My Soundtrack for 2011

Hurray! It’s time for my annual soundtrack. I can hardly believe I’ve now made five of these things. These are the twelve songs that impacted me the most this year.

I love the cohesiveness of this mix. Tracks one and twelve form bookends, a kind of point and counter-point that frame three narratives. Tracks two through four depict the rise and fall of unrequited affection. Tracks five through nine all have something to say about heaven. Tracks ten and eleven are about regaining perspective.

1. Blood Pressure by Mutemath from Odd Soul — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I’d never gotten into Mutemath before but I heard so many good things about this album and decided to get them a chance. If you like ’70s music of Deep Purple’s ilk I think you’d be into this record. I chose this track it because it’s all about that incessant feeling that you always need to do more, that no matter how much you’ve done it just isn’t enough. Given the year I’ve had this is exactly the place this album needs to start.

Don’t worry I
Will help you out on one condition
Be more, do more
Check your blood pressure

2. Wanted by Andrew Osenga from Letters to the Editor, Vol. 1 — AmazonMP3 | NoiseTrade — I continue to listen to this EP all the time. Andrew Osenga has released a lot of new material since this, and while those records are good I think these six tracks are still his best work in my opinion. All twelve songs on the two Letters EPs were inspired by ideas submitted by his fans. His NoiseTrade sampler spans his entire career, so check it out if you’re not familiar with him. This song is quite unique. I love how well he paints the contrasting pictures of contentment and insecurity in each verse, yet the same chorus accompanies each of them perfectly.

And if you say that you want me too
I’ll believe you to follow through
All I want is to be wanted by you

3. Curse the Love Songs by The Hawk in Paris from His+Hers EP — iTunes | AmazonMP3 | NoiseTrade — The Hawk in Paris is by far my favorite new band of 2011. Okay, so they had a giant head start; their lead singer is Dan Haseltine, a guy who heads up this other band I like. Their sound is a modern take on ’80s synthpop, a style that’s grown on me in recent years. I can’t wait for their full album to come out this year. All seven songs on the EP are about love, but I wouldn’t call them love songs per se. Case in point: my selection.

Have you ever stood out in the rain
Watched love grow cold and roll away
And in your heart feel the the weight that things will never change
You’re not alone

4. Homesick by Radical Face from Ghost — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — This is my “Oh yeah, I forgot I even had this album” entry. Thank goodness for iTunes shuffle. Too few bands write songs with an entire album in mind. In an iTunes Store world it’s got to be frustrating for such artists, knowing that lots of listeners are content to hear only one “chapter” instead of the complete story. I respect Radical Face for not letting that reality deter them from creating a hauntingly beautiful record. (Actually, it’s a bit hypocritical of me to only give you one chapter, isn’t it?) This is the final song on Ghost. Our protagonist finds himself in a situation that while not unusual for him is still painful and, in this case, oddly difficult to shake.

But even though I am lost all the time
I’ve got hooks in my sides that you left there

5. Love Reclaims the Atmosphere by Burlap to Cashmere from Burlap to Cashmere — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I’m pretty harsh critic of anyone who appears to be looking to capture a present-day Simon & Garfunkel sound. These guys have nailed it. The band isn’t new; they were around in the 90s, broke up, then got back together this year with a reinvented sound. When I first heard the song I’ve selected in a YouTube video, released long before the rest of the album, I think I hit repeat from roughly an hour. This gentle song illuminates with subtlety the transition from life to death.

I used to be a solider but a painter I became
I used to walk on water but now I fan the flame

6. Argue with Heaven by David Ramirez from Strangetown — iTunes | AmazonMP3 | NoiseTrade — I only just started listening to David Ramirez in December but he’s already made a big impression. (Thanks to my friend Patrick for the recommendation.) His Strangetown EP is tremendous. I really could have gone with any song on it. But there’s an especially heart-breaking beauty to this one. Someone he deeply cares about is about to pass on and here he is, making promises to his love while openly questioning his beliefs in the face of what’s happening.

