Fave Albums of 2000s: #8

8.  The Beautiful Letdown – switchfoot

 

The review in Christianity Today covers my thoughts pretty well on this one, the pinnacle (so far) for switchfoot.  I still think these guys have a Joshua Tree in them.  Or maybe they’ve already released it, but just over a series of albums rather than encased into a single CD.  I own all their CDs, and enjoy them all, but Beautiful Letdown is my favorite.

 

From the driving modern rock of Meant to Live and This is your Life to the elegiac 24 and On Fire, switchfoot delivers.  Musically and lyrically.

 

Snippets of the lyrics (full listing)…

·        We were meant to live for so much more

·        We want more than this world’s got to offer, we want more than the wars of our fathers

·        I don't know what they're gonna think of next, genetic engineers of the most high tech.  A couple new ways to fall into debt.  I'm a nervous wreck but I'll bet that that T.V. set tells us what we've wanted to hear

·        It was a beautiful letdown the day i knew that all the riches this world has to offer me would never do.  In a world full of bitter pain and bitter doubt, i was trying so hard to fit in, until i found out…

·        I don’t belong here

·        Easy living, you’re not much like the name

·        We are a beautiful letdown, painfully uncool, the church of the drop-outs, the losers, the sinners, the failures, and the fools

·        The tension is here, between who you are and who you could be, between how it is and how it could be

·        Today will soon be gone, like yesterday is gone

·        We’ve got information in the information age, but do we know what life is outside of our convenient Lexus cages?

·        Yesterday is a wrinkle onyour forehead… This is your life.  Are you who you want to be?  This is your life.  Is it everything you dreamed that it would be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose?

 

It just hit me… this is Ecclesiastes and Solomon.  And it’s funny, whenever i finish one of these write-ups, i wonder… how could this album not be ranked higher?  I may have missed the boat on this one.

 

Other links

The band talks about the album

Meant to Live video

This is Your Life

Ton of switchfoot videos

 

Next up: the highest ranking album by a solo female artist

Fave Albums of 2000s: #9

The most recent release, from 2007, on these lists is my #9 selection...

9.  Remedy - David Crowder Band

Will naturally suffer by comparison to its predecessor (A Collision, still to come), but this is a fantastic album in its own right.  This is DCB stripped bare, musically, lyrically, emotionally, whatever.  This is DCB coming to grips with pain, clinging to our Remedy.  Bare, but i wouldn't call it unplugged or anything.  They're still quirky, fun, poignant, deep, all that.

The premier track is Surely We Can Change.  Sometimes at work i need to pull up that link and just listen to the song.

Full track listing.  Most links are live versions on youtube.

1. The Glory Of It All
2. Can You Feel It?
3. Everything Glorious - this is the song we used on our family video for 2007
4. … neverending …
5. Never Let Go
6. O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
7. Rain Down
8. We Won't Be Quiet
9. Remedy
10. Surely We Can Change

This is one that may keep rising over the next couple of years as it dwells in me.

Next up: #8, the best album by my favorite current rock band.  It may or may not be a letdown.

Favorite Albums of 2000s: #10

Starting off the top 10, listing them one at a time, with this gem...

10.  Divine Discontent - Sixpence None the Richer

I love Leigh Nash's voice, that soft, airy, beautiful female vocal.  And i've been a fan of Matt Slocum's songwriting since his days in Love Coma (still have that cassette tape somewhere).  I pretty much wore out my CD of their debut album The Fatherless and the Widow.  

I remember buying Divine Discontent soon after its release in 2002, but life circumstances (somehow, don't ask me what) kept it off my radar screen.  It wasn't until i got my mp3 player loaded that the greatness of this album hit me.  I'd hear a Sixpence song, find myself tapping along and wondering what album it was from.  Invariably, it was this one.  This was an album that snuck up on me.

Their previous album was the one with the giant hit "Kiss Me" and successful follow-up "There She Goes", but this one is the more solid album from start to finish.  The only chart hit was the remake of the fantastic pop song "Don't Dream It's Over", originally a hit for Crowded House.  It's a perfect fit for Leigh's voice, though therein is also the downside, as there's really nothing new about Sixpence's version.

My favorite track is A Million Parachutes.

Breathe Your Name video

Leigh on Letterman, explaining the band's name (in case you were wondering)

Holden Beach

We returned yesterday from our spring break trip to the beach.  This year, we went to a new place, Holden Beach.  Holden is the island next to Oak Island, where we've been twice before.  It is about halfway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach.  A very family oriented place with mostly large houses, and very few condos (and those are 2 stories high at most).

