A cool radio station

For those who listen to radio online, Pandora is a great website. The site asks you for an artist or song that you like, then creates a station based on that. You can add additional artists, and you can give a thumbs up/down for songs they play.

The site is similar to Yahoo's Launchcast radio, but less complex. If I remember correctly, Yahoo asked you to rate songs/artists from 0 to 5 stars. Pandora's interface is simpler.

The site does seem to repeat songs quite a bit. I created a station based on U2, and I'm only interested in hearing so many versions of "One."

Thanks to Neil for informing me of the site.

Make your own all-star band

Lee is back to blogging, and he has a post where you can create your own all-star band, inspired by the previous all-star band the Traveling Wilburys. See his post for more details and rules. My dream band is (not sure about spelling on all):

Bono (U2)
Pete Townshend (The Who)
John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls)
Chris Martin (Coldplay)

I do realize that not every position is covered, as I am not sure any of these guys can play the drums. If I had to have a drummer, it would probably be the guy from Rush.

Be sure to visit Lee and participate.

The separation of the sacred and secular

I have noticed that in art, particularly in music, there is a strong separation between CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) and secular music. This line is being blurred somewhat, with some crossover artists, but it seems that someone is a "Christian" artist, or they are not.

My question is this, is this a good thing?

The reason I ask is that I am not sure this separation always existed. Da Vinci painted religious themed portraits like The Last Supper, but he wasn't known as a "Christian" artist, and he painted non-religious things as well. People didn't ask "Oh, he painted The Last Supper, is he a Christian artist now?" Classic composers (of whom I know little about) would compose works inspired by their faith, but sometimes they would not be. It seems that there were many classic poets and authors (correct me if I am wrong, as I left all my poetry books at home) would speak on spiritual themes, sometimes they would not. There was not a question of whether they belonged to the Christian genre or not.

This may be a good thing, because much of secular culture is quite distant from Christian values, based on the things they glorify. Maybe as the secular becomes more profane, this distancing is inevitable.

Why would it be a bad thing?

Perhaps it has to do with the overall quality of art. I will be honest, there is much CCM I don't care for right now; much of it seems second-rate. Maybe it's just an issue with me though. But I notice that many great artists are those that are Christian, but not in the "Christian" genre. U2 is the most glaring example. Three of the four members are Christian, and many songs are very spiritual. Another lesser known band is the Innocence Mission that has many spiritual songs as well, and even has an album of hymns. Some of the highest quality CCM bands are now crossing over, or at least have a foot in the mainstream, such as Switchfoot or Skillet.

So, I don't know if my concerns have any foundation. Basically, I have noticed that much great art of the past was influenced by Christianity but was not in a genre separate from everything else. Today, I notice a distinct separation in many cases, and it seems that many times the "Christian" side is inferior, whereas those artists that may have some mainstream involvement are the superior bands. (To be fair though, it is understandable that the creme of the Christian crop would get mainstream attention). At the same time, I know we, as Christians, are called to stand out and not blend in.

As a final note, there seems to be a distinct exception in the genre of country music. Carrie Underwood has a hit called "Jesus, Take the Wheel" but there is not a debate on whether she is a Christian artist. Garth Brooks will have overtly religious songs on his album, but at the same time sing about a woman killing her unfaithful husband (I don't say that to be critical, as I don't think he is glorifying or justifying murder, I am just illustrating the main point of my post). There does not seem to be a big "Christian country" genre. What is so different about country?

More music reviews

Skillet - Comatose. Skillet is one band who hasn't watered down their sound, despite being at the forefront of Christian Contemporary Music. I like this album better than the previous one, Collide, which was more on the edgy side. The songs are a bit more accessible without being compromising. The album builds a little upon the song "Collide" in the last album, by incorporating stringed instruments in a few songs. Overall, a very good album. My one complaint about this album and Skillet in general is that they simply make their songs too long. They have a tendency to really hammer the choruses into your brain. I recommend this album for fans of hard Christian rock. Click here to preview their tracks.

