Make a Record with Over the Rhine
Any Over the Rhine fans out there? (That’s me waving my arms wildly.) A new album is on the way, and you can become involved with its release.
In another of his typically long-form letters, co-founder/pianist Linford Detweiler explains that he and his wife, lead vocalist Karin Bergquist are looking for financial support to record their new album. It’s not that Over the Rhine is in desperate need—“Send money or we’ll have to quit!”—but rather that they’re the latest in a new trend. Having left their record label a couple years ago to become independent, they now need fans to help with the upfront recording costs normally handled by a record label.
Read more...
Tags: American Idol Top 6
Still the One?
Country superstar Shania Twain was one of the better guest judges during the early pre-Ellen rounds on American Idol this season. And she was also a decent enough mentor tonight, giving some practical advice to the contestants concerning performance and arrangement. But did they need to go overboard by making her relatively limited catalog the theme of the night?
Country music night, for me, is usually one of the low-points of the Idol season. It usually comes across forced and awkward to every contestant but the one or two who happen to specialize in the genre. Of course, there’s no rule that says they have to perform a country song in a country style—especially since Shania isn’t pure country, but country-lite gone pop. (I blame her for blazing the trail that Taylor Swift now follows.)
Read more...
Joy Williams - We Mapped the World EP
 |
| Buy Now |
When Joy Williams singed her first record deal 10 years ago, she was a 17-year-old marketed as Christian pop’s answer to Britney Spears. A couple years later, she surprised everyone with her sophomore album, By Surprise, demonstrating songwriting and a more mature sound that drew comparisons to Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch. Her sound matured even more for album No. 3, Genesis … and then she walked away from her record deal.
Turns out Williams needed time off to rethink her music career. She’s kept busy since 2005 writing songs for other artists, and in 2008 she launched sensibility music with her husband. Now she’s the flagship artist of her own label, releasing music at her own pace. So far there have been 4 EPs, a couple singles, and a rootsy/folk side project with singer-songwriter John Paul White called The Civil Wars (think The Swell Season or Damien Rice). In fact, two of her songs have already been featured on Grey’s Anatomy and Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva.
Read more...
Superchick - Reinvention
 |
| Buy Now |
As soon as news about Reinvention hit, I found myself asking the same questions I’ve asked many times before: Another remix album (after one other, plus a tweaked re-release) from Superchick? Why does it take this band so long to come up with new material?
For a band that’s been around for a decade, Superchick doesn’t have a massive repertoire to show for it. But in all fairness, Max Hsu, the band’s keyboardist/DJ/producer/mastermind, is a perfectionist, and I for one understand his frustration with record labels and their insistence on deadlines. Of course, that’s what keeps bands from becoming like the classic rockers in Boston, who took inordinately long to release new albums, but there’s still something to be said for releasing an album when it’s ready, rather than when it’s due.
Read more...
Justin McRoberts - Through Songs I Was First Undone
 |
| Buy Now |
I have to tip my hat to Justin McRoberts: he is one brave and clever artist. It was almost ten years ago when he decided to go the independent route at a time when that idea seemed crazy to most—it has since become quite common. That independence has given him the freedom to record an album like Through Songs I Was First Undone, a collection of mainstream covers that would have never passed muster with a Christian label.
To be clear, we’re not talking obvious mainstream fodder here like songs by U2 and Bob Dylan. McRoberts has previously recorded “One,” and he could have similarly resorted to oft-covered favorites with clear faith references in them. Instead, he turns to the likes of Tom Waits, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, George Michael, and even Nine Inch Nails—artists not exactly known for championing Christian beliefs.
Read more...
Manafest - The Chase
 |
| Buy Now |
It’s a little unfair that Manafest (aka Chris Greenwood) gets pigeonholed as a lightweight tobyMac and Christian music’s answer to Eminem. Yes, he’s a white Christian rapper with a passing resemblance to Eminem and some inclination towards heavy rock. But there the comparisons end—Manafest doesn’t really share the same style of hip-hop as Slim Shady, and if anything, he’s more consistently drawn towards rock than tobyMac.
But identity is the key problem with Manafest’s fourth album, The Chase. 2006’s Glory was a solid hip-hop album and 2008’s Citizens Activ was probably his best so far—both were a good balance between the rap and rock facets of Manafest’s artistry.
Read more...
American Idol Results – Top 7
Show Me What I’m Looking For
Last night, we saw Casey James, Aaron Kelly, and Tim Urban in the Bottom Three, and one of them went home. But more on that in a bit…
The usual results show took a backseat to well over two hours worth of pageantry and fundraising for this year’s Idol Gives Back event, which spanned two auditoriums/theaters: Ryan Seacrest hosting from the routine Idol stage and Queen Latifah from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. It was a night packed with emotional footage, feeble attempt at humor, and lots of performances, all spanning the gamut of schlock and good taste. Let’s dive in, shall we?
For starters, I’m glad they still do this event. Yes, the show doesn’t have the same pull as it once had. Yes, the recession had lowered giving for most people. Yes, the cue card reading and cameo appearances felt corny and overwhelming. It’s still a tremendous gesture and effort from one of the most popular shows on television. And if you feel so inclined, please donate at www.idolaid.com or call at 877-Idol-Aid.
Read more...
American Idol Top 7
Holding Out for a Hero
With the exit of Andrew Garcia and Katie Stevens last week, I’d like to think we’re about two eliminations away from being rid of the mediocrity on this season’s American Idol. Then things really start to get interesting, with every contestant being a worthy contender.
Except there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight to the predictability this season, and thus the mediocrity will continue. Watching the singers slog their way through “Songs of Inspiration” last night, it finally hit me what the biggest problem with Idol has been in Season 9: Every week is beginning to feel like a repeat of itself, from the struggles of the weakest singers and the complacency of the middling singers to the consistency of the strongest.
Read more...
Cindy Morgan - Hymns: Some Glad Morning
 |
| Buy Now |
Ah, the hymns project. An artist attempts to reconnect with their religious heritage or reintroduce centuries of the church’s rich, musical legacy to a new generation. Hymns are timeless, chock full of theologically inspired lyrics with unforgettable melodies that echo our church upbringing. Hymn albums, however, can be passé and routine, revisiting material that has been covered too many times before with little creativity.
Unless, of course, we’re talking about a talented singer-songwriter like Cindy Morgan. Based on her creative contributions over the last 15 years, we’re sure to be treated to artistic interpretations of old favorites from the church, delivered with her passionate vocal and her penchant for alternative pop and Americana. That’s sort of what we get with Hymns: Some Glad Morning, which comes across like a Selah album if produced by T Bone Burnett (Brandi Carlile, Alison Krauss).
Read more...
Jason Castro - Jason Castro
 |
| Buy Now |
The 2008 season of American Idol marked the first time contestants were permitted to accompany themselves with instruments during performances. The rule change opened doors for a rocker like David Cook to fire up his electric guitar, for a singer-songwriter like Brooke White to express herself through piano, and for the dreadlocked and sometimes quirky Jason Castro to play the ukulele.
Castro’s airy nonchalance on the show hid a musical juggernaut. His covers repeatedly propelled prior versions to the top of the charts, and Castro’s own version of “Hallelujah” actually topped the iTunes chart before it was pulled by producers. Still, the attention it focused on the song gave Jeff Buckley his first US number one.
Read more...
