mikeymo's place

As part of my week-long recap of the past year and decade, it's time for  what I call "Fun with Google Analytics."  

So, here are the ten "best" posts of 2009, ranked by pageviews:

10.  Movie Review: Star Trek

9.    Song of the Week: All Because of Jesus - Fee

8.    Song of the Week: Rescue - Desparation Band.

7.    Song of the Week: Just Wanna Say - Israel Houghton

6.    Saturday Silliness: Identity Theft

5.    Album Review: Hillsong - Faith+Hope+Love 

4.    Song of the Week: How He Loves - John Mark McMillan

3.    Ubuntu Studio 9.10: First Look

2.    Album Review: Israel Houghton- The Power of One: Worship Leader Edition

1.    Album Review: Israel Houghton - The Power of One

I have no doubt that the top two sit atop the standings due to the fact that they were both picked up and reprinted by Integrity Direct,  newbreedmusic.com and israelhoughton.net  I'm also channelling my inner geekiness with the Star Trek review, and a post on a Linux operating system.  The "Songs of the Week" surprised me - I guess they are more popular than I thought, though they generate hardly any comments. And I am totally at a loss as to why anyone would care about a post about Eric Violette (the dude from those freecreditreport commercials), but hey, traffic is traffic!

Fellow worship leader Fred McKinnon leads the pack on non-Google referrals, largely due to the weekly setlist carnival he hosts. (Way to go, bro!)

Most visitors come from the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, in that order.  (Thanks again, Eric!).   Connecticut, California, Texas and Florida lead the pack of states to visit me. This year we hit every state! Even you, you three people in North Dakota!  Way to be!

And sadly, most of you are still using Internet Explorer.  Go get Chrome, will ya? 

Well, that's the year in a nutshell.  Thanks one and all! 

Last week I started reviewing some of the "best and greatest" from not only the past year, but the 2000's as a whole.  Since this is primarily a music-related blog, I'll move onto that theme for the day.   So....

Here are my nominees for:

Best Worship Albums of the Decade:

Note: this list will be in roughly chronological order, not any kind of ranking.


Third Day - Offerings II: All I Have to Give (2003)

Third Day's first worship album, Offerings: A Worship Album, was very, very good; Offerings II upped the ante quite a bit, and pretty much set the standard for a live worship album for the rest of the decade.  Worship staples such as "God of Wonders," "Show Me Your Glory," and of course, the amazing cover of Rich Mullins' "Creed" continue to be the standard versions of these songs, and have been models for worship bands since. 

Salvador - Worship Live (2003)

You want pure energy?  You want a record that no one - no one - can not move and groove to?  You want some touching, tender moments? You want one of the best live renditions of Paul Baloche's "Open the Eyes of My Heart" around?   This is your record.  The Gonzales brothers show that everyone has a little latino in them, and "Montana" alone will make you want to grab the Rosetta Stone Spanish program. 

Chris Tomlin - Arriving (2004)

I will freely admit to not being a big Chris Tomlin fan, but it would be pure negligence to not include this album.  It is certified platinum, hit #3 on Billboard and spawned a song that would spend years as the #1 song performed by churches according to CCLI, "How Great is Our God."  (Oh, and "Here I Am to Worship" is #7) 

David Crowder* Band - A Collision (2005)

Exibit A:  Twenty-one tracks.   Exibit B:  "Here is Our King," "Foreverandever Etc..."  "A Beautiful Collision," "You Are My Joy."   Four years later and DC*B is still playing these songs at concerts. Oh, and "I Saw the Light."  What else is there?  Crowder Band's magnum opus stands the test of time as one of the great worship albums out there.

Israel and New Breed - Alive in South Africa (2005)

If this were a ranked list, this two-disc set would probably be on top.   Alive in South Africa is a two-hour worship experience, bar none.  I really wish I was at that concert.  This album has brought me to tears on more than one occaision.

