Tag Archives: momentous mondays

MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 87: CROWDED HOUSE

The other week, I made a very big assertion with regards to the criteria of this blog series list. And it was that there wasn’t a concrete criteria, that virtually anyone could get in if they were ‘influential’ or ‘popular’ enough– a metric which in some ways is extremely bias. Regardless if an artist debuted in the 80’s or in the 2010’s; regardless if they had a hit in the 90’s or had 5 hits in the 90’s; regardless if they were known just for their music or for their life outside of music too… if you glance through our list, you’d find a vast smorgasbord of different artists, who in my opinion each deserve their place in their own special way. And because you could conceivably argue that each artist deserved to be there, and each artist was vastly different to each other… ergo this meant that there was hardly any criteria for inclusion on such a subjective list as this. But as I pondered this past week as I was ruminating as to who to write about, it struck me that there was indeed a bit of a pattern with the artists whom I was choosing to write about, and with whom Jon was choosing to write about, even if we didn’t know it at the time.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 86: SNOW PATROL

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. It’s been about a couple of months since I had a crazy idea to swap blog series with Jon (as in I write about influential artists of all time, and he write about artists who are virtually certain to be influential in the near future!); and it’s been a bit more taxing that I thought it was going to be. Not that I’m complaining… which I’m not, because I’ve been musically stretched beyond anything that I even thought I would be, and more than I ever was when I was writing my portion of the blog series all that time ago. It’s just that at this stage of the blog series, from entries #81-#100, you’d think that the 20 artists would be self-explanatory and would reveal themselves like the drop of a hat. And you’d be right… somewhat. Artists like Tim McGraw, Jennifer Lopez and Spice Girls were in the list for as long as I could remember- so there were no surprises there. But Gwen Stefani and Leona Lewis surprised me in a good way- they weren’t in the list for very long, and the fact that I was so compelled to write about these artists meant that there was no room for Blake Shelton and Norah Jones (at the moment). I’ve noticed that even at this stage, I can be enamoured and fascinated by the discography and life of an artist so much that I could include them on a whim at the expense of another; and that’s ok. At no point during this process of writing did I feel as if Gwen and Leona weren’t worthy of being included in a subjective list such as this. But it did give me pause and reason for reflection for the remainder 15 names.

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Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 43: Riley Clemmons

Since undertaking this blog series around 2 and a half years ago, I’ve since had the privilege of exploring artists in such a way that I may have not had done so; if I wasn’t as bold as I was in delving deep into the blog series for this site. I had been musing and thinking about it for quite some time before February 2019, but little did I know that since that introductory post in early February, my appreciation of music, and my ability to enjoy music not necessarily within the realms and confines of CCM, was all going to change. I was challenged by music artists and genres that I didn’t think I could like, let alone enjoy. Artists like Lifehouse, Avril Lavigne, Pentatonix, John Mayer, SEAL, Jackie Evancho, Sara Bareilles, U2, OneRepublic, Rascal Flatts, Lady A, Sugarland, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, The Corrs, and Carly Rae Jepsen, are just some of the many artists I enjoyed during my time blogging about, in my opinion (and it’s just my opinion), some of the most influential music artists in music history and society. I wrote blog after blog for about just over two years, and finally made the switch after blog post #80 to alter my approach a bit. My brother Josh took over from me and is now writing about blogs #81 – #100 and further discussing influential artists in modern music history- artists like Tim McGraw, Leona Lewis, J. Lo., Gwen Stefani and Spice Girls have been written since I actively left the blog series I was undertaking, and artists like Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Beyonce and Kylie Minogue are still to come.

I, on the other hand, decided to try my hand and relay my own ‘expertise’ in exploring artists who are much more ‘current’ in a way- artists who may not necessarily be influential now as of this moment (but nevertheless, still popular), but will probably be in the upcoming few years ahead. Artists like Tori Kelly, Maddie & Tae, Lindsay Ell, Echosmith, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton, Dami Im, Mandy Harvey, Hunter Hayes, Little Mix, NF and The New Respects, are just some of the 40 artists Josh wrote about…and then everything changed at the end of April. Mutually agreed by both my brother and me, we swapped- Josh is now continuing the blog series about influential artists of all time, and I am trying to at least get my head around influential artists of both now and into the future. While for me it hasn’t really been as easy-going compared to the blog post series that I was a part of for 2-and-a-bit years; I’ve still relished in the challenge of listening to music that stretches me and encourages me to see beyond my own preconceived ideas of music that is produced currently right now. Since writing about John Legend (blog #80 of ‘Influential Artists of All Time’), I’ve delved into ‘new’ and upcoming artists The Shires (who I reckon is one of the most underrated country duo’s ever) and Lucy Thomas (The Voice Kids U.K. finalist, who is arguably one of the most promising voices out there right now, considering she’s only 17 years old now, and 13 when she was competing on the singing competition). Now, I’ve decided to take the plunge again into the depths of the unknown…this time, it’s CCM artist and hopeful mainstream-crossover artist, Riley Clemmons.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 85: JENNIFER LOPEZ (AKA J.LO)

