iSoundtrack

I've found over the years that my taste in music often follows closely on what's going on in my life. Growing up and grabbing onto contemporary Christian music, I always had the latest Michael W. Smith, 4Him, Steven Curtis Chapman projects - huge collection of Christian cassettes still shelved in the den closet. Somewhere along the lines after college I started listening to "outside influences", non-Christian music that still struck a chord with me lyrically. As the 90s rumbled on, I listened to more movie soundtrack projects than anything else, and a few independent Christian band releases that seemed a little more real and a little less polished than the CCM industry machine. The beginning of the praise & worship phase of Christian music was really rich, until the marketing folks took it and overplayed their hand - everyone has a p&w CD these days, and it's still the independent lesser known artists and bands that seem to be doing it right, having the most fun with it, meaning it more as worship from their souls. And into the 00's, I'm buying more "secular music" (ohmigoodnessno!!) than anything else - sometimes there's more depth and spirituality in circles outside the mainstream church than inside.

All that to say: here's a peek at my soundtrack, the tunes/CDs that drive life right now.

• How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2
  
• Devils & Dust, Bruce Springsteen
  
• Genesis, Joy Williams
  
• Abbey Road Sessions, Steven Curtis Chapman
  
• Sunsets & Sushi, David Crowder Band
  
• The House Show, Derek Webb
  
• The Battle for Everything, Five For Fighting
  
• The Other Side of Something, Sarah Groves
  
• Redemption Songs, Jars of Clay
  
• Songs About Jane, Maroon 5
  
• The Incredibles, Michael Giacchino
  
• The Beautiful Letdown, Switchfoot
  
• The Purest Place, Watermark
  
• Finally Woken, Jem
  
• A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay

I'll catch a snippet of a song while watching Smallville or Grey's Anatomy, recognize it as something I've already downloaded from iTunes or as something I'll want to check out further. These songs and arrangements make me think, help me think, help me pray, help me enjoy life and the living, you know?

UPDATE 05/09/2005: I've now editted myself, and censored something on my "playlist". For all of it's artistry, I saw the lyrics of the new Springsteen CD for the first time today - and I felt that it would be the right thing to do to delete the song "Reno", dwelling on a rendezvous with a prostitute in a way that, for me, went beyond what was necessary. I cleared it from my recycle bin, too - just not something I need on my harddrive. Censorship is a harsh concept, but I felt it was personally necessary on this project.