Tag: song of the day
October 4, 2019
In the late 90s, I lived in Atlanta, GA, doing inner-city ministry and discipleship training. An old college friend of mine from the area, Darrel, invited me to a show south of the city. Blindside were doing a U.S. tour and this new band was opening, featuring ex-members of Spudgun and Joe Christmas. I’d been hearing from others about the intensity of their live shows so I was eager to attend. Pop-punkers Jesse and the Rockers also played, as well as a new band made up of high school kids, called Luti-Kriss that never went anywhere (I kid!)… Continued →
September 30, 2019
Song of the Day: Terminal - Not All Bad
Since it’s snowing today, I feel like this Monday deserves an emo song (it’s not even Halloween yet!). “Not All Bad” is one of the more hopeful Terminal tracks, with its bright guitar strums and lyrics that fight against self-deprecation and apathy. Maybe if the snow doesn’t let up, I’ll blare this song outside and try to melt it with some musical positivity?… Continued →
September 27, 2019
Song of the Day: Huntingtons - The Only One
Huntingtons were a prolific punk and/or pop-punk band, as most of you will know. For me, you just can’t beat their sophomore album, “Fun and Games.” The title says it all. This song has that punk rock meets 50s style doo-wop that many bands tried but not many could pull off. It works incredibly well here!
Listen here:
Huntingtons – The Only One… Continued →
September 23, 2019
Song of the Day: Ana Sapphira - Rain Song
Rarely do I hear music and feel as though I was meant to hear it. However common it is to hear good songs, bad songs, and even very impressive ones, a lot of music doesn’t strike me as having significance beyond random chance. Earlier this month though, there was a day when I was listening to “Rain Song” by Ana Sapphira over and over. I decided to visit their Facebook page shortly after, and sadly, it looks like the band broke up last year. I first heard “Rain Song” in a HeartSupport video featuring lead singer Jonathan Lamper, which I will also include below.… Continued →
September 20, 2019
Song of the Day: What of the Night - Soaked Right Through
I don’t suspect many of our readers will be familiar with What of the Night, which is a shame. This Irish & English punk band released only one album in 1979 (yes, you read that right!) making them the earliest Christian punk band (if we don’t include Death, which is a discussion for another time). The LP features post-punk, mod, and garage rock sounds and would be at home next to the likes of The Undertones, The Jam, Buzzcocks and so many others. It’s super rare and hard to come by, but I managed to track down a copy for myself a couple of years ago.… Continued →
September 16, 2019
Song of the Day: Showbread - I Am a Machine Gun
Last week, Joshua S. Porter of Showbread was interviewed on the Labeled Podcast. Here is a classic song from the band, before they were even signed to Tooth & Nail, selected from Life, Kisses, and Other Wasted Efforts.… Continued →
September 13, 2019
Song of the Day: Come to Pass - Confessions of the Cursed
Come to Pass is a one-piece lo-fi death metal band from Virginia. The band has recently released an EP through Bearded Dragon Productions, but instead I’ve chosen a track from the “Words of Endurance” compilation on the same label. Raw and heavy stuff.
Stream or download the track here:
Come to Pass – Confessions of the Cursed… Continued →
September 9, 2019
Song of the Day: Theory Hazit - Unforgivable
“Ain’t been to church in about a year / All my old friends are outta here”
I finally got around to listening through The Fall of the Light Bearer (2015) this year, and it’s turned out to be one of the best albums I’ve heard as of late. Serious lyricism and experimental production abound. The melancholic “Unforgivable” is accompanied by fine cinematography and gives an accurate impression of what the album is like as a whole.… Continued →
September 2, 2019
Song of the Day: Waking Ashland - Edinger
Two thousand and five was a very strong year for Tooth & Nail Records, as they released classic albums from Anberlin, Mae, Terminal, and Emery. Another impressive album, though overlooked, was Composure by Waking Ashland. The San Diego four-piece created some seriously catchy indie/piano rock tunes, and “Edinger” proves this point 14 years later.… Continued →
August 30, 2019
Song of the Day: Lights for Nero - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Weapons Inspectors
Sadly, I only got to attend Cornerstone Festival once. I planned out my schedule in advance: hardcore here, punk rock there, metal over here, all sprinkled with alternative, indie rock, and goth too. If you’ve ever been to the festival, you’ll remember the countless numbers of flyers and leaflets for shows happening that week. One of the most mysterious and interesting was for a band I’d never heard of called Lights for Nero. Although I knew next to nothing about them, that flyer convinced me that I didn’t need to be anywhere else that afternoon.… Continued →
August 26, 2019
Song of the Day: GS Megaphone - Dream
Take me past familiar waters to a place so deep / it reserves itself for the eyes of those who dream. “Dream” by GS Megaphone communicates the essence of God-as-artist, the One in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Taken from their album Beautiful World (2003), it is a reminder that God is the source of all creativity. So often our imaginations are caught in a torrent of meaningless distractions, and still, the opportunity for metanoia (Greek term for changing one’s mind) awaits us in and through Christ’s grace.… Continued →
August 20, 2019
Song of the Day: Kosmos Express - Just Say It