Everyday Sunday - Stand Up
Another great CCM band with a fun punk-rock (that is, modern punk in the style of Green Day, Blink 182, etc...) style. They have actually released 2 albums since this release, Anthems for the Imperfect and Wake Up, Wake Up! which I will check out when I get the opportunity. Here are some track samples.

Today's Random 10

My Wife - The Who - Who's Next

Control - MuteMath - WOW Hits 2005: Silver Disc

Umbrella - The Innocence Mission - Umbrella

Don't Panic - Coldplay - Parachutes

Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters - There is Nothing Left to Lose

Until the End of the World - U2 - Achtung Baby

White Shadows - Coldplay - X&Y

Sail Away - David Gray - White Ladder

Love Ridden - Fiona Apple - When the Pawn...

For No One - The Beatles - Revolver [UK]

Songs About You - Peter Stuart - Propeller

This list has a lot of great, lesser-known songs from well known artists. I'm a strong fan of the album because there are many jewels missed when only the hits are downloaded. I think it is great 2nd-tier songs that make an artist.

"Until the End of the World" is definitely 1 of my top 10 U2 songs. Very interesting concept, as it is a song from Judas's point of view as he is talking to Jesus.

The essential U2 album collection, or a guide for new U2 fans

This guide is written for someone who may want to get some U2 albums and may not know where to start. With iTunes and other music stores, I suppose people can just buy the songs they like, but I am personally still a fan of the album. I have all the studio albums of U2, minus October and Pop. U2 does have 11 studio albums, so it can be quite expensive to buy them all. Here, I will list the essential albums, or at least the albums to buy at first.

The albums you should buy depends on the U2 era you like. 80s, 90s, and 2000s U2 are completely different.

The 80s U2

I think someone can buy The Joshua Tree and The Best of 1980-1990 and have the essential U2 stuff of the 80s. The Joshua Tree is almost a "Best of" within itself, but with The Best of 1980-1990, the listener gets the essential songs from other albums as well, such as "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", "Pride", and "Desire".

1990s - Present

While no lesser in quality, the last 2 decades have produced 5 studio albums, compared to 6 in the 80s. I would recommend:
Achtung Baby - includes "One" and "Mysterious Ways"
All That You Can't Leave Behind - "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation"
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - "Vertigo" and "City of Blinding Lights".

These are, in my opinion, the 5 essential albums. All are good, but you will get the essential U2 with these 5. One notable exception is the Pop album, which people either love or hate.

If you have a little more time/money, I would recommend:
War - Political, and at the same time, not that political. But a fierce album.
The Unforgettable Fire - This album isn't full of your typical songs, but more like soundscapes. "Pride" is the only song that has the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure.
Zooropa - Just an all around weird and great album.

Update: Josh pointed out a major oversight. I forgot about the U218 singles album. If you want just one album that spans U2's career, then get this album. It looks like it has all the essential songs, especially from the 5 albums I mentioned.

So, if you want 1 album, get the U218 singles. If you want to explore them a little more, I recommend the 5 previously mentioned.

U218 being released on 11/21/06

A new U2 compilation CD and DVD is being released Nov. 21, called U218. The CD has 16 of their greatest hits, plus 2 new songs. Here is the tracklisting from a UK store:

Disc One - CD

* 1. Beautiful Day
* 2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
* 3. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
* 4. With Or Without You
* 5. Vertigo
* 6. New Year's Day
* 7. Mysterious Ways
* 8. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
* 9. Where The Streets Have No Name
* 10. Sweetest Thing
* 11. Sunday Bloody Sunday
* 12. One
* 13. Desire
* 14. Walk On
* 15. Elevation
* 16. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
* 17. The Saints Are Coming
* 18. Window In The Skies

Disc Two - Live In Milan (DVD)

* 1. Vertigo
* 2. I Will Follow
* 3. Elevation
* 4. Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
* 5. All I Want Is You
* 6. City Of Blinding Lights
* 7. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
* 8. Miss Sarajevo
* 9. Original Of The Species
* 10. With Or Without You

Looking at the CD tracklist specifically, I think it is a pretty good list, containing what I think are the essential songs in the U2 catalog. While we are talking about the greatest of U2's songs, I wanted to talk about what, in my opinion, are the essential songs of the U2 catalog, that is, songs that no complete U2 best of can be without. Not only that, but I think these are the songs that had a large role in making U2's career what it is.