Hillsong - Mighty to Save (2006)

Granted that Mighty to Save was Hillsong's fifteenth live worship album, but it is arguably its most important.  It is the record many people think of first when they think of Hillsong, and its title track, "Mighty to Save" has become a worship set staple.  Like most Hillsong live albums, it brings you on an emotional ride, and combines the talents of many of Hillsong's best worship leaders and musicians. 

Israel and New Breed - A Deeper Level (2007)

This Grammy-winning album is simply one of the better ones on the list.  It is very easy to imagine oneself sitting in a worship service during this record, especially during some of the touching spoken parts.  My understanding is that the actual concert it was recorded at was much longer, due to all the testimonies and prayer breaks, but much of that annointing still comes through. 

David Crowder* Band - Remedy (2007)

If you've ever been to a DC*B concert, you'll undertand why this record is on the list.  Plus it's got Ted Nugent - the Ted Nugent - guesting on "We Won't Be Quiet."   Seriously, though, there is something very special about these songs, how they flow, and what they say.  Make no mistake: this is not a followup to A Collision - it's the exact opposite.  It's simple and pared down.  Crowder has never been lyrically complex, but the simple, repetitive choruses lend themselves to worship time.  Want proof?  Get the live Remedy Club Tour Edition.  Or better yet, get to a Crowder show.

Matt Redman - We Shall Not be Shaken (2009)

When reviewing this album for The Joint, I wrote " Every once in a while you come across a worship album that is, for lack of a better word, perfect. Perhaps not perfect, but all that it should be. Such is the case with We Will Not Be Shaken; it’s all that it should be. "   And I meant it; this is a great worship album. Biblically sound, deeply worshipful, songs that get better and more profound as you listen to them.

Fee - Hope Rising (2009)

Some may say that Hope Rising is not a "worship" album.  I would disagree with them.  We've already done songs off this record, and there are more we could (and will!) do.  Anthems.  Ballads.  Songs that sound amazing with a full band at huge volume and with an acoustic guitar around a campfire.  To my mind, the best Christian album of 2009, and one that I think will stand up as a great worship album.

So what have I left off the list, or what shouldn't be there?

This week's setlist/worship recap from Gospel Light Community Church.


Opening:

How Great is Our God (Tomlin/Reeves/Cash)(C)

Main Set:

All Because of Jesus (Fee)(C)
All About You (Houghton)(E)
Mighty to Save (Morgan)(A)
Shout to the Lord (Zschech)(A)
Hosanna (Fraser)(C#m)

Offering:

Montana (Salinas)(Am)

In giving with the season, the theme of the service today was "Jesus."  The songs in the worship set were all chosen to relate straight back to Him. 

We had a good service today, though we were down one singer, and not as many seats were filled as usual.  I guess some folks were travelling for the Christmas weekend.  I love doing "All Because of Jesus."  It's such a great song to open a service with. 

The transition from "Mighty to Save" into "Shout to the Lord" went well, and the worship time was really in full swing by then.  "Shout to the Lord" is such a classic, and people really get into it.  I got a couple of comments after service about "Hosanna" - that the song was liked, that is sounded good.  It's one of my favorite worship songs, so it was good to hear the feedback. 

I know some video was shot of the service today, but I didn't get it.  I'll try to get a hold of it and get it up in a future post.

Check out some other recaps at Fred McKinnon's blog.

This time of year seems to be popular for "best" and "greatest" lists, doubly so because it's not only the end of a year, but the end of a decade.  (OK, it's not really the end of the decade, but everyone seems to think it is, so I'll just go with the flow.  

Here then are some of my "best" and "greatest" from the 2000s.   Disagree at your own peril.  


Best Film - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The best film is actually three films, Peter Jackson's magnificent The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  From the completely believable, CGI-rendered Smeagol, to the sweeping New Zealand (I mean, Middle Earth) vistas, to the action-packed battle scenes, these films were game-changers in every sense of the term.  What other film series can you sit down and actually watch for twelve-plus hours and not get bored?  Add to the fact that now Tolkein nerds have something to talk about with girls who swoon over Orlando Bloom. 

