Songs that have meant a lot to me this year...
-Signature of the Divine by Needtobreathe
It's totally rad that half of Needtobreathe went to Furman. And they are just really really really good. They are going to be hugely famous, it's pretty much for certain. And this song is so amazing. The lyrics are just so moving. It's so awesome to sing "Yahweh, great is your glory, you go before me, oh we sing" at the top of your lungs and really mean it. Thanks NtB :D
-Carolina by Matt Wertz
My roommate Rachel and my next door dorm neighbor Ellie both got me addicted to Matt Wertz and especially this song. I've never been much for singer/songwriters but Matt Wertz is AMAZINGLY talented. He music really resonates with me because I am a southern girl through and through and more important I am a Carolina Girl. Being born and raised in north and south carolina, I was able to really appreciate Matt as a good ol' southern boy from nashville who makes great music.
-Here It Goes by Jimmy Eat World
Ok i'm not even going to lie, before I heard this album from Jimmy Eat World, I had never been a huge fan. I mean I had liked them fine but nothing had really jumped out at me. That is, until I heard this song. It's upbeat and really catchy and just an all around great song without sounding like everything else that is currently prevailing in the mainstream. Overall, "Chase This Light" as an album is amazing! After I became obsessed with this album, I listened to a couple of their others and they were amazing too. I seriously underestimated Jimmy Eat World for real!
-You Only Get What You Give by the New Radicals
I know this is a old school but I had never heard it until about halfway through this year and I fell in love with it. It really is a travesty that the New Radicals don't make music anymore, they were off the chain
-Get Ready (Hot Machete) by Jonezetta
My normal music listening normally leans towards the indie pop and rock scene so Jonezetta is a little more hardcore than I normally like but this song means a lot to me. It came up randomly on shuffle on my iPod once and I have loved it ever since. It's a little different but I don't care.
-Sleepless by Until June
Ok anyone that talked to me about music between the months of like October and now has heard me talk about this band. They are AWESOME and like no one knows who there are which is SHOCKING to me because they are soo good. This is their first single off their self-titled album and it's is a spectacular work or staggering pop genius. CHECK IT OUT NOW!
**MAD PROPS to Mary Helen for telling me about Until June :)
-Remind Me I'm Alive by Ivoryline
A year ago I had never heard of Ivoryline and thankfully now I have lol. This song is really rad and the lyrics really meant a lot to me during my rough winter term this year. I'm expecting lots of great songs from them!
-Wake Up by Leeland
Ok this year for me was the beginning of my Leeland obsession. You think I'm kidding when I say obsession but I'm not. Best Friend Kristin burned me there first album "Sound of Melodies" awhile back and I have not stopped playing it since. This track is actually off their new cd "Opposite Way" and is equally AMAZING (i was such a Leeland fanatic that I preordered the cd and watched their live broadcast of the cd release online, i'm a dork). Any person who feels that christian music can not be beautiful, moving, and lyrically stimulated needs to hear Leeland because they are all of these things
This song had a lot of meaning for me because like most college students, it was really easy for me to get complacent in my faith in Christ and the lyrics of this song really spoke to my heart that I needed to wake up and live God loud. GO BUY ALL OF LEELAND RIGHT NOW, you really won't regret it!
-Control by Mutemath
If you had asked me earlier in the year if I thought that this song would have been the most important one to me on this list, then I would have said whole-heartedly YES. Sadly now that is not the case. It does hold a special place as second to last but still I have grown slightly disillusioned with Mutemath because of an article I read on Alternative Press.com. But besides that, Mutemath is still an AMAZING band that is I think is going to completely revolutionize commercial music. Hopefully they will stick to their guns and remind all about the music and performing and not decide that they need to be user friendly.
This is my favorite Mutemath song that they have every put out. It's just like nothing I have ever heard before. You need to check it out. And don't let anything I say sway you about Mutemath. They are still AMAZING musicians and are creating music that everyone needs to hear, even if I feel their fans have been slightly mislead or they have made some personal choices that I don't agree with. I would still be totally stoked to see them live :)
-I'm Not Who I Was by Brandon Heath
Ok for real, this song is my new theme song for life. I had never heard of Brandon Heath until my mom DVRed the dove awards for me and I watched them. They were going through the new artists of the year in a kind of showcase like format and I wasn't really feeling any of them and then all of sudden they pan to this young guy with a guitar and he songs a couple of really good lines and then they cut away from him. I was literally like woah now, go back! Who was that and why have I not heard him before.
So naturally I grab my trusty Macbook and look up his myspace and lo and behold the dude is TALENTED (obviously, he did win the dove award for new artist of the year). He is also friends and former roommates with Matt Wertz, as mentioned from above.
If you know anything about this song and me, you will probably understand why it is so meaningful for me. My freshman year is coming to a close and it is very apparent to me that I am not who I was. All of Brandon Heath's lyrics really fit my life right now and it was awesome to find that I could find a song that i really related too. It was also especially amusing that I found him on the Dove Awards because of my normally very critical nature of contemporary christian music and my downright dislike for gospel music
***On a sidenote, I have exams on saturday so prayer would be appreciated more than you know! I'll be back in L-town officially on June 1, so then i can hang out with everyone.
