Seventeenth Confession

Of all the most inane questions I've ever heard, "What's your favorite song of all time?" ranks up there among "What's your favorite movie of all time?",  "Does this dress make my butt look big?", and "Are you asleep?"  There's not really a good answer to any of those questions.  I mean, there are plenty of songs that haven't been written and movies not made yet which may render your answer to the first two questions incorrect.  The third question is, as Admiral Ackbar admirably admits, IS A TRAP!!  As to the final question, the best answer, from personal experience is a deep, weary groan, followed by an equally weary, "Yes, dear?"

Back to the original topic of music, there are too many moods and too many songs for those moods, to narrow it down to ONE overall.  I keep a good set of number one songs for a mood, in case someone actually asks that kind of question.  I'm choosing to narrow it down to two or three or four for this particular post and, depending on what comments I get on it, I may or may not post more selections on this topic.  Or not.  Whatever.

So, let's start with the obvious ones:  being a Christian, let's talk religious music first.  As a former Reformed Presbyterian, there's something wonderful about a good a capella song, performed well.  That probably explains the goodly number of Brown Derbies and Rockapella in my playlist, as well as a smattering of other a capella groups.  But when it comes down to it, I'm more about the music than I am the delivery.  For praise and worship, Delirious? and David Ruis, and MorningStar are about the only ways to go. 

From Delirious?:  The incredible majesty of the original version of "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?" brings a shout out of me at the beginning of the chorus every time.  It seems that everything, from the opening rim shot, through the amazing lyrics, to the ending fade, is absolutely perfect about this track.  Their live rendition of "Come, Like You Promise" (from Live & In the Can, not the awful version from the compilation album) is an amazing illustration of synergy between the worship team and the worshiping throng.  I think it may have even been a "spur-of-the-moment" writing, way back in '95, but I can find no documentation on the impetus behind the song.  For straight Praise, you can't go wrong with "History Maker," "Show Me Heaven," "I've Found Jesus," or "Shout to the North."  For straight Worship, "Lord, You Have My Heart," "Oh Lead Me," "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever," and "Find Me In The River" overwhelm me every time.  As an added bonus, they recorded a cover of U2's "Pride (In The Name of Love)" which rivals the original in every aspect.

David Ruis came from the Vineyard movement, and his music is both intensely personal and fresh.  Very few other worship leaders compose songs in 5/4 time; I can only think of Leonard Jones at MorningStar who would.  The sheer enthusiasm behind "Yay God!," "Release Me," and "Wide Wide World" are brilliant.  "Whom Have I But You?," "Find Rest," "Faithful," and "Take Me Home" resonate with the part of me described in Hebrews 11: the part of me that admits that this world is not my home, that I long for my own people, and that nothing on earth can satisfy me.  "Tribal Tephilah Session" and "Megwich Kchi-Manitou" are experimental, blending Native American instrumentation and rhythms with a profound sense of worship.

MorningStar has entirely too many incredible expressions of worship to list them all here.  I'm thinking though, that "Come Let Us Go Up To The Mountain - Fly Me Like The Wind" from the album with the same name, is about a twenty-five minute encapsulation of everything right with MorningStar.  "Keeper," "Coming Out of Egypt," "Rush," and "Leaders of the Free World" are aerobic-class praise songs, guaranteed to get your cardio levels up.  With "Holding Your Breath" and "He's Alive" (the latter by Suzy Yarei), the team plays with the title of the song, creating not only a great worship experience, but also a nice little cognitive workout the first time you hear them.  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Suzy Yarei's "Dance" (composed in Ohio!) and "Creator of the Universe" (the song my bride and I danced to at our wedding) as great songs as well.

Well, there you have some of my top P&W songs.  As ever, I await your feedback as to where I should go from here.