Thursday.

So how do you listen to music??  Do you just grab the few songs you like of an artist and switch when you are finished with those tracks? – or do you like to listen to cds as a whole – from beginning to end?

I have found that I really like to listen straight through.  I feel like that is part of the journey of the music – starting where the artist wants you to start and traveling to the end with them.  The last Another Dream cd, I really desired people to listen that way as the order of the songs was very important.  Lyrically it went through the last few years of my life and finally ended with the hope I have found in Jesus Christ.  I felt like the last track on the album was one of the best songs I have ever written…but even better when put into the context of the failures and struggles I had written about on the cd.

In 2001 I heard a song called “Understanding in a Car Crash” by a band called Thursday.  It was amazing!  I loved it and could not get enough.  It was not until about a year later, after moving to Wyoming, that I actually saw the cd in a store that it came from.  It was called Full Collapse and it remains today one of my favorite albums ever.  This cd influenced A LOT of bands in the scene today as they really took charge of this whole singing and screaming style.  It was a perfect blend of hardcore and rock with some very interesting instrumentations and vocal styles.  I remember listening to this album straight through from beginning to end so many times.  There were of course songs that stuck out that I skipped to when I was not driving far or did not have a lot of time, but I remember driving at night and listening…

…In fact, I remember being drawn closer to God as a result of the music.   The first time I was driving home with this cd in the middle of the night, it was an amazing experience.  This band is not comprised of Christians, their lyrics do not point to God (although they can make you think), but I was pointed towards God through it.  One the first few listens I did not know the lyrics and all I could feel was the music as a whole…I could feel the emotion put into it and this feeling of reaching that was portrayed through how it was all put together.

I do not know if I can explain this feeling that I sometimes get when listening to music…sometimes just the chords, the rhythms, the melodies, and how they are put together – just completely point to God.  And somehow, at certain points when I listen to music (or when I write)…regardless of the words or lack of words or who it is playing or what they are playing…sometimes – I am pointed to God.  because music is spiritual.  Music is a part of us and a way we connect with God.  Music is an attempt of describing the beauty and emotions we feel… ultimately towards our Savior.  And it does not have to be with words.  This is what music means to me and what draws me into it.  It is like a mountain that points upwards to the creator or a stream that flows through the woods that can bring us to our knees or a snowfall that quietly reminds us of the beauty of Christ.  It is beauty.  It is love.

(So I got off on a different note here and just went with hit…but the point of this post was to say that in honor of the 10th anniversary of this pivotal album, Thursday is doing a tour where they are playing it through from beginning to end.  I saw this show last night…and it was amazing.  It is cool to hear songs live off an album we love…but to hear the whole thing straight through was an experience I will never forget.  Then followed by Underoath – whose music and lyrics both point me towards God…it was an amazing night – much better than watching the super bowl!!)