Welcome to my year-in-review. I look forward to this time of year. Maybe it’s the music nerd in me, I really don’t know. I look forward to seeing what other people loved during the year and why, and what I missed. I love the idea of Christians pro-actively evaluating popular culture rather than running from it, sanitizing parts of it and then wearing our “bread crumb and a fish” (instead of Abercrombie & Fitch in case you didn’t catch that) and then thinking we’re cool like everyone else. Withdrawal is not the solution, but neither is sanitizing bits and pieces to create our own little subculture, far removed from the rest of the world where we can be sure that we will only receive “Christian” influence, but whee we can also be sure we will influence no one else but ourselves. To that end, let’s review 2007:

Books:

I read quite a bit, but this year, I didn’t read many books that actually came out in 2007 but there were four that I did that I’d like to point out to you. The first, Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends, edited by Kevin Vanhoozer. This book is worth it for the introductory essay by Vanhoozer alone. Vanhoozer helps Christians begin to think about the surrounding culture and how to think about it and interact with it. Implicit here is the notion that withdrawing from culture should not be an option (which, sadly, for many, it is).

The second book was actually released in 2006 but I didn’t read it until 2007 so I’ll include Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Music by Andrew Beaujon. Beaujon makes no claim to be a Christian. Instead, he is journalist for Spin magazine who decided to look into the multi-million dollar industry that has become “Christian” music. There’s nothing really groundbreaking here, but it is an interesting “outsider’s” look into a world so many Christians take for granted.

The third book is Andrée Seu’s Normal Kingdom Business. This is Seu’s second published collection of essays that originally appeared in World magazine and it is every bit as good as the first. Seu writes with wit, wisdom and spiritual sensitivity that is quite difficult to find these days. Her everyday observations remind us that everyday is truly about “kingdom business” whether we realize it or not.

The fourth book is the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, edited by G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson. What an invaluable resource!

2007 Musical “Discoveries” and Musical Trends:

I love discovering new music. There’s a certain thrill and excitement that I find upon entering a brave new acoustic world for the first time. Sometimes these “discoveries” are bands that I’ve known about but never really listened to. Other times, they are bands I’ve heard about for the first time.

One artist that I’ve known about for quite some time but only this year, for a variety of reasons, really “got” was Woven Hand. The side-project of David Eugene Edwards while 16 Horsepower is on seemingly indefinite hiatus, Edwards weaves Scripture with praise and warnings of judgment over Gothic folk/alt. country/bluegrass/Celtic rhythms into a pattern you’ll never hear on “Christian” radio. Edwards is quite forthright about his faith and its central role in his music, but is also not interested in being classified as a “Christian”

Another artist in a similar vein (though not necessarily musically) is Daniel Smith, also known as Danielson. In fact, Woven Hand is signed to Smith’s Sounds Familyre label. I have known about the various Danielson incarnations for several years now. But after hearing last year’s Ships and seeing the Family Movie documentary, I was hooked. Mark and I were talking the other day about Danielson being like one of those cutting edge designers who you see on television and the models have some really weird stuff on that most people would never actually wear. But in the front row of that fashion show are the more “accessible” designers who take some of those more cutting edge ideas to the masses. Danielson is sort of like that, but he reminds us that there’s a reason people keep coming back to the original sources.

Along these same lines, I’ve been quite immersed in Bob Dylan’s trio of “Christian” albums, Slow Train Coming (1979), Saved (1980) and Shot of Love (1981). If you’re sensing a trend here, good. I have been fascinated lately by the idea of “Christians” making music that would not be considered by most to be “Christian” music. In fact, I think that the tag “Christian” music is fairly absurd, but that’s a topic for another day.

Music (in reverse order):

When I’ve done this sort of thing the past couple of years, I’ve always resisted numbering my final favorite albums of the year. Instead, I’ve simply put them up in alphabetical order, letting them stand for themselves. I had some reasons for doing that, but this year I’ve departed from those reasons. Here are my favorite albums of the year (in as best an order as I can say at this point):

25. Room to Expand by Hauschka
24. Remedy by David Crowder Band
23. Speaks Volumes by Nico Muhly
22. Kurr by Amiina
21. Children Running Through by Patty Griffin
20. Friend and Foe by Menomena
19. Sky Blue Sky by Wilco
18. Cease to Begin by Band Of Horses
17. All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone by Explosions in the Sky
16. Neon Bible by The Arcade Fire
15. Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird
14. In Rainbows by Radiohead
13. The Flying Club Cup by Beirut
12. Ongiara by Great Lake Swimmers
11. Once (Original Soundtrack) and The Cost by The Frames. I prefer The Swell Season but it was from 2006 so I’ll go with the other two.
10. Arigato! by John Davis
09. Ears Will Pop and Eyes Will Blink by Bodies of Water
08. Are We Not Horses by Rock Plaza Central
07. Heart Attack Time Machine by Waterdeep
06. Straightjacket by Steven Delopoulos

05. Cotton Teeth by The Snake The Cross The Crown: Having grown out of their indie rock roots, The Snake The Cross The Crown has delivered an album that fuses modern sensibilities with class rock and boisterous, sing-a-long choruses. A perfect album for driving. This is surely to become a classic, at least among those who actually heard it this year. Being reminiscent of Creedence Clearwater Revival is never a bad thing.

04. Sermon On Exposition Boulevard by Rickie Lee Jones Much of this CD was actually improvised and that carefree devotion to the music comes through very well. Loosely based on Scripture, you may not agree with all of Jones’ interpretations (referring to God as “Heavenly Mother” and the like) but this is a moving declaration of faith drawing heavily from the likes of Tom Waits and others. This is the music of someone genuinely moved the the Bible’s portrayal of Jesus, which is much more than we can say for much of what passes as “Christian” music. This is Jones’ best work in years.

03. Person Pitch by Panda Bear: How could I not love this CD, loving Pet Sounds from the Beach Boys and much of what has come to be known as “freak folk.” Panda Bear, of the Animal Collective, seamlessly fuses the two: perfect pop with psychedelic flourishes. Challenging yet accessible in many ways, this album reveals new layers with every listen. This disc reminds us that there is a reason so many continue to read Pitchfork, who named this their album of the year.

02. The Christ Tree Boxset (reissue) by The Trees Community: Originally released in 1975 and then out of print for many years. 2007 saw the re-release of this wonderful album in the form of a limited-edition four CD box set, including an informative booklet telling the story of the Trees Community. Preceding “freak folk” and smashing the boundaries of “Christian” music, this is music like you’ve likely never heard: crossing and fusing genres while remaining cohesive. Sincere and sublime and definitely ahead of its time.

01. On Promenade by Doug Burr and Recovery by Jeremy Casella: I can’t tell you how much these two albums have been part of my life this past year. Every time I thought one of them was my favorite of the year I listened to the other one and it switched again! So I chose both of them. It’s a tie! Though these are different albums, they are both as close to perfect as anything I’ve heard in a long time, just in different ways. Casella mines the world of majestic and moving pop while Burr plows in more solitary ground, playing what many would consider to be “alt. country” while transcending anything the genre has to offer.