2009: A Year In Review
It's amazing how much things change - and don't change - all within a year's time. This time last year - I had a brother who was looking to finish up his last few months in jail, all four grandparents still alive, and I was single. Now, my brother is home and tormenting me all the while, I lost two of my grandparents (both in December), and I'm officially in a relationship. Hard to imagine isn't it?
All the while - a lot of things didn't change. I'm still working on the solo record, still love my church, still plugging away in the Southern Gospel industry, and thankful to have had another year with my family and friends. God brought several wonderful people into my life this year - some were there before and we've become closer - while others have come along for the first time. I'm thankful for each and every one of you for being my shoulder to cry on, ear to listen with, and brain to use when I'm not using mine. You are very special - and while you may not get a specific mention here - I've told you enough this year - so you know who you are.
I'm thankful that God has continued to pour out his Spirit in my life. I'm so honored and privileged that has used me as the vessel to do some really great things this year. I feel like as a songwriter that I've grown more than ever. While I didn't write a whole lot more this year than last year - I feel like the songs are better, I've contributed more to the process, and that I've become more confident in this area that God has blessed me (not to say that I feel extremely confident now - but the more I grow as a writer - the more confident I am getting). I can't wait for you guys to hear some of the stuff I've written this year. I think you'll be able to tell the difference yourself.
Now, let's move on to the more superficial things. I did this last year, so I figured I should do it again this year. Here are a few lists of my favorite things from 2009. These are not what I think are the BEST - rather my favorites - including everything that I find near and dear to my heart (music, TV, movies, etc.).
MUSIC
I have to say that the year in music for 2009 was much better than 2008. I had a real hard time narrowing my list down this year - whereas last year I had a hard time filling it out. These were my favorite 13 albums released in 2009...
Top 13 Albums (Because Everyone Does Top 10)
1.
Beauty Will Rise - Steven Curtis Chapman
If there was one CD that was released this year that could bring me to tears - it was this one. Most people know of the horrific tragedy that happened to the Chapman family - and this recording was the response to those emotions and healing that came from that situation. There's not a song on here that doesn't give me an emotional jarring - but my favorites include "See," "February 20th," "I Will Trust You," and "God Is It True (Trust Me)."
Read my original review
here.
2.
Love Is On the Move - Leeland
I
loved Leeland's debut - and
Opposte Way - while a favorite from last year - was a bit of a step down for the band. However, they made a full comeback with this fantastically crafted worship record. It's hard to choose favorites - but I really like "Follow You" (with Brandon Heath), "Via Dolorosa," "The Door," "Love Is On the Move," and "Holy Spirit Have Your Way."
Read my original review
here.
3.
Come Alive - Mark Schultz
I've always always always loved the songwriting and melody crafting of Mark Schultz - and this album did not disappoint at all. Fans of Billy Joel will love the melodies that Schultz creates! Songs like "He Is," "What It Means To Be Loved," "All Has Been Forgiven," and "Closer Than I've Ever Been" have been favorites this year!
Read my original review
here.
4.
Lines, Vines & Trying Times - Jonas Brothers
Yes, I like the Jonas Brothers. They have great melodies and catchy lyrical hooks. You got a problem with that? Favorites included "What Did I Do to Your Heart," "Paranoid," "Hey Baby," and "World War III."
5.
Southern Voice - Tim McGraw
The McGraw is back and has found his
Voice. Yeah - that was corny, I know. McGraw may not write most of his stuff - but man he picks the best songs. Not surprisingly, the best songs on this record weren't even the radio singles. I loved "Still," "I'm Only Jesus," "Love You Goodbye," and "You Had to Be There."
6.
Innocence & Instinct - Red
Yeah, I know these guys are bland rock 'n roll to you real metal heads - but this is about as hard as my ears can handle for one sitting - and Red remains a favorite. I loved songs like "Death of Me," "Never Be the Same," "Overtake You," "Fight Inside," and "Mystery of You."
Read my original review
here.
7.
Live Life Loud - Hawk Nelson
I never apologize for the music I listen to - and I won't start now. Hawk Nelson writes some of the freshest and catchiest pop/rock tunes currently at Christian radio. Don't pass up this band just because you're too much of a music snob to enjoy a moment or two of fun. I LOVED "Meaning of Life," along with "Live Life Loud," "Alive," and "Shaken."
Read my original review
here.
8.
...Naturally - The Isaacs
Pure musical bliss. That's all I have to say. My favorites included "Hear the Voice of My Beloved," "Little Bit of Heaven," "No Shortage," and "Hallelujah."
Read my original review
here.
9.
Love & the Lack Thereof - Greg Sczebel
Canadian import Greg Sczebel's sophomore outing was pure pop heaven. I loved everything about this record - especially "Causin' a Commotion," "One By One," "Stop (You've Only Got One Heart)," and "Homeland."
Read my original review
here.
10.
Play On - Carrie Underwood
Hello? It's Carrie Underwood. I really liked "Quitter," "Change," "Temporary Home," and "Songs Like This."