We took some good pictures with Caroline's new digital camera, and i hope to have some of those up soon on the family page (and will post a link here when that is ready), but here is one photo to get it started.  This is Emily & Jackson down on the beach, taken by Caroline...

The weather wasn't great, due to high winds most of the week.  That limited our options.  But we had a good time.

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Favorite Albums of 2000s: 11-17

See previous post for fuller explanation.  Sorry for the delay.  I somehow lost my tally sheet where i had ranked the albums.  I finally just decided to redo it all, but i'm afraid that i've forgotten something.  Nevertheless, here is my list of numbers 11 through 17...

17.  Arriving – Chris Tomlin

Winner of a Dove award in 2005, this put the Texas songwriter firmly on the CCM map, and had legions of worshippers singing along to his catchy melodies.

 

16.  She Must and Shall Go Free – Derek Webb

Piercing lyrics for the church from the former lead singer of Caedmon’s Call.  Wedding Dress is an incredible song.

 

15.  Get Behind Me Satan – The White Stripes

I have a feeling i would enjoy all of their albums, but this is the only one i own.

 

14.  Add To The Beauty – Sara Groves

We’ll see more from Sara later in our top 10, but this one makes the grade.

 

13.  The Chess Hotel – The Elms

My vote for the most overlooked album of the decade.  Solid, fun, and meaningful Midwestern American rock & roll.  Share it with all your friends, and rock out on Saturday night.  Here are videos for "Nothin' to Do with Love", "The Way I Will", and "Bring Me Your Tea".

 

12.  Learning to Breathe – switchfoot

Their breakthrough album, Grammy-nominated, but not their best.  Three killer songs (Dare You to Move, title track, and Love is the Movement), plus 8 more solid tracks.

 

11.  This Mystery – Nichole Nordeman

Chock-full of well-written songs.  Reflective pop for the introspective, the thinkers.  Check out "Why" and "Fool for You".

 

Next up: The Top 10

If you like this list, just wait to see the top 10.  You’ll either be annoyed that i got the lists flipped, or jazzed that there could be 10 albums better than these.

Rough First Half

My Baylor Bears made the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time since 1988 (and only the 2nd time since 1950).  Their first round game is today, and is currently at the half.

Not a great start for the Bears.  Purdue is very well coached and disciplined.  They play hard and aggressive defense, reminding me somewhat of Coach K's Duke teams.  Baylor is down by 19 points, a deficit fueled by a mix of sloppy ballhandling and turnovers, some horse shots from the Boilermakers, and that tough defense i mentioned.  Purdue also has an edge on the offensive glass on their end, one part effort and one part lucky bounces.

Sic 'em, Bears!

My Favorite Albums of the Decade

Over the next series of posts, i'll give my favorite albums of the 2000s.  I do not warrant that these are the best, because i've not heard the vast majority of albums released (who could?).  These are merely my favorites.

We'll start with the Honorable Mentions, those just barely not making the list, or with odd circumstances.

Honorable Mention - Special Categories

Diamond Cuts:  Triple Play - this is a compilation of songs related to baseball, the 3rd installment in a series of 9 albums from the non-profit outfit Hungry for Music.  Triple Play is my favorite of the 9 (well, i only own the first 8), led be the stellar tunes "Letters in the Dirt" by Chuck Brodsky, "Remember Me" by Jim Guadet, and Jeff Arundel's "Harmon Killebrew".  I also enjoy Christine Lavin's "Ballad of a Ball Game".

America: A Tribute to Heroes - an all-star collection of artists came together in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 for a broadcast concert telethon.  Not uniformly great, but loaded with memorable performances.  Come on, rise up!

O Brother Where Art Thou? - soundtrack from and a perfect fit for the Coen brothers movie.  I was amazed and thrilled when this won the 2002 Grammy for Best Album.

Honorable Mention - Just Missed

·        Carried Along – Andrew Peterson

·        Woven & Spun – Nichole Nordeman

·        Mountain Soul – Patty Loveless (“You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” is an awesome song)

·        The Way I Am – Jennifer Knapp

·        Films for Radio – Over the Rhine

·        Drunkard’s Prayer – Over the Rhine

·        Good Dog, Bad Dog – Over the Rhine

·        Truth, Soul, and Rock & Roll – The Elms

 

Next up: picks # 11+

Princes of Scotland

One of my dad's cousins has built a very nice family tree (not sure if that link is public or only viewable to those that have received an invitation) history on ancestry.com.  I was checking it out, tracing the lineage back as far as it would go.  I figured to find 7 or 8 generations, hoping to figure out when and where our ancestors came to America.  Instead, it went back more than 25 generations, back to the 1200s.

