Continue reading Throwback And Retrospective Album Reviews – Introduction
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DOVE AWARD 2023 NOMINEES (PREDICTIONS)
It’s been around 1 year since we uploaded a ‘predictions post’ about the Dove Awards (in 2022, we posted our own predictions of the 2022 Dove Awards, of which you can all see here), and I figured it’s about time to upload our own predictions of this year’s Dove Awards as well. I know I rarely get any predictions right nowadays, but half of the predicting is kinda fun anyway, so why not? The actual nominations release in August sometime, so check out below, who we think ought to be nominated for this year’s awards (it’s only the main award nominations that we are predicting for) (Note: the nomination period, from my recollection, is from May 2022 – April 2023, but I could be wrong).
BEST OF 2022- PART 5: TOP 25 DELUXE EDITION AND BEST-OF COMPILATION ALBUMS OF 2022
Hey everyone… guess what! It’s the middle of July in 2023 already! But I’ve just found out that within our last ‘best of 2022’ post about our top 30 albums of 2022 (5-star reviews!) [the list of other top albums of 2022 is coming very. very soon!]; we have not included some albums! Perhaps you’ve noticed, perhaps you haven’t! Anyway, the reality is that last year, we created a brand new category- and that’s for deluxe edition and best-of compilation albums. Pitting them in our list again all original albums… isn’t fair at all- because it’s like comparing different kinds of albums! And so, as we rectified this issue last year, and explored our favourite 15 deluxe albums of 2021; this year we’ve increased the list to 25! So… without further ado, let me present to you all our favourite 25 deluxe edition albums as a site for the entire of 2022! Impacting and inspiring songs are special, but a re-release with added tracks confirming the timelessness of the original album in question? They’re even more special! So sit back, be inspired, and let these deluxe edition projects minister to you during this time of uncertainty!
Continue reading BEST OF 2022- PART 5: TOP 25 DELUXE EDITION AND BEST-OF COMPILATION ALBUMS OF 2022
BEST OF 2022- PART 4: TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2022 (all of them 5 stars!)
Hey everyone… guess what! It’s July 2023… and totally unacceptable that we haven’t posted many ‘best of lists’ from 2022 thus far. There are lots and lots of albums to honour though, and it’s time to rectify this issue right away! So without further ado, let me present to you all our favourite 30 albums as a site for the entire of 2022… the albums that scored 5/5! Impacting and inspiring songs are special, but whole album masterpieces? They’re even more special! So sit back, be inspired, and let these full length projects minister to you during this time of uncertainty!
Continue reading BEST OF 2022- PART 4: TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2022 (all of them 5 stars!)
TOP 10 ___: 40 ALBUMS RELEASED IN 2022, THAT WE NEVER REVIEWED!
In a few days time, we will be posting our list of our 30 best albums of 2022 (all of them 5 stars… simply because there is a lot of them!), and in a few more days, we’ll be posting our list of our 30 best albums of 2022 (4.5/5 and below). However, there were some reviews that we wanted to write and post, but ultimately didn’t for various reasons! Either we were stretched for time or we didn’t connect with them for whatever reason. Perhaps you noticed the absence of some reviews, perhaps you didn’t.
Anyway, more than a year ago, we delved into 25 2021 albums we never reviewed (due to life getting in the way), including albums from Adele (30), Evanescene (The Bitter Truth) and Kaylee Bell (Silver Linings), to name a few. Now, the time has arrived for us to list 40 albums we never reviewed, which released in 2022. So…check out these 40 albums/EP’s. Just because they weren’t reviewed, doesn’t mean that they can’t resonate with all of you. And… which albums did you wish we reviewed (within this list of 40 or outside of the list)?
Continue reading TOP 10 ___: 40 ALBUMS RELEASED IN 2022, THAT WE NEVER REVIEWED!
