Centricity Music
Release Date: September 3rd 2021
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Chris Renzema– Get Out of the Way of Your Own Heart (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Continue reading Chris Renzema – Get Out of the Way of Your Own Heart
Tag Archives: folk
John Mayer – Sob Rock
Colombia Records / Sony Music Entetainment
Release Date: July 16th 2021
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
John Mayer – Sob Rock (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Sara Bareilles – Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl
Epic Records / Sony Music Entertainment
Release Date: May 21st 2021
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Sara Bareilles – Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Continue reading Sara Bareilles – Amidst the Chaos: Live from the Hollywood Bowl
Jillian Edwards – Magnet – Single
Tone Tree Music
Release Date: July 23rd 2021
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Jillian Edwards – Magnet – Single (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Ellie Holcomb – Canyon
Capitol Christian Music Group / Full Heart Music
Release Date: June 25th 2021
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Ellie Holcomb– Canyons (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 41: The Shires
Maybe I’ll just say this from the outset…I don’t know how to start off this blog, or at least I didn’t know, when I initially decided to take the plunge, and give blogs 81-100 over to my brother Josh, and I then decided to take over the blogs that he was writing, 41-50. With the possibility of that even occurring, and how my brother and I were discussing it over the last few months, I was in fact very eager to have a change, per se. Let’s just say that writing about a certain ‘type’ of artist- the more established, while my brother explored more artists that were ‘new’, took a little bit of a toll on me. Not to say that artists like Keith Urban, Lady A, John Legend, Creed, Coldplay, John Farnham, John Mayer and Goo Goo Dolls (to name a few) weren’t good, quite the contrary actually. But you know how if you’ve been doing something long enough, you’re in need of a much-deserved change? Looking back on it now, I know I did. Having said that, now that my brother has embarked on the journey that I was on this last 2 years, posting the 81st post not too long ago about Tim McGraw, here I sit about to start writing…and I don’t have much at all. Usually when I write, I just do- the words flow out, and more often than not, I stare back at the page, and I’ve already written a page in about 5 minutes. Now, the words don’t come that easily anymore. Maybe it’s because I’ve been exploring more well-known artists that I’ve felt more at ease in writing about them, than compared to the up-and-comers I’m about to explore now, but whatever it is, at this moment I’m getting a massive amount of writer’s block. You know how you take over a task from someone, and then you feel pressure (either from yourself or even from outside sources) to make the continuation of the task, as good or even better than whence you first took over? That’s how I have felt, a little, since I started to listen to The Shires, in preparation for the 41st blog of the series ‘Influential Artists of the Next 5 – 10 Years’, what my brother Josh has been embarking on, from April 2019 onward.
Continue reading Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 41: The Shires
Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 40: Marie Miller
The other day I was contemplating, reflecting as we often do during this uncertain time of COVID-19… with no end in sight. I was contemplating as to why people have certain likes and dislikes, and why other people have others. I know, I know, it’s a strange topic to dwell upon. But bear with me for one second. See I love Chinese food, and most things Asian. Noodles, rice, laksa, curries, stir fry, satay, teriyaki, tom yum soup, wontons, dumplings… you name it, anything remotely Asian I will try, and I will most definitely like. I’m pretty much easy to please on that front. Food-wise I’ll give most things a go- and perhaps it’s because my mum’s Malaysian; that an innate part of me will always be drawn back to Asian food. On the other hand, though my dad is German, his cuisine has hardly grabbed a hold of me- not in the same way that Chinese food has. Sure, there’s Adendbrot, and Kassler, and Red Cabbage (maybe that’s a family tradition on Dad’s side rather than a German tradition!); but aside from that there isn’t much more that resonates with me. Though there are a lot of German dishes– some that probably Dad hasn’t heard of! Dad really loves liquorice, and Jon and myself do not. Dad loves Dominostein, and we don’t. Pfeffernüsse is ok-ish, but again- Dad loves it! And this got me thinking. That if our likes and dislikes in terms of food can be so contrastingly and vastly different, with only a few things in common… then does that translate into other areas and aspects of our own lives? And more specifically in terms of music (of course I’d go back to music… as I am in the midst of a blog series on artists and their burgeoning influence!), how do we all find one artist resonating and deeply impactful, and someone else find the same artist downright horrible and uninspiring?
Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 38: Chris Stapleton
Have you ever had a dream where you thought it was simply that? Just a fanciful dream? An idea, probably not fully formed, a lofty vision that you thought was so very far off in the distance, a target you could never reach… but would be nice to dwell upon said idea anyway, maybe just to pass the time? Have you ever had thoughts about the future, and immediately dismissed them, simply because they were too big, or too grandiose, or too complicated; and you were too ‘fill in the blank’? Too young, old, fat, thin, short, tall, arrogant, calculative, shy, reserved… whatever you want to place in there… have you ever had a dream ‘die’ even before it was birthed; simply because you never got passed the first hurdle of starting, and you listened to the lies of the devil? If the answer to all of those is ‘yes’, then boy do I have good news for you! And this news is that you aren’t too ‘____’ to achieve your dreams. Because if you were, then all of us are too _____ in any particular aspect of our character. Just as we can’t please everybody one hundred percent of the time (because we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that someone will be ticked off and unimpressed by… I don’t know, our eye colour or hair colour or some other feature!), let us remember that all we need to do is our best, and better our previous efforts. As long as we’re running in our own race, and we don’t look to the left or look to the right (and hence we’ll fall down because our eyes won’t be straight ahead!); then I reckon we’ll be ok in life. As long as we ask for help from family, friends and acquaintances, and don’t even attempt to try to struggle to do life on our own; then I think we’ll be alright. And as long as we give everything our best shot, and leave nothing left in reserve, then I reckon we’ll be alright. As long as we know that God has our life in the palm of His hands, and as long as we know of and believe His love and faithfulness, then I’d say we’ll be alright.
Jon Foreman – Departures
Independent
Release Date: February 12th 2021
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Jon Foreman – Departures (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 74: JON FOREMAN + SWITCHFOOT PT 2
It’s been about a couple of years since blog #2 in this Top 100 Influential Artists blog series that I embarked upon. Why I signify blog #2 is of a fair amount of importance, let me remind you. It was the blog about Switchfoot, and was in fact, a blog where I highlighted many songs by this San Diego quintet that have shaped music history and the lives of people over the years- songs like ‘Meant to Live’, ‘Dare You To Move’, ‘Stars’, ‘Oh Gravity’, ‘Mess of Me’, ‘Love Alone is Worth the Fight’ and ‘Restless’ are just many, many songs by a band that have had an influence in both the Christian music industry, and the mainstream as well. It was the first blog post after the first, which was Michael W. Smith, an artist that will always be sentimental to me, because it was the artist that in fact started off this whole journey of thinking about music and the impact, influence and power of artists, songs, and their discography on not only people’s lives, but throughout history as well. And here I am 2 years later or so, ready to commence on blog #74. And what better way to speak and discuss about something and someone totally from left field, that it is, to introduce the topic of discussion in this post…Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot (see blog post #2).