Are you listening And welcome to Hey, Are You
Listening? This is a podcast exploring the past,
present and future of Christian music. My name
is Joel and I'm here with my good friend Brandon.
We connected over a mutual love of some particular
artists, but also have kind of different tastes
when it comes to things. And so we get to experience
some new stuff from each other while inviting
some friends along for the ride. Brandon, we
have a friend with us today. Why don't you introduce
him to us? I met this guy behind the local Publix
five minutes ago, and I said, hey, let's come
record. No, today we have my best friend, Keith
on. So Keith and I, we were roommates in college.
We put together. probably a couple of hundred
YouTube videos over the years. We were briefly
in a quote unquote band as well together. So
we have been through it all. And Keith is now
here. Hey, thank you for having me on the show.
It means a great deal to me. And I want to go
ahead and preface by saying I'm not particularly
insightful about music, but I do like talking
to friends and their friends about music. Well,
Keith, we're pumped to have you. Um, I was thinking
earlier about how, um, just from knowing Brandon,
um, your name comes up a lot. And so I feel like
you're not only like famous, but you're infamous.
So infamy, infamy probably rings true, but, but
Brandon, all he He's got very rose colored glasses
when it comes to me like you you hear like, you
know People say I wish I could be the person
my kids think I am. That's how I am with Brandon
Like I wish I could be the person that Brandon
thinks I am That's awesome. Well for my sake
and everybody else's sake Tell us a little bit
about how you guys came to know each other and
then maybe how like music Intersects into that
story a little bit. Okay, the first day we met
we were at a yard sale for our youth group and
Keith found this Optimus Prime mask and he just
put it on and started like talking in it and
I was wearing a catch I think I brought my own
ketchup costume either that or we found it there
and so we have this photo of the first time we
ever met each other and I think you also had
like frog sunglasses on maybe yeah definitely
there were frog sunglasses that I remember vividly
and so um yeah music it's it's played a huge
part um i remember when we first became friends
i joined the youth group um i keith was like
man i want to get into like christian music i
want to find some like good christian music and
i gave him a bunch of cds and he was like yeah
this is good this is whatever and um there was
this cd and i'm like well here's a band that
i really love but Everyone else is kind of like
they're kind of weird. So you can check it out
and I was like it's kind of a concept album about
like suburban America and like, you know, they're
telling stories and it was house furrows suburb.
And so that kind of kicked off this friendship.
And so over the years, like there's been a lot
of like alternative stuff and I'll be like, hey,
check this out, Keith. And then Keith has fallen
more onto like the folk side. So there's a lot
of really cool like folk. Kind of like the artists
today we're going to be discussing that keith
has introduced me to You know house of heroes
would be like the soundtrack of the back end
of my high school career for sure And into I
mean they just stuck around forever. I was really
into them forever and it seems like back when
we like at that time like half of our conversations
were associated with music like we I think we
both considered ourselves deep thinkers and you
know how you can get it you can get into an echo
chamber with another person and be like, yeah
we we like art we know stuff and then you know
we're discussing what these songs mean and everything
but I can remember being very you know and we
did we we did try the whole band thing so I remember
music was a much bigger all the time I've spent
with Brandon music has been a much a very big
part of all the things that we discuss and talk
about That's awesome. I'm really interested in
what the artists are that you exposed Keith to
that he was like whatever about. John Rubin.
John Rubin. I was hoping you wouldn't ask because
one of them is going to break your heart though.
I remember this is where it starts going downhill
where Keith has been really doing really good.
I hate this guy. Why'd you bring him up? I remember
I gave him my island by star flyer 59 and i was
like check this stuff out and keith was like
i don't know what they're doing but okay maybe
maybe not the best intro album for star flyer
i did i bounced i bounced right off of them and
then you know brandon has always been like i
can that i would have named them as well from
that question but for some reason yeah they i
just always they always bounce i always bounced
off of them Well, they're they're just the namesake
of our podcast. They're no big deal. I know It
makes me feel really bad. I kind of want to circle
back It does hurt my heart a little bit that
keith jumped at john rubin I think in my heart.
I always thought like ah keith jokes around but
you know Like we one of our friends andrew One
time I said something about toby mac being talented
and he was like, yeah if you're a middle -aged
mom I I don't I don't put any I don't want to
put any disrespect on john rubin's name. I liked
a couple of his but they I I couldn't I couldn't
get into a lot of them I understand but that's
okay That's all right. We love brandon and john
rubin i'm sure is the nicest guy Does he not
sell real estate now? He's a billionaire now
Yeah, I remember there was an interesting story
about his life I don't want to get sidetracked
but I for some reason I'm remembering some John
Rubin lore that is weird and shiny in my brain
I tried to like we covered a John Rubin album
and I tried to cook Some of that out of Brandon
on the air. Uh -huh. And if you go back and listen
to that episode you do not get into any of the
Potential speculation about John Rubin at all.
So long story short, whenever we had Tim Skipper
come to our church, one of the first things I
said to him was, yeah, I was hoping you'd bring
like John Rubin. And I remember talking to him
and he was like, yeah, John started this company
with his brother. And then Disney came along
and just paid them like a billion dollars for
it. And so John Rubin is just this millionaire
that's hanging out with people. I think he opened
for House Fears a couple of weeks ago. Gotcha.
So yeah, he's just going around. You missed that
show. Moneybags, I should have went. Did he really
open for them? I think he might have been the
emcee. I know that his daughter and I think Colin's
son opened. But I think, you know, John, someone
was like, here's a microphone. And he was like,
let me go dip it. You do it. These are the kind
of things that would have made me leave the room.
I love that Brandon's like, you know, John, and
I'm like, no, Brandon, you know, John. I do not
know, John. Well, today, Keith has brought us
what I'm assuming Keith is maybe one of your
favorite records. And that is I'll be the branches
by Chris Renzema. And so I'm not even sure if
I'm saying that right, but we'll get to that
in just a little bit. But before we dig into
that, let's check the mail. So today, our friend
of the show, Andrew writes in. about our episode
where we had Zach on and he says, I enjoyed the
extended Bojangles discussion. Joel noted that
it was a bigger deal in North Carolina. And while
that may be true, there's a reason for it. The
quality of Bojangles restaurants in North Carolina
and even upstate South Carolina is much higher
than in the low country area. Um, even like returning
into a bojangles podcast That was zach's plan
Even still, um the folly road Specific the folly
road bojangles drive -through line will wrap
around the building for hours on sunday mornings
until afternoon So just in case you needed to
know that information Now, you know, I remember
this was always a big uh discussion for geethan
college um keith, who who would you say is Probably
the your go -to chicken place right now Like
who do you think is doing it best and who do
you think might be? I don't know overrated Doing
chicken the best. Yeah, I don't think you prepared
him for this Right now I i'll be hitting dave's
hot chicken pretty hard Um, which I don't know
if they have any of those in the low country,
you know But uh, we have the one we have one
here and just like i'm i'm a sucker for a dry
rub so um, but I mean I really don't discriminate
against chicken brand. I just I can't do it.
