Give us rest or (a Requiem Mass in C [the happiest of all keys])

David Crowder, a prominent Protestant recording artist recently released his band's last album entitled "Give Us Rest or (a Requiem Mass in C [the happiest of all keys])."Being moved to create an album inspired by the Catholic Liturgy, Crowder turned to the only person in his industry with experience in the matter, Matt Maher. What resulted is a 34 track record that will remind you of going to Mass. Here's a link to my friend Billy's review of it.

I want to post all 34 songs but you can find them on youtube if you're interested. Here's one of my favorites...

Sparrow

Audrey Assad's new album comes out on Feb 14. Sparrow is the first single from the album. This is a little video my old buddy Billy put together.

Streak ender

I haven't confirmed this yet, but I'm certain we just had our longest streak of time without a post. It ends today, with this post for some reason. We can do better but somebody had to do something.

32 Rules of Thanksgiving Football

Pretty funny article from the WSJ:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204531404577050370294096452.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5

Jake Recommends...

It's time for another Jake recommends. Some of you may be well aware of these albums already, but just in case you're missing out on any of these three I feel it's my duty to "Trifetor" them.

Switchfoot: Vice Verses

This is your ideal pop rock album. High energy, top notch production, diverse songs, strong lyrics, and excellent performances on every instrument. Throughout the album you will hear traces of Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind, Tonic, and Live sprinkled throughout. Below is the first single released from the album. Keep in mind that you can never judge and album by it's singles.



The Head and the Heart: self titled

Below is the first song I heard by them. It definitely caught my attention. I finally just got the whole album and I'm really glad I did.



I really like this song right now, Honey Come Home

The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow

Think of them like Easily Amused but on steroids (talent steroids)



Also worth watching...Barton Hollow

Sarcastic Occupation is Funnier and Less Smelly Than the Real Thing

Headlines

Drudge had the following newsline up today:

"Man steals sandwich, tries making getaway in stolen forklift."

Classic

Mrs. Potter's Piano Pie

I've always thought that American Pie and Mrs. Potter's Lullaby are very similar songs, although I could never (and still can't) quite put my finger on why. Here are a few of my own thoughts on how they're similar: They're both fairly long; they're both a kind of pop/folk blend; they both have deliberately obscure but colorful and intriguing lyrics; they both have a narrative structure, but only loosely so; they both feature strong piano parts but are totally amenable to one guitar and a campfire situations; there's an intense desire to sing along even though no one ever remembers all the lyrics. Beyond these, I'm not sure how else to compare them. I suppose you could call them both ballads, but I think they're a little too unstructured narratively to fall into that category completely.

Anyway, tonight I heard Piano Man on the radio and it struck me as falling into a similar, if not the same, category. And this got me thinking, what other songs would fit?

So here are my questions: 1) If these songs are of a common and fairly unique category, what is it called or what should it be called? 2) What other songs, if any, fall into this category?

Here are a few I came up with after a quick scan of iTunes. None of them quite seem to fit, but they're close:

Furr, Blitzen Trapper
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
The Weight, The Band
Feeling Good Again, Robert Earl Keen
Hey Jude, The Beatles
You Don't Have to Call Me Darlin', David Allen Coe
All These Things I've Done, The Killers
August and Everything After, Counting Crows
Nightswimming, REM
Hallelujah, Rufus
Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel
Take Me Home Country Roads, John Denver

Life Skills: Corn Shucking