Music

A fellow believer contacted me recently asking if I’d listened to any recent Casting Crowns albums. He’d stumbled across the site, entirely accidentally, and saw my post about Casting Crowns’ Lifesong album. I followed that post up a couple of months later with another take, in which I took a deeper look at their music—not just their musical style, but the words and the emotions behind their music—and I realized that there was so much more to be heard.

Since that time, Casting Crowns released a third album, The Altar and The Door, and although I bought the album right away I hadn’t bothered to post my thoughts about the album here. Since I hadn’t mentioned anything about it here, the reader who contacted me wondered if I’d listened to this latest album, as he had been particularly moved by the song “Somewhere in the Middle.”

In this latest album, Casting Crowns continues to show an incredible gift for making music that directly attacks real-life issues. Their songs tackle everyday, real-world problems that Christians deal with. Take, for example, their song “East to West.” In this song, Casting Crowns reminds us that when God forgives us of our sins, they are forgotten and never brought up again. If you are being attacked by the sins of yesterday, that’s not God, for He cast your sins “as far as the east is from the west.” What a powerful reminder! This is something that I suspect many Christians deal with on a daily basis—the Enemy throwing our sins of the past back in our face again.

Similarly, “Somewhere in the Middle” and the title track “The Altar and The Door” speak to the struggles that we all face in our Christian walk. There are so many times that we strive to make a change, that we seek to move closer to Him, only to lose our resolve “somewhere between the altar and the door.” Thus, we find ourselves in the middle, stuck between “who I was and who You’re making me”.

I could go on and on. “Every Man” talks to how Christ is the hope of every man. “Slow Fade” speaks of how so many of us ignore the “small” things that can lead us astray, not noticing how far we’ve gone until it’s too late. “Familes never crumble in a day…”

If you are looking for music that hits squarely where the real world meets the Christian walk, look no further. The Altar and The Door will provide strong encouragement that Christ’s love remains constant, even if we don’t.

So the other day I’m sitting in my office, working on my laptop, when my seven year old son came up to me and asked a question.  I don’t recall exactly what I was doing at the time (probably working on a blog post!), but as I frequently do when working in my office I was listening to some Christian music with iTunes (and GrowlTunes).  So that I could hear my son ask his question, I quickly pulled up Quicksilver and paused iTunes with only a few keystrokes.

“What did you just do?” my son asked.  Whatever question had been on his mind previously was now gone.

“I paused iTunes so that I could pay attention to your question,” I replied.

“How did you do that?”  His curiosity, naturally high anyway (he is a seven year old kid, after all), is really piqued now.

“I used Quicksilver,” I answered.

“What’s Quicksilver?”

I took a moment to show him how it worked.  He was completely hooked, and since that day has been bugging me incessantly to install Quicksilver on the Mac mini downstairs.  I haven’t yet installed it, mostly because I don’t want to give him any excuses to spend more time on the computer than he does already.  Another part of me, though, is intrigued by how naturally the idea behind Quicksilver seemed to come to him.  What is the mysterious attraction behind Quicksilver?  Is it truly so natural, so intuitive, that even young children seem to “get” it?  Or is it just “cool” to a seven year old, and that’s why he wants it?  Or is it a little of both?

It’s a really good CD, actually, and I’m particularly enjoying a couple of the tracks.  He’s got a great voice, and the music and lyrics are good.  So far, the title track (“Perfect Day”) is a favorite of mine, and I’m also enjoying “Alive” and “You Say Come.”  “King of Glory” is another great song, and I believe that it’s a hit single on the charts right now.

When you’re feeling down, or feeling like you aren’t quite “good enough”, then the track “Less” will certainly speak to your heart, and remind you of the unfailing love of God.

Overall, I’d recommend the album; it’s not too hard, but certainly not light listening either.  Sorry, I’m not a professional music reviewer, so I can’t really tell you any more than that.  Give it a try and see.

(Josh’s web site isn’t too bad, either, although I’m not a big fan of all-Flash sites.) 

I’ve been meaning to write about this young Christian rock artist for a while now, but keep forgetting.  Finally, here it is.

I picked up Krystal Meyers’ debut self-titled CD a few months ago from Sound and Spirit (one of the BMG Music clubs—you know, where they send you constant reminders to buy CDs from them and then ship them to you the instant you forget to tell them you don’t want them).  I initially bought it just for fun; I had never heard of Krystal Meyers and wasn’t entirely sure I would even like the music.  Worst case scenario, I could give the CD to one of my kids.

I was in for a surprise.  The music is really good.  This is one of my favorite CDs already, and I’m looking forward to hearing the next album.  If you’re looking for a good message grounded in the Gospel but wrapped in great-sounding rock music, this album is a good choice.

Krystal Meyers’ website is here.

In my earlier posting about Lifesong, the second CD by the Christian group Casting Crowns, I spoke primarily about their musical style and their sound. At the time, I was so wrapped up in how the music sounded in comparison with their debut album that I was disappointed in this latest effort.

I continued listening to the CD, concentrating mostly on the tracks that I really enjoyed—”Lifesong”, “Praise You in This Storm”, “Set Me Free”, and “Father, Spirit, Jesus”. As I listened—truly listened—to the words of these songs, and then took the time to listen to the other songs on the album as well, I realized that I was guilty of the very things that Casting Crowns sings about in these songs. And my first review was the perfect indicator of this.

So many people practice Christianity on the surface. Sure, they go to church. They may even teach Sunday School, or lead a Bible study group. But do they really serve the Lord? Is their service—my service—just “empty hands held high”? How often do we high our true feelings from others, even our fellow Christians, becoming “happy plastic people under shiny plastic steeples”? Can we see past that young unwed mother’s sin, see “past her scarlet letter” and actually get to know her?

This entry isn’t just about a CD, though; that’s why I titled this post “Another Take on Life(song)”. It’s not just about Lifesong, it’s about life. It’s time for us—for me—to move past superficial Christianity and into true service for the Lord.

That doesn’t necessarily mean full-time ministry, and it doesn’t mean just going to church. It means serving the Lord with all that we are and in all that we do (and my use of the term “we” here includes myself). It means living a life that “brings a smile” to the Lord, where we take to heart Jesus’ teachings and actually apply them in all areas of life, not just the areas that are convenient or comfortable.

It means letting our life(song) sing to the Lord.

I received a copy of the new album by Casting Crowns today, Lifesong. There are a couple of really good tracks, like the title track “Lifesong,” and “Father, Spirit, Jesus”, and “Set Me Free.” Most of the songs, though, are a very different style than Casting Crowns’ debut album. To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed. After so thoroughly enjoying their first CD, I was really looking forward to their next album.

This is not to say that the CD is bad. It just wasn’t what I had expected. Songs from their first album really moved you, like “Voice of Truth”, “Who Am I”, “American Dream”, and “If We Are The Body”. And they did so with a powerful rock sound. These songs, on the other hand, are much softer. The lyrics are good, but the musical style is not what I was hoping for.

Then again, a few of the tracks from the original album didn’t really strike me the first time I heard them, but as I listened to them again I began to enjoy them more. Perhaps the same will happen here.