What makes an artist influential, or even popular? That is the million dollar question, is it not? I know that we’ve posed this question many times throughout the past few years, and that we’ve added and subtracted artists to our ever-evolving influential artist list; based on the conclusions that we’ve drawn over the years. And so, I ask this question yet again, because… one more time can’t hurt, right? Is it the impact of the song that determines an artist’s longevity and legacy and standing in their career, or is it their songwriting ability? Is it the fact that an artist has blown up on social media and is using their platform for good away from the spotlight, or is it simply because their songs are connecting with listeners on a deep, personal, emotional and spiritual level even if their personal life is in ruins? Is an artist influential because they are so for their particular genre or time period, or is an artist influential because they are so across so many decades and for so many listeners across the board? Or are artists influential because they are not popular but rather unknown, but resonating to a specific group of people just because of one song or one album? What if I said that the answer to all of these questions is yes? Yes for all of them? Yes, an artist is influential for all of these reasons… that’s a lot of criteria, am I right? Confused with where I’m going? Don’t worry, all will make sense soon-ish…

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Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 42: Lucy Thomas

Let me pose a question to you all. Under what criteria or definition does an artist become influential (or even popular for that matter)? Is it their number of sales in any given year, or how high a certain song charts on the radio, or even how well people respond to songs in their own personal settings as the years progress? Is it how many awards they’ve won, or how much a song ‘blows up’ on social media? Is it their ability to have their music placed in TV shows and movies, or their songs become theme songs for various ceremonies across the years? Or is it their vocal prowess alone, and their ability to sing high, sing powerfully, sing with heart and determination? Or it could just be their natural talent as a songwriter, or even the fact that they are a multi-instrumentalist. Whatever the case may be, and whatever yardstick or measurement people use to determine someone’s popularity or influence in society altogether, there is something that still remains to be true, regardless of criteria. That a good artist is a good artist is a good artist, and no matter if they are ‘liked’ or not, one can generally appreciate someone’s craft, and people are usually on the money in their deciphering about who is popular and who is influential. Because at the end of the day, influence goes beyond popularity, and speaks to the heart of issues relevant to the people of today. People can all of a sudden, become famous overnight and popular through TikTok, Instagram and Youtube- anyone who’s somewhat tech-savvy can self-declare that they are a muso/artist, and record something on the fly…but that doesn’t mean that they actually are. They may be popular and enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame (figuratively or even literally), but to be influential means an artist has to deliver something that goes beyond the surface, and hit a listener in a way that their music impacts them not only for a little while, but really challenges the way that the person on the other end- listeners, critics, consumers, and the rest of them, sees society, music, and the interweaving of how music can impact someone’s life for the better, even if it’s just this one song that really changes the trajectory of someone’s life.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 84: SPICE GIRLS

I don’t know if what I’m about to share with you is something that is really profound for all of you, or if it’s something that has really just resonated with me over the last few weeks. But here goes. Since the effects of COVID-19 being very apparent and on display all that time ago back in March 2020; we’ve been isolated, in various states of lockdown, social distancing, wearing masks, being responsible and staying at home, having the ‘right’ number of people in your home at any one time, undertaking testing and later on vaccinations where possible, and just following the rules set for us as dictated by the government and the health advice of the state and/or country that we live in. As there are still deaths every day all over the world, and as COVID-19 has mutated over the past year to grow into a deadlier virus (the Delta strain); it seems that lockdowns and masks and social distancing are becoming to be part of the ‘new normal’, if I could be so blunt to say. Sure, we’d want to eradicate the virus to the point of it never coming back ever again in any shape or form; but if this is the best we can do as a people, as a human race at this point in time, then as long as we are all generally healthy and as long as people are recovering and aren’t dying at an alarming rate like before… then I consider everything happening now a win in relation to everything that has happened last year. Will we have to learn to live with COVID-19? I hope not, but we better not be alarmed or concerned if that is the case in the future. Yet for all of the alterations we’ve all had to make as we redefine what life looks like and what our lifestyle looks like; there’s one aspect of our life that has suffered greatly all throughout the virus’s inception until now. And it is this- that while we are all connected via social media and zoom, we’ve never felt more alone than ever before, and that we’re becoming more and more hermit-ish, losing some friends because of our inability to converse with them, and shunning the friends we do have for whatever reason. Our friendships have suffered because of COVID-19. And if I were to stop there, you’d all think that this is the profound thing that came to me the other week. But… it is not. The mind-blowing thing that I found to be pretty wild… is that I believe that friendships that died during COVID-19, were already broken to begin with. Friendships that drifted away during COVID-19, were fractured and tense to begin with. Friendships that faded away weren’t cultivated enough, and friendships that started to be uncomfortable and weird, were so because we all weren’t addressing big important issues. And it also just dawned on me this past week, that we all need to find the root of the issue otherwise we risk being alone forever and disconnected from society. And how’s that for something philosophical to rack your brain over?

