I'm sort of in a music groove right now.
I downloaded "The Darkest Night of the Year" by Over the Rhine yesterday and I listened to it all the way through. It's an odd Christmas CD, in a good way. Several of the songs are instrumentals. I love that. The first song on the album, "The First Noel" is an instrumental. It's haunting and soul stirring. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is an instrumental too. Both songs feel like a blank greeting card. They give you plenty of room to reminisce without feeling rushed.
Next on my list was "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection EP." I'm especially drawn to the song "Christmases When You Were Mine"--an honest look at experiencing Christmas while missing someone. Who can't relate to that?
Do you remember Steve Augeri? He was the lead singer for Journey in the early to mid part of the decade. He's also been part of band called Tall Stories. They released a CD called "Skyscraper" this year and it's a solid disc. There's a bluesy gospel number on it called "You Shall be Free" that I really like. Anything that makes me think about the eternal is a good thing.
The next album I'm going to mention comes straight from the bargain bin: "The Best of Survivor." Of course, it has "Eye of the Tiger" on it--one of the most motivational songs of all time. It also has "The Search is Over," "Burning Heart," and a few others you may have heard. Without the Rocky series, Survivor probably never would have had a chance. But the marriage between the two worked quite well and I still appreciate the music that resulted.
How about you? What are you listening to these days?
