Tag Archives: dc talk

Momentous Mondays: Most Influential Artists Of All Time – Where Are They Now: Week 1-20

So… here we are. Just over 3 years since our first post of the blog series that ultimately changed how we (Jon and myself) listen to music and how we understand how God chooses to speak to us through music. Since that day in February in 2019 when we wrote about a crazy idea about writing about influential artists and why we believe them to be influential; we’ve since been on a musical journey that at first, we believed to be probably foolish. But now we both realise that we wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. As Christians, the assumption is that mainstream music is ‘evil’. But after 150 blogs (100 blogs about influential artists of all time, and 50 blogs about up-and-coming artists), we’ve found that, to the contrary, God uses all types of music to inspire us, encourage us, comfort us, and help us in this thing called life. You may not agree with Jon’s and my list. But that’s ok. Because we all have our preferences, and on things like this, it’s not worth splitting hairs over. I mean, is ‘this list doesn’t have my favourite artist on here!’ the hill you want to die on? No? I thought so.

It’s been about 3 years since our first post, and other variations of that time frame since all of the other blog posts. And it’s been about a few weeks since our blog post about Robbie Williams. And as such, we thought it would be fitting to write about the 100 artists (and 50 up-and-coming artists!) again- but in a more of a snapshot setting. A ‘where are they now?’ post, sort of a reflection post, a look back at 20 artists at a time (or in the case of the up-and-coming artists- 10 at a time!); just to see where they are at, and to reaffirm that we believe they’re still influential. Sure, you can read about all these artists on Wikipedia- but there’s something about a collated post where you can read about 20 artists at once! So… do you want to be reminded of why we chose the artists we did? Read on and be amazed and inspired by what’s happening in the lives of Michael W. Smith, Avril Lavigne, Delta Goodrem, Josh Groban, Casting Crowns and others!

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 12: DC TALK

Which band do you reckon has shaped Christian music the most? Has reminded us that songs about God, faith, hope, doubt, boldness and truth, need not to be sung and delivered in a cheesy over-spiritualised way, but rather, with power and emotion, coupled with musical genres of pop, hip hop, rock, fusing together a myriad of genres to let people know that there is more to Christian music than just hymns sung in pews each Sunday morning? Sure there have been bands like the Newsboys, Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline, Third Day, PETRA, Stryper and Family Force 5; that have all amassed fans alongside critics praising their involvement in shaping Christian music history over the years. but for me, there’s one band that stands tall above the rest, in terms of their own influence, not just in Christian music, but for music in general. Yes, if you’ve read this far, you probably know which band I’m gonna delve into. DC Talk– Toby McKeehan (now known as TobyMac), Michael Tait and Kevin Max, who make up this trio, are even now considered to be one of the most influential bands of the Christian music genre (if ever there is a boxed ‘genre’ music of a Christian nature can go in!). DC Talk, though only active for a little over a decade, have nevertheless encouraged and impacted so many, and even now, as TobyMac continues with his solo career, Kevin also with solo offerings and Michael in another popular band, the Newsboys (as lead singer!); these three humble members of arguably the greatest Christian band in modern history, are still impacting the world today, both with their solo (and Newsboys) material, alongside their DC Talk repertoire of yesteryear!

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FLASHBACK FRIDAYS: Week 3 (Jesus Freak by dc Talk)- If we’re all on fire for Jesus, why do we care about other people’s opinions?

This year, the year of 2018, is 10 years (or thereabouts) since I finished high school. Yep, I finished in 2007, and that would make me 28 right now. Now that I have revealed maybe the most sensitive subject someone could ever reveal to anyone (my age!), that makes us besties, right? And now that we’re besties, let me just say that on New Year’s Day, I decided that any future 10 year reunion ex-classmates would organise, I would politely decline in going to. And the reason was that my life, probably in comparison to others, would be insignificant. Sure, I’m one of the owners of a café, but there was a fear creeping at the back on my mind just last month, of not measuring up to the potential greatness of other people who would be at this ‘hypothetical’ but equally ‘possible’ reunion. I mean, I could be talking to doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians, accomplished musicians, lotto winners, guys and girls with multiple houses and cars, just generally people who are living it up and are maybe on the surface feeling happy. This insecurity came to a head a couple of days ago in Valentines Day. I was working. It was a slow day, and I realised that I was single. I had been single for my entire life, and the thought of ‘catching up’ with everyone from high school, who could all be in relationships or married with kids already, scared me. If other people were ‘up there’ in terms of status and accomplishments, then I was sure ‘down there’, not measuring up.

