The Outsiders !!!!

The day finally came for Needtobreathe's third album came out. It was far from a disappointment, could be argued that it was better than the two before. The songs are brilliantly produced focusing more on the instruments it seemed to me. My favorite song, where the album title comes from, The Outsiders is amazing and an all around fun song. The band has seemed to change, but it is a change for the good. Honestly i haven't been able to stop listening to it ... i almost have to make myself stop. It has an even distribution of slower songs with more upbeat songs. This album has help to end my summer just right. Last wednesday night i purchased my Needtobreathe concert tickets for the Bluegill and can't wait to go in october. All in all one of my better music purchases in the last few months, after i purchased Wilco's latest. Now all i am doing is praying that The Avett Brothers don't let me down when their album comes out! Go get this album ASAP it is well worth it.

An Excerpt from a Needtobreathe Interview

This is from an interview about who the band Needtobreathe being christians affects their music, it is a very inspiring message ....

"We don’t set out to write secular songs or Christian songs. We write what comes out. I think that says a lot for us as a band. We don’t have to make Christian songs because we are on a major label and it’s not expected that we do so. We make them because that’s who we are and that’s what we are about. I think people appreciate us singing about something that’s important.

“I was always a big Rage Against the Machine fan. That music was politically charged, and I felt it was more valuable because they believed they were doing something for a cause. You think about Dylan, U2 or any body who feels something that they are saying is important, I think the art is better. And for us, Christianity is something that is important in our lives. It’s not the only thing that’s important in our lives, but then we wouldn’t be relevant to society if that was the only thing we talked about. I don’t think the band struggles with it that much. Sometimes the thing we struggle with the most is the Christian media.”

I ask if NeedtoBreathe has received criticism for not being “Christian” enough and how they’ve been able to handle that criticism with grace. Bear’s answer is incredibly gracious and as he’s observed, “Those people who are the naysayers may be five out of five hundred. They are the loudest, but I don’t believe they are representative of Christians in general. We kind of let that stuff roll off our backs and move forward.”

Seems as if “letting things roll” was a lesson well taught by Bear’s pastor father. “Washed by the Water”, Bear’s personally favorite song on The Heat, was inspired by a specific incident when Bear’s father came under fire by a group at church. Bear has always remembered how well his father handled the situation and felt that his father deserved a tribute for his Christlike reaction to a hurtful situation. The song itself is steeped in gospel overtones, and Bear credits that kind of education in gospel music to being able to play in church at a very young age. “We learned a lot from playing church music and I believe that gospel music is one of the best, if not the best, forms of American music”

What I've been up to ...

I feel like i haven't blogged in years, I'm not sure if anybody reads this blog but i am gonna fill everyone in on what's up with me. This past summer was a blast i worked at the Dauphin Way Child Development Center Summer Camp. Basically i got paid a little over minimum wage, 40 hours a week to counsel children from ages 5 to 10. Honestly this meant me going bowling every monday, swimming on tuesdays, field trips on wednesdays, thursdays theme days and skating on fridays. It was really a job of a lifetime. I am now in my senior year of high school still praying to see what God wants for me and my future. I am open minded i am ready to go where he tells me. And fortunately after working this summer i landed the after school care job at the same daycare. Also a good job i just work from 3 to 6 every afternoon. I am starting my application process for college ... the main college i am interested in is Boyce College which is located in Louisville, Ky. It is located on the same campus as Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It would really be a great place to go to especially if my future involved going to seminary but i know not what the future holds ... there is only one who does. If you are reading this i would love your prayers and any advice about how to go at the whole college process.

My Full Review of Wilco (The Album)

Wilco (The Album) was, thankfully, not a disappointment. In fact, this album was not as good as Sky Blue Sky and yet it has a solid list of songs. Wilco hasn't changed they still have the same sound and I wouldn't have it any other way. Tweedy (Jeff) still brings that grimy folk feel and his lyrics still make you wonder. This band consists of so many amazingly talented artist, it almost seems impossible for them to do something badly. I did notice that there is a little bit more emphasis on the music side and not the actually lyrics and parts of the songs, because when you have someone like Tweedy being who he is thats all you really need. It also seems better put together as in the technical parts of making an album. This goes to show you that touring all the time and releasing live dvd's pays off in the end in a gift of good producer to match the amazing sound these guys can create. My favorite songs are Wilco (The Song), You Never Know, I'll Fight and Sonny Feeling. These songs i have listed are what seem to me as the Wilco sound i love, but don't get me wrong the slower paced songs are amazing too. If you happen to be a real Wilco fan you know that nine times out of ten this band will not let you down and they did not with this album. I also pre-ordered through Itunes so i got an extra song Dark NEon which has Tweedy written all over it the opening line is "I was sitting safely across the road from a rusting scaffolding, picking my nose", when i heard it i grinned. All in all this album is worth buying if you are a real deal Wilco fan. Well, until next time i bid you ado. 