BEST OF 2022- PART 3: TOP 25 ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2023
I don’t know how many times I’ve said this- I think I’ve confidently asserted this statement many times throughout the years. But I think I will say it again. The year of 2022, like the previous years of 2020 and 2021, has delivered time and time again, in terms of presenting to us some pretty inspiring and thought-provoking albums and songs. Though hectic, chaotic, seemingly out of control and messy; 2022, like 2021 and more than 2020, was the year in which I have grown the most in my musical tastes, and it’s the year that I have found more albums and songs that has resonated with me. But maybe that’s because I was more aware of releases this year than any other year. Partly because of me branching out into different types of music because of my own accord (just because I’m curious by nature!), and also partly because of me and Jon writing our still-ongoing blog series about influential artists of all time- and us being exposed to more different types of music that way.
Personally though, I’ve found 2022 to be the year where we were treated to the most hard hitting and poignant songs, as well as the most inspirational albums in recent memory. We were treated to songs like “Worthy Of My Song” (Phil Wickham), “Then Christ Came” (MercyMe), “Me On Your Mind” (Matthew West and Anne Wilson), “Still” (Steven Curtis Chapman), “In Jesus’ Name” (Katy Nichole), “Anti-Hero” (Taylor Swift), “Wait In The Truck” (HARDY and Lainey Wilson), “Broekn Dreams” (Lucy Thomas), “Right On Time” (Lindsay Ell), “Turning My Heart” (The Young Escape), “The Little Things” (Kelsea Ballerini), “Things That I’m Afraid Of” (Josh Wilson and Tasha Layton), “Yeshua (Friend Of Sinners)” (Mike Donehey), “Sunday Sermons” (Anne Wilson), “Child At Heart” (Hanson), “Loud” (Sofia Carson), “Maybe You’re The Problem” (Ava Max), “West Coast” (One Republic), “Broken Hearts (Do Broken Things)” (Runaway June), “Fast Times” (Sabrina Carpenter), “Celestial” (Ed Sheeran), “Hold My Hand” (Lady Gaga), and “The In-Between” (Matt Maher), to name a few (or to name a lot!). While we were also blessed to hear inspirational and encouraging albums such as Healer [Casting Crowns], Life After Death [TobyMac], Still [Steven Curtis Chapman], Holy Fvck [Demi Lovato], The Joy Of Music [Ben Rector], Destiny [Lucy Thomas], Palomino [Miranda Lambert], Bell Bottom Country [Lainey Wilson], Subject To Change [Kelsea Ballerini], The Loneliest Time [Carly Rae Jepsen], Raised [Hailey Whitters], Red Green Blue [Hanson], What Are We Waiting For [For KING & COUNTRY], Good Person [Ingrid Andress], Bridges [Calum Scott], Mercury: Acts 1 & 2 [Imagine Dragons], and Midnights [Taylor Swift], to name a few (also to name a lot!).
Continue reading BEST OF 2022- PART 3: TOP 25 ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2023
BEST OF 2022- PART 2: TOP 50 MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2022
Hey everyone… guess what! COVID-19 is still here- this time as the descendant of Omicron version (no surprises there!)… and though we all are living in some semblance of normal, there are still some movies that are only released on streaming services because of COVID-19, while some artists are just getting back into creating music albums. And so, as we all adjust to this new normal- let’s in the meantime jam out to inspiring music videos! This past few years have been quite crazy and eventful; but there have been some heartfelt, poigant, emotional and just fun-filled music videos that have debuted within the past year. So without further ado, let me present to you all our favourite 50 music videos as a site for the year of 2022! So sit back, be inspired, and let these music videos minister to you during this time of uncertainty!
