We Are Jonah

An Annotated Bibliography of Nathan, Pt. 1

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Hey hey, I saw someone else do something similar, and I thought I'd try my hand at it...

Below you will see a (growing) list of some of the influences that made me "me". Not all of them are *good* influences, mind you, and there are some that I really wouldn't recommend, but they all went a good way in making me the man that you see before you.

(...well, not "before" you, because you're sitting in front of a computer instead of having a meaningful, face-to-face relationship - but THAT is for another day!)

An Annotated Bibliography of Nathan, Pt. 1
- Things that Influenced my Taste in Music:

• KoRn - the heavy stuff
  
  Heh, yeah, it's true. KoRn is the band that dragged me out of the darkness of "yeah, music's alright I guess" to the blistering, searing light of "I'm a teenager and music defines me, man!"
  
  They lead to the disaster of long, dirty, lanky hair, ridiculously ripped jeans that I think gave me hypothermia and the signature t-shirt that saw so much use that it went from black to pale, pale grey that characterised my teenage years. That t-shirt lasted until Marianne threw it out on me in secret, long after we were *married*!
  
  I don't really listen to them so much these days, but their signature sound (really complicated bass made unintelligible by so much distortion, really emotive lyrics revolving around anger, depression and death, and a vocal range with two settings - screaming and crying pitifully) still gets me. They also lead me onto a lot of other bands which probably won't get a mention here, such as Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Evanescence and I even had a little thing going with SlipKnot and Marilyn Manson for a while there, too.
  
  Faves would include "Freak On a Leash", "Clown", "Blind", "Twist", "Got the Life" and "Let's Get This Party Started", though "A.D.I.D.A.S." was a very meaningful song for me as an undersexed teen.
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• Matt Redman - the light stuff
  
  Now on the absolute other end of the spectrum, British worship leader and songwriter Matt Redman showed me that "worship music" (as in, music played in church to sing along with) didn't just have to be "campy" 90's Hillsongs. His passionate pop-rock music and authentic lyrics made a real imprint on me, so much that a big portion of the songs that I play in church are "Redmans", or originals which sound a lot like him.
  
  One of the greatest things is that, in person, he is such an average guy (who's not very good at soccer, for a Brit). He's kind of shy, and is quick to leave the spotlight as soon as a set is finished - he's not about getting all the glory for himself, but in using his music to point people to God and say "isn't *HE* great!"
  
  He pointed me in the direction of too many artists to name, and I have far too many favourites to name, either, so I will just *highly* recommend that you see what this guy is one about.
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• Switchfoot - the pop-punk stuff
  
  Mmm, yeah, Switchfoot are the ultimate in surfy rock that tells it like it is. Yes, they are a bunch of Christians, but they do anything they can to avoid being labelled as a "Christian band", even refusing to go to the Dove Awards to receive an award (a "Dovey"?).
  
  They are pure power-pop, alternately fun-loving and serious, and their cool, "frullety" hairstyles hide the really deep, artistic minds beneath them, which are more than capable of writing evocative, challenging lyrics and tunes that get stuck in your head for days. I love how they don't feel the need to go on singing "Oh Jesus, we love you", but they constantly challenge what the world holds dear - money, sex and power - with an authenticity rarely seen in Christians. Absolute faves would be "Meant to Live", "Oh Gravity", "Dare you to Move", "Awakening" and "The Beautiful Letdown".
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• Incubus (and to a lesser extent Hoobastank) - the rockin' deep stuff
  
  I have always loved Incubus' musical talent and spiritual attitude (though I disagree with them on the finer points of *Jesus*), but I *adore* Brandon Boyd's voice. Pshhahh, I *wish* I could sing like that guy! Both these bands are perfect examples of how spirituality gets into music, and resonates with people, if you chill out and write from your heart (something so many Christians seem unable to do, preferring to write songs about how you'll go to hell unless you go to church on Sunday). Incubus faves would be "Privelege", "Warmth" and "Nice to Know You", but seriously, every single song is awesome!
  
  Hoobastank *are* basically Incubus' younger brother, but I have found an old CD of theirs and fallen back in love with "Crawling in the Dark" (especially their acoustic version!) and "Pick Up the Pieces". And I could never go without mentioning "The Reason" - Anthony Callea strangled it to death, but man that is such a good song!
  
  These bands have also served to "form my palate" (eh, wine reference, eh?), predisposing me to other "deep", "emo-ish" bands such as Dashboard Confessional, Copeland, etc. I would suppose that John Butler and Pete Murray would fit in there, too, not so much for the style as the content.
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• Muse, Radiohead, Phil Wickham, System of a Down, et al. - the weird stuff
  
  OK, I'm running out of steam now, but there has been a slight current in all of the music that I have *really* enjoyed - starting all the way back with KoRn - of "strangeness". I don't know what exactly, but a certain little *something* that makes them different from the rest. Looking at the list, I think it has to do with the vocals - great range, interesting technique and some ridiculously good falsetto for good measure.

OK, that's it for now! Man, that was hard! And long! And it didn't have nearly enough exclamation points! Until now!!!

And now, for one final exclamation point...

Next time on Nathan's blog -- Bibliography Pt. 2 - Books!

Labels: bands, influences, music

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