Um I don't have a great answer to that But if
you if I had to drop one chicken joint off the
face of the earth in favor of another I would
probably give up zaxby's for bojangles at this
point in my life Yeah, zaxby's has got to go
oh man we I don't know if I'd go that far what
what I will say though is that I will not hear
any like Cane's zaxby's warfare. I feel like
zaxby's was here first canes needs to leave us
alone I I can get with that i'm getting pretty
uncomfortable right now. I was just having this
conversation the other day with somebody one
of my friends and we were talking about canes
and um, this was another pro canes person and
um, and i'm like everything canes does they just
get right because they only have like four things
on the menu chicken fries bread, and like sweet
tea. And they just knock all of them out of the
park. I think they've gotten better. I just know
the first time I ever went to Keynes, it was
me, Keith, and our friend Emmanuel from college.
We all went there. We're all having a good time.
Then we get home and we all just got so sick.
And so I just remember for the longest time being
like, I don't want to get sick. I understand
how that can that can do that. So It's fine anyways,
this isn't a chicken podcast, but andrew also
says ps if bone jangles were a musical genre
So go back to our discussion that we had there
Um, it would be whatever maline and the sons
of disaster is do you know that band? No They're
like a dirty south hardcore band. So which maybe
fits. I don't know Sounds about right. I've never
heard of them, but yeah Dirty and south Um, all
right. So also my wife, Emily, um, writes in
with a heavy hitter of a question. So I'm going
to pose this to both of you guys and see what
you think about it. So her question is what does
the W and Michael W Smith stand for? Now we could
Google it, of course, and figure this out, but
it might be more fun to make some guesses. So
what do you think the W and Michael will be spent?
Um, i don't know keith what are you thinking
whelan like whelan jennings that's not a bad
guess the first thing that came to my mind was
wubaka like chewbacca but just michael wubaka
smith i'd like to change my answer to that one
because clearly it's correct I tried to think
about this realistically before I actually Googled
it and figured out what it was. And so I was
thinking probably like Wayne. Michael Wayne Smith
sounds pretty realistic. But you know, the actual
answer is Whittaker. Michael Whittaker Smith.
If I hadn't if I had Whittaker in my name anywhere
you couldn't tell me nothing I'd be I'd be open
carrying Kissing babies Robin banks, it's a pretty
solid name for sure All right. Well, don't forget
that you can reach out to us with your own questions
for the podcast or just comments at Hey, are
you listening pod at gmail .com? and we would
love to be able to hear from you. So we're going
to transition real quick into a game. So let's
play. All right. So today what we're going to
be doing is a version of this or that concert
edition. OK. All right, so I want you to think
about concerts when you're going to a concert.
Which of these are you looking for? First off,
would you rather I guess I should have called
this would you rather this or that rather? Would
you rather have a photo with the band or an autograph
from the band? And it would be I'll just throw
out that if it's one person or if it's five people
in the band, it can be. whatever you want autographed
um by anyone in there or a photo so i think i'd
have to go with a photo it seems more personal
like this is my bud versus a famous person signed
this you know if we're gonna get i don't know
how deep in in the Therapeutic this podcast kids,
but I have kind of some I kind of you know some
esteem issues So if I get the wrong angle the
picture is gonna I'm not gonna like the picture
And an autograph so in the off chance that really
you know need some money later on I can sell
Okay All right, you're at the merch table. Are
you grabbing a CD a cassette or vinyl? That's
easy vinyl all day long. Yeah, also vinyl. I'm
not gonna listen to any of them. So I might as
well get the cool And we know what the answer
is for you though that CD I remember going to
a concert a couple years ago I don't want to
name who it is because I really like them as
a person as an artist But they were like, yeah
We're selling like the CD and I'm like cool and
I bought it and they just give me this like business
card looking thing And I go, what is this? And
they're like, yeah, you go online and download
it I'm like I could have just gone to Apple music.
Why are you giving me this one to CD with a booklet?
This is not a CD. This is you fundamentally it
does understand what a CD is front row seats
or a meet -and -greet There's other people in
the meet -and -greet too, so I'll throw it out
there so that helps even them out a little bit
So 20 people in a meet -and -greet or front -row
seats for the whole show Put me on the front
row I Guess I would say front row. Yeah, I don't
really care about the meet -and -greet thing.
Mm -hmm, but Also, the sounds always not awesome
on the front row. So I don't know if I love either
one of the options I already told you, you can
just stay outside. Never meet your heroes. I'm
always worried about a meet and greet. I'm always
worried about it. That's a good word. A full
band backing band or an acoustic set? I mean,
I think I'm a full band every time. Yeah. I'll
go acoustic every time. Alright. That's my, that's,
you know, prove it to me, I guess. Prove your
prowess. Do you, I know for me, I've always enjoyed
the shows where it's like you'll have like a
mix, which I guess it's kind of, I've never been
to one where it's all acoustic, then it becomes
rocking, but I've enjoyed where it's like you'll
have maybe 40 minutes of like all the full band
or whatever, but then you have like the lead
singer and the guitarist or something just go
Like walk down the stage and start playing a
couple of like acoustic songs Yeah, no, I love
that. I think it's great. I one of my favorite
artists is doing a Like 20th anniversary of a
record that I love Maybe 25. I don't I don't
know. How old am I anyways? But I found out he's
playing in Charlotte and so I told Emily I was
like we need to go for this weekend up to Charlotte
and go see him play And I was like, we can get
some money to watch the kids. It'll be awesome.
And she's like, yeah, let's do it. And then we
found out that it was an acoustic tour. And we
were both like, eh. But I do like the mix for
sure. At every Switchfoot show, for instance,
they do the big Switchfoot thing. But then afterwards,
John Foreman always comes out with an acoustic
guitar to like. the 25 people that hang around
afterwards and does like a little solo set. And
I think that's awesome. I love stuff like that.
What about a festival slash like arena versus
like a small club or church or whatever? So like
I would say under 500 people or more than like
10 ,000 at the show. Yeah. I mean, if you can
get a big band to only play to 500 people and
I can be there, I would definitely prefer that.
I think you just never get that option with big
people. But yeah, if I don't have to brave a
crowd or bump into somebody, I'd love a little
small arena. Yeah, I'm a small venue guy all
day long like I'd rather see anybody in an intimate
setting their bands that I would love to see
that I'll never get to see in that setting but
I love bands that will intentionally Do that
like one of my favorite bands will go They intentionally
don't play huge arenas and they'd rather play
multiple nights in the same place Just to be
in a smaller space and have a more intimate feel
and love that. Yeah, that is really cool. I got
two more next up As far as the set list do you
want to hear all the hits or the deep cuts? I
don't have a I don't have a super robust opinion
on this one I normally I normally enjoy the hits
most of the time but there have been times when
i've gone to a show and i've wanted to see like
I've been disappointed that a band hasn't played
something I wanted to hear I remember lizzie
told me to a need to breathe show at the state
fair one time um that's my wife but uh and I
remember I wanted them to play Ooze and Oz really
bad and they I was just like expecting that and
forgetting that I was at a state fair they were
going to play three songs and leave and uh you
know it didn't happen so I was pretty bummed
but either way because it would satisfy me yeah
Man, that's a tough one. I would think it probably
depends on the band and like how well I know
the band Yeah, if I know the band really well
that I probably want to go more deep cuts But
if I'm just getting introduced to the band, I'm
probably gonna enjoy the hits more, you know,
okay and then finally so this one's kind of like
it's not a This or that it's you're at the show
You get the band calls you on stage the join
them in a song who? Who's the band you want saying
hey Joel? Hey Keith come up on stage? Bonus you
can choose what song you're joining in on What
am I doing Brandon's just anything you want We're
doing anything we want on stage or we're gonna
we're singing You can sing you do it you can
grab a tambourine if you want whichever you want.