Continue reading FLASHBACK FRIDAYS: Week 3 (Jesus Freak by dc Talk)- If we’re all on fire for Jesus, why do we care about other people’s opinions?

TOP 10 ___: Top 10 DC Talk Songs

In honour of the DC Talk Cruise in which Kevin Max, TobyMac and Michael Tait, of DC Talk fame, decided to band together for a cruise and a set of concerts reunited in front of many fans, performing some of their greatest hits throughout the years (and then afterwards some hints of more cruises and reunion tours in the near future), we as a site have decided to compile some of our favourite DC Talk songs. In fact, DC Talk is by far one of the most influential CCM bands of the 1990s, alongside Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline, Delirious? and Avalon. Kevin, Toby and Michael showed us that Christian rock could be cool, and that declaring and singing songs about Jesus can be relevant and unique, in a climate where mainstream pop and songs about absolutely nothing is championed instead. And while the band went on indefinite hiatus from 2000s onwards (leading on from that, we saw TobyMac chart success in the years following, as with Tait joining the Newsboys and Kevin with his stint in Audio Adrenaline and his solo EPs and albums), DC Talk never officially called it quits. Whether the DC Talk Cruise means that the band would seriously think about forming back together permanently or not is a different story. But I guess between now and whenever they make a decision either way, we as a site have decided to share some of our favourite songs from arguably one of the most influential Christian bands, ever! Read on to find out some of my favourite songs from Kevin, Michael and Toby!

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Top 10 ___: 10 Songs from the 1990s That Will Be Surely Missed If They Weren’t Written

In light of the facebook post by DC Talk last week, and the anticipation by anyone who is anyone who loves music in general, about the update on social media DC Talk are going to undertake later on today; I thought this post would be fitting. Songs from the 1990s can seem like decades ago (and it was), but sometimes, and I’m guilty of this, is that sometimes all I’m listening to on my iTunes playlist is the newer songs. When I stop and wonder and think- what happens if these songs in the 1990s weren’t written? How would the musical landscape change then? So here are 10 songs we as a site thought were impactful and pivotal during the 1990s in the Christian music scene, and if these songs weren’t written, then the whole landscape of CCM would look quite different. Read below to see what our 10 choices were.

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TobyMac – **THIS IS NOT A TEST** (First Impressions Review)

tobymac

Welcome to our first ever ‘first impressions’ review, which is not really an official full length review per se, but rather an early collection of succinct and insightful thoughts. While we aim to hopefully post First Impression Reviews every week, we will at least write these pieces every fortnight (because we have to take into consideration things in our lives that may unexpectedly come up, right?), in anticipation of a review of a high profile album that we will be unveiling the week after. This week, our first instalment is peering using a metaphorical microscope at TobyMac’s 6th solo album **THIS IS NOT A Test** which releases August 7th. So let’s dive in and see whether this new album is worth our while taking a listen to!

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Top 10 ___: Top Ten Artists/bands Who Should Release A Comeback Album (even for a final album!)

audio-adrenaline-650

Welcome to the latest instalment of our most recent blog series Top Tens, which is posting roughly every Sunday/Monday, Australian time (give or take a few days…sorry for the late upload this week!). Last time, we delved into 10 films releasing in 2015 that pique my interest which I intend to watch. This time, we will explore and take a look at 10 artists/bands that are inactive at the moment who I think should release a comeback album, and I am sure many of you will agree as well! Some of them even are releasing a new album soon!

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Top 10 ___: Top Ten 90’s CCM Songs That Should Stand The Test Of Time!

wowthe90s

Welcome to the latest instalment of our most recent blog series Top Tens, which is posting roughly every Sunday/Monday, Australian time. Last time, we delved into my personal top ten personal choices for new CCM song that will be popular coming into the New Year. This time, we will explore my top ten 90’s CCM songs that are sure to stand the test of time!

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