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So I'm in a relationship with a guy who was my close friend for awhile. I never thought that we would end up going out, but over time our feelings grew and when he asked me out I said yes. Our relationship is great and I'm happy, but my parents don't know about us and I'm sure I should listen to them and wait until college to date. I don't want to break up with him and potentially mess up a relationship, but I'm compelled to obey my parents wishes (which I didn't do in the first place)... What should I do??
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Music/Audio
To preface this month’s column, I want to briefly give you my take on what music is OK for Christians to listen to. The reason is, I’ve had a lot of people e-mail me, asking for my take on certain releases. While I do listen to a great deal more music than the average Christian music listener, that doesn’t mean that everything I listen to is OK for everyone else to listen to.
Here on Insight’s Web site, we try to feature some of the most accessible groups from across the genre spectrum: gospel, pop, country, rock, indie/alternative—we’ll even review some hip/hop releases in the coming months. What I stay away from are the “extremes”: the heavy metal, the mainstream/Christian crossovers, anything that more than a small group of people might find offensive. Still, the music we feature here may not be your taste or what you’re comfortable with.
My advice is this: In all things, always take the safe route. If the music you encounter doesn’t speak to or give aid to your relationship with Christ or His wondrous works, avoid it. Also keep in mind that a particular style of music might really speak to you but not to your friend. Starting next month (hopefully), we’ll start including select music clips to accompany each review to better aid in your music selection. In the meantime, I’m always available for your questions or concerns.
Additionally, I have a little homework for you. During the next few months we’re going to be featuring more interviews from today’s Christian music leaders. Who would you like to see featured, and what would you like to know? Please send your suggestions to insightmagazinemusic@me.com.
God bless,
Andrew
Music Review
TobyMac’s Tonight
Christian artist tobyMac returned in February with his latest release, Tonight. While not groundbreaking, Tonight doesn’t fail to deliver a fair share of possible singles. Actually, “City on Our Knees” has already made a big impact on the sound waves. While he’s never released a sub par album, in reflection, I found myself underwhelmed by tobyMac’s 2007 release, Portable Sounds. tobyMac was used to following a formula on his albums, and he rarely strayed from it. But this time around, the songs on Tonight sound fresh, and they seem more accessible to non tobyMac/DC Talk fans.
On Tonight there are the fun crowd pleasers in the vein of “Boomin,” such as “Funky Jesus Music” and “ShowStopper,” albeit with less metal and more of a programmed sound. A soothing Caribbean pick-me-up that talks about our Father’s love is “Hold On.” There’s even the traditional appearance by TruDog, tobyMac’s son, who’s had a track on every one of his records since the beginning. This time TruDog offers his message “LoudNClear.”
On this album lead singers from Skillet and Relient K join tobyMac for two duets that yielded mixed results. “Tonight,” with Skillet’s John Cooper is surprisingly muted, but is easily the better of the two. “Wonderin” with Relient K’s Matthew Thiessen isn’t a bad song per se, but it doesn’t offer either artists’ unique sound, nor does it offer a blended tune based on both artists’ individual styles. Instead, it’s left somewhere in the middle of nowheresville
.
Overall, Tonight is a worthy follow-up to tobyMac’s last project. It’s stronger on spiritual substance than on being trendy, as tobyMac now, more than ever, isn’t hiding the importance of knowing our Lord and Savior.
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Other Reviews
TobyMac’s Tonight
Anthony Evans' Undisguised
Bethany Dillon Answers Five Questions
NeedToBreathe's The Outsiders
Five Questions for Matt Redman
David Crowder Band : Church Music
Relient K’s Forget and Not Slow Down
Britt Nicole’s The Lost Get Found
Matt Redman’s We Shall Not Be Shaken
Bethany Dillon’s Stop & Listen
Francesca Battistelli’s My Paper Heart
A Special Interview With Christian Music Artist Lanae Hale
Jason Crabb: Self-titled Debut
A Special Interview With Christian Music Artist Sarah Reeves
Christy Nockels: Life Light Up
Newsboys: In The Hands of God
Jars of Clay: The Long Fall Back to Earth
Mandisa: Freedom
Kristian Stanfill's Attention
Lanae Hales Back and Forth
Sarah Reeves’ Sweet Sweet Sound
Robert Pierre’s Identity
A Special Insight Interview With Christian Music Artist Robert Pierre (Part 2)
A Special Insight Interview With Christian Music Artist Robert Pierre
Philmont: Oh Snap
Abandon: Self-titled
Brandon Heath: What if We
Bluetree: God of This City
MercyMe 10
VOTA
Paul Colman's
Joshua Pearson Answers Five Questions . . .
Five Questions
The Top Five Albums of 2008 . . .
Shane & Shane’s Glory In the Highest (A Christmas Album) . . .
Sara Groves' O Holy Night . . .
Jeremy Camp's Speaking Louder Than Before . . .
BarlowGirl: Home For Christmas
Nevertheless: In the Making . . .
Bebo Norman: Bebo Norman
Charlie Hall: The Bright Sadness
Andrew Peterson: Resurrection Letters, Volume II
Jars of Clay: Closer EP
Chris Tomlin: Hello Love
Above The Golden State: Self-Titled Debut
Big Daddy Weave:What Life Would be Like
Anthony Evans: The Bridge
Josh Wilson: Trying to Fit The Ocean in a Cup
Music Downloads
Glory to The Kind
"Glory to the King" from the Anthony Evans:The Bridge album.download
Audio Downloads
Podcast 01 - P.U.S.H
Dwain shares some amazing testimonies from a New Jersey P.U.S.H conference, where a group of teens determined to Pray Until Somthing Happens.download
Unplugged Q&A - Riverside, Kansas
Shayna deals with some questions posed by youth in a local church.download
Dwain Esmond - Sheep: Stupid, But Valuable
Speaking at a Youth Rally in Denver Colorado, Insight editor Dwain Esmond gets into the topic of sheep--and does some yelling.download
"Alright" - Melissa Otto
We met this singer from "downunder" the other day and wanted to share her music with you. Visit her MySpace page here.download
"Goodbye Old Man" - Melissa Otto
What old man is this song talking about? Hmmm.download
Cool Radio Stations
Praise and Worship
Walla Walla University Radio Station :: Positive Live Radio 91.3 fm
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Oakwood College Radio Station :: WOCG Praise 90.1 FM
Classical Music
Andrews University Radio Station :: WAUS 90.7 fm
Southern Adventist University :: WSMC 90.5 fm