1. Sunday Bloody Sunday - One of their first major songs and what established them as a band with a political conscious
2. Pride - Simply one of their classic anthems
3. Bad - Probably the least well known song, I include it because this song at Live Aid was a defining moment for their career.
4. Where the streets have no name - Perhaps their most famous live song.
5. Either "I still have not found what I'm looking for" OR "With or Without You" - I know it is strange to have an 'OR' here, but either song captures the era of the Joshua Tree. Maybe both of them should be included.
6. One - While all of Achtung Baby is great, this is the song that helped the album, and therefore, the U2 of the 90s, really take off. It helped U2 remain relevant.
7. Beautiful Day - U2 had a couple of strange albums, Zooropa and Pop. Not to say these are not great albums, but U2 did leave planet Earth for a while, and many U2 fans and music lovers in general were waiting for a return to classic U2. This song is simply amazing because it's right up there with their older songs in popularity. As "One" brought about 90s U2, this song provided a bright window into what U2 could and would bring in the 90s.

Some would say "Vertigo" is another of these songs, and while it is a great song, I cannot help but compare it to "Beautiful Day" in terms of impact to U2's career. Perhaps if the latter was never released, "Vertigo" would be more significant. That is not to take away the quality of the song, however.

My Album Meme

1. One album that had the biggest impact on your musical tastes.

I would say The Joshua Tree by U2. Before then, I had listened to primarily aggressive alternative rock, which helped me be angry all the time. This album helped me realize I could listen to positive, uplifting music that was still actually good.

2. One album you would want on a deserted island.
Achtung Baby by U2. It is one of my favorites, and it has variety in the songs. Also, it is very repeatable, as mentioned in my previous post.

3. One album that pumps you up.
Again, For the First Time by Bleach. Bleach is my favorite Christian rock band. This album has 11 full-throttle songs. Only slow song is at the end.

4. One album you like to chill out to.
Birds of my Neighborhood by The Innocence Mission. If you like folk music at all, I would recommend this band.

5. One album you liked immediately.
A Boy Named Goo by the Goo Goo Dolls. High-energy punk rock that is instantly catchy.

6. One album that grew on you.
Feeling Strangely Fine by Semisonic. Not all songs are as radio-friendly as their one big hit "Closing Time", but they are really good.

7. One album you wasted money on.
This is a tough one, as I've learned to like just about any album I've bought. I would probably say Monster by R.E.M. with a caveat. I think R.E.M. is a great band, and their album Monster is probably pretty decent. But when I bought it I was much younger, and only listened to things that were catchy right away. I don't have the album anymore, but if I listened to it today, I may actually like it.


8. One album you wanted as a kid, but your parents wouldn't let you buy.
This may not apply to everyone, as some parents are more permissive than others.
Throwing Copper by Live. Yes, Live is pretty tame compared to something like gangsta rap, but I couldn't listen to any music that had many bad words when I was a kid.

9. One album on your wish list.
X & Y by Coldplay.

10. Tag people.
Whoever reads this and is interested, feel free.

When it comes to rock critics, nothing new under the sun

I used to read music magazines; I don't anymore. This was about from 2000 to 2004 or so. One recurring theme I noticed is that critics complained about how there was no good rock music anymore. They talked about how groups needed to come and save rock. When garage rock was popular, Spin or Rolling Stone would talk about how the Strokes or the Hives were the new saviors of rock (actually, it was new saviors of rock with a '?', I suppose to keep us in suspense.) They went on and on about how true rock was dead, and how certain groups were going to come along and revive rock 'n' roll.

