Have you guys ever stopped and just wondered, thought about the age of all the music you currently consume? I mean, let me break it down for you if you’re feeling confused. If you look at a sample size of around 10 random songs from your iTunes or Spotify or whatever music streaming device you listen to, what percentage of tracks would be from 2010 onwards? Maybe around 90% I reckon… But what percentage would be from 2017 onwards? 50%? Why is this the case? What is it about people these days that think ‘oh, it’s pre 2017, I’ll skip this song and listen to something more recent (and better!)’?
The fact is… I don’t know. And for me to try to get into the minds of people, and come up with a reason, and also solution to us being bored with music in general, and always wanting to hear the latest song; would take a long, long time, across several posts. Frankly, I’d imagine if I did that, and tried to write an exposition, you’d be frustrated, and bypass this post, and other posts similar, even if the message of what I’m trying to communicate, is something we all need to hear. So instead I will say this.
Though it’s more than ok to keep up with the latest music and listen to the latest artists and songs, I reckon if you do that at the expense of other hit tracks from the 80’s and 90’s and 2000’s, or even a hit song from last year, then that could start to be worrying. We may be more of a consumerist than we think (discarding a ‘new’ song even after a week, to hear the latest track, then the cycle repeats itself!), and how do we stop this slide?
It’s not easy, there is no answer, and we’re susceptible to this too. I mean, at this site, we have reviewed the latest albums (which you can view here!), and while that’s a good thing, I have recently started wondering why we haven’t, and why don’t review albums from 5, 10 years ago, or even longer? Or even if it’s not a review, just voice our thoughts and opinions for a few paragraphs, and tell the story of how ‘album such and such from this year’ impacted our lives in many different ways? Do we deem albums pre 2010, or even pre 2017, not worthy enough to have an extensive post written about it, because it’s ‘old’ and not current?
This year, I have decided to write something bold, something courageous, something daring. Something sustained, something every week, and something that will hopefully at the end of it all, will change my outlook on music forever. ‘Flashback Fridays’ is something I just thought of today, but it’s nonetheless very close to my heart. (Let’s pray this doesn’t become like all of the other blogs we’ve started but haven’t been successful in posting on a regular basis…)
For the next 52 posts (for the next year or maybe just less than that), I will write my thoughts, and opinions (not a review per se) of 52 albums that I have found influential in my life thus far, and how these albums have shaped me to be the person I am today. With albums spanning quite a few decades within my list of 52, you guys are in for a treat as you hopefully join me for a yearlong ‘project’ if you want to call it that, as I delve into which albums impacted me in which area of my life (and in some posts, I may elaborate further, with a specific example on how a certain album or song has impacted on a certain pivotal event in my life…).
It’s a time for me to be vulnerable, through me showing you the music that speaks to me the most- and at the end of the 52 ‘mini-reviews’, I can hopefully give you all a bit more insight into how music has impacted and shaped my life, and hopefully remind you all that an album isn’t bad by any means if it’s made in the 20th century. And vice versa- an album may not be fantastic or even good, just because it’s just released in the past year, month or week. So who’s with me? Ready to embark on an adventure and find out more about who I am as a person? Ready to learn more about myself and which songs helped me through trials and tribulations? Let me remind you, that each post may have a different layout, it all depends on how God leads me when I’m writing each post. Anyway, see you all next week, and below, is the list of 52 albums that I plan to dive deep into.
- Arriving (Chris Tomlin)- 2004
- New Map Of The World (Paul Colman Trio)- 2002
- Jesus Freak (dcTalk)- 1995
- Into The Light (Matthew West)- 2012
- R.I.O.T. [Righteous Invasion Of Truth] (Carman)- 1995
- Wherever You Are (Third Day)- 2005
- Move (Third Day)- 2010
- Blessed Be Your Name (Matt Redman)- 2005
- Woven And Spun (Nichole Nordeman)- 2002
- The Generous Mr Lovewell (MercyMe)- 2010
- Almost There (MercyMe)- 2001
- The Beautiful Letdown (Switchfoot)- 2003
- Diamonds (Hawk Nelson)- 2015
- Born Again (Newsboys)- 2010
- Response (Phil Wickham)- 2011
- The Light Meets The Dark (Tenth Avenue North)- 2010