Best Film Character - Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow

This was a tough one.  I was very, very tempted to give the props to Keith Ledger as The Joker.  After all, that was an incredible performance in an incredible film.  But there's something about Cap'n Jack that gets under one's skin.  Maybe it's because even though he is a scoudrel, he is also (as Elizabeth puts it) a good man.  He wants to be selfish, but is bad at it, he has a rum-soaked heart of gold, and he is the most clever pirate on the Spanish Main. 





Best Television Series - Battlestar Galactica

You could argue this point.  You'd be wrong. Ron Moore's reboot of the campy 1970's sci-fi franchise was brilliant in it's inception, brilliant in it's execution, and flawless in it's resolution.  OK, maybe not flawless, but deeply satisfying nonetheless. It was dark, it was depressing, it was cold, it was mystifying, it was compelling, it was... all that and more. Which made the finale all the more of a relief.  Plus, it had some of the best sci-fi fanboy eyecandy anyone has ever seen.  The fact that it was labeled as "sci-fi" hampered it from getting the props it so deserved, but at the end of the day it blew away Lost and 24 and everything else.  So say we all!!     Which leads to...

Best Television Character - Edward James Olmos as Admiral William "Husker" Adama

This is not your father's Adama - no Alpo commercials for this guy.   Eddie Olmos has more acting chops in his little finger than Lorne Greene had on the whole Ponderosa.  Jim Kirk would cry like a little girl if Adama stared him down. Jack Bauer would, too.  This dude survived the extermination of his entire civilization, the death of one son, the betrayal of another, a nuclear wasteland, the entire Cylon race and two slugs in the chest, and still had the stones to yell "Hit it!" and fly the Galactica in to the side of the Cylon colony.  Muy Macho!

So, weigh in your opinions.   More to come...

This will actually be a weekend recap, because this weekend we (like many churches) celebrated Christmas.  There was a possibility it would be a disaster, with a huge winter storm bearing down on us, but it all worked out well, and was a beautiful weekend.  We had the sanctuary all decked out in Christmas lights - across the ceiling, around the stage, on the drums and amps, in the lobby.  The entire place was lit solely by white Christmas lights - it was an amazing atmosphere.

Saturday night was our annual Christmas Cantata. This event focuses on our children's ministry, KidzPort, and for the last seven years my wife and I have directed it.  This year we included music by Gospel Light Worship, the Send Judah First choir, the Heaven Sent dance team, as well as a drama and music by our children.  There was a huge storm predicted, which originally was supposed to start in the afternoon, but the snow didn't start until well after sundown.  We got the whole cantata in before there a couple of inches. Our kids were all decked out in their pj's, and sang some songs including "Little Drummer Boy," "Happy Birthday Jesus," and "Feliz Navidad."   (For the last, they were joined by the worship team, the dance team and the choir.) We also had a special performance of two of my daughters singing "Christmas Shoes" - there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

This is one of the songs from the worship team, "O Holy Night." 




And this is "Send Judah First" singing "Emmanuel" (Hutchins/White/White)







For Sunday, we awoke to well over a foot of snow on the ground, courtesy of a good, old-fashioned nor'easter. We had to push the start of service back thirty minutes to let people dig out, but had a surprisingly full house.  Here's this weeks setlist:

Joy to the World (Watts/Mason)(D)
O Come All Ye Faithful (Oakley/Wade)(G)
O Praise Him (All This For a King) (Crowder)(Bb)
Came to My Rescue (Sampson/Davies/Thomas)(C)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Wesley/Mendelssohn)(F)

I've always thought "O Praise Him" was a great Christmas song - it always reminds me of the Angel of the Lord visiting the shepherds in Luke 2.  It really fit in well with this set.  It was really a great weekend - the music was awesome, everyone was really feeling the Christmas spirit.  After our Christmas service we have a tradition of caroling at the diner across the street.  Then a group went to a local nursing home for more caroling and praying.  I love it when we bring the church outside the walls.