I thought, man, music must really suck for this time period.

But then I bought an NME (a popular rock mag in Europe I suppose), which had a collection of all the articles about U2 that magazine had written since about 1979 or 1980 up to the All That You Can't Leave Behind album and tour, around 2001/2002. It was interesting to see them talk about U2, especially in their early days, not knowing how big they were going to be.

In this magazine, I got a sense of the same stuff I was reading in modern magazines. "Rock was Dead." "Was U2 the new savior of rock?" Same old stuff throughout the entire period of U2 (1980 - now). If there was actually a rock music crisis, I could understand. But when the same rhetoric about rock needing a revival is carried on throughout decades, their complaints seem less genuine.

So is rock music going through a crisis today? It is really hard to tell. It may be that I am getting older and am not with the latest fashions, watching MTV or the local radio station or whatever, but it seems that there is no coherent music scene. Or whatever music scene there is, it is centered around hip-hop, or pop heavily influenced by hip-hop. I could be wrong, but it seems that the most common groups I hear about are hip-hop groups, who I will not even try to name, because I will probably list groups no longer around.

There is good music around though. In a previous post, I expressed a satisfaction with the adult contemporary stuff they were playing on the radio. I did not realize though that it was mostly one station playing that stuff, until it went away. Now the radio stations where I live are total crap.

Many blame media conglomerates for decreasing radio quality. I think they are right. Part of this problem is due to more relaxed FCC regulations. However, I don't think the answer is to tighten these regulations again (after all, if an owner of a private station wants to make a lot of money and send his kids to college, more power to him, he should have that choice). But I think the downward spiraling quality of AM/FM radio has led to satellite radio. Yes, satellite radio costs, but who said someone is entitled to free music? Despite this, increasing satellite radio programming quality will provide competition for AM/FM radio stations, causing them to up their quality again. Or, one could start listening to country. There seems to be no shortage of those stations.

My personal CD wish list

Here is my personal CD wish list. Not that I really need more CDs, I have plenty, and its typically not a good mental exercise to be thinking about things that I want to have all day. But I thought it would be just a fun post in the midst of my more serious ones. As I mentioned a few posts ago, musical elitism bothers me. I'll throw names around of less well known bands, but its not because I'm some musical expert or anything, I just happen to listen to a lot of online radio. In fact, I'll discuss some of the lesser known bands, instead of assuming you should have heard of them, like your popular music magazine does.


Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit - This is the newest album by B & S. B & S is a band from Scotland who sounds like, well, probably not anyone. The closest thing I can think of is 70s pop. They rely on a lot of woodwind and acoustic instruments. They are a break from the 4-piece band. I have 2 of their other albums Dear Catastrophe Waitress and If You're Feeling Sinister. I recommend both, with a preference toward the former.

Coldplay - X&Y - What can I say? I love their song "Talk". The best song I have heard on the radio all year.

The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles were a band out of Liverpool, England who were around during the 1960s. I'd recommend listening to their stuff sometime.

The Beatles - The White Album - To paraphrase Hank Hill, this is when they "went nuts in India." While I would never rely on any Beatle as a spiritual guide, this album blows me away. It's hard justifying 30 bucks on an album (it's a double).

The Innocence Mission - Befriended - I talked about this band in a previous post. If you have a tendency toward folk music whatsoever, I would recommend checking out this band.

From Bubblegum to Sky - Nothing Sadder than a Lonely Queen - This is the strangest band I have ever, ever heard. I though the lead singer was a girl for the longest time, but it turns out to be some dude. They have some free mp3s floating around somewhere. I don't even know how to explain them.

U2 & Brian Eno - Passengers: Original Soundtrack - I may have gotten the official name wrong. This was a U2 & Brian Eno collaboration that is not really a U2 album.

So there you go. Josh, I think you may have my mailing address.