what I learned from Johnny Reid

I’ve found that if I ever need to be prompted to write or respond or reflect on some topic or issue I really only need to turn on the radio for an hour or so.  Perhaps somewhat old-hat—yet I found myself tuning in quite often last summer as I’d walk our greenhouses to check on the crops.  A bit of music can help the day go by.

This isn’t a song, but an interview I heard yesterday on “Q” on CBC Radio.  I do like this show; I find the host, Jian Ghomeshi, very easy to listen to and the range of personalities and ideas from authors, actors, musicians, philosophers and more make for an interesting variety.  Yesterday however, I was really encouraged by this simple, heart-felt interview with Canadian “country/soul crooner” Johnny Reid.

I was particularly struck by how Reid talks about the impact his wife and children have on how he goes about living day to day.  As Jian says in the interview, Reid brings this “perspective”, this “outlook”: and I think in the context of this blog, can help us to ponder the intersection of faith and life quite well.

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.  Have a great weekend!

Johnny Reid on Q with Jian Ghomeshi:

songs of 2010

Do you ever find that you might  listen to an certain album or artist regularly (almost daily!) for a certain period of time?  That's how it is for me.  Slowly that music starts to fit that time: I'll listen to the song later and I'm sometimes reminded of where I was for those months and what I was doing, etc.  Last year was a year of transition: we were living in Saskatchewan until the end of April before moving to Ontario in early May.  Summertime brought travelling, autumn was a time of grieving deaths in our family, I was off work for October and back again in November until Christmas.  Different times of life, different songs that spoke to those times.

Here's my favorites from over the past year (not all are new).  Some of them were full albums, some were just one song here or there.  Enjoy!

(Right click link and choose Open in New Tab if you want to play the song and keep surfing the blog).

Late Winter/Springtime:

• Michael Bublé, Crazy Love, "Crazy Love" - Jazz/Big Band
• Ray Charles, The Best of Ray Charles, "Let It Be"- R&B/Soul/Blues | This song actually isn't from that album, but it's one of my favorites.
• John Mayer, Battle Studies, "Half of My Heart" (ft. Taylor Swift) - Pop/Rock
• Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, "Why I Am" - Rock/Funk
• Ray Lamontagne, "Trouble" and "Shelter" - Acoustic Singer/Songwriter

Summertime:

• Jack Johnson, Ocean, "You and Your Heart" - Acoustic/Reggae
• 30 Seconds to Mars, "Kings and Queens" - Alternative/Rock/Pop
• Eminem, "Not Afraid [Clean Version]" - Hip Hop/Rap | This song surprised me when I first heard it.  It depicts his road to recovery and his change of mindset after having gone through rehab.  Admittedly, it's not perfect, but there aren't a lot of songs in this genre that relay something hopeful, let alone handling family responsibilities.
• Gavin DeGraw, "In Love With a Girl"- Rock/Country
• Brett Dennen, "Ain't No Reason" - Folkrock/Indie/Pop

Autumn:

• Bebo Norman, Big Blue Sky, "Sons & Daughters" and "All That I Have Sown" - Folk/Pop
• Bebo Norman, Try, "I Am Nothing" - Folk/Pop
• Sanctus Real, "Lead Me" - Rock/Pop
• Andrew Peterson, "Dancing in the Mine Fields" - Folk/Rock

Winter:

• Brooke Fraser, Flags, "Something in the Water" and "Flags"- Folk/Rock/Pop | The whole album is excellent--none of the songs sound the same: beautiful lyrics, great musicality.  Sarah and her have very similar voices.
• Owl City, Ocean Eyes, specifically "Meteor Shower", and "Vanilla Twilight" - Electronica/Pop
• Coldplay, "Christmas Lights" - Alternative Pop/Rock
• Bebo Norman, Ocean, specifically "Everything I Hoped You'd Be" and "Remember Us" - Folk/Pop

What about you?  Do you have certain songs that remind you of certain times or seasons?

Be well,
Nikolas