This recap is part of Fred McKinnon's setlist carnival. 

I've been studying for two "mini" messages I will be giving over the next two weeks - one for our Christmas Cantata, and one on New Year's Eve.   Not sure about the second one yet, but I've got the first pretty nailed down. 

In part of the prep/background for it, I've been reading about the period between the close of the Old Testament cannon and the opening of the New Testament, a period of about 400 years.  I'll probably write more about it next week, but this is an amazing, fascinating time in history, ironically taking place during a period of biblical silence. The world during the time of Malachi, Ezra and Nehemiah is dramatically different from the one of Jesus, Peter and Paul.  During this time lived Ptolemy, Antiochus, Judah Maccabees and Alexander the Great.

I'm a confessed history geek (my current read is Five Cities that Ruled the World) and so am drawn to such things, but if you like history at all, look into this period. 

Time is drawing near to close up our worship team fundraiser, so we thought we'd sweeten the pot a little.  So, anyone who orders something from the fundraiser (including anyone who already has) will get a free download off the upcoming album.   Just our little way of saying "thanks."

If you're not familiar with what we're doing, we're trying to raise enough money to master and press the album, which is completed.  We're not asking for handouts (although we'll take them!).  Rather, we jsut ask that you consider purchasing some of your Christmas gifts through us.  Isn't that simple?  Orders need to be in before midnight EST (New York) Wednesday, December 15. 

How?   To recap:

Doing this is easy. Simply go to this page and where you see the blue box that says"Shopping for a Show?" click on the "look up your host" link. In the search box, put "mi" in the first name and "ma" in the last. Our show will pop up, and you can begin shopping. Items can be shipped everywhere, or if you're local, they can be shipped to us and we'll bring them to you.







The second way is to pre-order the Prepare album. Doing so saves you $2 off the cost of the CD, plus assures you will get it "hot off the presses." To do that, go to the GLCC Resources page.

And that's that.  Shop.  Get free stuff.  Cool, huh?

This weeks setlist and worship recap from Gospel Light Community Church.  Here's this week's setlist:

Opening:

I Surrender All  (Van DeVenter/Weeden)(D)

Main Set:

Free For All (Houghton/Townsend)(C)
Your Grace is Enough (Maher)(G)
Blessed Be Your Name (Redman/Redman)(C)
The Stand (Houston)(G)
Revelation Song (Riddle)(D)

Offering:
Turn it Around (Houghton)(D)

Bit of an interesting day today.  Justin and Celia were in New York this weekend, attending a conference/concert with Israel Houghton, so we were a little short on personnel.  With Justin, we had almost no piano (I'll get to that in a minute), so I played acoustic on all but one song.  All-in-all, it went pretty well.  I like doing acoustic sets every once in a while, and this list lent itself well to that kind of service.  

The congregation responded really well to the worship today.  We had several spontainous testemonies, and extended some songs - at the end of the set we had been on stage for over an hour, but it didn't feel like it. 

I said almost no piano.  Laura tried her hand at one song, "The Stand."  She played piano/strings while I played electric.  She did an outstanding job, and you'd never know she wasn't a regular player.  We need to make sure she gets more opportunites, because she did great.

Next week is our Christmas Cantata on Saturday, and our Christmas Service on Sunday, so it will be a big weekend for music.  There's been plenty of rehearsals and a lot of planning, so I'm looking forward to it. 

Check out more setlists at Fred McKinnon's blog, and report on your service!

The Joint has released its review of Phil Wickham's new album, Heaven and Earth. Let's see what the boys had to say:

KLAMPERT: Great songwriting and of course awesome vocals. A bit overproduced, but honestly the songs do make up for that poor mistake.

BYRD: Touching songwriting and top notch musical composition, what’s not to love! This is certainly not your safe, traditional worship project but I love that he’s trying hard to push himself forward and I’d rather than than milk toast any day! If you’re able to get the acoustic version of this CD as well you’ll be doubly blessed!