The year was 1997. The heyday of Christian alternative rock was starting to wane, as mainstream sounds were drifting into new territory. Dance pop (in the form of boy bands and girl bands) was starting to make another attempt at dominating the airwaves. Electronica and house were exploding in creativity and splintering into new subgenres every day. Outside of punk and hardcore, the most exciting thing happening in rock was a revival of traditional British sounds in a new format cleverly dubbed “Britpop.” While not a new genre per se, its popularity had boomed with no small thanks to bands like Oasis, Blur, James and literally dozens of others across the pond.… Continued →
August 19, 2019
Song of the Day: JustMe - Yougenics
A couple weeks back, Brandon published an article about some of the issues American society faces today: partisanship, gun violence, and mental illness. One of the quotations that resonated with me was that “Libertarians are struggling to have their voice heard.” It got me thinking about one of my favourite hip-hop albums, Full Disclosure (2012) by JustMe, whose sharp lyrics express a distrust towards the U.S. government. One of the standout tracks is “Yougenics” which takes a well-informed look at Social Darwinism and its relation to abortion.… Continued →
August 12, 2019
Song of the Day: Number One Gun - This Holiday
The North Pole Project (2008) wasn’t supposed to be a Number One Gun album. Rather, this was once the name of vocalist/guitarist Jeff Schneeweis’ solo project in the aftermath of Number One Gun’s breakup. In any case, The North Pole Project is a beautiful indie rock anthem. Not only did Schneeweis play every instrument on the album, but he also produced and mixed it. In these songs, he goes beyond some of the margins of the band’s past work, and this is best exemplified by closing song “This Holiday.”… Continued →
August 9, 2019
Song of the Day: Ascending King - Lignum Vitae
Black metal stalwarts Ascending King are back! They’ve just dropped a new single “Lignum Vitae,” which is a collaborative effort with Sebat Frost from Frost Like Ashes. Whether it’s due to that influence or not is hard to say, but the doomy elements first heard on the Ascending King EP released last year are gone this time in favor of a faster-paced black metal sound.
The single can be downloaded for free here: Ascending King – Lignum Vitae… Continued →
August 8, 2019
Song Of The Day: The Insyderz - Sinner's Songbook
Today’s song of the day comes in the form of some punk-ska from our friends in Michigan based band – The Insyderz. I was a fan of this band dating back to 1997 when I heard their debut full length, “Motor City Ska”. The band released 3 full lengths, 2 worship/praise albums, and this final (?) full length in 2012. The song that meant the most to me and had me spinning it again was “Sinner’s Songbook”. The track features Joe’s (Yerke) gritty yet melodic, vocal delivery alongside the vocals of Reese Roper (Five Iron Frenzy), and Matt Morginsky (OC Supertones).… Continued →
August 6, 2019
Songs of the Day - August 6, 2019
Sorry guys, I don’t have a song of the day today. After wading through over four dozen new singles and a handful of new albums this week I was only able to narrow it down to thirteen songs. So here are your songs of the day:
- Pray for Sleep – Dear Death (feat. Hashu)
- Random Hero – Tension
- Bloodlines – Spiritual Warfare
- Built by Titan – Ghost
- Sink In – Drive
- CLOUDLAND – Over Again
- Stillman – Shook
- LNYX – Beauty in the Breakdown
- Grant Owen – Everything Changes
- Crystal Rome – Island
- Jon Webster – Caught Up
- Tenielle Neda – No Fear in Love
- Eikon – Kingdom (feat.
August 5, 2019
Song of the Day: Starflyer 59 - We're the Ordinary
Remember “Cooler Than Me” by Mike Posner? That song used to be really cool in 2010 and was popular enough to be played at shopping malls. But maybe, perhaps, you thought yourself cooler than Mike Posner, despite his single having a lot of pizzazz and swagger. Fair enough. Well, I hate to break it to you, but Starflyer 59 is actually cooler than both of you. “We’re the Ordinary,” taken from The Fashion Focus (1998), is cool enough to freeze a hipster shopping mall on a blazing summer’s day.… Continued →
July 30, 2019
Song of the Day: Benjamin Hamilton - heartbroken.
I’m going to be honest, I don’t really know anything about Benjamin Hamilton, I just stumbled across “heartbroken.” while I was searching for new music on Spotify this weekend. I saw that The Good Christian Music Blog had playlisted some of his previous songs and figured it was worth checking out and threw his new single into my playlist. Well, it ended up being one of those songs where every time it would come up in shuffle I would have to stop what I’m doing and pull out my phone to see what I was listening to.… Continued →
July 29, 2019
Song of the Day: The Devil Wears Prada - My Questions
I became a fan of The Devil Wears Prada in 2011. There were many reasons for this: peer pressure via a friend, the positive review in HM Magazine, and Dan Seagrave’s dark and mysterious artwork. Dead Throne made me realize what I’d been missing out on. It’s near impossible to choose a favourite song from a near perfect album, but in my iTunes library, “My Questions” has the most plays. To my knowledge, the band has never played this song live, but the mesmerizing guitar work and depressing bridge echo in my head often.… Continued →
July 26, 2019
Song of the Day: Altar Boys - You Are Loved
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is one of the greatest songs our scene has ever produced! It gets straight to the heart of what it’s all about: “Hey I’m talkin’ to you/Yeah, I’m trying to get through/God cares about you more than think . . . You are loved! You are loved!”
