There are few things that stir my heart quite like discovering a great song. For me, music is something that causes the veil that separates heaven and earth to grow very, very thin. I sense the presence of God in the songs I love most, even if they are not overtly Christian or even remotely spiritual in the usual sense. There is just something about music -- the interplay of melody, harmony, chord structure, arrangement, lyrics, and raw emotional power -- that is primal to who we are. It's the noise humans make. Image bearers of God, even broken ones, cannot help themselves. We love to sing and make music.
So one of my great joys is finding great new music and sharing it with other people who feel the same way. I've got 5 songs here I'd wager you have never heard before but might just possibly be your new favorite jam before the day is out. Let's find out, shall we? Here we go...
1. Vintage - High Dive Heart. Found this one for free on Noisetrade.comhttp://www.noisetrade.com/highdiveheart just about an hour ago. High Dive Heart is a guy-girl duo comprised of multi-platinum award winning singer/songwriter Jason Reeves (collaborations with Colbie Caillat, Lenka, Katharine McPhee, Angel Taylor, etc) and Nelly Joy, one-half of the ACM nominated country duo the JaneDear girls. This is not their first rodeo. And you can tell. "Vintage" is the first single from their project, and it is one of the catchiest, brightest, just plain fun songs I've heard since Sheppard's "Geronimo." It's the musical equivalent of smelling honeysuckles. You know what I mean? Sure you do.
2. Home Again - Michael Kiwanuka. I think this one was a freebie off iTunes one day a few years ago. It completely took me by surprise. There is an honesty and sense of emotional transparency in this tender acoustic track from the British (yes, British) singer-songwriter. No matter what your actual home was like, there is in each of us a nagging feeling we aren't there yet, but we long to be. Home again. Let me just go ahead and say this now... You. Are. Welcome.
3. Mystic - Charlie Peacock. Yes, that's his real name. Charlie Peacock has been around a long, long time. Though an established artist and songwriter in his own right, Peacock is probably better known as a producer these days, most notably of The Civil Wars' Barton Hollow. This track was part of a Christmas compilation of all things, though what it has to do with Christmas is beyond me. I've had this in my collection for a few years now and didn't think much of it. Then the other day when I was mowing my grass and listeing to random tunes on wide open shuffle, this song came on and nearly knocked me off my Troy-Bilt Pony. I don't know if it's the Cajun vibe or the powerful sense of yearning for answers about his life, or some combination of all that... I really like this song. I think you will, too.
4. Soubour - Songhoy Blues. I have no idea what these guys are singing about but I think they mean it. This is a blues band from the Republic of Mali in West Africa. I can't find an English translation of the lyrics anywhere but I imagine it's about suffering or oppression or something horrible.... not because they are from West Africa but because they are a blues band and that's why they call it the blues. I don't have to understand the words to know I like the music.
5. Make it Out Alive - Nick Flora. I really like this tune a lot! Flora is a guy out of Nashville with a great sense of humor, keen pop songwriting instincts, and a real love for what he does. I think I could hang with this guy. He sounds like Elvis Costello's long lost son. I got his latest album free on Noisetrade.com and hadn't even listened to it all the way through when this song cam up on shuffle one day in my office. It stopped me on my tracks and I thought, "Well, there's one of my next 5 Songs You Need to Hear!" And it is. Enjoy!
OK, kids, there you have it. Get busy. Listen. Support. Share. Don't be like a miser who hoards all his treasures for himself, and then dies rich but friendless. That stinks. Be like a Johnny Appleseed... or something. Scatter freely and generously those things that have been so freely shared with you.
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