Who Knew It Would Come To This

Anyone who truly knows me has heard of my feelings about Christian music in general, well i think it is sad that you could take out Lord or Jesus out of a Christian song and automatically it becomes a love song. And also the argument has always been that Christian music tries to be too much like secular music, but when you think about it there is no possible way to get around it. Recently John Pendleton a.k.a. Paperboy and his friend Tavren started visiting my church. I knew him from school and what not but found out he was a local Christian rapper, this honestly made me a little intrigued about what this music was like because i've been so against it all these years. So i found out he had a demo cd and i downloaded it from the internet and i liked it, maybe because i knew him or because i genuinely liked it. This made me more and more interested in Christian rap so i asked my friend Brett Glover to make me a cd of the best stuff and he ended up giving me three cd's full of songs. There were artists like Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, Sho Baracka, and Flame. These guys are really doing something big with there amazing message and the way they put it out. But once again i began to judge them lyrically and the rest pale in comparison to Trip Lee. To say it in an understandable way his rhymes go hard and he is literally sold out, along with all the other guys. So i have actually made a full 360 on something i used to not like, and believe me that never happens ... EVER!!!! I truly encourage you to look into all this artist you will not be dissapointed. 

The World As We Know It ...

I would like to touch on an issue that is close to my heart. After watching Wilco Ashes of American Flags dvd again and heard the interview with the bassist about who the little downtowns of America are starting to disappear. In all honestly he is absolutely right, take Mobile Al for instance. Downtown Mobile is sort of like a ghost town other than the bars that are lit up say on dauphin street, other than that only the people that work downtown even go there. This little downtowns are what made America without them some cities wouldn't even exist. It is most certainly becoming a problem. I have also read a small article from My Morning Jacket's website saying that to them it seems every city they stop in seems the same. He blames big corporations that move to towns and drive out the local business and this is correct. I am not going anti-walmart or anti-big business I am just saying these companies are to blame. This article was written for the release of their live EP that is only sold from a local record store. They call it a "normalization" of culture itself. These thoughts need to be addressed and need to change. They also say that it almsot makes towns not worth coming to which could be related to the reason good bands don't come to smaller cities. This is just a subject close to my heart hahaha. Well, until next time I bid you ado.

Grizzly Man ... This is for all of you who don't know

Tonight I sat in a local Chic-fil-a with members of my youth group and the youth minister and his wife, Jeremy and Jennifer Montgomery. We were talking about Ridgecrest, which is located in North Carolina, and how last year we arrived and were handed a notification about bear sightings and were to to beware. Well everyone started to talk about bears and one girl said, "Yea, i don't like bears", and as usual i didn't even stop to think but I immediately said, "Yea, find me somebody who does like bears cause I'd like to shake their hand!". This led to me telling the story about the guy who went and lived with bears and eventually, with his girlfriend, were malled and half eaten. After going to all the trouble of telling this epic adventure no one wanted to believe me. So, what happens ... Jeremy immediately whips out his Blackberry and googled this man. As he did that i thought of the show that featured his story, and it was called Grizzly Man. As the story goes this man spent months with these bears and lived with them, but as anyone would have thought the animal instinct arrives in these bears mind and they see two live steaks sitting in front of them. I needed to blog about this for all of you that just don't know ... this man's story must live on and never forget it. Also this blog is not meant to poke fun at this tragic situation yet to help people to learn from his mistakes. So in conclusion anyone who wants to go live and/or cuddle with bears ... DON'T !!! Well, until next time i bid you ado.

Moe's Original Bar B Que ... best BBQ atmosphere ever.!

After my second Moe's Original Bar B Que experience I have fallen in love with it even more than the first time. Let's start with something everyone can agree upon, how good their bbq really is. The fact only that the mix up a traditional bbq sauce and a white sauce is bold and daring, but I really like it. The second factor would have to be the prices ... to be  able to get a sandwich, drink, and to sides for 9 dollars flat and get a platter with a drink, cornbread, and two sides for 10 dollars flat simply amazes me. But this is the kicker, having your food served on plastic plates and plastic silverware makes it feel just right and having a roll of paper towels at every table makes it even more enjoyable. Though if none of these things appeal to you the vibe that is set will. When you first pull up it is as if you are going to your grandmas house for supper, that's right not dinner but supper, and you see the signs made from tin directing you to the entrance draws me in like it was a magnet of some kind. After you navigate in you walk into what looks like a den of this former house and there you contemplate on what you will enjoy this time around. You walk up to the front window where you better be ready to order, and that is what I love. There is nothing better than a fast and efficient restaurant that has what you need as fast as they can give it to you. Just waiting for your food to come out of the window for you to pick up is entertaining enough due to the art and concert memorabilia, and if that don't interest you there is a television on the wall. My first experience as I was eating I was gracious blessed with bluegrass being played over the speakers, Yonder Mountain String Band I believe it was. But my second time I was graced with something as enjoyable Led Zepplin. I would say that the most appealing aspect of this restaurant is the vibe, who doesn't like a down-home setting for eating? That is why I dawn Moe's Original Bar B Que some of the best overall bbq i've had in this area. Next time you are in Daphne make sure and stop at Moe's you will not regret it. Well, until next time I bid you ado.