It was the first song I ever heard from the Altar Boys, in the late 80s. Ironically, it was on a metal compilation where I first heard them. Though the song is nowhere near metal, it has that late 80s post-punk/power pop sound from SoCal that has loads of energy.… Continued →
July 23, 2019
Song of the Day: Kingslynn - Give and Take
Back in 2017 Kingslynn made my 10 ten albums of the year with your debut full-length Into the White Light. Now the indie-pop trio is back with with a brand new single titled “Give and Take” which you can listen to below.
Lyrics
Facebook
Instagram
Website
For more new music check out the Weekly New Release Sampler playlist on Spotify.
… Continued →
July 22, 2019
Song of the Day: Shane Newville - Roll Out
Remember Syntax Records, the label that put out awesome underground hip-hop like RedCloud, the Night Owls compilations, and Sackcloth Fashion? Well, sometimes the label released music from other genres, too. This included rock bands like Green Olive Tree and Olivia the Band, and on other occasions, electronic music. Today I’d like to share a song from Formless (2007) by Shane Newville, titled “Roll Out.” It is seven minutes of D&B bliss and perfect for an epic high speed car chase, should you find yourself in such a predicament.… Continued →
July 20, 2019
Song of The Day: Craig's Brother - Who Am I?
We all find that special album, the initial attraction which binds the listener to a band from the get go. For me, that first album “Homecoming” by Craig’s Brother was just that, an alluring piece of work that had me fascinated from day one. Tooth & Nail released this album in 1998, nearly 21 years ago. It wasn’t exactly a “huge” hit but sure did knock us all in the chest with powerful guitar heavy punk rock and harmonies you can’t get out of your head.… Continued →
July 19, 2019
Song of the Day: 2Minute Minor - Bottom Feeder
If you’ve been following hardcore at all in the last 5 years, you probably already know about this Chicago “positive hardcore” band. Reflecting a PMA approach to lyrics, which includes things like unity in diversity, straight edge, veganism, and faith, the band churn out revivalist true school hardcore punk classics with great fecundity. This short track’s opening riff reminds me of the glory days of Descendents, and yet vocalist Wiley Willis seems to be drawing inspiration from H.R. of Bad Brains. Check it out and let me know what you think.… Continued →
July 16, 2019
Song of the Day: RELIC - Life on Earth
“Life on Earth” is one of my favorite singles of 2019. And as of this weekend it’s no longer just a single anymore as it found its way on to an EP. High Hopes is RELIC’s second EP and is comprised of three songs perfect for fans of NEEDTOBREATE, Kings of Leon, and The Rocketboys. RELIC is Jake Baker (vocals, guitar), Nathan Slonaker (drums), and Elias Lopez (bass). The rock n’ roll outfit is based out of Dallas, Texas. Give “Life of Earth” a listen on YouTube below.… Continued →
July 15, 2019
Song of the Day: Lucerin Blue - Chorus of the Birds
Here’s a song from Canada’s own, Lucerin Blue, who released Tales of the Knife in 2003 on Tooth & Nail Records. While the album is stacked with great alternative rock songs, “Chorus of the Birds” resonates. One of these reasons, I think, is that it was also featured on The Nail, Vol. 1, a classic T&N compilation. As a bonus, a video of Lucerin Blue performing live at Cornerstone 2003 has been added to the bottom of the post.… Continued →
July 12, 2019
Song of the Day: Saint - Steel Killer
I woke up this morning with this song in my head, so it clearly has the be the Song of the Day. Classic metal. You either love it, or just don’t really get the appeal. It’s 1986, and the only Christian metal that most people are aware of is Stryper. But hairspray and over-the-top production was not all that Christian metal had to offer in ’86. The same year the glam kings released To Hell with the Devil, Saint was dishing out their best album, Time’s End (in fact, it’s in the top 5 Christian metal albums of all time, IMO).… Continued →
July 9, 2019
Song of the Day: The Colour Negative - Don't Waste My Time
Did you know that the repercussions of IVM shutting down in the summer of 2015 were so far reaching that it caused the music industry to move release day from Tuesday to Friday? Okay, so that’s not actually true. But is true that the week after Indie Vision Music closed its doors the music industry instituted a Global Release Day to standardize album and single releases around the world. So when the idea of starting a Song of the Day feature was floated to the IVM staff I volunteered to take Tuesdays because of their historical association (in North America) with new music.… Continued →
July 8, 2019
Song of the Day: Further Seems Forever - Monachetti
For whatever reason, The Moon is Down (2001) is rather inaccessible these days. It’s not on Spotify, or iTunes (R.I.P.), or Apple Music (edit: I’m from Canada). Yet, the quality of the album remains intact after 18 years. It took me all too long to hear “Monachetti,” given I own their compilation Hope This Finds You Well which excludes the track. The song shows an angsty side of Further Seems Forever that I hadn’t heard before, and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.… Continued →