The Gabe Dixon Band

The new album from The Gabe Dixon Band is awesome. I love it. It is just simple piano rock with some really great song writing.

I highly recommend it.

Songs to listen to:
All Will Be Well
Disappear
You And Only You (only from itunes)

Songs to skip:
Further The Sky

Short and sweet...like an oatmeal cream pie.

For all the slackers...

When I say "slacker" I do not mean people who are lazy...I mean people who do not follow through on their blogs...like me.

Things have been nuts at the church and I am trying to keep on top of all of that stuff.

We had a great kickoff this past week for our Tuesday night stuff, it was awesome.

Anyway, for those of you who do not find time to blog because you are too busy...you are not alone.

By the way, I am re-reading "Searching For God Knows What" by Donald Miller. I forgot how much I love that book.

Thursday Reviews - Coldplay - Viva la Vida

I have never been a huge Coldplay fan. I am not sure what it was about them that never got me excited. It is not that I disliked them, but they just lacked that something special.

That attitude has changed upon listening to their new album Viva La Vida.

This album is one of my favorite albums in recent months. Coldplay has traded in their piano driven, falsetto singing,soundtrack music sound for a more guitar driven album. Chris Martin sings lower on this album which makes them sound even better.

The album starts out with the worst song on the album, "Life in Technicolor" which is just a simple riff that is repeated over and over again with small changes and added instruments. If personally am not a fan of instrumental album openers unless they are done by Sufjan Stevens.

The second track "Cemeteries of London" is a great blend of slower melody with faster drums, I have always loved songs that do this.

The fourth track "42" sounds like a more typical Coldplay song which is not bad, but I could take it or leave it.

Following "42" Coldplay launches into "Lovers in Japan" which is one of my favorite songs. Probably because it sounds a lot like a Smiths song, and to add to the effect, the first 3 seconds of Chris Martin's voice on this track sound eerily like Morrisey.

The song "Yes" is full of great instrumentation and is easy for a guy to sing a long to without feeling it in the genitals.

Everyone has heard Viva La Vida thanks to Apple commercials. I do love this song. I am not sure what it is about. There is a great deal of religious imagery on this song (as well as the whole album) but this one seems to stick out. It strikes me like it is a song from God who is no longer in power...which makes me think of the God of a lot of some of the emerging church leaders...but that might just be because I am biased.

"Violet Hill" reminds me a little bit of later Beatles songs...so obviously this is not a bad thing.

"Strawberry Hill" is my favorite song on the album. The intro sounds like a bluegrass riff played on an electric guitar. Very cool

The last two songs close out the album nicely. I highly recommend this album, in fact I recommend that you buy it on vinyl since the vinyl version comes with a free CD of the album.

Songs to skip:
-Life in Technicolor
-42

Songs to listen to:
-Viva La Vida
-Strawberry Hill
-Yes
-Violet Hill

way too long

I have bee away for the past two weeks. I was in Texas for a week and then in Kansas for youth camp. Due to the long absence I will post two reviews tomorrow and then I will probably take a nap.

I hope you all are doing well.

God's Country...Tomorrow

I am heading back to Texas tomorrow morning for a week.

Finally, I will be back in the land of good BBQ and Mexican Food.

Is it bad that I am more excited about the food than seeing family?

Last Thursday's review...almost a week later.

I have been reviewing to many books lately I though I would shift gears a bit. I recently got the new CD from The Myriad called "With Arrows, With Poise".

The Myriad is the band that won the MTV contest for the next big artist out there. It is cool that they won, since most Christians do not make creative music that is still easily listened to by a large number of people.

So on to the review. I love this album. That is about as easy of a review I can think of. It is a great album that does not sound like every other Christian musician (that being a Eddie Veder sound-a-like voice over the top of Nickleback-esque music...see Todd Agnew).

This album opens with the track "You Waste Time Like A Grandfather Clock" which is a great track that makes me think of playing spades, only due the line "that when we start counting sandbags". This is followed by the track "Get On The Plan" which is slightly more upbeat but still in the same vain as "You Waste Time..."

The third song "Forget What You Came For" starts with a simple piano riff that remind me of Ben Folds...except better. It is a more mellow song that sounds almost like a b-side from Radiohead's The Bends album. This track is followed by the first single "Clean Shot" which has a bass head that defies you to bob your head up and down. This is a fun song that deserves to be played loudly in your car while driving around this summer. I am also partial to this song because it is my ring tone.

"The Accident" begins with a driving guitar which is a little bit different than the majority of these songs. After the first few seconds this songs begins to take shape into a song that is more similar with the others on the album.

"Holiest of Thieves" is a slightly slower track which is also very beautiful. This is a track that can sing you to sleep and also get stuck in your head...which is not good for narcoleptic people...they have enough problems already. The next track "A Thousand Winters Melting" might be my favorite all around track. It is catchy and also recalls images of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardro

"Polar Bears And Shark Fins" is a mix of industrial and piano, which might sound weird, but it is a good song.

The album closes out in a fairly solid format. I could highly recommend this album, it does not disappoint. FYI: If it does not sound great the first time, give it a couple of listens, it is a grower.

For fans of:
Radiohead
Midlake
Pilotdrift
Pedro The Lion

Tracks to hear:
"Clean Shot"
"A Thousand Winter Melting"
'Stuck In A Glass Elevator"

Track to skip:
"Don't Let Them See You"

so true...so, so true