Secular To Gospel: Inspirational Day!

Ugh... today was yet ANOTHER additional band practice, and like, randomly in the middle of it, my throat started hurting and got all scratchy. It didn't affect (Affect? Effect?) my voice, but it sure was a little annoying.  (I'm actually coughing right now if you want details.)

Today was my dad's knee surgery and I spent the night at Maria's. You might've seen that from last night's post saying that I didn't pre-view "Decode" because Maria wanted me to speed up.

ANYWAY! I'm getting way off subject and by the time I'm back on, I won't have space for our music week! So yeah, my dad had surgery and is sleeping (at home, not in a hospital!) right now. He has some weird ice machine for his knee and the doctors said his knee is doing better! So that's good!
~~~
Today, we have another double showdown... Kings Of Leon, Luminate, Justin Bieber, and Mandisa.

Kings Of Leon's "Use Somebody" versus...

Luminate's "Come Home".

Kings Of Leon's Message  

They could really use a friend right now... well, a girlfriend, really.

Luminate's Message

You can't play God in your own life, ("You don't have to believe me..." Sorry, quoting Paramore) you need to surrender to God and "come home".

So... The difference?

Huge. Kings Of Leon does not have a huge message at all. I mean, seriously. "Someone like you... somebody." That's it. Luminate is telling you God is the only way to make things right in your life, not you.

This is the next challenge, Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never" versus....

Mandisa's "Stronger".

Justin Bieber's Message

You can do anything you set your mind to. Don't let anyone bring you down, pick yourself back up, know your dreams are achievable, and never say never.

Mandisa's Message

Similar to "Never Say Never", God can take something horrible and turn it into something beautiful.

So... the difference?

Okay, I must admit, I only picked Mandisa's song to go with his because the beginning sounds like a JB song. (Mandisa with Justin Bieber... I'd buy that!) But, they have similar messages, so no need to explain!

The difference, if there is one, is that Justin Bieber (who is a Christian but sings mainstream) is motivating you to never say never, but Mandisa is never saying never with God.

This is gonna make you stronger, stronger...

PS! I think my band will make Nationals! I sang both parts today, lead on the verses, backup on the chorus. I've been singing for Mariah for awhile now. Mariah... COME BACK!!!!
PPS! How will we get to Nationals if we make it when they're in Phoenix??? Don't make us drive to Arizona in the middle of summer... I could totally see myself getting really sick really fast.
PPPS! I changed the title of "Loser!" to "Never Say Never"! Forget about the original plot of "Never Say never", I'm using "Loser!" but changing the title and editing.
PPPPS! Visit Gymnastics IS Life! to see my new design!

Secular To Gospel Week: Rock Day!

Welcome to Secular To Gospel Music Blogging Week Day 3! Today it is rock day, and we have a double showdown: Paramore vs. Fireflight and Krystal Meyers.

Paramore's "Decode" versus... (I didn't pre-watch this, so don't blame me if anything shows up. Well, you can blame me because I should've pre-watched it, but I'm at Maria's and she wants me to speed up)

Fireflight's "Unbreakable".

Paramore's Message
Is there really even a message?

Fireflight's Message
You can be stronger than your enemies.

So... the difference?
Notice, for Paramore, (they are my FAVORITE band) I said, "Is there even really a message?", saying, if there was a message, it wasn't really a positive one and it kinda makes you feel how Hayley is feeling in this song---probably mad---and not very great. In "Unbreakable", it's about not being defeated by your enemies and returning stronger.

Uplifting rock? Did that even exist before? Now it does.

NEXT CHALLENGE

Paramore's "CrushCrushCrush" versus...

Krystal Meyers' "Can't Stay".

Paramore's Message (again...)
Their friends are coming between her and some guy (I think... I thought "She'd never sing of love if it does not exist"? I guess they're the only exception...) and they're telling lies ("They taped over your mouth scribbled out the truth with their lies...") and no one knows the truth anymore. She wants them to be "more than... this."

Krystal's Message
In a situation like "CrushCrushCrush", she can't stay and wants to be more than this, with God's help.

So... the difference?
I honestly love both songs. I have an entire album and one song by Krystal Meyers on my iPod and if I could, I'd have two Paramore albums. But, I must admit... Krystal did it better.

Again, Paramore's song kinda makes you mad, because Hayley is probably mad when she wrote this. Krystal's song is about more than untrustworthy friends and lies, it's about God helping you rise above the situation.