Oh boy I probably I was gonna say earlier when
if you asked why why I wanted to choose um chris
rinthima rinsama I don't know how to say his
last name either But I just feel like he sings
kind of in my register Or at least for what I
feel like it is whenever i'm belting songs in
in my truck So I would like it to be someone
that I feel like I could at least sound like
Like that gretta van fleet band that sings like
they're from the 80s or whatever and they sing
really high I could never keep up. I would just
sound like an animal Yeah, that's hard Honestly,
probably something that's like pretty loud and
like the kind of thing that the whole crowd like
Yeah, the singers holding the mic out to you.
Yeah so maybe like an mxpx or something just
Yeah, let's keep it simple. It made me we I went
to a acoustic family force 5 set Which I feel
like anyone who knows the band is just a very
odd thing to hear from them for sure But they
had one part one of their most famous songs is
called country gentleman and there's just like
rap part for the second verse they do so they
called like three fans on stage and they're like
all right who can like do the rap part the best
and so yeah it could happen you never know it
could it could happen cool well brandon thanks
for walking us through that um It's always interesting
to see where we're going to end up. Well, let's
talk a little bit about what we've been listening
to lately. Love to hear from you guys. What's
something that you've been paying attention to?
Um, I can go first. Um, I had, uh, so Ben, I
mentioned them a lot, um, Gable Price and friends
and they had some music that they, um, had like
released a while back, but I think it didn't
make it to all of the platforms. So it kind of
made me go back and listen to some of the older
stuff that they released like way before I got
into them. And there's this EP they did called
If I'm Being Honest and it had a mix of it had
like I Need You on there, which I feel like is
one of their biggest ones. But they also do this
cool thing where it's a couple of the songs live,
a couple of the songs like Revisited or whatever.
and um so i've been having that ep pretty much
on repeat so it's just like 26 minutes um been
listening to that and been listening to um both
gable price and friends and last bison have been
kind of teasing some of the new stuff they have
coming out um so it's not like music but it's
really just been listening to an instagram like
reel on repeat so it's just listening to the
same five seconds immediately oh yeah this is
the the other three and a half minutes of this
is probably gonna be pretty good so you're a
child of the new of the new age man so young
keith how about you um in the in the christian
sphere i've been So I have I have a toddler we
have been hitting veggie tails hard over the
last couple of weeks Um, we have been hitting
the greatest hits of veggie tails pretty hard
Um, I do like she also likes just talking about
stuff in the car. She she likes um, Crap forest
frank. She likes him a lot. So we listen to him
a good bit But personally, um, I have gotten
some recommendations from tiktok of some small
dudes This guy named jimmy clifton has put out
some really good Like I guess you call it folk
kind of like Appalachian sounding christian music,
which is really good and really convicting stuff
Josh garros, I think put out an ep last year
at one point that I really liked What else? I've
gone down a bit of a every you know At some point
during the year. I go down a keith green I don't
know if you guys know keith green from like the
70s But um, you know, I go down a rabbit hole
of listening to his greatest hits a little bit
Listen to a lot of sovereign grace music. So
um, I just have a playlist with all that stuff
on there that i've been listening to a lot And
if you if we'd go secular at all um, jason isbell
is a just he put out he got divorced and then
made an album which I think I don't really love
the idea of him being divorced or anyone getting
divorced, but I do love what it does to music
So, uh, the album is very good But yeah a lot
of a lot of different stuff, I guess That's cool.
I think Keith should probably spend some time
listening to some John Van Deeson or John Guerra
You might like it Check him out Yeah, send them
to me send them to me I'll send give me some
homework from this show because I'm in need I
cycle through the same people pretty often and
I'm I'm I'm in a drought for new stuff Please
send me a send me a list. We'll make it happen.
We'll make it happen I think we're finally getting
to the point where there's new stuff kicking
in for this year, which is kind of fun. So one
of my friends, Mark Nix, he's the lead singer
for the band, Coolhand Luke. And my band used
to do stuff with them, but they're kind of in
a stage of just till he's releasing. Singles
occasionally things that he's working on when
he's got time to and they have a brand new single
out called the wild unknown and I've just spent
a lot of time listening that song like it's pretty
fun and it's it's a really cool track. So I would
encourage people to go check that out and support
Mark and cool him Luke. It's good stuff. So all
right. Well, let's transition in and get into
this record. So today we're covering the album
I'll Be the Branches by Chris, we're guessing,
Renzema. Here's a little info that I was able
to pull off about this one. So this is Renzema's
first full length album. It was released independently
on March 30th, 2018. It includes the hits I don't
actually know if this is true. It definitely
includes how to be yours, which racked up millions
of streams. And all of that happened with like
no marketing or any label backing or anything.
He just like caught a moment and somehow his
music really got out there. So Keith, I don't
know how long you've been listening to him But
but you're the one kind of with some background
on Chris and his music So let us know how like
how did you first get into this? When did it
come across your come on your radar and which
kind of your journey with his music? I'll be
honest. I learned that it was, you know, that
stuff that you mentioned whenever you guys asked
me to come be on the show and bring an album.
So I mean, I didn't know that beforehand. I think
I've been listening to it since for the last
like three years. I think it's three years or
so whenever I discovered him. The way I try to
find new music is whenever I hit the drought,
I just like go on Apple Music and find a song
I like and then click make a station. And then
just let it feed me some new stuff. Yeah, that's
good. And he came up... I'm not sure which of
his songs came up. I think it was a later one
probably. It's probably... He's got one called
Springtime or Seventeen. I really wanted to find
a way to get those included, but I wanted to
pick an album that had more of my favorites on
there. But yeah, I just... It was an Apple Music
gold mine that just fed one up to me and... I
just really identified with the kind of stuff
that he wrote about, the kind of stuff that he
was singing about. I think in an age where the
church seems to be very focused on reach and
influence and being as exciting as the world,
that he sings from a place of humility and from
a place of trying, you know, helps me tap into
the fact that I am closest, I feel closest to
God, and I am closest to God when I'm humble,
and I understand my need of Him as someone who
is a sinner and someone who is not worthy of,
you know, the mercy that He's given. And His
music just, He was a tap right into that for
me. That's awesome Brandon what how long have
you known about Chris and his music? So if I'm
being honest, I was going back through playlist
and a couple years ago I asked Keith for some
recommendations for new music and Keith recommended
Chris and I listened to it a couple of times
then like never kind of went like followed up
on it Yeah, and so I feel like now I'm getting
to listening through this. I was able to Fulfill
that like hey Keith. I'm getting around to it
But I was pretty excited. You know, I've shared
a little bit that I feel like growing up, worship
kind of just took this turn where it was like
there was no space for creativity and it was
how can we like mass market this or how can we
perform this, you know, make sure this song is
easily performable, you know, Sunday mornings.
