Word Label Group
Release Date: March 15th 2019 [Maybe It’s Ok (Strings Mix)] / May 3rd 2019 [Maybe It’s Ok (Neon Feather Remix) (feat. Steven Malcolm)] / May 31st 2019 [Maybe It’s Ok (Chill Mix)]
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
We Are Messengers – Maybe It’s OK (Strings Mix) (Amazon mp3/iTunes) / Maybe It’s OK (Neon Feather Remix) (feat. Steven Malcolm) (Amazon mp3/iTunes) / Maybe It’s OK (Chill Mix) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Continue reading We Are Messengers – Maybe It’s OK [The SINGLES]
Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I listened to great bands and songs, and the great albums from said bands, when they actually released, rather than all these years later. How would my music tastes have changed- or would they have stayed the same? How would my outlook on life be, would I be more of an extrovert or an introvert, would my values change or would I still be in the same profession that I am currently in? I know, weird questions, but I truly believe that music and the song that can impact and encourage, influence and challenge; can really change a trajectory of someone depending on when they hear it in their lives. And at a certain point, a song can be a catalyst for change, personal or as a collective, to be something better, to look inward and see what needs to realign and refocus, or what values that is held close, need to be reassessed, and which need to still stay the same. So to answer my own question that I posed earlier…I don’t really know what would’ve happened if I did listen to artists when their respective albums released. I mean, had I did listen to artists like Avril Lavigne, Ronan Keating, U2, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, even Owl City and Lifehouse, during the times when albums of these said artists released; maybe, just maybe, the wonder and awe, and the unique feeling that comes when discovering a whole discography of a new artist, could be less and less. Because essentially if you follow an artist’s career from year dot, you become accustomed to their music your whole life, as opposed to someone else discovering for the first time a whole discography of an artist they’ve missed out on.
Continue reading MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 16: TRAIN
Can I ask you guys a question? Not really a question that you are forced to answer right away, but a question, nonetheless, that you can sit on and dwell for a while. When you wake up in the morning, maybe around 6am when the sun rises, or perhaps at 10am after a good sleep in; how do you feel each day on average? Are you happy, or are you sad? Is your attitude ‘oh, it’s just another day, let me roll over, and sleep some more; and hopefully it’s over by the time I wake up again!’; or is it ‘Yay, thank God I’m alive, let’s get up and do all the things I want to do today!’? Are you a glass half full or half empty? I know for my life that there are times when I feel uninspired to do anything productive and worthwhile some days- and it’s true that some days you do need those lazy ones where you just sit back and relax, watching the world go by! However if by some chance you feel scared about what each day brings; and if you feel scared by what the future holds (scared you might fail or scared you might even succeed!); let me tell you that you don’t need to be.
Continue reading Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 3: Tori Kelly
Recently of late I’ve been thinking about what the perfect gap in years between an album actually is. In a world where people consume more and more music, it’s probably accurate that we all have attention spans of around minutes and seconds rather than hours. Also, as we are living in a world where people are easily distracted and want the newer stuff ‘now’; I reckon it’s no surprise that artists are trying to release music in bite size pieces, and more of it. EP’s of around 5-6 songs every 7-8 months seems to be the ‘in’ thing these days. But I truly and wholeheartedly believe that the more music that is being recorded and made, and then sent out into the public; the more that there is a risk that other songs already released on albums previous, won’t be truly appreciated for the gems and treasures that they are, for a long time. For listeners are already latching onto the ‘newest’ song- which isn’t necessarily the most impactful, nor the most inspiring, the most influential and the most, dare I say, needed in one’s life at that very moment.
Influential is a funny word you see. Many people disguise it as popular, or they think that influential really means popular, when in fact the definition cannot be farther from what people perceive it is. For I’ve always been reminded that through this blog series, influential and popular aren’t always the same, in fact, most times, popular artists aren’t influential at all. They’re not influencing a generation to think about issues and topics that need to be discussed at length amongst friends and promote dialogue on real issues. Popular artists are indeed giving us popular songs that we can enjoy so that we can have a good time…but at the end of the day, much of the popular music of today can be a little vapid. Nevertheless, we tend to think that popular and influential are hand-in-hand, and thus, we attribute fame and fortune with someone impacting millions around the world. But herein lies the point- much of the people on my own influential top 100 list are relatively unknown. Sure they are known to their special field in which their genre of music is in, but outside of that specialised genre, not many people may have heard them…and that’s ok. I discussed one such artist before- Andrew Peterson, and how his knack for using his lyrical prowess to deliver poignant truths about God and mankind has led him to be placed upon my list, can seem all but absurd to the outside casual listener. But for me, Andrew himself has influenced my life a lot these last few years, as I’m sure many people who has heard his music and have testified to his life-changing lyrics that seep deep into the soul. Enter in another such artist, who I’m sure a lot of people know nothing about, myself included (until a week or so ago)- Australian country trio, The McClymonts.
Continue reading MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 15: THE MCCLYMONTS
This upcoming TV season is probably the most interesting I’ve ever seen over the past few years. Plenty of timeslot changes from networks, as well as dubious pickups, expected and shocking cancellations alike, as well as head-shaking and confusing fall schedules from some networks; all make for interesting drama. And we’re not even in September yet! Last time on my ‘best of 2019’ list, I wrote about 10 upcoming new fall shows from network TV, that I’m eagerly anticipating, as well as 5 midseason shows. You can view the post here, as well as the official 2019/2020 TV season schedule on Wikipedia– but herein lies the point.
Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group
Release Date: May 31st 2019
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Switchfoot– Live From The NATIVE TONGUE Tour – EP (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Continue reading Switchfoot – Live From The NATIVE TONGUE Tour – EP
Provident Label Group
Release Date: May 24th 2019
Reviewed by Joshua Andre
Rhett Walker– Believer (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Centricity Music
Release Date: May 24th 2019
Reviewed by Joshua Andre
Caitie Hurst– All The Things (Single) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Fair Trade Services
Release Date: May 31st 2019
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
The Afters – Fear No More (Amazon mp3/iTunes)