I’m gonna breathe deep and love strong
Hold on forever
I’m gonna live long and die young
And argue with the gates of heaven
You’re gonna see
Because I’m gonna show you

7. Heaven Song by Phil Wickham from Heaven & Earth — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — My friend Victoria introduced me to this song over the summer. This album is pretty dang good. I guess my surprise stems from the fact that most Christian music today sounds the same. A few artists set the pace and everyone else copies. I don’t think Phil Wickham falls in either camp. He reminds me a little of Shawn MacDonald in that sense. I think what I like most about this song is that he’s not just talking about heaven and what it’ll be like. He undeniably cannot wait to get there.

I hear Your voice and I catch my breath
“Well done my child, enter in and rest”
Tears of joy run down my cheek
It’s beautiful beyond my wildest dreams

8. O Love that Will Not Let Me Go by Chris Rice from Peace Like a River: The Hymns Project — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — There was a two or three month period this year when all I listened to in my car were hymns. My favorite such album by a long shot was this gem by Chris Rice. I can’t tell you just how much I love this hymn, especially this arrangement. Its original dull sound obscured incredible lyrics. Chris Rice keeps the original melody intact, speeds the whole thing up, and instead of an organ he fingerpicks his guitar. Can we please give this to every church everywhere and start singing it? Please? If you’ve not heard the before at all the song is sung as if by a Christian who is just about to die and all that’s taking place in the spiritual realm.

O light, that followest all my way
I yield my flickering torch to thee
My heart restores its borrowed ray
That in thy sunshine blaze as day
May brighter, fairer be

9. Afterlife by Switchfoot from Vice Verses — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I’ll be honest; this album as a whole is not that great. I get the sense Switchfoot is just trying too hard, like they want each of their songs to change your life. That said, I do like the way this record kicks off. This song is a call to live both for this life and the next. This song harkens to John 10:10 in that the abundant life Jesus gives starts as you’re reborn, not when you reach heaven.

‘Cause every day the world is made
A chance to change, but I feel the same
And I wonder why would I wait till I die to come alive
I’m ready now, I’m not waiting for the afterlife

10. Speedway by Counting Crows from This Desert Life — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I’m a pretty big fan of Counting Crows. I blame my old roommate Aaron. I happened upon this song again not long ago and thought it perfectly described how I felt leading up to my personal retreat to Middle-of-Nowhere, Kentucky. I can really relate to his frustration, that no one really gets just how badly he needs to get away.

I get so nervous I’m shaking
I get so I’ve got no pride at all
It get so bad, but I just keep coming back for more
I guess I just get off on that stuff
I’m thinking ’bout taking some time
I’m thinking ’bout leaving soon

11. The House of God, Forever by Jon Foreman from Summer EP — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — For those of you scoring at home, I’ve now managed to include one song from each of Jon Foreman’s four EPs named for the seasons. (I think they need to be retired from the selection process.) I know I just said that no one could relate to my need to escape. Well, I guess I found someone who could, who not only met me in the midst of having nothing left to give but who assured me he had everything I needed and that he hadn’t forgotten me. He is still the good shepherd, even “through the valley of death and dying.”

Your shepherd staff comforts me
You are my feast in the presence of enemies
Surely goodness will follow me, follow me
In the house of God forever

12. Scarlet by Jars of Clay from Reinvent, Remember, Replay — iTunes | AmazonMP3 — I said at the start that this song would provide a counterpoint to Blood Pressure which, among other things, echoed the self-condemning spirit that we have to do more and be more before we can get the help we so desperately need. Now, Scarlet tells us the truth. This acoustic re-imagining of a song off of The Eleventh Hour captures the truth of the Gospel as if sung by Jesus to all his followers. This song pulls you close, rocks you back and forth, and with a tender voice assures you that you’re safe now. I know I gush about this band a lot. Listen to the song and tell me I’m wrong.

If I was your love I would want only you
I’d lay at this alter, give all I am, all that is true
For love I have scaled the face of these kingdom walls
So let down your hair, let our kiss make fools of them all
And this old scarlet letter won’t keep me from holding you
There is nothing you can do, nothing you do

That’s my soundtrack! You can listen to it for free right now by heading over to this YouTube playlist. It has all twelve songs although two of them–Wanted and Scarlet–I could only find live versions and not the studio recordings. Thanks for checking this out. Let me know what you think.

This post is part of my ongoing post series, My Annual Soundtracks. At the end of each year I highlight the songs that influenced and impacted me the most over the past twelve months.

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