And the winner of the Lincy is...

OK I recognize that most everyone will NOT CARE who gets my awards for best music of the year but...it's my blog so I get to post it! My version of the Grammys are called "The Lincys" (my nickname from home), and I am going to hand out my top five nominees for best album and best song of the year. Unfortunately, we couldn't get Billy Crystal or Ellen to host the show this year. Just me...

Actually though in all seriousness, this year has been a year where music has made a huge impact on my life of faith. I especially love looking for music that is called "non-Christian" but actually has roots that run deep in faithfulness to Christ. Some of these artists aren't even TRYING to be Christian, but they hold messages we hear from God. Ain't it amazing?! Anyways, most of these are new songs in 2005, but some are very old and (re)introduced to me this year. I would recommend all of these songs and albums.

Here we go!

TOP FIVE SONGS OF THE YEAR

5.The Queen of Iowa-Andrew Peterson (off the Far Country): Andrew Peterson is called the heir apparent to Rich Mullins (my favorite Christian label artist). He has been to Crossroads a few times, and is a masterful songwriter and singer. This song says that sometimes those who are dying are living more than those of us who live.

4.Chicago-Sufjan Stevens (off the Illinois album): Sufjan Stevens is (currently) my favorite artist. He is a Christian, but makes the most interesting music I have heard in a long time. And the well runs deep. This song is about seeking to find yourself and finding out that it is you who have been found.

3.Forgiveness Waltz-Jonathan Rundman (off the Sound Theology album): This album is a number of years old but pretty new to me! Rundman made this concept album with 52 songs on it, each one corresponding to a different week in the church year. Conceivably, you could listen to one song per week and discuss the questions for that week in the church year in the liner notes. It is great! This song is so powerful -- Forgiveness is more like a dance than a deal, he says. Anyone who has gone through the process of forgivness knows what he means.

2.All Because of You--U2 (off of How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb): The answer to the album question by the way is Love. But this song epitomizes the depth of Christian thought and theology in U2's music, and preaches a sermon better than I ever could. "All because of you, I AM."

And the Lincy goes too...(drumroll)
1.Mercy Now -- by Mary Gauthier (off of her CD Mercy Now). I heard this artist interview and play on NPR's the World Cafe coming home from work late one night. She is a powerful musician and folk singer, with a world of experience. She is Brennan Manning (my favorite author) if Brennan was a female folk singer. Mary is from New Orleans which also makes this cry for mercy even more powerful. This song has haunted me all year (in a good way). Mercy is what we need.


TOP ALBUMS OF 2005
5. Okemah and the Melody of Riot by Son Volt -- Son Volt is an indi band that sprouted out of the band Uncle Tupelo in the mid 90's and this is their first album since 1998. I love it first and foremost because it is super fun to listen to, but also because it gets me thinking about a world that likes to place blame on everyone else instead of ourselves. Good words for me to hear.
But first and foremost, it is just a great listen!

4.The Far Country by Andrew Peterson -- This album is really, really good. It has a pseudo Narnia theme (for all of your Narnia buffs out there), but even if you detested all things Aslan, you would still love this album. It is an album about heaven. I needed it.

3.Drunkards Prayer by Over the Rhine -- If you've never heard Over the Rhine, you've got to dive in! This is a husband/wife from Cincinatti who are singers/songwriters who write as Christians but sing in bars (and a few college campuses as well). This album was written after a period in their marriage that was extremely trying, and after they made it through, found their love and experience of God was deeper than ever before. It is a love story album -- love for Christ and love for each other. It is easy to listen to and takes a lifetime to learn.

2.How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb by U2 -- of course I'm partial to the lads from Dublin, but seriously -- this album is incredible. Every song is full of meaning, purpose, and faith. U2 never ceases to inspire me and to get me to think about my faith and the world in a fresh way.

And the Lincy for best album of 2005 goes to...

1.Illinois by Sufjan Stevens. I cannot stop listening and thinking about this album. And it seems neither can people like Rolling Stone magazine, who place it #9 on their albums of the year (quite remarkable wouldn't you say for a Christian singer?). This is at the same time the wierdest AND the most compelling album I've heard for a long time. It has marching band tracks, banjo, folk, and rock based rhythms all rolled into one. That is to say, it is an entirely unique and so creative that I can't get over it.

But that is not the only thing. Stevens started an ambitious project to write an album for each of the 50 states (Illinois is is 2nd -- his first being Michigan, for his home state. In fact, he went to Hope College I hear!). So the state of Illinois and events that have happened there become the backdrop for him to talk about issues pertaining to God, faith and culture. He questions God in Casmir Pulaski Day, the day his girlfriend died of cancer. He writes about the dangers of consumer culture in Come On Feel the Illinois. He even writes a haunting song (John Wayne Gacy, Jr.) about a serial killer who murders young boys, but at the end of the song he writes confessionally, "But in my best behavior, I am really just like him. Look beneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid." If only more Christian music were this honest, this raw, and this interesting. It is my favorite of 2005.

Anyways, let me know what you think!

Blessings in Christ,

Jeff