Recently in Music Category

Ages ago, when I first began my little blog, I often liked reviewing the albums I was enjoying. It wasn't too long before I stopped doing that. Not really sure why, but it just didn't happen again. However, I've found in the past year or two that somewhere in me, there's still a desire to review. So, I recently saw an opportunity, now that one of my all-time favorite bands, Stellar Kart, is releasing their new album Everything Is Different Now on Tuesday, March 9th. The album has actually been available at live shows and the band's online store since September, but on the 9th, it will be available to the general public in all stores. The review begins...

Stellar Kart's newest album, Everything Is Different now, definitely lives up to its title, and in a very good way. I can see huge growth; musically, lyrically and spiritually, on this album. The band's raw, punk sound stayed for their first two albums, until they released their third, Expect The Impossible, when it changed to more of a "power-pop punk-rock" sound (as they used to call it). Now, don't get me wrong, ETI was a fine album, and whatever I say about it is just my personal opinion; no disrespect! ;-) A couple of Stellar Kart's biggest hits came from it (as well as some of my favorite Stellar Kart songs). However, I must confess that it was not my favorite Stellar Kart album. Again, I've always enjoyed listening to it, just not my favorite. Part of it, I think, was that it was such a far cry from everything else we'd ever heard from them before. A musical improvement, no doubt, but to me, it sounded in some ways like it was trying a wee bit too hard to be different and to reinvent (again, just what it looked like to me. I don't know the guys, so I don't know that that was really happening! I've also learned since then that an artist needs to be artistic). So, is there a point to everything I'm saying about Expect The Impossible when I'm supposed to be reviewing a completely different album? The point is, I feel like Everything Is Different Now combines all the best parts of Expect The Impossible with the best parts of the first two albums, which did need some growth. Everything Is Different Now, to me, is a very balanced album. It does have a different sound from Stellar Kart's earlier material, but it's undeniably Stellar Kart. They definitely went back to their roots on this one, but progressed quite a bit at the same time. As cheesy as it sounds, I'm proud of them.

Everything Is Different Now opens with the fresh and upbeat worship song "All My Heart," which is a perfect introduction to the album, giving a pretty good idea of the things to come. Next comes a cover of the Steve Fee worship classic "We Shine," which is Stellar Kart's first single from this album. Now, some might have a problem with the fact that half of the album is made of covers. I'm not usually into a bunch of covers all being on one album, however, I think that it seemed to work out pretty well in this case. I think that the songs they've chosen to cover, as well as the new ones they wrote, express where they are as artists and as people. Some songs seem to be done as a tribute to the original artist or just for fun, and then there are well-known worship songs; the previously mentioned "We Shine" and Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go."

Musically, the title song seems to pick up where "Hold On" left off on the band's sophomore album We Can't Stand Sitting Down (not saying it's a copy or anything, just has a similar styles, mixing and harmonizing). In my opinion, it's one of Stellar Kart's best songs to date. I can definitely see it becoming the next radio single very soon. You would never know it if you've only heard their more upbeat songs, but the band has always made fantastic ballads, and that definitely shows on this album. One song I think will be popular among devoted fans and new listeners is "It's Not Over," a hopeful, encouraging, very acoustic guitar-based song, featuring a lyrical collaboration with Chasen Callahan, frontman of the band Chasen (known for their hit "Crazy Beautiful.") The album's closer "Like The Sun" is a piano-driven ballad that mildly resembles the gentler moments on Expect The Impossible in some parts. One of the greatest lyrical stand-outs and most worshipful moments on the album is "Rescue," made noticeable to me by a very enthusiastic, Gospel-centered lyric, co-written with a few members of Hillsong United (I think I heard it was with them; don't quote me on it). It keeps the classic Stellar Kart "power-pop/punk-rock" sound with an upbeat tempo, bright, crunchy guitar hooks and buzzing synths. With such worshipful lyrics, I would be surprised if it doesn't make it on the worship setlists of various Church youth groups.