Coldplay ... the modern day Beatles?

After the recent release of Coldplay's free live album last friday it almost seems like they have followed in the footsteps of their British compadres The Beatles. The way they make their simple riffs and cords and sound become absolutely amazing reminds me of The Beatles. Though with the mind that I have it could just be the coincidence that they are both British, but that is besides the point. There are many similarities between the two and the main one would be the success they both have had here in the states. It is close to impossible to get a Colplay ticket unless they are playing at a music festival as I would think would have been the case when The Beatles had all their success. Also Chris Martin reminds me of Paul McCartney with their solo work. The biggest and most seen coincidence would be that both these bands consist of four members. Now that I really think about it the one difference would be the time these bands were out and i can't think of any other difference. Do not get me wrong I feel these bands are very different but it is peculiar the similarities there are. I would love to hear a rebuttal to this blog please contact me somehow ... this would make me happy. In conclusion I think when the career of Coldplay finally slows down would could really compare the two better. Well, until next time I bid you ado.

Today I had a discussion with my father, John Tait, about how Bob Dylan, John Mellancamp, and Willie Nelson are all coming in concert at The Wharf. I said, "Dad can this concert be anymore American?" and he said, "Well scratch Willie and give me Neil Young." I then laughed and out of total randomness he went on to tell me how Bob Dylan once claimed to be a christian and even came out with like two christian albums. I honestly had never heard of such a thing. We looked up some songs and listened to them. This led to an epiphany that what if more secular artists made christian or spiritual uplifting albums in between their secular albums? Yes, many celebrities have claimed to so called "find" God, but that is ridiculous because he has been there all along! Though to be honest it would interest me to see artist like Coldplay or Lil Wayne come out with a couple of christian albums. Though I really think that is the way Lil wayne is heading since I saw him perform with Kid Rock at the country music awards. One of my favorite arguments to have is the battle of secular or non-secular music. The answer is simple because, and this may shock some, there are secular bands on secular labels who happen to be believers a.k.a. born again, God fearing Christians ha ha ha. A few examples are The Fray, Needtobreathe, and one of the oldest P.O.D. (Payable On Death). Their name can even be referring to Jesus. I just want everyone to know there should be no argument. I really do feel that secular music is better only because non-secular musicians get caught up in trying not to be like secular music which then makes it crap. I say give it time maybe your favorite artists will come out with christian albums, it probably would make christian music ten times better. Though i strongly feel that just because a music artist claims to "find" God it is just that, a "claim"( to require as due or fitting). Glad I was able to get on this soap box about one of my passions, music. Well, until next time I bid you ado.

Beards .... A New Trend ?

 

I have recently noticed that all the bands that I listen to have some serious beards. For instance one of the first real serious beards I saw was Jim James from My Morning Jacket. I guess it was beard season and I didn't get the memo. Two of the best beards I have seen recently would be from the faces of the Avett Brothers and Iron and Wine. Even the college minister at my church Mat Alexander has a beard. What is a beard useful for? I could see someone maybe having a beard in the winter to keep their face warm or to catch food that drops from their mouth. Whatever the reason is I like it. Now that I think about it think about it I've only seen these beards in the Indie Alternative style of music. Many men have pulled off a beard, I myself seem to have a problem with crop failure ... ha ha ha. So to all of these men I have recognized keep the beard going it's a good look. I just needed to vent about beards and I am sorry ha ha ha. Until next time I bid you ado. 

Wilco Live Ashes of American Flags

After seeing Wilco live back in March at the Mobile Civic Center Theatre I was automatically hooked.When I heard that they would be releasing a new live dvd featuring scenes from their Mobile show I was pumped to say the least. The release date was set for April 18th so on that day I immediately rushed out to my local Best Buy to end up being disappointed and told it won't be in Mobile until the 28th, I was outraged. Even after the 28th Iwas still unable to find this dvd, but i felt that buying it online would be practically giving up. So last weekend I went with the Alexanders to Daphne and we ate at a place called Moes, simply amazing by the way, and we went to Malbis and the day got better when I went Barnes and Noble and there it was one of the last two dvd's left. So I got home and I immediately watched it, once again I was disappointed when I saw that their were only two songs per venue and one song from the Mobile show was from rehearsal. Honestly I was looking forward to trying to find myself in the crowd hahahaha. One big let down to this dvd would be the fact that the extra songs are a better set list than the featured songs. Other than these cons my favorite song Hummingbird was not featured. All in all the dvd is worth buying and owning only because it's Wilco and no other reason. There was one hilarious line from Jeff Tweedy when he says, "If this happens to be the best rock and roll show ever , there will be an astrict next to it because I am on steroids, yea I'm totally F@#$%@*ripped for this show." I honestly didn't see the need for dropping the "F" bomb but it was still hilarious. Hopefully the album that is set to come out on June 30th will not let me down like this dvd did and thankfully I will be getting mine from itunes and not trying to find it here in Mobile. Well, until next time I bid you ado.