Undercover Worship

When it comes to modern music there are two broad categories. One is secular music and the other is spiritual music. There are many bands that fit into one category or the other, but there are few bands who fit into both categories. Switchfoot is one of the bands that can easily fit into both categories. There songs sound like secular music but offer messages of hope within their music. They are devoted Christians that chose to offer hope through music. One of their songs, "Meant to Live," talks about how we are meant to live for so much more than our present state and that there is life to be found. Another song, "This is Your Life," boldly asks the questions "This is your life, are you who you want to be?" Switchfoot's music offers hope and asks questions that inspire soul searching and worship. This is one of the best modern bands.

Music Memories

I was born in 1990. Music had drastically changed since then. When I think back on all the music I have heard in my lifetime, I realize that music can change drastically in a relatively short amount of time and at the same time music has no time bounds. There have been many different styles of music that I have been attracted to through the years including county, rap, rock, you name it, I've listened to it. The cool thing is that music never gets old, you can always relate to it years later. I stumbled upon The BoomBox's "Best Songs of the 2000's" and looked at their top ten songs and laughed as I remember listening to and singing with these songs. Music brings back so many memories.

Stress

College students across America are beginning to feel the stress; the end of the semester is quickly approaching. Here at Gardner-Webb there are only one week of classes left and then a week of finals. Many have projects, tests, and papers due and feel that they are pushed to their limits. The magic of music is that during times like these you can put on some headphones and go into your own world. If you are in need of some music to relax you, I recommend Jon Foreman or The Swell Season. Good luck to everyone in these last few days!

I Am T-Pain

T-Pain is a hot hip-hop artist that makes heavy use of a feature in his music called auto-tune. It was originally created to use in recording studios to create perfect vocal tacks, however, artist, T-Pain, uses it every time he sings.  It creates an interesting sound that it not natural but very intriguing.  Now, anyone can sound like T-Pain.  There is an application on the iPhone that allows you to sing into it and it puts an auto-tune effect on your voice. It's a very cool application. Watch this video to see people demonstrating this app.

Tom Anderson Crowdster

I went to the David Crowder Band concert last night in Charlotte and had an amazing time. I've seen Crowder several times before but this time was the debut of their new CD, Church Music. There is so much layering on this CD that it seemed it would be impossible to play live. However, they did an impressive job. They created a robot drummer and there were a total of 5 key boards in the band. Each person was responsible for nearly 3 instruments. One guy even had a little key pad on his acoustic guitar. It was insane. All of these things were great, but the one thing that attracted me most was the Tom Anderson Crowdster. The Crowdster is an acoustic guitar ideal for live music. It has no external pickups or a soundhole so there is absolutely no feedback. It sounds so clean and very crisp. I've been reading many reviews about them and even made a bid on ebay. I would love to have one of these guitars.

Switchfoot's Twitter

I have made extensive use of my twitter in the past several months and many others are taking advantage of this site. Twitter is an amazing resource for bands. It allows artists to issue notices about their tour and let their fans know how life is on the road. Switchfoot makes great use of this nano blogging, giving updates like this, "Done with tv, now on our way to 102.1 the EDGE. Drew's mustache says hello.http://yfrog.com/79mghj." It allows fans to feel like they are a part of what's going on with the band.

Taylor Swift

Who said age makes any difference? This year, 19 year old country sensation, Taylor Swift, took four awards at the Country Music Awards. One of these was the Entertainer of the Year in which she is the youngest person to ever win the award. It amazes me that Swift and I are the same age and she is doing things I only dream of. Props to Taylor for being an inspiration to young people everywhere.

