When I was but a wee lad, my parents only allowed Christian music in our home. Thing is, this was right about the time Christian Rock really blew up, with a far more diverse sound and some amazing songwriters, players and singers. It wasn't all Amy Grant and Bill Gaither anymore. You may have noticed that my New Top Twenty included three Christian songs, four if you count Kanye's "Jesus Walks." I was going through some of my old CDs to put on my iPod and found so many amazing songs I forgot about. Here are a few of the insanely good stuff that come out when I was young!
Chasing Furies - "Thicker" This non-hit by a sibling band that only made one album together proves that sometimes a stunning piano opening that bursts into a heavy guitar, intelligent lyrics sung by a chick with a Monroe piercing and one of the most interesting videos in Christian Rock is not enough. This song is one of the best rock songs on the 1990s, and it needs to be heard. Plus, lead singer Sarah Meeker loves CS Lewis's Til We Have Faces, which is like an extra 3 points in my book.
The Benjamin Gate - "All Over Me" OK, so Adrienne had pink hair, just like Gwen Stefani,
but this South African band was not No Doubt-lite. This esoteric rocker was one of my favorite songs in 2001 with bleeding guitar lines and a sing-along chorus.
Jennifer Knapp - "Undo Me", "Whole Again", "Romans" With this little string of hits, a new singer-songwriter star was born. The crunchy guitars, introspective lyrics and a spot on the Lilith Fair tour made Jennifer a favorite of mine. "Whole Again" is probably the best of these, but I've never heard a bad song from J.Knapp, including "Martyrs & Thieves" and "A Little More"
God's Property feat Kirk Franklin & Salt - "Stomp" OK, it wasn't all introspective guitar-pop in my teens, I got off on the dancable stuff like this gospel choir lead by the King of Modern Gospel, Brother Franklin himself. Add in a guest rap by Salt N Pepa's Salt and you've got a bonified club banger. "oh yeah, we havin' church, we ain't goin' nowhere!"
Switchfoot - "New Way to be Human" Despite their surf-inspired name, Switchfoot were not doofus surfer dudes. The band often based songs on philosophical ideas, including this one. The idea is that following Jesus is not to deny one's humanity as much as to fulfill it. This was continued in their pop hit "Meant To Live."
Stacie Orrico - "Dear Friend" Stacie may have found fame with bubblegum hits on her second record, but I have a soft spot for this tender ballad from her debut. Stacie wrote a painful, glorious song for a friend who was suffering from an eating disorder, when she was only 13 years old.
Jars Of Clay - "Flood", "Worlds Apart", "He" As much as I love the grungy MTV hit "Flood" it's the quieter Jars Of Clay songs that kill me. "Worlds Apart" with it's line "soaring on the wings of selfish pride/flew too high/and like Icarus I collide" and the call and response with M'ancy Alan Kane was a real mind blower, but "He" with it's first person tale of an abused child makes my hairs stand on end every time. And including it on their Christmas EP? Genius or creepy, who knows.
Rebecca St James - "Lean On" From the techno-fried RSJ album Transform comes this Earthsuit collab that sounds like the computers took over and we are all gonna dance anyway.
Switchfoot vs Grits - "You Already Take Me There/Tennesse Bwoys" This was the first mash-up I ever became obsessed with, a layering of the rock sound of Switchfoot under the dirty south rap of Grits created one of my top five favorite mash-ups of all time. It took me forever to find a link for ya, but an obsessed Switchfoot fan has it on his blog.
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