iTunes link)
Matt Maher: Alive Again
Page CXVI: Hymns I & Hymns II
Trinity Grace Church: Without End
What worship projects are you tuned into right now?
I don’t even know why, but there was something really amazing about experiencing Glen Hansard standing at the edge of the stage, off-mic, singing....screaming....almost crying....from the depths of his soul. It was.....just wow. You felt his journey. His pain. His joy. His struggle. And....his redemption. It was beautiful.People love the unexpected.
Loved how Glen (in his “Where’s Waldo?” hat) and Marketa opened the show by sitting on the floor with an acoustic guitar and a cheap Casio keyboard performing the song, “Fallen From The Sky.” Totally unexpected. And everyone loved it.Everybody loves a good story.
Glen is a great story teller. He includes details that seem unnecessary until you realize that you've fallen in love with the character because of those details. I’m 100% convinced that people love a good story. Partly because we see ourselves in most of them.People want to participate.
But you have to ask them to. Bottom line is that people need to be led. I think every church worship leader needs to see Glen Hansard perform. He leads people well by performing with a ton of authenticity and by bringing depth to his audience.Ireland has brought some pretty good stuff to our world.
Guinness, The Swell Season, The Commitments, The Cranberries, The Frames, Snow Patrol, Damien Rice, and of course....U2.
Go listen to The Swell Season. See them in concert if you can. I know I will. Again. And again.
Our team performed the song "T-Shirts" by Derek Webb this past weekend at The Orchard. We even had a mini-choir with t-shirts that said the word "LOVE" across the center of them. And man, they rocked it! Pretty powerful song with just enough tension to make the right people squirm. :)
Here are the lyrics:
they'll know us by the t-shirts that we wear
they’ll know us by our picket lines and signs
they'll know us by the way we point and stare
at anyone whose sin looks worse than ours
who cannot hide the scars of this curse that we all bare
they’ll know us by the pride we hide behind
like anyone on earth is living right
and isn’t that why Jesus died
not to make us think we’re right
chorus
when love, love, love
is what we should be known for
love, love, love
it’s the how and it’s the why
we live and breathe and we die
they’ll know us by reasons we divide
and how we can’t seem to unify
because we’ve gotta sing songs a certain style
or we’ll walk right down that aisle
and just leave ‘em all behind
they’ll know us by the billboards that we make
just turning God’s words to cheap clichés
says “what part of murder don’t you understand?”
but we hate our fellow man
and point a finger at his grave
chorus
they'll know us by the t-shirts that we wear
they'll know us by the way we point and stare
telling ‘em their sins are worse than ours
thinking we can hide our scars
beneath these t-shirts that we wear
We created a soundtrack for our "Yesterday" series at The Orchard. It's the music we play before/after/during our weekend gatherings. It's quite an eclectic mix. Some good stuff.
Here's an iTunes link where you can browse the list, listen to samples, or purchase any of the music.
Includes: John Mark McMillan, Derek Webb, Wilco, Editors, Kim Walker-Smith, Damien Rice, Shane & Shane, MuteMath, David Vandervelde, and others.
My view:
It's called a BRAIN DUMP. And man, do I need one. So I'm spread out all over my office....chillin' on my couch doing some sorting, emailing, REM listening, and trying to figure out what's next to go on the list of "things Scott is doing that he shouldn't be doing."
So anyway...thought I'd share what's rattlin' around my noggin' right now along with some links worth checking out.
That's it......for now.
Back to it.
Downloaded some new music this weekend:
R.E.M. | Accelerate Gnarls Barkley | The Odd Couple
So glad to hear some fresh tunes from R.E.M. I've always liked these guys and this one has been a long time coming.
And of course, you gotta love the Gnarls... I've been looking forward to this one too.
Also looking forward to hearing the new BoDeans, The Raconteurs, and Jack Johnson.
Now YOUR TURN. Who are you listening to right now?