Guess what i found?  25 generations ago, my great-x-23 grandfather was Robert the Bruce, the first King of Scotland.  He's best known in our age from the movie Braveheart, whose final scene is seen here...

 

His first child was Marjorie Bruce, born 1296.  Her story is quite interesting.  First, i found another site that traces her lineage back even further, into the 10th century.  As a young girl, Marjorie was taken prisoner by the English and kept in a convent until age 17.  She soon wed upon her release, and while pregnant with her first child, was thrown from a horse.  The injuries would kill her, but not before the child, a son named Robert, was delivered.  Robert Stewart became King Robert II of Scotland.

One of Robert's daughters was Johanna (Jean) Stewart.  Her 3rd husband was James Sandilands.  From there, there are 17 generations of Sandilands, though sometimes the surnames are noted in the records as Sandlin or Sandland.  Somewhere in there (the records are spotty), the Sandilands came to America.  They passed through Chester county in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Duplin county in North Carolina, York county in South Carolina, and Dekalb county in Tennessee. 

Until we get to a Nancy Sandlin, born 1834 in Tennessee. Nancy married a man named Manson Scott, and their second son was Daniel Marion Scott (curiously, he also died after being thrown from a horse).  Daniel's second son was Walter Marvin Scott, born 1886.  Walter Scott is my great-grandfather, my dad's dad's dad.

We are all sons of Scotland.

Birthdays

Emily & Jackson shared their birthday day, though not their birthday parties, back on New Year's Eve.  Jackson turned 8, and Emily hit double-digits with her 10th birthday.  Two awesome kids, whom i love dearly.

Here's a photo from Jackson's party at the skating rink.  We didn't get pictures from Emily's party at build-a-bear and subsequent slumber party.

My Uncle Don

My Uncle Don, my dad's older brother, passed away the day after Christmas.  I just wanted to say a few words about him.

At Don's funeral service, my dad gave a very nice eulogy, talking about how his brother basically raised him when they were young kids, after their parents' divorce.  If you know my dad, and what a good man he turned out to be, then you have to believe that his brother must have been a pretty darn good surrogate parent.

As a young adult, my uncle joined the Army and was soon sent off to Vietnam, where he was a chopper pilot.  I never could get any details out of him, but i have gleaned a few tidbits of his experience in 'Nam.  The stories are that Don went down twice as a pilot, whether from fire or mechanical problems or whatnot, i couldn't say.  One of those times, he went down behind enemy lines, and while the army knew where he was, they couldn't readily get anyone in to rescue him.  So he put his survival and evasive tactics into practice until rescue came.

Don stayed in the Army for 20 years, rising to the rank of Major.  He earned many awards and decorations, highlighted by the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the highest ordered awards the military offers (if it is proper to think of it that way).  Here's more about it, from Grunts Military.

The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States, distinguishes himself by heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. The performance of the act of heroism must be evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty. The extraordinary achievement must have resulted in an accomplishment so exceptional and outstanding as to clearly set the individual apart from his comrades or from other persons in similar circumstances.

In life, there are many ways to be a hero.  In his youth, Don was a hero to my dad.  In his prime, he was a hero for our country.  Later in life, he was a hero to his wife, caring for her through medical problems.  Throughout, he was a hero for many of us.

As for me, i will carry on his memory with my middle name, Don.  I will remember him as a man of insouciant spirit fronting a quiet wisdom. 

We had a nice final time together last summer, when my dad & i drove up to Oklahoma to visit him.  He looked great, i thought, compared to the reports i had been hearing about the chemo and all.  I was just lucky to catch him in one of the good phases.  Anyhow, we 3 stayed up late into the night, sitting out on the deck, swatting bugs, telling old stories, pondering the heavens.  I knew in my heart & head that it was a swan song moment, that i needed to savor it and remember it.  We all knew it, but pretended it wasn't so.  Let's just be normal guys and crack jokes and talk about old girlfriends.  Just one more time.

I'll close by sharing an old photo of me and my brother.  That's me in the Army hat.  It's my Uncle Don's.  We are all men, are we not?  Whether now, then or later.  It's in our blood, and we seek our time.

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