And so for me, it's been really cool the past
few years because we'll kind of get into this,
but I... I kind of... I kept thinking when I
was listening to this about, like, John Van Dusen,
a guy you really like, and then this guy, Fepeste,
that I found last year, that I felt like was,
like, a little less polished than this, but I
feel like in my mind there's this, like, sub
-genre of worship that I call it, like, journal
worship, that it feels like you have opened someone's
journal. and you're like, let's turn, let's make
this into an album or put music to it. Yeah.
So it was, it was pretty cool getting to kind
of dive in and kind of see this other side of
I feel like a genre that for a long time, I kind
of just like just passed whenever I would see
someone with that label on it. Is that is that
a Brandon trademark term, journal worship? I
hope it is. that's exceptional that that that
i'm not i'm not here just to like you know to
talk you up or whatever but that that was that's
like that's i'm gonna write that down too i think
the the label should be using this well if you
want the t -shirt head on We do need, we should
set up an online store. Um, that's a great idea.
No, uh, yeah, I think it's super fitting. I've
always kind of thought of like, you've got like
corporate worship and then more like personal
worship and this kind of this and other things
that I really enjoy listening to fits in that
personal worship category, stuff that I can worship
to you by myself, um, versus, and, and they're
both good and they both have their place. Right.
Um, but things that I like enjoy listening to
on my own fit more in the personal worship category.
So I, I, um, it probably is Renzema and not Renzema.
I don't know. But if you ask Amazon Alexa, she
thinks it's Renzema, but I've always said Renzema,
so I don't, I don't know. Somebody needs to set
us straight by sending us an email Chris if you're
listening Help us out Chris, please So but I've
always yeah, this is a name that I have heard
apparently not listening to to pay attention
to how to pronounce it but it's a name that I've
come across a lot and so Brandon when you said
hey, this is what Keith wants to cover. I'm like,
oh, yeah, I've heard of him um and I knew I feel
like a little bit like where he was gonna fall
just based off of some of the things that that
I had heard but I'd actually never I don't think
listen to any of his music at least extensively
and so this was kind of my first time digging
into um an album of his which was kind of a fun
thing so one thing I was curious of um so Keith
he's um on tiktok and instagram you do a lot
of like book reviews so like you say you know
going into it it's something where you don't
sit down like at your house and put vinyl on
and think oh let me take a probably pull apart
this album so kind of like going into doing a
review um did you feel like it was similar or
do you feel like it was way different than when
you read a book and then sit down to kind of
give your like rating your thoughts on it the
concept is definitely similar Um, I find that
i'm a much more lenient I can be a very critical
person, um, especially in stuff that like makes
it into the Public sphere, I guess like i'm not
going to be critical of your journal writings
But if you try to sell like a novel like that's
that's you buying into like i'm i've made this
thing and it's gonna people are gonna criticize
it I guess I tend to be pretty critical. Um,
but With music i'm a lot less critical for some
reason and even less critical with stuff that
I like So I find it hard to review this album
just because I have liked it for so long but
it's it is a super similar concept because I
mean music poetry Pros all those things are if
it's good. I think it's meant to convey a message
You know, I guess some most music probably conveys
a message even more so like some books are written
just to entertain but I think almost all music
kind of Has a message to it. And so whether it's
music or whether it's a book, it's I that's it's
very similar It's very similar to you know, see
what's this person trying to say? Are they saying
it? Well, and there's all the stuff around what
they're saying, you know pleasant it's a lot
easier to review music or at least not easier,
but like It didn't take me as long to think about
so it was a lot less of an investment Which I
think is another reason why I don't have to be
as critical It's like a novel like you've taken
30 hours of my time. Yeah, and i'm gonna let
you have it But like music like hey, this was
only 45 minutes. We're chill, dude I didn't love
it, but it's great Awesome. Um, so yeah, I guess
jumping into it. Um, joel What were your thoughts
on the first track? I don't want to go yeah,
well I hit play on it and My notes, I said, I'm
trying to figure out where this is going. Just
because I didn't have a context really. And so
I wrote, is this a worship record? Because I
think I remember when I hit play for the first
time listening to it, I'm like, this kind of
sounds like a worship record. Is this a worship
record? And so I was just trying to figure it
out. Simple song to begin with, but it hit a
point in the song where it kind of like kicked
in like the band came in kind of in a full way.
And I'm like, Oh, this is, this is really nice.
I felt like the production on it. We talk a lot
about production. I felt like the production
was really good. And it's a kind of production
that I enjoy in that it, everything sounds clear
and crisp and nice, but it's not like, it's not
like super like, it feels like a crisp like live
album almost, versus versus just like an overly
produced like record that comes out. And I like
that sense of the production. And so I was instantly
kind of hit with that as the song was coming
in. And I thought I'm like, man, he made this
record by himself or I, cause I felt like I read
that somewhere that like he recorded it in himself.
And I'm like, this is really good for like a
self produced record. Um, and there's like a
really cool build on the bridge of this song
that I thought was awesome. And then it doesn't
actually build to somewhere. It like drops at
the end of the build, which was cool. Um, I,
I kind of wanted like, I kind of wanted the high
point from that bridge. it never really got there
but um but I appreciated the restraint all the
same and so um and then it had a classic like
90s fade out at the end which I thought was a
really fascinating thing you don't hear that
very often in music um these days so but um but
I felt like with this first song I'm like okay
I'm here I like this this is this is cool yeah
Keith how about you um Like we said at the top
of the show that I do not, I don't think I have
the categories to quite analyze music this way,
but I will just go back again to the idea of
just what it means. I do hate, as someone whose
Bible study has been something that I do all,
you know, for since I was saved at 10th grade
or whatever, like, hermeneutics and then extracting
meaning from things. I hate the phrase, like,
well, what it means to me. But I think it's fair
when it comes to music someone put out. And yeah,
just from Jump Street on this album, the idea
of, like, I am not enough. I'm not enough, and
I need you, and I don't want to go anywhere you're
not. And I just yeah, it sounds good in my ears.
I couldn't tell you couldn't tell you why but
yeah the emotion and the just what the guy's
saying is is meaningful to me I was trying to
think of another album i've ever listened to
to start off with a six minute song And I was
thinking like that's like that's a really um,
like interesting and like bold way to start is
like Here's here's six minutes. Um But I really
liked that it didn't feel like, so when I first
saw that this is going to be six minutes, I'm
thinking, oh, man, I hope I don't hit like minute
three or four. And, you know, like I said, worship
music can sometimes be like repetitive. And I
was like, man, I hope I'm not at minute four.