- Live Like That (Sidewalk Prophets)- 2012
- Casting Crowns (Casting Crowns)- 2003
- The Struggle (Tenth Avenue North)- 2012
- Restart (Newsboys)- 2013
- Beauty Will Rise (Steven Curtis Chapman)- 2009
- The Glorious Unfolding (Steven Curtis Chapman)- 2013
- All In (Matthew West)- 2017
- King Of Fools (Delirious?)- 1997
- This Is Not A Test (TobyMac)- 2015
- Overcomer (Mandisa)- 2013
- Gold (Britt Nicole)- 2012
- Life Is Beautiful (The Afters)- 2013
- On Fire (Peter Furler)- 2011
- Listen To The Sound (Building 429)- 2011
- How Can It Be (Lauren Daigle)- 2014
- Go (Newsboys)- 2006
- All In (Stellar Kart)- 2013
- Brave (Moriah Peters)- 2014
- All Things New (Steven Curtis Chapman)- 2004
- Crave (for KING & COUNTRY)- 2012
- Come To The Well (Casting Crowns)- 2011
- What If We Were Real (Mandisa)- 2011
- The Cutting Edge 1&2, 3&4 (Delirious?)- 1996
- The Story Of Your Life (Matthew West)- 2010
- The Spirit Of Christmas (Michael W. Smith)- 2014
- Christmas Stories: Repeat The Sounding Joy (Jason Gray)- 2012
- Chain Breaker (Zach Williams)- 2017
- The Things We’ve Been Afraid To Say EP (Tenth Avenue North)- 2018
- Wildfire (Rachel Platten)- 2016
- Blown Away (Carrie Underwood)- 2012
- Smoke And Mirrors (Lifehouse)- 2010
- What To Do With Daylight (Brooke Fraser)- 2003
- Vice Verses (Switchfoot)- 2011
- From The Saltland To The River (Paul Colman)- 2012
- Unbreakable Smile (Tori Kelly)- 2015
- Freedom (Michael W Smith)- 2003
- The Greatest Showman Acapella (Peter Hollens)- 2018
- Mobile Orchestra (Owl City)- 2015
- If I Has One Chance To Tell You Something (Rebecca St James)- 2005
- Adoration (Newsboys)- 2003
- Today Is The Day (Lincoln Brewster)- 2008
- Strong Tower (Kutless)- 2005
- The Invitation (Meredith Andrews)- 2008
- The Writer’s Collection (Paul Baloche)- 2008
- Beautiful News (Matt Redman)- 2006
- A New Hallelujah (Michael W. Smith)- 2008
- Glo (Delirious?)- 2000
- Back To The Start (Martin Smith)- 2004
- Hope In Front Of Me (Danny Gokey)- 2014
- Something To Say (Matthew West)- 2008
- Lifesong (Casting Crowns)- 2005
- The Same Love (Paul Baloche)- 2012
- While I’m Waiting (John Waller)- 2009
- What If We (Brandon Heath)- 2008
- American Prodigal (Crowder)- 2016
- Unite (1GN)- 2016
- Fearless (Group 1 Crew)- 2016
- Liberated (Zealand)- 2018
- Tonight (TobyMac)- 2010
- In The Hands Of God (Newsboys)- 2009
- Rise (Danny Gokey)- 2017
- All The Is Within Me (MercyMe)- 2007
- As Family We Go (Rend Collective)- 2015
- We Need Each Other (Sanctus Real)- 2008
- Haven’t Seen It Yet (Danny Gokey)- 2019
- Bridges (Josh Groban)- 2018
- GIRL (Maren Morris)- 2019
- Reckless (Martina McBride)- 2016
- Baptised (Daughtry)- 2013
- Storyteller (Carrie Underwood)- 2015
- Sad Girls Club (Cimorelli)- 2017
- Head Above Water (Avril Lavigne)- 2019
- The Pains Of Growing (Alessia Cara)- 2018
- Ripcord (Keith Urban)- 2016
- Native (One Republic)- 2013
- Waves (Rachel Platten)- 2017
- Revival (Selena Gomez)- 2015
- The Beast You Feed (VERIDIA)- 2018
- Cinematic (Owl City)- 2018
- Amidst The Chaos (Sara Bareilles)- 2019
- Offerings (Third Day)- 2000
- Offerings II (Third Day)- 2002
- Burn The Ships (for KING & COUNTRY)- 2018
- Followers (Tenth Avenue North)- 2016
- Native Tongue (Switchfoot)- 2019
- Save Me San Francisco (Train)- 2009
- Rhett Walker Band EP (Rhett Walker Band)- 2018
- Britt Nicole (Britt Nicole)- 2016
- Child Of The Universe (Delta Goodrem)- 2012
- DNA (Backstreet Boys)- 2019
- I Will Praise You (Rebecca St. James)- 2011
- All We Need (Rachael Lampa)- 2011
- Kings And Queens (Audio Adrenaline)- 2013
- UNITED (Newsboys)- 2019
- The Unmaking (Nichole Nordeman)- 2015
- No Plan B (Carman)- 2014
- NOW (Shania Twain)- 2017
- Bebo Norman (Bebo Norman)- 2008
- Hundred More Years (Francesca Battistelli)- 2011
- Awaken (Natalie Grant)- 2005
- Mission 3:16 (Carman)- 1998
- Declaration (Steven Curtis Chapman)- 2001
- New Day Coming (Steve Grace)- 2001
- Tonight (TobyMac)- 2010
- Light Up The Sky (The Afters)- 2010
- How Can We Be Silent (BarlowGirl)- 2007
- Comotose (Skillet)- 2006
- The Altar And The Door (Casting Crowns)- 2007
- Smoke And Mirrors (Lifehouse)- 2010
- We Can’t Stand Sitting Down (Stellar Kart)- 2006
- The Reckoning (Needtobreathe)- 2011
- Different Kind Of Free (ZOEgirl)- 2003
- On Fire (Peter Furler)- 2011
- Five Score And Seven Years Ago (Relient K)- 2007
- Pieces Of A Real Heart (Sanctus Real)- 2010
- When Silence Falls (Tim Hughes)- 2004
- Heart Beats (Dami Im)- 2015
- The Lost Get Found (Britt Nicole)- 2009
- Up At Night (Cimorelli)- 2016
- Music Inspired By The Story (Various Artists)- 2011
Note: As the weeks go by, links to each of the 52 posts will be present in the list above, so bookmark this page as your favourite if you want to.
I am going to take your lead and aim to listen to these albums.
Go Josh!