Alicia Keys Inspires

I recently watched an Alicia Keys concert on Yahoo that took place at New York University. It was really cool to see her perform and to listen to her talk. It is also interesting how music and other things are so blended. Keys used her music as a teaching moment to university students and Pepsi was the sponsor of the event. Through her own experiences she learned that "there is more creativity to be found when you balance the actual productivity of doing it with doing things, seeing people you love, taking a drive, taking a walk...these things inspire you," says Keys. Her words were very encouraging and inspiring to listen to as she encouraged growth in the lives of the students. She encouraged students to put in the work necessary and that everyone is a "very powerful human being with endless possibilities." These are wise words from Keys and offer me some encouragement about people in the music industry.

Darius Rucker

From being the frontman of Hootie and the Blowfish to his solo act, Darius Rucker has done well in the music world. His solo music, however, is very different from his former music and is starting to get some attention. His music has made a hit in the country world and people are enjoying his songs "It Wont Be Like This for Long" and "Alright." He is up for two Country Music Association Awards and has sold one million copies of his CD. He could make the history books if he wins the best male vocalist as the second African-American to do so. Read more about it on canadaeast.com.

Phillies

This years world series, which was won by the Yankees last night, was between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees. Apparently, the Phillies were behind the whole series but had somewhat of a chance when they won Tuesday night to put them behind one game. When asked what made the difference in the game they say it wasn't being more focused, extra practice, or extra rest, but rather, they said it was the music. Music is everywhere. Many athletes listen to it as they warm up and often, there is music playing in the locker room. The Phillies claim that all they did to accomplish a win was change their music. They took Jay-Z (an avid NY Yankees fan) off of their play list and did better, according to Jimmy Rollins, Phillies shortstop. Read about it in this article from The Boombox.

Weezer and Kenny G

Alternative rock band, Weezer, and the worlds most know saxophonist, Kenny G, collaborated to create an interesting, and unexpected, mix of guitars, vocals, and saxophone.I've never been a big fan of the band Weezer, nor would I consider myself a fan on Kenny G, but they worked together to create a pretty neat blend of music. Not that this is still music that I would regularly listen to, but I admire the desire to mix things up and create a different combination of music. Watch Weezer perform "I'm Your Daddy," featuring Kenny G.

The Swell Season

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova form the band The Swell Season. They create beautiful music together with harmonies that will make you stop and listen. Recently, they release a new album titled "Strict Joy." With that cd came a music video release for the song "Low Rising." It's a cool video about a couple that is going though some problems and they feel that it is always raining on them. Throughout the whole music video there are rain clouds over their head and they are getting soaked. They never even sing the song, but they play the characters in the music video. It produces a cool effect.

Autopsy photos?

Previously discussed in my blog, King of Pop, Michael Jackson, died June 25, 2009. The recent dilemma on Jackson's death comes with the news that there is an autopsy photo that might be released soon. In "Autopsy Photo to Be Leaked Soon?," it is estimated that this picture could go for well over $1 million dollars. This doesn't surprise me but I just think it's odd. People have such strange interest, and you may say, "define strange," but I do believe it is strange to take such an obsession in a picture of a dead person's body. Very strange, but I'm interested to see how it plays out.

Digital Downloads

I have grown very accustomed to download music straight from iTunes whenever I want it, and so has the rest of the United States. According to Casey Johnston, writer for ars technica, "digital music will account for the majority of major label revenue in the U.S. market in mid-to-late 2010." Also, based on the growing rate of digital downloads, she suggests that digital downloads will be equivalent to physical copies of music throughout the world by 2016. I have no knowledge of these statistics but this seems very probable that digital downloads will take over. The digital download of music is perfect for our generation of instant satisfaction; people can get music with one click of a mouse. It amazes me, however, how many people still download music illegally. I predict that the revenue from digital downloads would exceed physical copies right now, if only everyone payed for their download.

Miley Cyrus, Again

First it's Lady Gaga and now it's Miley Cyrus that has appeared twice in my blog. I have already displayed a version of Cyrus's song "Party in the USA," performed in sign language, and since then a more beautiful version of song has been produced. This version, produced by Taylor Doolittle and Sam Dowell, was created by using a camera on a Mac and then playing music at the same time. It is very high tech.