And I'm like, I just have two minutes of the
same thing. So I enjoyed this kind of a theme
on this one is that none of the like songs, in
my opinion, overstayed their welcome. I brought
this up to Zach and I wanted to get y 'all's
thoughts on this. So like a lot of music, I feel
like, I don't know, pre 2010 or so had a lot
of like interludes. So I was thinking like with
this one, I'm used to a lot of tracks. It might
be like the first minute, minute and a half would
have been a intro track and then it goes into
it. Do you feel like that's something that's
cool or do you kind of feel like if you're just
putting out the same music, It's kind of like,
all right, man, are you just trying to, like,
get two tracks out of this? Like, do you guys
think that it improves or changes it if you have
a minute, you know, intro? Or do you feel like
it's fine just having the whole six minutes just
there together on the track? Are you talking
about a track that's named like an instrumental
track that's an interlude or two minutes of a
song being instrumental? Yeah, like how this
song like if you would had right before he starts
singing if you would had it be just like a A
separate track. Yeah that I This feels like bait.
I feel like you know, I hate that kind of thing.
Oh, yeah I do feel very strongly about it. Oh,
okay, and it's negative No, I don't want to I
don't want to you know ruffle any feathers or
anything But I feel like like unless you're doing
something really cool with music that people
haven't done like hey I'm here for to hear what
you have like you need to say something. I am
oh But that's just me I I don't know because
I try not to listen to music in a digital sense
if that makes sense and so like if I put a vinyl
record on I don't know if it's a separate track
or not yeah like it's all just there um and so
I don't know that I have a lot of an opinion
about like I guess in a digital age like it's
nice to be able to skip past little things if
you want to but I um yeah I don't have a strong
opinion yeah like is it it was it was something
I thought of um beforehand that I'm like oh if
I wasn't into this but then also i was like i
feel like it is kind of cheap because you know
i feel like an intro track if you're doing something
different like how the end is not the end it
opens with these violins then it goes into something
completely different i'm like oh that makes sense
but with this one i was kind of i think i kind
of fall into like the category of keith where
i'm like it kind of feels like if you did that
you're just kind of like cheating your way of
look we got 14 tracks on this but we only have
like nine songs you know on the album and so
but that's an interesting thought all right what
about track two son of god um i really like the
lyrics i think on this one that kind of started
shining through a little bit more that's when
i kind of started like i said kind of comparing
it to like a john van de zing or a fa peste where
it's like oh this is just someone like going
through here's what i'm going through not Someone
was like we got to put out an album, you know
I really like I like how it slows down a little
bit for the chorus, too So I just enjoyed that
it felt like and it's I feel like I'm gonna say
a lot on here that That's the theme of this album
or whatever that you know, each song doesn't
just stay with Alright, we've got this one thing
down. Let's just do this for the next three minutes
and I feel like it just It just shows on an artist,
like I said, it's not a, we just need to put
this out, or how can I rush this out? It's I'm
putting a lot of thought into this thing that
I'm sending out into the world. That's good.
I love the picking at the beginning. I love the
guitar at the beginning of this song. So I guess
yeah, that that's going to be probably the deepest
thought of like instrumentation I had is like
yeah me me love picking sound good Anything else
about the song though? Oh, I mean, yeah, I just
I like the Any anytime someone's brave enough
in their album like or song or whatever to start
talking about like specific things that were
happening in the old testament because again
that feels like something that, in a modern Christian
age, we want to dance around a little bit. Like,
if you get too deep in the Old Testament, then
you have to answer some difficult questions to
people, at least people who don't believe. And
so, anytime someone's brave enough to, like,
take inspiration for their art from that, I'm
impressed and I enjoy it. And again, just we
go from a song of humility, like I can't go by
myself and I won't go by myself, and then a reminder
of the great things God has done to bolster,
I guess, your confidence in the person you're
serving, the God you're serving. It just, it
hits good for me. Yeah, I like this one a lot.
Keith, I'm with you. I like the guitar picking
at the beginning. I thought that was really cool.
It just creates a really good texture for the
song. And the lyrics, I think, yeah, I'm with
you guys both on that. I think that it felt like
a worship song, but there's way more depth and
creativity than we get out of worship music.
um in a cool way and then there's a point in
the song where this like synth hits in and i'm
like oh yeah that's really good i'm here for
that and so um i love that i thought the song
ended really strong and um yeah i thought it
was really great uh next up we have god b um
keith what are your thoughts on this one that
one um Again, my... To remember specifically,
I listened through it several times on the way,
you know, on the way through the week, and that
one I like a lot. It is... I mean, I like all
the songs on the album. It doesn't stick with
me kind of like a son of God or how to be yours,
but again, a pleading for God to be something
for you. It's... Like I'm gonna be a broken record
like this this album is meaningful to me. So
the songs on it You know evoke an emotion that
just sticks with me But yeah, I'm interested
to hear what you guys have to say about this
one because I don't feel extremely strongly about
it Yeah, sometimes that's why I enjoy there's
certain tracks on here where I'm like I need
Keith or Joel to talk before I start talking
that way. I can be like, yeah, let me piggyback
off of what they're saying. Well, I will talk
and then you can piggyback. Um, I, I really liked
this song. In fact, I think it might be one of
my favorite songs on the record. Um, maybe my
favorite, maybe my favorite, I don't know. Um,
the, so part of that's probably because it's
like a take on the him be that my vision, um,
which is. I think my favorite him and so i'm
i'm a little like bought in already because of
that It is one of the greats for sure. Yeah,
so good and um, but I think just musically I
really like stuff that's going on. It reminded
me in places of um of like ryan adams and his
music Who has been in the past one of my favorite
singer songwriters? Um, there's a piano line
that is really creative and cool when The guitars
and everything's kicking in like the guitar work
playing off of the piano Is really neat. I just
think it all works really well and I love the
lyrics Um, yeah, I really really like that song
Yeah, I I think this one. Um, it was either maybe
like tied for my favorite or maybe um like 1a
1b with my favorite, um, I think at this point
in the album. I was just really enjoying that
each track had kind of been its own thing. And
I always say that whenever someone brings a record,
I'm always like, man, I hope this is not the
record that comes along that I have to think,
oh man, all these tracks have been garbage. I
gotta find something good to say. And I appreciate
whenever an album is making it super easy to
be enjoying it. That I don't find myself having
to pause it and think, okay, well let me cameclator,
you know, after I've recharged or something.
I was enjoying that it kept on like, okay, this
is different from what would have been served
previously. Yeah, I think that's a good reminder
to us that I think Christian music takes a lot
of flak for not being creative and not being
interesting and not being good. But the truth
is there's such a wealth of great stuff out there
that I've never been exposed to. And so I'm being
able to have conversations about albums like
this that I've never listened to before. It's
just a reminder to me of like how much good stuff
there actually is that's out there that kind
of combats the idea that it's all just inherently
bad and a copycat of what else is out there.