Now, there is one song of which I've only heard about 20 seconds, and am looking forward to hearing in full-length. It seems that since the album was first being released at concerts, there are going to be a few minor adjustments, one of which is a song called "Something Holy," which was not on the earliest version of the album, the version I bought in September (I'm assuming the other adjustments will not be on the CD itself but on the packing, where the track list on the back of the case had mixed up the order of a few songs, and in the insert, where an old draft lyric was printed instead of the final one...I think the latter will actually be a gem to fans who bought the early version of the album, giving them the feeling of seeing a small "behind the scenes" featurette). The very little I heard of the song had what sounded like Owl City influence and seemingly good lyrics, so my plan is to buy it on iTunes the second the album officially releases ;-)

Overall, Everything Is Different Now is a huge step of growth in many ways for Stellar Kart, and I believe it will give them a broader appeal than they've had in the past, but without compromising the band's signature sound. I can see them gaining more fans and attention from the industry and from music listeners overall when this album gets out. As a fan, a music-lover and a Christian, I certainly hope that happens. My hope that people will not only enjoy the music, but be encouraged and moved by the lyrics as well. For that very reason, I highly recommend that you check out the album, and if you like it, buy it!

Where to buy:
Stellar Kart's store - MusiChristian - Amazon - Amazon MP3

This time, I'm back for real. Yes, for real! So, where are we now? Well, we have quite a bit to catch up on. As one of the things I primarily blog about is music, it's important that I address the changes that have taken place within my favorite bands! First off, I developed an official Top 5 All-Time Favorite Artists list: The Newsboys, TobyMac, dc Talk, Delirious?, and Stellar Kart. Well, that's not so huge, but I felt it was worth saying! ;-) Delirious?, as many of you know, had their last concert together this November (I am sad about their ending, especially as I never got to see them in concert and now probably never will, but I'm fully supportive Martin Smith's decision to devote more time to his family and am looking forward to seeing where everybody goes in the future!). Stellar Kart's long-time and original guitarist Cody Pellerin left the band last Summer, and was replaced by the awesome and hilarious Jon Howard (formerly of the band Dizmas). Oh, and speaking of which, God kindly provided me an opportunity to see Stellar Kart live at Awakening Fest 2009 in September (Jon is perfect for the band!), which may as well have been my first Stellar Kart concert (since the last time I saw them was at the Newsboys' GO tour, when I knew nothing about them); yes, it was AMAZING! I had the great privilege and pleasure of meeting the whole band; it was wonderful to finally be able to say "thank you" and tell them how God's used their music in my life.

Since my last post, I've also attended the Newsboys' Join The Tribe tour in 2009 and the Winter Jam '09 tour (headlined by TobyMac; AMAZING event!) in the same weekend. Reviews will come...eventually...I hope...(okay, this is getting to be a depressing post!) Well, as for that Newsboys concert, it turned out to be more important than I realized when I was there! As you can see below, my last entry contained comments about recent member changes in the Newsboys (well, by recent, I guess I mean year-old and forgotten by now!). Since my last post, there's been yet another change in the Newsboys. Pretty much all of you who might like the Newsboys or follow them a bit know, since it's been almost a year! While I was very sad to hear of Paul Colman's departure in January of '09, I contently welcomed former long-time guitarist Jody Davis back into the band. This following change in the band, however, was far more drastic than the first. I woke up one Sunday morning, March 8th and, quite unexpectedly, noticed rumors circulating on the internet about lead singer Peter Furler leaving the band. Naturally, I was shocked and very confused! As a fan, of course, the idea was sad to me. But while questions would continually pop into my head, I chose not to jump to conclusions, as there hadn't even been a press release yet. Besides, there seemed to be plenty of evidence against it...they were only eight dates into the new Join The Tribe tour (FYI, I had seen the third date of the tour two weeks earlier). They were releasing a new album in a couple of months. Wouldn't it be a little odd for Peter to drop out in the middle of all that? Nah, it couldn't be true. Things just got all the more confusing when a bunch of talk was coming up about Michael Tait (formerly of dc Talk and his band Tait) becoming Peter Furler's replacement. You're kidding, right? Two of the most popular bands in Christian music having a "mash-up?" Two of my all-time favorite bands? That's crazy. Actually, in some ways, it made a lot of sense. Michael had made surprise appearances at a couple of the tour dates, including the one I attended, to sing with the Newsboys on a couple of songs, and they hadn't said why he was there. My sister and I just figured it was a random, but cool idea for an interesting cameo. But it became far more "official" sounding when people on the Newsboys message board who had attended the Acquire The Fire conference in Texas the previous night (the 7th), said that the band came on stage with Michael Tait in Peter Furler's place, and that Michael announced later that night that he was indeed the new lead singer.

I know. It hardly needs saying. But, I'll say it anyway. It's been a whole year, and I've never made a real post. A week or two ago, however, I realized it actually *was* possible for me to start up my blog again. I must say, it makes me quite happy to return for real! I didn't realize until now just how much I miss blogging. Just let me take a moment to dance around singing, "The blog is back! The blog is back!" Anyway, I'll walk away from my non-sense and return to Grace Unmeasured: my blog about music, life, and, most importantly: GRACE.