"I need You to fill the empty space, and save me from this place... I can't stay..."

-Krystal Meyers

Secular To Gospel: Acoustic/Pop Day!

Welcome to round 2 of Secular To Gospel Week! Today, we have a double showdown! Our contenders are...

Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" versus...

Mary Mary's "God In Me".

Willow's Message
Be yourself. Don't be afraid to be a little crazy sometimes, just whip your hair and have fun.

Mary Mary's Message
Reflecting God's light! They're nice and sweet, but that's not them making themselves that way... it's the God in them.

So... the difference?
These songs, actually, are very different from each other. "God In Me" is quite a bit slower than "Whip My Hair". So why did I pick these two? Well, because if you like Alicia Keys or this song by Willow Smith, you're definitely going to love Mary Mary, especially because Mary Mary is upbeat, but they still have meaningful lyrics! (Fun fact: They are also very popular for Christian/Gospel music. They've been mentioned in ESSENCE magazine quite a few times. I don't read ESSENCE but it keeps getting sent to my house. And then it keeps getting sent to Kayla's house, too, so of course that ends up being given to me and then we have double the issues!)

NEXT CHALLENGE...

(Waiting for him to smile... Wow so that must be what it looks like when I sing... I'm not that great at smiling while singing either.) John Mayer's "Say (What You Need To Say)" versus... (Is it me or does he kinda look like Taylor Lautner?)

(He kinda reminds me of Pastor Jay... it must be the name thing) Jeremy Camp's "Let It Fade".

John's Message
It's in the title! Say what you need to say! "It's better to say too much then never to say what you need to say."

Jeremy's Message
What happened yesterday does not define your tomorrow. Jesus wiped away your sin on the cross, so you can let that old life fade.

So... the difference?
In music type? Sort of a big difference, but in a way, not really. They both mainly use guitars in their songs. They are almost acoustic style. However, There are evident electric guitars in "Let It Fade". In "Say", well, that's basically acoustic because I only really remember hearing a violin, cello, and acoustic guitar. But I'm sure it's probably not acoustic.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm inspired by both songs. But just think... "Say what you need to say"? "Have no fear for giving in"? "Do it with a mind wide open"? Is that all there is to life? Or what about this:

"Let this old life crumble, let it fade". "Have you been looking for a place where belong?". "Let this new life offered be your saving grace". Now that's what I call inspiring.

Let this old life crumble, let it fade... Let it fade.

Secular To Gospel: Piano Rock/Pop Day!

Welcome to day one of Secular to Gospel Music Blogging Week! The purpose of this week is to help you find good Christian music that's not dull or boring, but reminds you of the sounds of your other favorite artists! Today, we have Avril Lavigne vs. Audrey Assad.

Avril Lavigne's "When You're Gone" (fave song by her!)...

Versus Audrey Assad's "For Love Of You".

Wanna know what I think? I honestly hate the beginning of "For Love Of You"... it sounds weird. But. The timing of the songs totally work well together.

"When you're gone..."
"For love of you..."

Don't they sing those lines in the same key and the same kind of way? (If Audrey Assad's song sounds familiar to you, maybe it's because Kristen is singing that for Fun Arts.)

"The pieces of my heart..."
"I'm a sky on fire..."

Before Avril says "...are missing you", she leaves off on almost the exact same note as Audrey.

"The face I came to know..."
"I come alive..."

Just like the last part, they are very close to the same notes.

"When you're gone, the words I need to hear to always get me through the day..."
"It's Your sacred heart within me beating, Your voice within me singing out..."

They are further apart on the note scale now, but they have very similar timing, there.

Avril's Message
She can't stand a day without whoever's 'gone'. She needs them there to get through the day.

Audrey's Message
She is reflecting God's light, and it's a love song to Him.

So... the difference?
They are both singing about someone, obviously, but although Avril can't stand a day away from this particular person, most likely a dead loved one or a boyfriend, (Avril is said to be a Christian, but she can barely go a song without cussing... that doesn't mean she's not a Christian, it's just you don't know who to believe. In Hollywood, everyone is supposedly a 'Christian') but the difference is Audrey is singing about God. Avril can't live without him, (lowercase 'H') but Audrey's life is reflecting His.