Each year, the timing of the Grammy Awards aligns with the annual dinner at my church.  Sure, I suppose I could record the festivities.  But the likelihood that I would watch it later is slim.  I used to watch every music related awards ceremony available as a child, yet over the years I have lost interest.

Though when I opened up my Facebook account this morning, I noticed several status updates with comments on the event.  So I decided to go over to Twitter and read what folks had to say.  In some cases, I had to read several tweets from different people in order to pick up what had happened.  I then collected various tweets from friends, musicians, writers, and fellow inReview staff and in the end, almost felt as if I had watched it with them.

Maybe I will come out with a differentNewsboys or dc Talk? feeling next week after seeing the Newsboys at the Winter Jam Spectacular.  But as I look back to my first experience seeing former dc Talk member Michael Tait as lead singer of the Newsboys was … interesting.

Often when I listen to a new album for the first time, I wonder whether or not the music would fly in

Hey all! I know this is rather late -but better late than never!  Below you can find my recap of this year's Van's Warped Tour.

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As I parked my car in the rather expensive lot, dodged the many tailgaters and even heard Skillet blaring from one of those cars, I took a deep breath and entered into the long line to pick up my press pass. Of course, I was in the wrong line. So once I made that observation and headed over to the press tent the very hot, humid, and exciting day began.

Tim Foreman of Switchfoot at RevGen fest

So today as I look at the pile of discs purchased in the last 4 months or so, I pondered whether or not someone might benefit from my short list when looking for Christmas gift options.

Perhaps you are searching online for some ideas on music for someone who likes female music, and, like me, you don’t follow that genre too much.  There are some albums released since the summer you may wish to learn about.

Let me start by saying that I am not a huge fan of female backed music, in particular of the pop genre.  As such, it is likely a detailed review of this style of music won’t be coming from my fingertips.  I prefer the gutsy deep solo voice of Jennifer Knapp or the hard edge of the female fronted band Flyleaf.

Photo by Janet MattoxSitting in my college dorm during my first “life away from home” experience the world was opening up with a lot of new experiences, and music played a big part in my growth.  My first love called with tickets to a movie that was being shown in the biology hall called Rattle and Hum, thus introducing me to my first musical love of U2.

For years I followed them from afar.  Buying their CD’s but never being able to secure a ticket to a show.  As time marched on so did my admiration for their musical genius.  Not long after moving to Houston, a friend offered to help me get tickets to FINALLY see U2 live.  Our group arrived to the venue early enough to secure a spot in the inner circle of the 360 stage.

Right now as I write, Hello Hurricane is one of the trending topics on Twitter.  Why?  Perhaps it has a little something to do with the highly anticipated release of said album by Switchfoot.  Perhaps folks are writing about the apparent transformation of musical style.  Or maybe the diehard fans are re-tweeting to get the counts up.  Either way, the first studio release in three years has been causing a buzz even before today's official release.

Switchfoot

And with Hello Hurricane's November 10 release date fast approaching, the band is doing a lot to whet our appetites for their seventh studio album.  Check out their new four minute promo video for the album by clicking on the link below.  You'll need quicktime in order to see it.  But trust me, you WANT to see it.  It's four minutes of your life that will be well spent.  And I bet you'll watch the video more than once!