So, I'll get to the thing that reminded me to make a blog post today. If you've ever read my blog, then you'll know that music is a great passion of mine, and that one of my favorite bands in Christian music (number one favorite favorite, actually) is the Newsboys. I've been a committed fan for almost six years now (has it been that long?), and one thing I've learned is that there seems to be a "curse of the guitarist" as one of my sisters and I jokingly call it.

Okay, so the new year isn't really that new anymore, but here I am now, with my first post and first new layout of 2008 :-) Yes, as you can see, the layout is very, very different from what I normally do. But I recently found an old coke machine and just had to take a picture of it ;-) Oh, that reminds me! I got a nice camera in December, for which I am EXTREMELY grateful. It take pretty good photos and I'm having loads of fun with it! Oh, and of course, you can see all of the photos I've taken with it on Flickr ;-)

Oh, and speaking of Flickr, it seems that my picture of a half-eaten oreo has gotten unexpectedly popular since I posted it on Sunday night. It's already gotten a little over 100 views just in a few days, and normally, it takes months for one of my photos to even get near that. What can I say, I'm flattered to have my first "claim to fame" on Flickr ;-D

Of course, I couldn't forget to mention that the new Stellar Kart album, Expect The Impossible, is less than two months away! It officially releases on February 26th, and it's already available for pre-order (I already took care of that for myself, of course ;-). On top of that, you'll get to hear a new song from the album every Tuesday (starting at 10:00 AM EST, 9:00 AM WST). As for my thoughts on the new album...well, the JFH has song clips available in their Album PReview section, and judging by what I've heard, I think the previous work of Stellar Kart is far better (especially the amazing "pink and black album," We Can't Stand Sitting Down). The only complaint I have about E.T.I. is that it tends to be a little over-produced at times (in other words, it sounds a little more run of the mill and "not Stellar Kart," if you know what I mean), but aside from that, I definitely do like it and plan to enjoy it! So far, my favorite songs are "Innocent," "Shine Like The Stars," and "Letters." Ah, and here's a link to the graphic I made in honor of the up-coming album...

As my mind is a bit empty/drained right now, I plan to be back soon with more important things to talk about :-) TTYL!

Funny: It seems that my niece, Niece1 got a little confused about how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. She said, "Let's play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Okay, I'll be the rock, you (Niece2) be the scissors, and you (Jordan) be the paper."

Verse: "...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." - Galatians 5:16 (ESV)

Here's an awesome video of the ever-wonderful sisters in BarlowGirl performing their song "Average Girl" that I just had to show you guys!...

To see what else I have to say, click "Continue reading"...

How are you all doing? It's been about two weeks since my last post, and I felt the need to come back. Let's see...where do I start?

Well, I've updated my Flickr a good bit. I also added a sample of my yet-to-be-completed remix of "The Mission" by the Newsboys to the mixes section here. What else has happened?

Well, as expected, I miss Spencer very much. I have to say, now that I'm the only child left in the house, it's actually been very quiet since she got married. Well, it's not just because I'm the only child in the house but more because Spence was always the one with the outgoing, fun personality. I've always been a lot more quiet and a bit shy, so I always look forward to seeing her so my fun side can "wake up" a bit ;-) Of course, whenever she's not available, I can go visit or call my nieces, in which case I'm bound to get at least one good laugh ;-) Anyway, Spencer is enjoying her married life immensely, for which I'm extremely grateful! To borrow something my dad said, I'm more happy for her than I ever was sad for myself.

I also got to see the musical Annie on stage! That was an extremely enjoyable experience. I've grown up loving the movie (the 80's version), so I was very excited to see the stage version! In my opinion, the most exciting performances were of the songs "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here," "Easy Street" and "I Don't Need Anything But You." Also, a friend of our's was playing Daddy Warbucks, which added to the excitement! He did an amazing job, too! Anyway, I'm very glad I got to see the play! It reminded me how much I've always loved that musical.

So, I admit I don't have much else to say. But, one thing. I'm thinking of signing off all my future blog entries with one funny thing (picture, quote, etc.), and one verse from the Bible. Does that sound like a good idea to you? I guess I'll start here...

Funny: Here's something Niece2 (my niece) said when she was praying recently: "Lord Jesus, please help God to give me good sleep."

Verse: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)