A Trip Through My iTunes Library

I’m not really sure at what point my iTunes library became the memoirs of my life.  For as far back as I can remember I’ve loved music, and specifically collecting music.  It all began when my parents bought me a CD player when I was in fifth grade, along with my first CD (Billy Joel’s Storm Front).  As I grew older my musical tastes changed, as did the common media for music.  I went from tapes, to CDs, to burning my own mixtapes via my dad’s CD burner, and finally digital media.  By that point my collection exploded and I was hopelessly hooked to collecting music.

Each album in my iTunes library tells a story.  Whether it be a CD found while scouring my local Hastings on my weekly visit, or an album I downloaded on the recommendation by a friend.  They all remind me of specific times in my life.  Some bad, but mostly good.  Music though has been the foundation that has held it all together, and simply hearing a song while scrolling through my library can take me back to whatever exactly moment and emotion that I have related to it.

I recently have been going back through my library as I moved all my music and subsequently lost a good majority of my album artwork.  My musical OCD will not allow me to put the music on my iPod without having artwork, so I’ve been hard at working going through all 24,756 songs.  This has led to me being reminded of some gems that have been hidden on my iPod for years, so here they are…

Japandroids – The House That Heaven Built

May just might be one of my favorite months.  As a teacher, it means that summer break is so close that I can taste it.  Teachers need a break too!

May also means that it’s warm enough to drive around with the windows down, and not so hot that you feel like you’re melting into your seats.  Now if you’re going to be driving around with your windows down you have to have some perfect loud warm weather music to blast through your speakers.  Who better than those crazy Canadians the Japandroids.  All of theirs songs are meant to be played as loud as possible with no regards to your ear drums.

Enjoy, your inner-teenager will greatly appreciate it!

Atlas Genius – “Trojans”

I know I am totally behind the boat on Atlas Genius.  I finally picked up their debut album When It Was Now, and dang is it good.  It has been on heavy repeat on my iPod, and I’m pretty sure I found one of my go-to albums for the summer.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 21

It just isn’t quite a sleigh ride without some distorted guitars and some out of control drums rocking you through a crisp winter morning.  That is if you like your sleigh ride to be more like a crazy fast roller coaster.

Thankfully, August Burns Red provided exactly that with their rendition of “Sleigh Ride.”  You especially have to love their traditional breakdown right in the middle of the song, as they go right back into thrashing through the track.  While this might not be for everybody, it would definitely be fun to jam super loud while doing doughnuts in your 4×4 in the snow.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 15

One of the all-time best Christmas specials has to be How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Only Dr. Suess could capture the holiday spirit with one of the most classic bad guys of all time, the Grinch.  It doesn’t hurt that the Grinch has perhaps one of the best theme songs of all time.

For today’s song I chose a cover of the holiday classic by Red Wanting Blue.  The band keeps it classic, and for this song I think it’s the best way to play it.  You just have to love the grinchiness in lead-singer Scott Terry’s voice as he tears through the song.

So do yourself a favor and try not to be so grinchy this holiday season!

25 Days of Christmas, Day 11

How convenient that during  my 25 Days of Christmas Blink 182 releases a new track.  Even better, it’s a Christmas track.

The song is called “Boxing Day,” and it’s a nice acoustic song, but still explicitly Blink 182.  Featuring some acoustic guitar, drum machines, and the signature Blink vocals.  Kind of hard to believe that they’ve been around as long as they have, and can still make some great music.  Not a super far stretch from what they typically do, but it does sound fresh.  Plus Blink 182 is one of those bands that always takes me back to when I was kid.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 10

Back when I was in high school, I was a sucker for all things pop-punk.  Especially for any cover version done by a pop-punk band.  It didn’t matter if it was Ghoti Hook, Blink 182, or any of the others from back in the day.  One of my favorite bands though was New Found Glory.

Today for day 10 of 25 Days of Christmas I have decided to use an acoustic track from New Found Glory covering “Chestnuts Roasting Over An Open Fire.”  I hope it takes you back to the late 90s, just like it does for me!

25 Days of Christmas, Day 5

Today, I bring you something a little bit different.  It’s not exactly a Christmas song, but with it’s mention of Christmas trees and lights I’m pretty sure it qualifies.

It’s by 90’s emo rockers Mineral, off their second and last album End Serenading.  The track is called “Waking to Winter,” and is filled with all the emotion and build up that bands like Mineral have conditioned us to expect from our mid 90’s indie rock.  Not to mention Chris Simpson singing about his love, as he’s reminded by all the Christmas lights up around town that the love will not end, unlike his changing scenery.

This is a lesson we can all remember about God’s love this Christmas  While we will eventually take down all the Christmas decorations as we move on with our busy lives, the spirit of Christmas, and God coming down in human flesh because he loves us is something we can carry with us all year.

25 Days of Christmas, Day 4

We continue on our holiday musical quest on this fourth day of Advent.  Today I thought I’d share a tune from the Killers, who have made a tradition out of releasing Christmas tunes in December.

While the Killers version of a Christmas song, might not be the most traditional, but they are definitely fun to listen to.  “Don’t Shoot Me Santa,” was released back in 2007 and certainly fits the mold of a not very traditional Christmas song.  Sometimes a little humor is exactly what we need to get through the holiday season.

The Modern Post – “Before the Throne”

If you’re looking for some worship tinged with some modern rock, then The Modern Post is a band you need to check out.

The Modern Post have an EP released via Mars Hill Church’s record label entitled Grace Alone, and it definitely delivers.  While they are definitely inspired by 90’s guitar driven rock.  As shown by their track “Before the Throne.”  Filled with plenty of drum fills and guitar riffs, and led by former Thrice front-man Dustin Kensrue.  While this isn’t Thrice, there is plenty to enjoy!

The Modern Post also find themselves equally inspired by the love of God, worshiping God with their own unique musical taste.  It’s certainly refreshing to hear about God’s love in a more relevant musical context, with some hymnal type lyrics.  Check out this EP, you won’t be disappointed.