Yeah. What about go ahead no, I was no, please
I Would love to hear your thought I was just
I was thinking as you were speak talking about
that is that like if you really think about the
the the depth of Material that Christian music
has like it takes a lot of flack like exactly
like you said not being creative But like it
seems like any time there's really authentic
Christian music like someone who's writing Through
inspiration that they have from their relationship
with god like it it it shines through like just
anytime you legitimately Pull from that relationship.
It usually works out and just to think that like,
you know people think of well secular, you know
secular music is Where the art really happens
like it honestly should be the opposite Considering
like a secular artist like I have my life. I
have you know, whatever to pull To pull my inspiration
from but if you're a christian with a deep knowledge
of scripture like you have thousands and thousands
of years from the creation of the universe of
stuff that you can write about so Like if we
would just tap into that if we would it would
Christian art would be the art and for a long
time it was yeah Yeah, we didn't we didn't miss
out on that for a while. So I think that's such
a good point All right. Track four is adonai
What do we think about adenine? I think for me
this was the first like maybe miss on the record.
Um, how did I know you were gonna say that? Usually
what happens is I say this and then someone else's
keith's like this is the song that changed my
life brandon, uh But I do really like it, but
i'm i'm i'm interested. Yeah I felt like it wasn't
like there was nothing that was like this is
like bad. I think it was just um Like the other
three tracks were this oh, this is something
new like I wasn't expecting but I think this
one fell more into Like I don't like we've talked
before whenever Joel does his rankings for an
album He's like each song gets its own ranking.
Whereas for me usually at the end. I'm just like
here's a random number and I think if I was to
rank this it's not like it's like a One or something.
It's more of like a two and a half or three.
That's kind of just like okay, like it's it's
good but like I don't feel like I'm gonna like
Revisit it or that I'm not gonna just like talk
as much about the other ones so Keith what do
you have to say to that? Um, I don't disagree.
I mean, we're talking about matters of taste
here I don't like like we've talked about like
I I do not have the science to tell you that
this is a good song Versus like you should feel
differently. Um, it feels kind of like a psalm
to me I guess it's a little bit activated by
the the outright use of adonai um, but I uh,
it just it it has the spirit of a psalm to me
as the spirit of of david post -bashiba or whatever,
you know, whatever sin issue you've got, realizing
like, I need mercy. I don't have a... I can't
write a poem about the mercy I need right now.
I just feel like I'm gonna... I feel like I'm
being squashed by a bug and I need help. And
so I like it. It's one that I rarely skip when
it comes on in the car. But Joel, since you mentioned
the bridge that comes through and then... Like
the restraint like it doesn't it doesn't shoot
up. He does that again in this song Yeah, so
it feels like he that's something that he likes
to do I think because instead of like when he's
talking about I've got nothing you you could
you could blow it up at the end of that but he
just like Let's that fizzle out again Which here
or there I don't know if I feel one way or another
about it, but I know I like it like the song
He does an interesting thing a lot on this record
actually where like the big moments are more
instrumental moments A lot of times than like
with him actually like singing um, and I think
that's true on this one because he's got that
point in this song where He says like i've got
nothing and then you have like a big hit hit
in with the music and i'm like man I thought
I thought that was that was really cool and I
wrote in my notes like that moment took it up
a whole point. And this is one of the more like
simple songs on the record and a little more
chill and so I that's why I kind of felt like
I knew where you were gonna like sit with it
but yeah I still really enjoyed it. I was beginning
to notice a trend I think at this point though
of I feel like his songwriting and I don't know
any of the rest of his music but I feel like
his songwriting does take like a path and a lot
of the songs do similar like structural things
along the way and and so and I really like the
path I'll talk more about it in a minute but
I think like sometimes it can be like if it's
if the same path is taken like over and over
again Then I think there's good creativity and
like changing the path a little bit. So But a
lot of them do sound similar as you say that
yeah, they the structure is very like And then
note finding out like oh, this is my first album
that i'm producing myself Like you kind of understand
where that comes from. Yeah, it's like yeah i'm
finding my way a little bit Yeah for sure. Um,
and and that's to say again like I actually really
like the path and I think it's cool I like the
structure of the songs and what he does there's
a thing that happens of like the first half of
the song is pretty chill and pretty simple and
then somewhere about halfway in like the instruments
kick in and then there's a bridge that builds
up and then it drops down again but I think I
think it works really well But I also got the
sense and I think it's true that he wrote a lot
of these songs And they were all like singles
or whatever it may be and then he kind of put
them together as a record And I think that you
get more of that sometimes when you take Songs
that you're writing and just compile them on
an album versus you're like thinking about writing
an album So maybe that's part of part of what
leads to it. So yeah next track is fountain Joel,
how do you feel about the fountain? Fountain
I think is Probably my other favorite song on
the record up there with God be. I like it. It
has a different pace than like the rest, the
rest of the record. And so I like that it's,
yeah, it just seems, it seems fun. I like the
lyrics. There was a line in there that garden
snakes lies be unmade. And I'm just like, it's
a great line. It's simple, but it's really good.
I thought the crashes in on the bridge were cool
that were happening. I'm a sucker for like a
good bridge on a song. And he's another great
example of just the bridges are always so good.
