Music Recommendations

Recently I have discovered some new (or old but new to me) music. These selections come at the recommendation of music students, German church members, YouTube, and friends in various parts of the world. Thank you to all of you who have given me these musical recommendations! I hope that others reading this blog can benefit as well.

1. Mosaic. This band is one of my new favorites. With lyrics saturated with Scripture, rich vocal harmonies, and uneven meters thrown into at least one song, this music is both spiritually enriching and musically novel. Check out #7 “Seek the Lord” to hear the meter vacillate between uneven quadruple (3+3+2+2), common time, and uneven quintuple time (3+3+2+2+2).

2. Phil Wickham. The lyrics from his “Heaven and Earth” CD put into words the longing in my heart for Heaven. These longings are often tied with my experience of God in nature, so somehow his music touches me deeply, despite somewhat unoriginal chords and song structure. The upside of unoriginal chords is that I can teach them to the guitar class!

3. Gungor. As one of Emily’s favorite bands, I’ve been hearing a lot of them lately. If you click the link, you’ll see the band playing in the forest. It’s an appropriate setting for a song about how the earth and nature belong to God. I like their sound – they use creative instruments.

4. Kari Jobe. A friend recently gave me this recommendation. Her lyrics speak to the tough times of life and how we can rely on God during the painful times. Her music sounds like an honest cry from the heart to know God more.

5. Leeland. Thought-provoking lyrics lead me to a reflective time of worship. I haven’t listened to much of them yet, but I plan on investigating more!

6.Lecrae. He’s a Christian rapper, speaking truth into tough places. This guy speaks powerful words. There are so many twists, turns, plays on words – you have to listen to each of his songs several times to really grasp the full meaning!

7. Matt Papa. Solid lyrics, sometimes inspired by John Piper. From my limited listening, he seems to have a mission-minded focus with a background of good theology.

8. Josh Garrels. Folk-ish style with an exciting testimony of God’s grace in his life. You can download an album for free!

9. “Somebody that I used to know” by Walk Off the Earth. How many hands can you fit around 1 guitar?

10. “Cello” by Udo Lindenberg, featuring Clueso. A German song about a cellist. Just watch the video; you might find it funny even if you can’t understand the cheesy lyrics. And for the record, I think German is a beautiful language, not all guttural and harsh like most people say. There’s a great deal of poetic potential in the textures of the consonants, and there can be a natural rollicking rhythm in speech which easily translates to songs. Just listen to a little more Clueso to hear it.

Some of my other favorites are Jars of Clay, the Gettys, Jon Foreman,  Jenny & Tyler, Meredith Andrews, Tenth Avenue North, and Shane & Shane.

What else are you listening to? Add a comment!