JEFF'S FAVORITE SONG LIST FOR 2023

The Concert by Gerard van Honthorst

I'm going to start my favorites with the longest list - my favorite songs of '23. I use that term loosely - some of the songs might be technically '22 or maybe even '21, but I'm including songs from the most recent project of groups that I didn't know about till this year. I'll also include links to reviews of the album featuring the song. I'll also include a link to a Spotify Playlist that includes these and favorites of the last two years. So you ready? 

Here is my list of my 20 favorite songs from '23, and yes, as usual, I'll be putting them in alphabetic order. 

1. "Behold Our God" by Sovereign Grace Music. Excellent worship song - one that we sing at Northside Baptist, and when we do, it takes a while to get that one out of my head.
2. "Eden" by Amy Shreve. Her newest song, and it's among my favorites by her. I've had the honor of hearing her and her husband Gary Wixtrom several times in the past.
3. "Falling Stars" by I Am The Pendragon. It's been a pleasure getting to know guitarist/lead vocalist Jerrod Cunningham this year, and enjoyed hearing them at Kingdom Come Festival. Album Review Link
4. "Forever" by Divine Martyr. A cover of the Kari Jobe song, and I like this version better. I had the privilege of hearing them this year at Kingdom Come Festival, though I don't think they did this during their set.
5. "From The Silence" (Acoustic Version) by Battled. Artist Interview Link (I'm including the  interview link because I didn't do an album review, but also they're one of the few musicians I've interviewed this year).
6. "Heartbreak Embrace" by Eyes Aflame. Excellent rock song. They opened their set at Kingdom Come Festival, and Sarah Shue's singing on this song completely blew me away. Album Review Link
7. "I Know The One Who Knows" by The Chigger Hill Boys and Terri. Yes, a Southern Gospel song (or more technically Christian Bluegrass) made it into the list! 
8. "I Stand" by Crimson Overtone. This is probably older than their Assimilate EP; definitely a song I listen to when I need encouragement. I hear a little of them at The Pit Fest. 
9. "Not The End" by Eyes Aflame. Another song that takes a day or two to get out of my mind. See album review on entry 7.
10. "Orchestrate" by TheoTerran. I don't believe this is a single from their self-titled album, but it's my favorite from that project. They performed at Kingdom Come Festival, but I didn't get to hear them because I left early. :'( Hope to hear them next year. See album review on entry 1.
11. "Red" by Raviner. Great song! I don't think they did this during their Kingdom Come Festival set (I could be wrong), but it's an excellent song. Album Review Link
12. "Relief" by Taken Under. I first heard it live last year at the Get To The Point Festival, when the band was calling themselves "Tempus Unum."
13. "Rise And Reclaim" by I Am The Pendragon. Probably the hardest song on this year's list. Link to their album review on entry 4: Isn't "The Castle Of Lost Hope" a great title and concept? See album review 
14. "Say Goodbye" by Reclaim The Day. It was on the '22 EP "Psalms," but was released as a single this year. Great song, and a cool video as well. Album Review Link
15. "Show Me How To Live" by Rusty Shipp. Great song and excellent lyrics. I heard them at Kingdom Come Festival this year, though I don't think they did this or my other favorite song. This song isn't on their most recent release. 
16. "The Sword" by True Revival. On my lists, I avoid telling my rankings, but on this list, I'll mention that this was my favorite song this year. Of course, since it's about the Word of God... Album Review Link
17. "True Revival" by True Revival. Hmm... both the song name and the band sound familiar. Could it be because they're also the above song? I had the honor of hearing them twice this year, including the Pit Fest. By the way, if you want to see their album review link...
18. "Us And Them" by Rusty Shipp. Yes, I mentioned them a couple of entries before. This song is from their most recent album. Album Review Link
19. "WarCry" by TheoTerran. First song I heard by them, and it's one that often sticks in my head. Album Review Link 
20. "Your Love" by BRVVE. I got to hear her do this live at Kingdom Come Festival.

If you want to listen to them, they are on this playlist, starting at #33: Favorites '21-'25 

And speaking of playlists, next week I'll have a blog on what Spotify decided were my top 100 songs for 2023! 

AN INVITATION AND CHALLENGE FOR BOTH MUSICIANS AND NON-MUSICIANS

 

 

I would like to invite all my readers (particularly those in the Indianapolis area) to join Becky and I for the annual Fall Dessert Night for Central Indiana Child Evangelism Fellowship on Oct. 12th this year at Castleton Community Church. I'll give you a link for the information below.

