andrew dodson

For the past several weeks, I haven’t been terribly interested in buying new music. Since I’ve been MP3ing my CD collection, I’ve found myself listening to old stuff more often. But, today, that changed.

You see, today was payday. I had a little more overtime on this check than I thought I would, so I had more money than I’d budgeted. The smart, Dave-Ramsey-thinking individual probably would’ve put the money to “good” use (savings, pay extra on a bill, etc.). My definition of “good” in this case is a little different than most.

I hopped onto the iTunes Music Store and purchased the following albums:

1. Shane & Shane, Upstairs – since seeing them in concert a couple of nights ago, I’m hooked on these guys right now. Their folksy, jazzy style is unique as far as Christian music goes. The Shanes are also incredible vocalists. Great melodies & harmonies, great lyrics. They’ve got a good thing going.
2. Jamie Cullum, Twentysomething & Catching Tales – Wow. This guy is great. A strong influence of jazz spiced up with other styles (including some electronic sounds from time to time). Think of a young, modern, hip version of Harry Connick, Jr. (not that Harry’s not hip). Now make that person British and you have Jamie. Good, good stuff.
3. Jeremy Camp, Unplugged – another nice surprise. I like his music a lot, but it has one weakness – it all sounds the same. However, this live set mixes things up a bit, and creates fresh versions of some of his better songs. It’s cool to see a Christian artist do something like this.
4. David Gray, Life In Slow Motion – I only listened to this a couple of times while at work, so it didn’t have my undivided attention. But, I heard some good stuff. People seemto really like this album after his last was a bit disappointing. I’m sure it’ll grow on me. I enjoy pretty much everything he writes.

Last Friday, I bought both of Matt & Joanna Black’s CDs after their performance at Vertex. I’ve really enjoyed listening to their music. Think Christian folk.

The great thing about buying all of this new music? It’s all really, really good. I should have plenty to listen to for the next few weeks until I get the itch to add more to my collection.