And the bridge on this song is so good. And the
last chorus on this one ends. really big and
I love that because I love big I love big moments
and quiet moments and he I think he's probably
a really big fan of big moments and quiet moments
too because I feel like that those are the extremes
that he tends to hang out in verses in the middle
and so I did just have one note though sometimes
I wish like on these big moments that he's building
and it's probably I don't know if it's an ability
thing or what but Sometimes I wish when he was
going up vocally then he wouldn't like always
slip into his falsetto But would go up in his
natural voice and I feel like they would carry
a little more weight and energy But that was
my only my only Note about this song. I really
really like this one a lot It may be an ability
thing because as you say that too that that's
a pattern that I don't think i've identified
but as you say it it seems Like yeah, I don't
I don't know if he's yeah, I don't know of any
song where he really And i've listened to I think
everything he's got out um where he really Like
lets it really goes high right instead of the
the falsetto stuff But I will say this is my
if I had to pass on one song on the album. This
would probably be it I don't know why that is
I think I don't know. I very much I err on this
the I probably err on the side of a pessimistic
side of life sometimes, and that's one thing
that God has been working on me with a lot, I
think, is that scripture tells us like, Arrogance
is not the goal, but we can be confident. We
can be confident in God's love for us and what
He has for us and what He wants for us, but I
just I very much struggle personally with my
own sin and feeling. worthy in the Again, we're
not worthy worthy but like Feeling that the worthiness
that grace brings us and so for some reason I
find it a lot of times hard to identify with
songs where there is a fountain building up a
view of like this joy that's like If there's
one thing that I that my flesh will do it will
quench my joy for sure And so I struggle with
that, but I do like the song and it's it's helpful
for me in finding that but I feel a lot more
at home in uh I guess identifying my humility
I don't know yeah um I really enjoyed the intro
um and I just I enjoyed like the the builds to
it I feel like there's a lot of like passion
and emotion that shines through um and I I don't
think it's maybe necessarily like this track
that like is doing something other ones aren't
but I think it's just kind of continuing um like
i just go back to it feels like it's not someone
wrote this song and gave it to him it's that
he's like it feels like he's just putting words
to like his uh his like thoughts and all um and
i mean i guess like you know since this is all
i've listened to like i i assume keith you've
listened to like some of his like newer stuff
But you kind of feel like that's a pattern that
he has continued, that it feels as though it's
just, I'm pouring my heart out. I'd recommend,
if you wanted to listen to more, like, that song
I mentioned earlier, it's called Seventeen. I
identify with that one a lot, but yeah, it just,
it seems like everything that he's got, that
I've listened to, is very much that, that's why
I like your term of journal worship, because
it does feel that way. Alright, what about track
six how to be yours? This is like the big song
on the record, right? Yeah, I guess I'm a I feel
feel bad that that's the biggest one and it's
also my favorite but it is it is my favorite
my favorite and it just and it's again because
of the message isn't it like What just like Paul
like I do things I don't want to do I don't do
the things I want to do Like you you would think
being a converted follower of Christ for however
long any of us have been, whether it's been 10,
20, 30 years or less, like, you would think that
you would get it. You'd think that I would eventually
land somewhere where I do right and I don't do
wrong, but I still do wrong, and I still, a lot
of times, I don't feel like I know how to be
God's. And I just, that message hits home. I
feel like one thing I appreciated was that I
think a lot of times in like, I think music in
general like this can happen, but a lot of times
like in Christian songs is that the first verse
sets up this like, things are really bad. But
then by the time the chorus rolls around, it's
already like, hey, but wink wink, I know that
God's gonna like pull me out of this. And then
by second verse, you're like, okay, I'm back
on the like the men's or whatever. and I like
songs that just like it's it's such a process
and that's what it feels like in here it's like
by the end of the song it's not man I'm I'm struggling
but now I'm you know like you know it's just
I don't know it's just visual that it's like
I walked into church and I was like by the end
of the first song I'm on stage you know like
praising or something like this feels more like
a yeah I'm gonna go through a while before I
reach the point that like I need to be, or you
want me to be, or whatever. And I think that
Keith keeps talking about that it just feels
like it's a very relatable album. I imagine there's
a lot of people that are fans of his that feel
as though, how did you know what I was thinking?
And I think that's really cool in an artist,
because I think of the stuff we've reviewed or
just even our past that was such a presence as
whenever i found artists back in you know high
school or whether it's now that i'm just like
this this is what i'm thinking like this person
i feel like i'm i'm not alone in this like journey
i'm on um and i think that's just something that's
really shining through on the album yeah i definitely
love the lyrics excuse me on this one um And
I feel like, Keith, you can really tell me if
I'm right. But like some of the song is is basically
like from him singing to the Lord. But then some
of it is like basically God singing back to him.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so I love that part about
it, that there's a similarity, but like still
a commitment on both parts of I'm not walking
out on you. And I thought that was cool. even
though we're still learning and figuring out
what it looks like to belong to Jesus. And so,
I mean, I like this song. Yeah, it's a nice,
simple piano melody. It's more like a lot more
repetitive lyrically than like his other songs,
but I think that makes sense then why this became
like a hit for him, even though, you know, probably
was not like a K -Love hit. It was like a hit.
nonetheless. And so yeah, yeah, I enjoyed it.
I thought it was good. On the Banks, what are
you getting from the Banks, Keith? I like On
the Banks. That's another one of those Old Testament,
you know, reminders of things that have happened.
I like the idea, you know, when Joshua crossed
the Jordan into the promised land with all the
Israelite homeboys and homegirls, they set up
monuments to remember what God had done for them.
And even though we're thousands and thousands
of years hence, God still, you know, we're spiritually
Israel, so God did those things for us. And any
reminder of that? in lyrical and musical form
usually gets me, and this one has done that.
Now there's, and of course we move into the New
Testament a little bit, I think, on this one
too, but just the idea in the presence of the
Jordan River symbolism, all that in our faith,
I just, I like it. I like what the dude writes
down. I'm a big fan. thought this one was a really
good shift just musically like it's a little
a little bluesy a little rootsy kind of at points
reminded me of like need to breathe or something
but but yeah I love the lyrics that line children
wade in the water because God's gonna trouble
the water mm -hmm I thought that was great and
um there's a guitar solo which is really cool
um it just fits it fits the style of the song
really well um and so uh and i love the like
pianos like the lead kind of instrument on this
one so yeah it was fun i liked it i think all
all around this is my favorite track on the album
I just really like the choir, the backing voices,
vocals, whatever. It's another long track that
doesn't overstay its welcome. I don't find myself
thinking this could have ended two minutes ago
and I would have been fine. I think my only complaint,
and I guess going into the next, the final track
found, you guys can... Agree or disagree or give
me your thoughts I think this should have been
the ending of the album and I say not cutting
off found but I think I Wish they would have
like swap them like it would have been found
Because I think thinking of like a live concert
I feel like this is a great song to like end
on and like found kind of gives it a like intro
to it Um, which I mean, you know, like you had
brought up that, um, you were saying that like
a lot of the tracks were like singles or whatever.
So I kind of want to get your y 'all's thoughts
on, you know, did you, do you feel like that
was a good one or did you feel like found was
a better like ending or do you kind of feel like
Brandon be quiet? He did what he did. I do want
to talk about found, but not yet because we skipped
the song. Not yet. Oh, we did suspicious. We
like seven. Yeah, I think I skipped it too So
i've never even heard this song brandon doesn't
have anything to say about not yet i'm gonna
be quiet now Keith what do what do you think
about not yet? Um, not yet. I like it's not it's
another one of those that I can kind of take
or leave um, I think it's got some of the least
-on -your -face lyrics of the song, like, I'm
a son of coal, I'm a daughter of tar. Like, what
does that mean? I don't really know. Anytime
men when they're singing, yeah, they personify
themselves as, like, daughters or whatever, but,
I mean, we have that in Scripture, too. Like,
we're the bride of Christ, so maybe there's something
with that. But I do think the lyrics are some...