Napster

Napster was one of the first well-known services that allowed music to be downloaded for free. Shawn Fanning came up with the idea to create something where people can upload their music and share it with everyone. This was a great feature until everyone realized it was illegal and that it was considered stealing. Now, what was free on Napster cost $5 a month for 60 downloads. This is not quite as good as free, but it's not a bad deal either. However, there are still many who illegally download music and are know as pirates. I don't like music pirates.

Party in ASL

Disney sensation Miley Cyrus, who is the star on the show Hannah Montana, has taken her music from the Disney Channel to mainstream culture. Her new song "Party in the USA" is number three on Billboard.com's top 100. However, I'm not all that interested in her version of it, or at least the music video. Below is Miley Cyrus's song performed in American Sign Language. It's a neat way to portray the song. Enjoy.

GaGa, Again

In a previous blog post I talked about Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and I want to do it again. In this music video Lady GaGa performs the acoustic version of "Poker Face." I find this lady to be extremely strange. My friends and I we doing research one day on GaGa and found that she has gone from one type of music to another. I feel that she has just been trying to get famous and now that she has just become so strange she has finally made it big. She is so talented but just so weird.  Watch the acoustic version of "Poker Face." 

This is It!

THIS IS IT! In just twelve days the world will be able to witness behind the scenes footage of Michael Jackson. I was unsure about this movie when I first heard about it because his death was still very recent; It seemed that every time I turned on the television or radio I heard something about him. I feel that Michael has gotten a lot of bad coverage due to his death and his legacy may have been covered up to a degree. However, I believe this movie will be a good thing, reminding the world about his impact on music.

The trailer for the movie is really cool. It's composed of text, many Michael Jackson songs, and short spurts of clips that change frequently. This type of clip gives the audience an sense of anticipation. I'm excited to see how the movie turns out and I will probably go see it in theaters.

Come&Live!

Come&Live! is a record label that is about giving. They have several bands on their label that consider themselves to be "musical missionaries." There is no financial obligation for these bands; they will willingly give away their talents in order that Jesus Christ may be proclaimed. Here is a video that advertises their mission. It is a very simple video that is composed mainly of text and music with very little images, yet delivers a great message. Check it out:

Made to Love from Come&Live! on Vimeo.

My CD

It was about a month ago now that I ordered the new Fee CD. I ordered it for $15 under the impression that I would get a digital download on the spot (which I did) and autographed copy when it came out in October 5th. I just received my CD in the mail today and I'm upset. Not because it was 9 days late, but because it wasn't autographed. Did they commit a crime? Is it wrong for me to be upset? Maybe. However, if I would have know it wasn't going to be autographed I still would have bought it. It's one of the best worship albums of the year.

Miley Cyrus Deletes Twitter

I can't believe Miley Cyrus deleted her Twitter account! She says she did it so people would stay out of her business so that her private life can be private. I find this funny and odd for a celebrity that is all about self-promotion. I, on the other hand, love twitter. Follow me @kylewilkinson! Watch Miley rap her reason for deleting her Twitter.

Needtobreathe

Last night I went to a Needtobreathe concert. It was at a place in Charlotte called The Visulite Theatre and it was a really intimate setting. Needtobreathe is a group of guys from South Carolina that travel the country playing rock music. The featured video on Needtobreathe's home page is a song called "Lay 'Em Down." The video is filmed with many different angles that keep the viewers interested. I really enjoy how it is filmed.

The Unworthy Beloved

I'm in a band called The Unworthy Beloved. We are a worship band that plays at different churches for for their youth meetings. The previous link will take you to our myspace where we have four songs. All of these songs have been recorded on Garage Band with real instruments. Last night we played at an event here on campus called Fields of Faith. It consisted mainly of Gardner-Webb Students and also a few youth groups in the area. It was a lot of fun.