Not to exclude anyone - I''d love for all of you to attend - but allow me to focus on one group - local Christian musicians, be they Southern Gospel Quartets, soloists, or rock bands. Let me explain.

A while back, I posted about an idea of a music chaplaincy. One thing I would want to do is encourage Christian musicians to get interested and involved with various ministries. For example, my friends Amy Shreve and Gary Wixtrom are actively connected with Voice of The Martyrs - I've had the honor of hearing them 8 times, 6 of which were VOM conferences.

While there are a lot of great ministries, I believe it's a natural for Christian musicians to get involved with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). This ministry is involved in starting Good News Clubs in Public Schools. But what about Separation of Church and State? Well, in 2000 the Supreme Court ruled that Christian groups have equal access. (Some schools, to keep CEF out, stopped allowing any group to meet at the school.) 

Yes, this is a fundraiser, but that's just a part of it. No less important are their goals to raise prayer support and workers. They especially encourage local churches to be effective in running Good News Clubs, where they can be active in following up on those involved.

I would love to see at least one table filled with some of my favorite local Christian rock bands, and an equal number of Southern Gospel singers.  

For those interested (and I hope that's several of you reading), here is the link:  https://www.cefcentralindiana.com/2023dessert.html

SUNDAY PSALMS PART 26 OF 48 - PSALM 116

Cool Creek Park, Westfield, Indiana

 

1    I love the LORD, because He has heard
     My voice and my supplications.
2   Because He has inclined His ear to me,
     Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3   The pains of death surrounded me,
     And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
     I found trouble and sorrow.
4   Then I called upon the name of the LORD:
     "O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!"

5   Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
     Yes, our God is merciful.
6   The LORD preserves the simple;
     I was brought low, and He saved me.
7   Return to your rest, O my soul,
     For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8   For You have delivered my soul from death,
     My eyes from tears,
     And my feet from falling.
9   I will walk before the LORD
     In the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore I spoke,
    "I am greatly afflicted."
11  I said in my haste,
    "All men are liars."

12 What shall I render to the LORD
     For all His benefits toward me?
13  I will take up the cup of salvation,
     And call upon the name of the LORD.
14  I will pay my vows to the LORD
     Now in the presence of all His people.
15  Precious in the sight of the LORD
     Is the death of His saints.

16  O LORD, truly I am Your servant;
     I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
     You have loosed my bonds.
17  I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
     And will call upon the name of the LORD.
18  I will pay my vows to the LORD
     Now in the presence of all His people,
19  In the courts of the LORD's house,
     In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. 

     Praise the Lord!
                        Psalm 116:1-19, New King James Version

 

Two of my favorite singers, both of whom I know personally, have written and recorded songs based on this Psalm (Barry Kay, "I Love The Lord," from his "Beyond The Song" project, and Amy Shreve, "Psalm 116," which leads off her "Whisper" CD and is also on her compilation "The God of All Hope.")

This is an uplifting Psalm, but verse 15 is the one that stands out: "Precious in the sight of Yahweh is the death of His saints." I especially think of this verse in connection with ministries to the Persecuted Church like Voice of the Martyrs, Spirit of Martyrdom, and Vision Beyond Borders.

One thing I noticed is the repetition of the phrase "call on the LORD" or more frequently "call on the Name of the LORD." I read an excellent book on the Biblical Theology of Prayer titled Calling On The Name of the Lord by J. Gary Millar. He focuses on how men started calling on the name of the Lord after the birth of Adam's grandson Enosh (Gen. 4:26), and defines how this is throughout Scripture asking God to do what He promised.
 

 

LOOKING BACK AT '22 - FAVORITE SONGS (PART 2 OF 6)

 

Reclaim The Day, from Get To The Point Festival. Left to right - WVIU bassist of the year Logan Morehouse, drummer Tristan Harris, lead vocalist Becca Sugg, and WVIU lead guitarist of the year Marcus Sugg. Did this band have any songs on my 15 favorite songs of '22? If so, how many?

Those of you familiar with my blogs and posts know I give lists on both fiction and non-fiction books. But how about music? 