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 83: LEONA LEWIS

You know how you hear a song and then instantly you know that this artist, even if you don’t know them, is destined for greatness? That this artist will blow everyone out of the water, this artist will have a long career, and this artist will inspire many, and be influential to many? The other year I think, I heard a song on the radio, that was somehow buried deep in my psyche that was unearthed this year. But when I heard it, I immediately thought that this person was blessed, that they were going to change a generation, and impact the world at large. Any guesses as to who this artist is? Is the artist I’m going to be writing about today Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Kylie Minogue or Robbie Williams? After all, they each have distinctive voices, am I right? Well, no, no, no, no, no, no and no again. This artist rather is rather underrated, has flown under the radar for a while, and is only really successful in their home country of Britain. Their most successful album remains their debut album back in 2007- and they’re an artist where at first glance may not fit into this blog series. But you know how God has surprised me over and over and shaken up my definition of who is influential and who isn’t? He’s done so again for this next artist. That’s right, it’s time to dive deep into the discography of British pop/gospel singer Leona Lewis. And yes, it was the song “Footprints In The Sand” that hit at my heart and emotions all those years ago in 2007.

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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.

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 82: GWEN STEFANI

Fear. F. E. A. R. Fear. It’s a concept that many of us think we understand… But in reality, I reckon there’s a lot to unpack about this simple yet profound emotion that exists within us all. Fear is something that can cripple the best of us, can show us our deepest and darkest worries and concerns; and can be as rational as the sky being blue, or as irrational as the earth being flat. Fear can paralyse us and persuade us to stay still, or it can even motivate us to keep on keeping on with our journeys along this terrain called life. Whatever and however fear brings forth the best or worst in us, providing us impetus to actively change or a reason to be more shut in from the world; this pesky emotion has buried its way into our psyche and has lived there for years and years and years. Dare I say it- I reckon it’s the most important yet the most harrowing emotion that we could have?

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MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 81: TIM MCGRAW

Influence is a funny thing. It’s a topic that, by all accounts, is very, very subjective. Something or someone that you may believe to be influential, for either your own life or for the wider world, either at a national level or at a global level; may in fact be regarded by myself or by someone else as not influential at all, and perhaps superfluous. When we’re speaking about influence, we’re usually speaking about people and the mark they’ve made on human history, for either good or bad, and the impression that they’re destined to leave us all when they die. Sure, you can measure popularity by the numbers- if it’s a music artist, then by number of albums sold or songs streamed, or even twitter followers or hit radio singles; or if its an actor then number of movies starred in or number of Golden Globe or Academy Awards won. Influence, on the other hand…. Well that’s measured by…that’s measured by… well what is it measured by? Number of lives impacted after watching a movie or listening to a song? How would you determine the magnitude of the impact and whether the direct impact of a song or an album on a person is life changing or not though? Did the song save them from death or give them a sense of direction or purpose? Or is a measure the number of people directly inspired by that artist, so much so that a person considers said artist a role model and someone they look up to? How about during an unforeseen tragic circumstance, a song from left field, by an artist one would never imagine or think they’d ever listen to, inspires and comforts and heals, and brings them back from the brink, from depression and from hurt and pain unimaginable. Is this artist influential to that person? If the artist has had little sales and hardly any radio hits, but has changed lives for the better, and has released maybe the ‘theme song’ for someone’s marriage or graduation or something like that- are they influential? Maybe… maybe not. But regardless, don’t you reckon influence is now a bit grey and dependent on a variety of factors that can change as they days, months, years progress?

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