Parkour

According to American Parkour's website, parkour "is an art of movement in which you train the body and mind to overcome obstacles." This is a practical application of running, jumping, twisting, rolling, and many other things, in order to get to a place more effectively. This is not to be confused with freerunning, a "cousin" of parkour that adds more flips and flash for the fun of it. Parkour has a purpose of getting somewhere and freerunning is just for fun. Below is a video clip of people demonstrating parkour and freerunning. The video has taken a bunch of clips, combined them together and place upbeat music behind them, which gives the clips a strong sense of forward motion . Parkour and freerunning are done without music but when the music is placed behind the clips it begins to look like a form of dance.

The Rapture

The Rapture is when Christ returns to the earth to gather all of His believers. The following video is a evangelistic approach to the rapture. The video was made by West Park Baptist Church and is designed to illustrate that Christ can return at any minute and we need to be ready when he does. This video goes from the beginning of time until now and shows all the catastrophes that have happened within the past several years. The maker of the video has taken many clips of these terrible events and combined them, taking away their sound and replacing it with dramatic music. This gives the viewer a heightened sense of awareness because it gives you the feel that all of these things have happened around the same time and are somehow connected to the return of Christ. Here is the video:

Football and Music

I remember back when I played football in high school. Here are some pictures to laugh at:

Football is a funny sport because of how crazy guys get and how much music is involved. I remember sitting in the locker room before games and getting so pumped up listening to music. One song we used to always listen to is The Kill by a band called 30 Seconds to Mars. We used to get so pumped up.

I was looking around on the internet and came across a highlight video for the Florida Gators 2008 football season. The video is a combination of pictures and film with music playing in the background. The video and pictures are nice but the music adds a nice effect. It has a good beat that would get you fired up and ready to hit someone.

It Leaked

People are always so eager to hear the new music an artist has coming out and these days it's easy do that before the album release date. There are many websites such as It Leaked, that are dedicated to getting the music to the public before the album is even available. The main problem in music used to be the illegal pirating of music, but now this is happening before the album is even available to buy. If I were an artist this would really bother me. Here is hip-hop artist Keri Hilson on the leaking of music:

My Love

So it's been almost a year now since I fell in love with Brooke Fraser. Her first two albums "What to Do With Daylight" and "Albertine" have gone 13 x platinum in her home country, New Zealand. According to her website, "she makes the kind of music that sounds like a pop marshmallow has dropped into a folk hot chocolate and become a warm, spicy chocolatey broth." I was first introduced to her through the music of Hillsong United, a worship band I have previously blogged about. Here is a music video of Brooke singing "Lord of Lords." It's a video of her singing the song, but the video has been taken from a number of cameras and the film has been combined for different angles and images.

We Are Called To Be Different

This is a video from the band Philmont. I was recently told about this band and when I looked for them on YouTube I found a music video of one of their songs called "The Difference." It's about how if we are really Christians then there should be a difference in how we're living from the rest of the world. We are not supposed to blend in with culture but to be new creations living like Jesus. Everything Jesus did was in love, out of obedience to God, and this defied a lot of cultural barriers. Jesus looked really different.

This video is really neat because they pause parts of it throughout the video while other parts are still going. It starts out with everyone frozen except for the lead sings and then one by one each of them starts playing again. It's a really cool effect.

Poker Face

One of secular music's new sensations is Lady Gaga. This 23 year old came to fame recently through her songs "Just Dance" and "Poker Face." Although these are not the real music video's of Gaga, they allow you go listen to the songs. She is known for her weird music and videos and I don't really like it at all. The real music video for "Poker Face" is really inappropriate, however, there is a version of it that I do enjoy. Colleen Ballinger is a Broadway singer that does funny video parody's on YouTube. Here is a serious video of her singing a song called "Take Me Or Leave Me." She is talented singer, but she is better know for her role as Miranda. She has a channel on YouTube called Miranda Sings. Here is a video of her performing "Poker Face." She has taken several films of herself in different outfits and areas and then taken them and put them all together to make a "music video." Enjoy!