Continue reading BEST OF 2022- PART 2: TOP 50 MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2022
BEST OF 2022- PART 1: TOP 60 SONGS OF 2022
Hey everyone… guess what! It’s the beginning of 2023… already! The past year of 2022 has been such an eventful and crazy year in and of itself! Severance, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Willow, House of the Dragon, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Ginny & Georgia, The Peripheral, Outer Range, Paper Girls, Alaska Daily, Wednesday and The Bear; have been the shows that have won the hearts of people around the world over this past year (alongside the fact that plenty of these shows aforementioned have received critical acclaim), while movies like Amsterdam, Spirited, Disenchanted, Black Adam, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, See How They Run, Don’t Worry Darling, She Said, The Woman King, The Lost City, Where the Crawdad’s Sing, Elvis, Me Time, Hustle, Death on the Nile, The Adam Project, Rosaline and Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness (amongst others) have wowed us all in any and every way possible these past 12 months. The world is slowly but surely coming to grips with the reality that COVID-19, especially the Omicron variant of it, is still going to be here to stay (in some shape or form); and through all that…we’ve realised that it’s time for another Best of post. Over the year of 2022, there have been many songs that have touched our soul and have brought us healing and comfort. So let us dive back in through the past year- as we now let you all know our favourite songs of 2022. All 60 of them! So, sit back, be inspired, and let these songs minister to you during this time of uncertainty! Let us remember that even though this upcoming year is uncertain, that music is constant, and that these songs can comfort, inspire, and encourage as we navigate through life.
MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: ICONIC & IDENTITY-BUILDING ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 7: THE BEEE GEES
I’m not sure if this has been scientifically proven, or if it’s just here-say and speculation, but I’ve noticed that each musical era has its own distinctive sound. From the power-pop ballads and love songs of the 1980s and 1990s, to the powerhouse bands that existed in the 1970s (Queen, The Rolling Stones, ABBA, Kiss, AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac and The Beach Boys, to name a few), even the late 1990s when boybands (and girl-groups) started to come into prominence, or even the 1990s as well, where prominent and distinctive country music sounds came into fruition (through the way of artists like LeAnn Rimes, The Chicks, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, The Judds, Trisha Yearwood, Deana Carter, Jo Dee Messina, Martina McBride and Faith Hill)…in all these circumstances, eras, time periods and stylistic changes and shifts in musical culture, you can gauge and understand that each period of time was different for music. Each period was distinct. Each period was unique. Each period had something to say. And each period was special to someone, somewhere. And what I’ve learnt throughout the last few years of exploring music in various different genres and time periods, is this- that each person will gravitate towards their own favourite music…which will be different compared to other people’s favourite music, and that’s ok. Each person is impacted and influenced by different artists (or even different time periods), and from what I’ve learnt, is that people’s strong beliefs about music (and influential music artists as a whole) ought not to be held as tightly as I’m sure a lot of people are holding music, full stop. Because (and I know I’m guilty of that too) that’s what people do.
MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: ICONIC & IDENTITY-BUILDING ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 6: THE BEACH BOYS
Throughout the past few weeks, we’ve embarked on probably one of the most ambitious blog series yet. The past 3 years, we’ve delved into and explored the music of influential artists and artists who are on the cusp of being influential. But these 50 artists Jon and I are going to write about… are in a whole new different category. Much more clear-cut with little to no room for disagreement about the artists; the category of Identity-Building and Iconic artists; reminds us that some artists are timeless, and some artists will just be legendary even 50 years from now. We’ve written about Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, ABBA, Bon Jovi, and Keith Green; and these 5 artists thus far, are some of the most powerful, confronting, and thought-provoking artists ever to have lived. And we will continue to write about iconic heavyweights of the music industry for the many months to come. Iconic artists, to me, differ to influential artists in the sense that these artists are iconic just because. You don’t need to justify the reasons why you believe they are iconic, and you don’t have to write an essay length piece… because all of the readers virtually will agree with you anyway. And as such, the past few installments have been different from how Jon and I have been blogging in the past. Simply because we do not write about every single hit song from every single album. It’s pointless, when these musicians and singers have etched their way into legendary status and folklore long before I even thought about writing about them; and so, perhaps the way forward for my structure of these blogs could be similar to how we’ve blogged in the past about Michael W. Smith, U2 and Bryan Adams? Anyway, I’ve decided to tackle someone completely unexpected this week (and probably not ordinarily in my preferences of musical genre); and after listening and ruminating on a number of songs in their discography over the past couple of weeks- can I say that pop band The Beach Boys is one of the most successful U.S. bands of the 1960’s and 1970’s, and deserves their place in this blog series, even though they’re still not my musical preference?