11.
Now Is Not Forever - B.Reith
Very rarely does a hip hop artist make my list - but B.Reith's creative fusion of pop, rock and hip hop made for some really great listening moments. You should check out songs like "Antidote," "Mess," and "Rain Down." Also download "Go On" from his
The Forecast EP while you're checking him out...
Read my original review
here.
12.
How Many Kings - Downhere
Yup - I've been spinning this Christmas record since August. It's that good. Their version of "Good King Wenceslas" has been a favorite - but I also love "How Many Kings," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella."
Read my original review
here.
13.
Church Music - David Crowder Band
Probably the finest, technical release in Christian music this year. It's another fine release from the band - but it didn't resonate with me like
Remedy or
A Collision did - or else it would have ranked much higher. I did, however, really enjoy "How He Loves," "Alleluia Sing," "We Are Loved," and "Chuch Music - Dance[!]."
Read my original review
here.
Other notable albums:
Life Is Not a Snapshot - Josh Wilson
Glory Revealed II - Various Artists
No Worries - Karen Peck & New River
Almost Morning - The Perrys
Class Reject - Jade Harrell
Mess of Me - Switchfoot
Forget & Not Slow Down - Relient K
Heaven & Earth - Phil Wickham
Fireflies & Songs - Sara Groves
Danyew - Danyew
While I'm Waiting - John Waller
The Long Fall Back to Earth - Jars of Cay
Rocks Into Rivers - Seabird
Top 13 Favorite Songs (Non-Singles)
1. Almost Morning - The Perrys
2. I'm Only Jesus - Tim McGraw
3. Kingdom Coming - Shaun Groves
4. What Did I Do to Your Heart - Jonas Brothers
5. Good King Wencesclas - Downhere
6. I Saw What I Saw - Sara Groves
7. Beautiful Bird - Cindy Morgan
8. How to Fall - Josh Wilson
9. Causin' a Commotion - Greg Sczebel
10. Anthem - Josh Groban
11. Go On - B.Reith
12. Fill My Cup - Martin Smith, CeCe Winans, Lakewood Choir
13. Love Is On the Move - Leeland
Top 13 Songs (Singles)
1. Revelation Song - Phillips, Craig & Dean
2. He Is - Mark Schultz
3. How He Loves - David Crowder Band
4. Meaning of Life - Hawk Nelson
5. Hope Is Rising - Downhere
6. Finally Home - MercyMe
7. Follow You - Leeland & Brandon Heath
8. More Beautiful You - Jonny Diaz
9. The Motions - Matthew West
10. Battlefield - Jordin Sparks
11. Hands of the Healer - John Waller
12. If You Knew Him - The Perrys
13. Fireflies - Owl City
According to the fantastic site,
Last.fm these were my most played artists and songs for 2009.
Top Artists
1. Cindy Morgan (471 plays) (she was #1 last year with 809 plays - a lack of a new release knocked her number of plays down significantly)
2. Hawk Nelson (468 plays) (#19 last year)
3. Jonas Brothers (456 plays) (#23 last year)
(tie) Jars of Clay (456 plays)
5. Downhere (433 plays)
6. Robin Thicke (430 plays)
7. William Joseph (415 plays)
8. David Crowder Band (411 plays)
9. Elliott Yamin (374 plays) (#4 last year)
10. Red (345 plays)
11. Sara Groves (344 plays)
12. Brandon Heath (328 plays) (#5 last year)
13. David Archuleta (306 plays)
14. Phillips, Craig & Dean (305 plays)
15. Steven Curtis Chapman (302 plays)
16. House of Heroes (295 plays)
17. Michael W. Smith (284 plays)
18. Relient K (279 plays) (#14 last year)
19. B.Reith (271 plays)
20. Family Force 5 (270 plays)
21. Jason Gray (269 plays)
22. Jennifer Hudson (256 plays)
23. Carrie Underwood (255 plays) (#20 last year)
(tie) Leeland (255 plays)
Top Tracks
1. London - Brandon Heath (188 plays)*
2. Beautiful Bird - Cindy Morgan (135 plays)
3. Revelation Song - Phillips, Craig & Dean (134 plays)
4. Hope Is Rising - Downhere (127 plays)
5. How He Loves - David Crowder Band (102 plays)
6. DreamWorld - Robin Thicke (95 plays)
7. Use Somebody - Kings of Leon (93 plays)
8. He Is - Mark Schultz (90 plays)
9. Meaning of Life - Hawk Nelson (89 plays)
10. Beautiful King - Danyew (82 plays)
11. Magic - Robin Thicke (80 plays)
12. From the Inside Out - Seventh Day Slumber (78 plays)
13. More Beautiful You - Jonny Diaz (77 plays)
14. Let's Dance - Hawk Nelson (76 plays)
15. Breaking - Anberlin (75 plays)
16. My Last Amen - Downhere (73 plays)
17. Two Hands - Jars of Clay (70 plays)
(tie) I Will Rise - Chris Tomlin (70 plays)
(tie) Hands of the Healer - John Waller (70 plays)
(tie) Jesus Saves - Travis Cottrell (70 plays)
21. Closer to Love - Mat Kearney (69 plays)
22. I Still Miss You - Hawk Nelson (67 plays)
(tie) Tinted Windows - Kind of a Girl (67 plays)
*"London" by Brandon Heath has so many more plays for one reason: I had it on loop cause I was kind of dissecting the lyrics of the song one day and ended up leaving for a few hours while the song was still on loop. If I had to guess - the song would probably rank somewhere in the low teens, high 20s taking out all those plays from the looping.