Music Sets the Mood

In Douglas Menuez's video "Heaven, Earth, Tequila: Un Viaje al Corazón de México," he strives to portray the Mexican culture. The focus of this video is not music but it reveals the power of music. The song that plays during the video, "Blue Agave" by Douglas Lora Las Casas, sets the mood because it is a spanish guitar. The pictures are inspiring themselves but when you add music to it makes it more dramatic. Also, the music is specific to the culture; it makes sense to have this style of music playing for a video about Mexico. When it comes to the media, music plays a very important role. Imagine the video without the music and I don't believe the effect would be as grand.

Kanye is Dumb

So everyone has probably heard of what happened at the MTV's Video Music Awards this year but I feel that I need to talk about it as well. Taylor Swift, who happens to be a country singer, won her first VMA at age 18 for the Best Female Video of the year for her song "You Belong With Me." Although there is no video with great editing and cool features, there is footage of Kanye West's reaction:

MTV Shows

So to be totally honest, I just watched Taylor's video of "You Belong With Me" and it made me really happy and it made me smile. Does that make me less of a man, I think not. However, what Kanye West did is uncalled for and heartless, and for that, he is less of a man.

Here is a really cool commercial promoting Rockband's latest edition of the game for XBOX, Playstation, and a number or other video game consuls. This commercial features The Beatles because the new edition of the game is all about The Beatles. You can play their songs from when the first started to some of their last ones. This video is really cool because it is based off of The Beatles most famous album cover "Abbey Road." What's neat is that although it is based off of a picture it seems that there is real footage of The Beatles, possibly from other live footage, and also other real people. It's an amazing combination of film. Check it out.

"Mess of Me"

Switchfoot is a main stream band with a strong Christian influence. They were thrown into the public eye when one of their songs "Only Hope" was sang by Mandy Moore in the movie A Walk to Remember. They are a very talented group of guys led by Jon Foreman. Below is Switchfoot's new single and their new music video. What they have done is taken all videos from their tour and put them together to create one video. Sometimes the video matches what music is doing and other times it is just random footage. Throughout the course of the video the speed up the footage and also slow it down producing a very cool effect.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9

"Twitter Will Kill You"

David Crowder* Band is the worship band that had the most effect on me in high school. My iTunes library(which is arguably one of the greatest tools for downloading music) contains 79 songs by Crowder. While writing their newest project, Church Music, they have created what they call a "Rockumentary" where they make funny videos and place them on their YouTube channel. Since Twitter was such a hot topic in our class discussions I thought it was appropriate to share the David Crowder* Band's video called "Twitter Will Kill You," which ironically has the most views of all their videos. Yes, the video is funny, but it has nearly 100,000 views and the second most viewed video has just under 30,000 views. The video has nearly nothing to do with the new album that debuts soon, but is just a funny video submerged in pop culture. It's interesting how these artists are so connected to culture and how they would rather portray that than their new music. Maybe it's less about the music and more about how you present yourself.

An Unexpected Journey

One of my favorite worship bands is Hillsong United. There home church, Hillsong, is located in Sydney, Australia. The first video clip on Hillsong United's homepage, titled "W.A.I.T.T.," is about their unexpected journey around the world. They started out just playing worship music for fun, and now they travel the world and witness all kinds of poverty. One of the best lines of this three minute video is "if what's happening within those four walls is having no effect on those streets we travel to get there then maybe we're missing the point." The church is called to love through actions.

Welcome

Hello to all!

I'm excited and a little worried about my blog. I've been seriously thinking about a topic and I believe that I will blog on music. It will range from what's going on with specific artists, like the David Crowder Band, a leader in contemporary christian music, or things like the illegal downloading of music on websites like It Leaked. I believe this will be fun and interesting and I invite you read my blog and enjoy!

Kyle