MAHONEY:  Beautiful songwriting, great musicianship and well tied together. A great source for churches (acoustic) and a great listen (full band)

VANCE: I’m not sure how intentional Phil Wickham is about crafting songs that are congregationally friendly.  It my opinion, for most, many of these songs are not.  What do we have though is a great worship album that will minister to you.  A great record from Phil Wickham.

So check out the entire review, along with recommendations for churches and must-have songs at The Joint Review. 

I hold off on Christmas music as long as possible, usually until at least December.  I know some places play it right after November 1 (yes, Home Depot, I'm talking about you) and there are radio stations that blast it 24/7 from Thanksgiving onward. 

That said, it's time to load up the ol' mp3 player with the usual holiday tunes, as well as some new ones.  I've started listening to Integrity's Worship & Adore: A Christmas Offering. There are, however, some classics (to me, anyway) that always find themselves in heavy rotation.  So here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite Christmas ditties:

Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 - Trans-Siberian Orchestra.   A lot of folks don't realize that this (like many on this list) is a cover tune of sorts.  Several members of Savatage formed TSO, and the latter version has become more popular.  Serious, head-banging Christmas rock.

Christmas is Coming - Vince Guaraldi Trio.  Seriously, A Charlie Brown Christmas is the hippest Christmas album ever, and this tune is the hippest tune on the record.  "Linus and Lucy" may get all the press, but "Christmas is Coming" is awesome. 

Feliz Navidad - David Crowder* Band. Before all you Jose Felciano fans start jumping on me, this song has been covered by everybody.  DC*B's interpretation is my clear favorite, off of the Wow Christmas 2005 album.

Holly, Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives.  Ok, it's Burl Ives.  Classic!

Please Come Home for Christmas - The Eagles. Another song that's been covered to death, but Don Henley brings it. 

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - John Mellencamp.  I there a better version of this song, anywhere?

Jesus, Born on this Day - Mariah Carey.  Really. I love this tune.  We work it into our Christmas Cantata every few years.

Oh, and some bad Christmas songs?    How about:

Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney.  A Christmas song that actually makes me angry!

Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg.  OK, people, THIS IS NOT A CHRISTMAS SONG!  STOP PLAYING IT!

What are your favorites, or what songs do you hate?

The first Sunday in December already?  Wow, this year is flying by.   Only a couple more weekends before we close out 2009.  

Here's this week's setlist:

Opening:

Come Thou Font (Robinson/Wyeth)(D)

Main Set:

Montana (Salinas)(Am)
Finding Who We Are (Shamberger)(G)
He is Exalted (Paris)(G)
How Great is Our God (Tomlin/Reeves/Cash)(C)

Offering:

Montana - reprise
Turn it Around (Houghton)(D)


We were back down to one keyboard player today, but it made little difference.  The sound was great, the flow was great, tone was great.  Aquim was in complete overdrive on the bridge of "How Great is Our God" - playing with two snares!

"Come Thou Font" is catching on nicely.  We're not much of a "hymn" church, but this one seems to resonate pretty will, plus I play a lot of chorus and some overdrive behind the piano.  It had a really nice sound to it today. 

Saturday night was our annual talent show.  We give everyone who wants an opportunity to show their stuff, through song, drama, comedy - whatever they want.  We had some great performances, including the first performance of our newly formed dance team.  They did an amazing interpretive dance to Misty Edwards' All Consuming Fire.  Check out the video here (Facebook link).

The ol' man (me) and Justin pulled off first place with our own "interpretive" performance - of the dcTalk/Carman classic Addicted to Jesus.  Check it out! 



Check some other setlists at Fred McKinnon's blog

Another four-way review from The Joint.   This time, the reissue of Matt Papa's Your Kingdom Come.  How did it fare?

KLAMPERT:INSANE. The first song drags you in and you are taken on a wild ride of worship that is not predictable and obviously inspired by God. I love this CD and you will too.