At least maybe his densest as far as the meaning
in there um, so it's a song I like I also rarely
skip that one just because of He uh, he hits
some long notes in that one, too So it's fun
to try to keep up with in the car, but um Beyond
what i've said, I don't have any huge strong
opinions on that one. Yeah I don't have a probably
a time to say either. Uh I did write down next
to it doctrine of man because I felt like this
is this is a song about that about who we are,
who were created and then sin creeping in. I
feel like a good rhythm. I like it when it kicked
in. This is when I wrote down the notes. The
songs are all really good, but they tend to the
same kind of structure. I think it was at this
point in the album where I was like, all right,
we're kind of keeping doing the same thing. And
it's a good thing. I like it. But but it definitely
tends to work together. So Brandon that then
takes us into your discussion on found and then
which of those tracks like work better as an
ending I think that you naturally tend to not
like quiet songs at the end of a record And I
don't know so much that that's true for me I
can enjoy a big song at that end of an album,
but I can just as much, I think, enjoy like a
simple one. And I think what worked for me on
found being the last track is that it was the
most simple song on the record that it actually
stood out differently. It never like musically
like went anywhere, but it stayed simple and
it kind of breaks the mold of the record in a
way. I think that like makes it work. as the
last track plus it's like it's a song that's
like pointing um to the end of time and the end
of life and so I felt like it worked really well
as the end of the record just like thematically
um as well but yeah that's kind of me I liked
it yeah I tend I tend to agree there um what
you said too about because I the history of the
album I didn't know a whole lot but The way people
tend to make music or at least like the singer
songwriter folks nowadays it's like i'm gonna
make a hundred singles and i'm gonna release
them all on tiktok or whatever and i'll wait
till a hook hits and then i'll milk that hook
for like six months and then release the song
And then maybe once I get enough i'll put them
together as an album So I agree that if you had
a bunch of kind of disparate songs that all had
a similar theme Like maybe it seems like he's
got here Uh, this one does feel like a good ending
Because I too am fine whenever the lights get
turned down. It's like, hey, let's get real here
for a minute before you all go home. I can appreciate
that. All right, those are our thoughts, Brandon.
Tell us what you think. Yeah, I can't. I like
the song. I think that was just my only thought
is listening. Like I said, it was it was simple.
It was good. And I found myself just thinking
like, oh, I wish it would have been, you know,
swapped with this. But I think maybe that just
like you like I've said, it comes from a oh,
this is a concert. This is what I want it to
be or whatever. um so but yeah gotcha all right
well that is i'll be the branches chris he really
he really should have thought of this whenever
he had that last name it's really inconsiderate
let's just talk about kind of final thoughts
and um our ratings for the record brandon you
want to lead yeah um I think that I was super
pleasantly surprised. I think going into it,
it was like, man, I hope this is good because
I'm going to feel bad. I think right now the
lowest rate or the second lowest rating I've
given is when Jordan brought her album to us.
So I was like, I hope this doesn't continue the
trend of like as her album from one of your favorite
bands. Yeah. What what did she bring? A dancer
died by family force five. And essentially I
said, I absolutely love half this album and the
other half I can't stand. So to two point five
out of five. That works out. But I I just I just
love when an artist. like pours out their heart
onto something and people might disagree but
I feel like you can tell when someone is just
putting stuff out for money or because the record
label was like we need something out versus when
they're like this is important I need to put
this out so I I think that it like over like
over delivered on what my expectations were um
it made me definitely want to go check out the
rest of his stuff so for me i'm like i was super
happy to give it a four out of five awesome awesome
keith what about you i think i would also deliver
it a four out of five um if i were to rate it
in such a way i try to rate books that way um
but the scale is is not a solid one there's there's
very little science to any of my scales but in
a season of my life where I don't give music
the place of honor that maybe it once had for
my thinking and like I don't I really don't find
myself like this was a really cool exercise and
I'm grateful you guys let me come on and do it
because it's not something I normally think about
too heavily but this one this album definitely
the songs on it They mean a lot to me. Um, and
I wouldn't say it's like changed my life, but
I thought I think it's very good and almost all
of them, you know, are, are meaningful and, and
hopeful and I guess humbling to me. So a four
out of five, not perfect, but very good, very,
you know, not really any must skips on there.
That's cool. So I think for me, um, out of all
the records that we've had that I Haven't listened
to before that have kind of come before us. This
one's probably my favorite so far my favorite
one that was new to me and It just it works like
I I am really interested to go listen to some
of his stuff after this to see If he kind of
breaks the mold of of like the pattern to the
songs and the structure to the songs Um, because
I think that's maybe one of the key things like
holding it back a little bit for me, but, um,
but I really loved this and, um, I really enjoyed
his voice. And by that, I mean, a lot of what
you guys are saying, just how he's putting his
heart out, um, the lyrics that are there. Um,
and he's got a great voice as well. And so I
think all the things just worked, worked really
well for me. And so, um, with my mathematical
scoring, I'm joining you with a four out of five
because that's where I landed. And so I don't,
is this the first time that we've all landed
on the same rating? Maybe the second. Man. Yeah.
I'm thinking, cause I think the switch foot one,
we might've. or i forget yeah yeah we need we
need someone we need a super fan out there just
like keeping track of everything and all the
stats we do the listenership at least they don't
have to do any like complicated averaging out
and weighted averages or anything you can at
least create a spreadsheet for us guys That would
be awesome. I can tell one, can I tell one humorous
anecdote about this artist before we're finished?
Yeah, of course. So, I'm a youth minister, youth
pastor at my church. He came to Columbia, and
I was like, I, it's very rare that a youth group
friendly artist that I like is anywhere nearby,
and so I'm like, I'm gonna take the youth there,
so. gather several of them, and we go to Columbia.
He's playing at the Synod, which I'm like, typically
they have, this is odd, odd artists for the Synod.
It's usually like, it's not a church, it's not
known for playing Christian music there, so I
bring them in, and then one person walks past
me carrying like three tall boys, and I'm like,
I didn't I didn't think they'd be serving alcohol
for this particular artist But they are and I
may be about to lose my job So I should at least
I should at least enjoy this concert, but I just
the the sinking feeling of like youth kids like
you know, Mr. Keith took us to a concert then
in the background there's like, you know mid
-20s people just like hitting tall bud lights
and I had a fear for my job, but luckily I got
to stick around. Chris almost took me out. His
name's hard to deal with, and he almost really
messed me up. Makes you feel better. When I was
a youth pastor, I took some kids to a different
artist with the first name of Chris's concert,
and I regretted it as well. Lesson learned, don't
take you kids to anyone with a first name Chris.
OK, yeah. To see to see life. Not worth it. Not
worth the Chris. All right. Well, this has been
fun to dig into. Let's talk about what our lyric
of the week is. So our lyric comes from Son of
God and it says, Oh, we've seen graves and oceans
bow before human feet. Dawn is breaking now.
Darkness must retreat for the Son of God. He
walks among us. That's cool. It's a good just
kind of cap on on this discussion. So Keith,
man, it's been awesome having you on. Thanks
for coming. You were highly respectful of Brandon,
even though I know you've got all the dirt. And
so I appreciate that. And it's been really fun
to get to talk through this record. I'm super
grateful that you brought it to us because I
probably would never have taken the time to stop
and listen to it. And I can tell you that I will
continue to listen. to it and check out the rest
of his stuff to you because I really, really
enjoyed it. So we're thankful as well for you
guys for joining us and coming and listening
along every week and you can continue to find
us online. Hey, are you listening on Facebook?
Like, like stuff there. Join in the discussion.
I don't know what I'm saying. Subscribe to the
podcast. Give us a review. We're just grateful
that you're along for the ride and we look forward
to talking to you again soon.