Prior to going to the Catalyst Conference a few weeks ago, I had not heard of this band.

After going to the Catalyst Conference a few weeks ago, I can’t stop listening to this band.

Seryn is from Denton, a mythical land in Texas that Matt Chandler says “hello” to often at the start of sermons. They remind me a little of Mumford & Sons. Each member of the band can play approximately 17 instruments proficiently. Seriously, during their set, the drummer would stand up, grab a guitar play that, then walk over to some sort of instrument I’ve never seen in my life and then absolutely kill that too. It was amazing, and they played with that kind of unabashed joy and gusto I’ve written about before. Someday, I hope to throw an event and invite them to be the music.

Here’s one of their songs. It breaks in a big, beautiful wave at the 2:15 mark. I’m a huge fan of Seryn. (Which I think is Greek for “We play an amazing amount of instruments well.”)

My brother recently told me about this guy named “Listener,” but apparently he’s been around for years and years.

I think this song, lyrics and video are hauntingly beautiful. Capturing grace in any medium is an impossible act, but Listener takes the medium of music as close to grace as I’ve seen anyone take it. His line, “We’re all made out of shipwrecks” is some kind of crazy beautiful. (In my wildest dreams, this is the kind of thing I’d like to do with some of my ideas.)

Watch “Wooden Heart” after the jump and let me know what you think in the comments!
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Lil’ Wayne, you rapscallion!

Out on bail, fresh out of jail, wait, that’s Tupac. Those were his words. But it was Lil Wayne’s words that knocked me over recently.

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A few weeks ago I ran into the lead singer of Paramore, Hayley Williams, while I was grabbing a coffee.

When I tweeted that, people asked, “What did you say to her?”

What did I say? Nothing. Had I said hello, that moment would have instantly dissolved into the interviews Chris Farley used to do where he would ask painfully awkward, obvious questions on Saturday Night Live. (Example: He said something to Paul McCartney like, “Remember when you were in the Beatles? That was awesome!)

The other reason I didn’t talk with her is that 76% of the people who live in Nashville are famous.

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I grew up reading Thrasher magazine, watching the movie “Rad” as many times possible and listening to the rap group, “Public Enemy.”

Why Thrasher? Cause I was a skateboarder.

Why Rad? Because the title says it all, it was rad.

Why Public Enemy? Because growing up on the mean streets of suburban Massachusetts really prepared me for hard laced, urban rap. Clearly.

Given my love for the hip hop, I’m lacking the musical background to truly appreciate something I’ve started to notice lately at church though.

The power ballad worship song.

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I don’t know Matt Redman, the singer of Blessed Be Your Name, but I have to imagine he’s somewhere right now wearing solid gold pants, riding an Arabian horse named Montalban on the sandy shores of the Grand Caymans.

That’s if he gets paid per time a church uses his song, because if there’s ever been a stuff Christians like, it’s that song.

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U2 is definitely a Christian band. Or they are definitely not. I’m positive it’s one of those two.

It’s hard to be sure, but what I am sure of is that we Christians like debating that. I learned that the hard way when I called the band “NeedtoBreathe,” the “Christian U2.”

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Good service so far. Only felt a modicum of judgment from the people next to me who don’t know I direct deposit my tithe, no one’s asked to borrow my pen and I’m pretty sure I’m going to win the “please turn to” Bible verse race. All in all, pretty good day and here comes a minister to preach. Wait a second. No, this can’t be right, he’s not the preacher, he’s …

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My four year old, McRae, is at that age where she’s like living with a director’s commentary on a DVD. She narrates everything that happens to her in real time. Like John Cusack telling you what was going on in his mind during that famous boombox scene in “Say Anything” on the bonus commentary, she is constantly providing dialog for what’s happening.

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Can we please put TobyMac in a laboratory somewhere and get him on top of this already? Seriously, lock him and Kirk Franklin and Mandisa and maybe Barlow Girl in a room in Nashville and don’t let them come out until they’ve figured out how Christianity can have their own version of the uber popular dance sensation Lady Gaga.

Why?

I have three reasons we need a Christian Lady Gaga.

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