There are too many good albums out there to listen to bad music.

I could understand listening to uninspired pop stuff if there was nothing else on...but there are thousands of amazing musicians out there who are playing their souls out each weekend in tiny clubs and smokey bars...and many of them have put out CD's, some even hitting the big-time. I'm by no means a musical connoisseur...my CD collection could fit in a medium-sized suitcase and features such why-do-I-own-these favorites as Boyz II Men (the Christmas album), Extreme I, and some spooky Reba McEntire album that Stacy brought with her when we got married.

I'm not saying a person ought to agree with ME on what good music is...it's just a matter of how that music makes a person think or feel. If for you, listening to "Achy Breaky Heart" and "Bye Bye Bye" in succession makes you well up with powerful memories of your best high school friends, then it means two things: 1. To you, that is good music and certainly worth listening to... and, 2. You went to high school in bustling urb of Marmet, West Virginia.

I think that music was a very intentional gift from the Author, and I think it was intended to do a lot of the same things sex does, but without all the bother of relationships and commitment. (Come to think of it, sex seems to have evolved into something a lot like sex, but without all of the bother of relationships and commitment). Music stirs your emotions, moves your body, activates your sense of love, inpsires your soul to something bigger, changes the cadence of your pulse, and allows you to bond with someone (or a group of people) in a truly carnal and animalistic way that, for some reason, also seems to transcend your flesh to something ethereal.

For what it's worth, here are a few bands that I've been given as gifts from people much more tuned-in to good music than I am...I highly recommend checking them out. (Special thanks to Donna and Lee for the recommendations).

1. Lyle Lovett - I just got turned on to Lyle about six months ago, and he has been playing consistently on my iTunes ever since. He's a gifted songwriter, a decent singer, and has a classy country back-up band that will leave you wondering what a snare drum tastes like and where you can buy a bigger hat.

2. Alison Brown - A banjo prodigy, Alison Brown won the Canadian Banjo Tournament at age 12. Her band, the Alison Brown Quartet, is an amazing combo that toes the line (which I had no idea existed) between bluegrass and contemporary jazz with such clean and technically perfect style...it's the perfect blend of live switched-on creative energy and studio-style perfection. For starters, check out her "Replay" album. I listened to nothing else for the first two weeks after I got it.

3. Eminem - I won't ramble on about Eminem, because I've done so in this blog already. If you want to know why I love Em, check out my very first blog entry.

4. Squirrel Nut Zippers - Their song "Hell" did pretty well a few years back...but don't let the timing fool ya. This band was more than just a flash in America's Swing Phase pan. The recording techinques are more than a little reminiscent of the ancient swing albums I used to play at WMUB, but the sound is very new, and very strong. I can honestly say I've never heard anything like them.

5. Chris Isaac - I don't know where my head was when Chris topped the charts with "I Wanna Fall In Love With You," but I missed the whole Chris Isaac thing at the time. It's a shame...because he is fantastic. Chris Isaac oscillates between Elvis-y low warbling and sky-high falsettos, and pulls it off with class and a smart swagger that Elvis might even envy. Were he not dead, of course.

6. Southern Culture on the Skids - Man, all I can say is wow. Ripping tubey guitar-led melodies accompany clever and playful lyrics, and the overall sound blends GE Smith, Jimmy Buffett and Primus. I was given these guys and Los Lonely Boys around the same time, and they have taken turns motivating my caucasian butt to groove ever since.

7. Over the Rhine - Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler's 14-year relationship with the people of Cincinnati has produced some of the best music that I've ever heard come out of this fair city. Their style seems to shift a little between each album, from folky to adult contemporary to rock n' roll to even a bit country. Karin's voice is a musical gem, and I hope it will go down among thems that know as one of the most unique and powerful voices of our time.

I'll list more soon...I've got to get some work done.

Peace,
Justin