MOVIES
Saw even less movies this year in the theaters, but thanks to
RedBox - I got to see quite a few. I saw 42 movies this year, but only 13 of them got the full movie theater/drive-in experience.
Here are my favorite movies of the year (that is the movies that I actually saw this year, there may be some from late 2008 that I caught this year). Titles with a star (*) denotes movies I saw in the theaters.
Top 23 Favorite Movies of 2009
1. Up*
2. Avatar*
3. Star Trek*
4. Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince*
5. Julie & Julia*
6. Inglorious B...
7. Up In the Air*
8. State of Play
9. The Hangover
10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen*
11. I Love You, Man
12. District 9
13. Funny People
14. Year One
15. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian*
16. Monsters Vs. Aliens*
17. Confessions of a Shopaholic*
18. Watchmen
19. Inkheart
20. Angels & Demons
21. X-Men Origins: Wolverine*
22. Land of the Lost
23. Sunshine Cleaning
TELEVISION
I'm going to repeat what I said last year: "I don't know how I lived life before the DVR. Man, that is easily the single best invention in the entire world." These are my favorite TV shows from 2009.
Top 23 Favorite Shows of 2009
1. 30 Rock
2. The Office
3. Survivor: Samoa
4. Dexter
5. True Blood
6. Big Bang Theory
7. Survivor: Tocantins
8. The Amazing Race 15
9. Big Love
10. Pushing Daises
11. Big Brother 11
12. Entourage
13. The United States of Tera
14. Gary Unmarried
15. The New Adventures of Old Christine
16. How I Met Your Mother
17. FlashForward
18. V
19. The Middle
20. CougarTown
21. Modern Family
22. Hoarders
23. Pawn Kings
30 Rock makes a huge jump (was #12) and takes away the Top spot from
The Office (which was last year's #1).
Survivor continues to be the most entertaining and engaging reality program on TV - and the show's two seasons from this year both rank in the Top 10 again.
The New Adventures of Old Christine and
How I Met Your Mother both made big drops this year - mainly due to the shows starting to lack in originality. The best programming on TV continues to come from Showtime (
Dexter,
Nurse Jackie,
United States of Tera) and HBO (
Big Love,
True Blood,
Entourage). Due to some of my favorites from last year either falling off because of a lack of interest (
Numb3rs,
House, M.D.) and cancellations (
Worst Week,
Jericho), there are some notable new shows that I've enjoyed this year - like
V,
FlashForward,
Hoarders,
Pawn Kings,
The Middle,
CougarTown, and
Modern Family.
Pushing Daises officially bit the dust this year - so this will be the final year to be able to list the show.
BOOKS
Thanks to Cafe Classic (the book club I'm in) - I'm able to keep my reading up for the most part. It's hard for me to pick a favorite for this year - but I have to say that probably Cormac McCarthy's
The Road was this year's favorite. The goal was to read 24 books this year (2 a month) - and surprisingly I was able to do that. Currently in the middle of re-reading J.R.R. Tolkein's
The Lord of the Rings trilogy - but that won't make this year's list.
List of Books Read This Year:
Agatha Christie,
Murder On the Orient Express
Agatha Christie,
The Moving Finger
C.S. Lewis,
Till We Have Faces
Chaim Potok,
The Promise
Cormac McCarthy,
The Road
E.M. Bounds,
Prayer & Praying Men
Frank Peretti,
Monster
Fyodor Dostoevsky,
Crime & Punishment
George Orwell,
1984
George Orwell,
Animal Farm
H.G. Wells,
The Time Machine
J.K. Rowling,
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
J.K. Rowling,
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
J.K. Rowling,
Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince
J.K. Rowling,
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
John Knowles,
A Separate Peace
Mark Andrew Olsen,
The Watchers
Mary Shelley,
Frankenstein
Matt Bronleewe,
Illuminated
Nathaniel Hawthorne,
The Scarlet Letter (ok, only half of this one...)
Oscar Wilde,
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Sigmund Brouwer,
Broken Angel
Upton Sinclair,
The Jungle
William Shakespeare,
The Merchant of Venice
That about sums up my year in terms of what keeps me busy outside of work. I'm hoping that 2010 is as eventful a year as 2009 was!
Posted on Jan 04, 2010 - 12:19 PM | [0]
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