BYRD: Incredible lyrics, great musicality, and a great mix of singable songs for the church and songs that you would love to play in church but might not ever get the gumption to I think part of Matt’s appeal is that he isn’t going to appeal to everyone but for those that will take the time to get into this CD you’re going to love it!

MAHONEY: Great record, good production, awsome lyrics.

VANCE: Fantastic album.  Matt seems to carry some of the “no compromise” attitude that Keith Green did.

Check out the rest of the review at The Joint!

The Joint has released a new review: Shane and Shane: Everything is Different. 

Let's see what the boys said:

KLAMPERT: Different?…I wouldn’t say everything or even much of anything. Like I said before this is a safe CD, but much of the songs have same feel and or tempo so a lot of it blends together. There are however a few amazing tracks that make this CD worth it. The Title track WILL finally make Shane & Shane a well deserved household name.

BYRD: I think the title sets it up for failure for me. It’s the hardest thing to review is music that’s not necessarily bad but just not your preferred choice. I was hoping to get something I really liked out of a CD called “Everything is Different” but I don’t find anything remarkably different here. So for those who love Shane & Shane (and I know those of you who do) you’ll welcome this addition, iTunes has 5 Stars on it right now. For those of you like me, buy this one for your friend who loves them but you’re going to want to pass.

MAHONEY: Elevator music for the worship set.  Tight production, amazing vocals, nothing “different.”

VANCE: These guys come across humble and have good hearts. The blend of their voices and acoustic guitars makes for a great album.

Check out the whole review on The Joint Review.

The other day I read a great post by Gary Humble, reflecting on the mess that was the Adam Lambert "performance" on the 2009 American Music Awards.  For those of you who haven't seen it - consider yourself fortunate.  For not only were viewers subjected to Lambert's incessant banshee-like screeching, but they were also subjected to him holding bondage-clad dancers by a leash, pushing a male dancer's head into his crotch, and full-on kissing a male keyboard player. 

This is not a "gay-bashing" post.  Labert's sexual proclivities are his business, and the only one he needs to justify his behavior to is God.  This is more a bash of ABC and Dick Clark Productions for allowing this debacle, and (more so) for the American media for their double standard.  And us, more conservate folks for ours. 

To wit: there was very little "outrage" over Lady Gaga's sexually-charged performance on this year's MTV awards.  Lambert's sexual orientation aside, the MTV performance was as bad as the AMA one. But there was little talk in Christian blog or news circles about that.  (Myself included)

There should have been though.  At least it would have given us a little credibility when it comes to criticizing the AMAs and Lambert.  And as Alistair points out in the original post's comments, "...there is way much worse things on network television than that. You only have watch one episode of Brothers and Sisters, or Desperate Housewives."

Tru dat.  We allow this junk into our lives every day, and turn a blind eye to it.  We jump up and down and wait in lines at midnight to see some dopey vampire movie.  We buy our kids Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty and allow them to play constantly.  (I was watching my nephew playing CoD2 on Thanksgiving, and was appalled that, besides the blood and gore, the characters in the game were swearing.  This is video game, right?)  I'm guilty myself; I let my kids play Guitar Hero, then seem surprised when they know the lyrics to "Rock and Roll All Night." What's with us?

We should spend less time railing against guys like Lambert and more time just instilling basic values in our kids.  As Alastair points out in his comments, our job is to be Jesus in the eyes of those we meet. The great hymn "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me" has the line "Let the water and the blood/From Thy wounded side which flowed/Be of sin the double cure/Save from wrath and make me pure. "   The Blood saves us from not only the punishment for our sin, but of the legacy of our sin - that we will continue to be bound by it.  Do we share that enough with those who really need to hear it?  Do we show it by our actions?

 We need to start over.  On the eve of the New Moon opening, I tweeted this:

I think we need to start from the beginning with our youth. They're all excited about a vampire movie! Where have we gone wrong?

Question:  Where do you need to start over?   Where can you go "back to basics?"