Comments on: Jesus Is My Boyfriend? The Trouble With Lyrics

By: daniel so

daniel so — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:25:08 +0000

Lynn — Thanks for your note. It’s never too late to add to the conversation! I agree with you — I’m sure both songwriters were inspired by that verse (more than other song lyrics) and, yes, the Philippians passage is very lyrical.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:06:32 +0000

*thoughtful* coming really late to this discussion, but in the case of “count things loss” phrase, at least, I’m pretty certain that this is more likely to be a case of both songwriters borrowing from Philippians 3:8, which is a pretty lyrical verse to begin with.

By: daniel so

daniel so — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:38:52 +0000

Mia — Thanks for the kind words. Regarding a worship album — definitely go for it! While there is certainly a place for the style of worship music we see today (millions of screaming “Wow Worship” fans will attest to this), I think many are longing for different lyrical expressions as well. By the way, if you’re looking for someone to design the cover of that upcoming worship album, drop me a line :D

By: mia

mia — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:57:43 +0000

hey hey. as always love your writing. found your ‘latest’ blog through kamr.. i’m at a crossroads where there are 4 paths around me… i’m trying to figure out how to go down all of them at the same time, but as you can imagine, it’s logistically and realistically tricky. one of those paths concerns writing a ‘worship’ album.. but you know, i can’t really write worship, but everytime I am in worship or see a worship concert, i am blessed but i am impressed with the need to write/find songs that frankly speak about detachment, broken-ness, isolation from God, hurt, anger, etc. though I don’t feel most of those things at any time, most worship songs, lyrically don’t really don’t impact me. musically they are amazingly expressive… but reading your post encourages me to keep this thinking in my mind. miss you guys and love the pic of D tackling the carebear and dolphin! tell J i say hellooo and must visit you guys soon.. i love the drive down and need an escape.

By: daniel so

daniel so — Sat, 26 May 2007 02:37:46 +0000

Rich — I feel your pain :) At least I’ve been training Del to listen to the rock (her favorite song when she was about 1 1/2 years old was “Vertigo” by U2; these days she like Sufjan Stevens).

Suggestions… That’s really tough. I know what you mean about the “sameness” of many modern praise albums. However, in the congregational setting it can be counterproductive to go with songs that are too cutting edge (instead of lifting their hands, everyone will just be scratching their heads).

Personally, I really like the David Crowder*Band’s most recent album, “A Collision” — they venture into all kinds of musical territory: bluegrass, arena rock, punk, even a Sufjan Stevens cover. But there’s only a couple of songs tops that we ever sing in church…

I always appreciate the God-focus of all the Passion lead worshipers (David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman)… Soul Survivor from the UK has many outstanding worship albums (Tim Hughes, David Gate, onehundredhours).

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 25 May 2007 17:39:47 +0000

I have to admit that I’ve been out of the loop on contemporary worship songs, but I do think that I’m part of the “It’s all the same, bland music” camp.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t complain since I do have to listen to “Strawberry Shortcake” every time I get in the car these days. Here’s a short sample from the title track, “Straw-ba-ba-ba-ba-berry, Straw-ba-ba-ba-ba-berry,Straw-ba-ba-ba-ba-berry, Strawberry Shortcake!” (repeat 100x)

What albums would you suggest for contemporary worship songs…stuff in the past year or two? I saw Mercy Me in concert a few years ago and I liked them.