To be honest, our budget for new books and records is usually zero, so I make use of the library for my reading. I regularly get CDs from there as well, but most of the time it's classical with some music like Yanni, and for the purpose of relaxing at night (which is why I don't check out Stryper). It's recently I started listening to more recent music on Spotify (and I also plan on listening some next year to WVIU and Silent Witness Radio (click here if you missed my interview with Gothdad of SWR).

So this year, I'll list my 15 favorite songs from this past year. With my books, I don't claim my favorites were all written that year, but rather were read that year (which allows Agatha Christie and Allistair MacLean to compete against Kerry Nietz, Nancy Mehl, and Donna Fletcher Crow). The music, I'm trying to deal with '22 songs, though a '21 song might sneak in there. (For example, one of my favorite songs came out last year as a single, but was on a EP and won the WVIU award for best rock song this year, so it qualifies).

Part of the reason of these lists is to encourage the artists included, but I want to be a good dad and not show favortism, so I pick a number (often, 10 is too limited so I make sure I expand it to include all my strong favorites), and then list the entries alphabetically by title. After all, I don't want an author or musician to think, "Oh, I'm #10 on a list of 10? I just barely missed it."

Before I start, I'll state that all of these songs can be found on Spotify. There are some artists who are yet to be on Spotify that I really enjoy (e.g. True Revival Band) or have a single out this year that didn't get on Spotify yet (e.g. Worhol) that I'd love to have on the list, or a song I heard live that's not recorded yet (speaking specifically of "Relief" by Tempus Unum). Hope to see them next year!

I'll admit I haven't seen the lyrics for most of these songs, so some of those comments will be more about style. But I really enjoy each song on the list. So are you ready? (And again, the numbers don't relate to ranking.)

1. "Captain Rescue Me" by Hubbards Marsh. Hubbards Marsh consists of my good friends Gary Wixtrom and his wife Amy Shreve. Amy has several excellent albums out as well. (By the way, I'd love to interview Gary and/or Amy for the blog.) This is probably one of the mellower songs on this list.
   
2. "Fear" by Divine Martyr. I absolutely love this song, which deservedly got nominated for best rock song in the WVIU awards.
   
3. "Framing My Perception" by Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh (aka GFM Band). Some of this band's songs are a little too hardcore for me, but I especially enjoy this song. GFM consist of three sisters, for those who haven't read my interview with them.
   
4. "Future" by Undefeated. A good rock song by another family group (two sisters and a brother; definitely want to get to hear them!).
   
5. "Give Me Faith" by Becca Sugg. Becca is lead vocalist and guitarist for Reclaim The Day (pictured above), which also has other entries on this list. I think this is a song that technically is a '21 song, but I'm counting it because I just discovered it a week or two ago.
6. "God of Revival" by Forsaken Hero. I love the title of the song, and I absolutely loved the song. When I interviewed Casey Price, I learned this was a cover of a Bethel music song, but I like this version better than the original. This also got a nomination for the WVIU awards (Another band I want to hear live.)
   
7. "Mystique" by Divine Martyr. This is a unique entry on the list because it's the only instrumental. 
8. "Remnant" by Ignescent. The title definitely got my attention, because I think the American Church too often forgets God usually works through the remnant. This hard rock song is as good as the title.
9. "Send Down The Fire" by Beth Hall. This is one of two songs by Beth on Spotify, the other being a Christmas song. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more from her.
10. "Sentenced To Life" by Reclaim The Day. I fell in love with this song when I first heard it. This song was the winner for Best Rock Song in the WVIU awards.
11. "Testimony" by Hush Harbor. This song blew me away first time I heard it, and I had the privilege of hearing them do this song at the Get To The Point Festival.
12. "Truth" by Divine Martyr. Yes, the third and most recent Divine Martyr song on this list. And would you mind if I mentioned it's my favorite by them? One night last week, as I was lying half asleep, this song was going through my brain (with Bruckner's 6th symphony, 1st movement alternating with it).
13. "World Gone Mad" by Upstanding Gents. This band's music reminds me of Lifesavors and Altar Boys from the '80's. 
14. "You Chose Me" by Toni LaShaun. The most uplifting song I heard this year. Thus, I wasn't surprised when it won the award for "Songs that remind us of our purpose."
    
15. "Yours Alone" by Reclaim the Day. If you count Becca's solo song, Reclaim the Day tied Divine Martyr with most entries for this year's inaugural list.

But what will be on my list this coming year? I guess we'll have to wait and see.