Review: Newsboys...Born Again

In 1989, I purchased my first Newsboys album just because it had a cool title.  I had never heard of the band before, but with a title like "Hell is for Wimps", how I could I pass it up?  Well....As a collection of songs inspired by hair bands of the day, "Wimps" wasn't that great.  I listened to it a few times and set it in my tape shelf to gather dust.

A few years later, the Newsboys had shed the hair band image and most of the guitars as well.  They picked up a keyboard and took a few lessons from bands like Erasure and Information Society and created their first really good album.  Not Ashamed became one of my favorite albums of all time.

Not Ashamed began a string of big records for the Newsboys that grew their fan base by leaps and bounds.  By the mid 1990's they had become one of the biggest names in Christian music.  Things began to change however and with the departure of the singer John James (you can read is story here), Newsboys began to change their sound to a light hearted pop band with Peter Furler and Phil Joel trading vocals respectively. 

The new millennium found the Newsboys sinking into relative mediocrity with many of their albums.  Yes, they had a few memorable hits such as "It Is You" from their "Adoration" Cd and Million Pieces from Go.  but for the most part their music had become predictable and forgettable.

But, if history is any predictor, one should not count the Newsboys out.  Their new album Born Again has the remaining 'boys joining forces with ex DC Talker Michael Tait.  With Michael's easily recognizable chops and an increase of a more modern guitar driven rock sound, the Newsboys has released their best album in years.

The album starts of with the rocker Born Again and steadily brings song after well crafted song. Some of the highlights include the song One Shot, Impossible, and When the Boys Light Up.  And even thought I am not a big fan of Hillsongs, their rendition of Mighty to Save is admirable (truly Tait's voice that makes it memorable). The last song on the "non-deluxe" version is a remake of the DC Talk classic Jesus Freak.  I couldn't help but wonder who's idea it was to remake this classic.  It is good, but this is one song that was so perfect the first time around, it should not be redone.

If you purchase the "deluxe" version from itunes,  they so graciously add a few more songs.  I highly recommend buying this version.  "We Remember" and "Glorious" are worth the extra four dollars.  They also include the digital booklet and the video to "Born Again".

When all is said and done, my only big problem with the album is the length of most of the songs.  The majority of the songs are less than 4 minutes long and some don't even make to 3 minutes.


If early sales are any indication, this album is striking a nerve for Christian music buyers.  It's first week of sales was more successful than any other first week for the Newsboys. The iconic Michael Tait is a great addition to the iconic band.  If you are looking for great summer music, load your ipod with this well crafted album.

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5 Things I Learned This Weekend

1. B2 Bombers look like giant boomerangs
2. Jets are loud and babies don't like loud
3. Letting water into an outdoor show in 90 degree heat is a lot smarter than not letting water in 90 degree heat
4. walking 7 miles round trip in 90 degree heat is hard to do with 4 kids.
5. You can make a concession worker mad when you decide not to buy their $5 snow cone.

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Review: Picking Dandelions by Sarah Cunningham

Note: This blog is part of Sarah's summer blog tour.  I appreciate Sarah giving me the chance to participate.

The Christian Book industry has changed rather drastically over the past decade or so.  It used to be you couldn't pick up a book in the "Christian Living" section without its author telling you what kind of awful tragedy they had overcome, or what three step process will make your life better.  But with the maturation of my generation (X) and the generation right under us, things have changed.  We don't want simple and quick fixes to our problems.  We don't want somebody to tell us how they have overcome a hurt and now they are perfect.  We want to know that other people realize that life, and consequently our faith, are so daily. Sarah Cunningham is one of these authors. And her new book,Picking Dandelions is a prime example of someone reaching through the muck and mire of perfect fixes and telling us a story where it does not all work out in the end.

"Dandelions" is a quirky memoir with a serious message.  Cunningham believes that through life's weeds, we are all striving to find a little piece of Eden. Some of us may go through extremes to find it, but at it's core perhaps Eden is in front of us-even inside us.

Through light hearted dialogue laced with poignant insights, Picking Dandelions walks us along Sarah Cunningham's road of life as we see experiences that have brought her to a deeper understanding of what Eden may actually be.  Some of her memories are perhaps not that profound, such as her memory of her dad telling her about the "watch cow" that protected their small town from "lions, tigers and bears".  Some of her memories are more serious including a great chapter of her experience at ground zero after the attacks of 9/11.  Through it all, we see an image of grace emerging that helps Miss Cunningham see that Eden can become clear even in the midst of overwhelming tragedy.

The book is laid out in nine very defined sections chronicling her life from childhood growing up with a pastor for a dad, to teaching school to a bunch of obnoxious high schoolers.The sections are short and can easily be read in a sitting.  Each section begins with an attribute of the rather prolific weed known as the dandelion. Cunningham suggests that if we look beyond the obvious traits of a dandelion being a weed, we may find rather extraordinary. 

With wit, charm, and an ample supply of grace Sarah Cunningham shows in her memoir that Eden can be found in the strangest and most unlikely places.  From the farmlands of Wisconsin to the melted and warped metal of ground zero, Eden can be found.  Perhaps if we look hard enough, we be able to find a little Eden inside of us.  It isn't a destination, it is a state of being.

As I said, the Christian book industry is changing drastically.  And if Sarah Cunningham's book is any representation (and I believe it is), it is for the better.

On a side note- Sarah is collecting a list of books for summer reading, these are mine in no particular order.

-Blue Like Jazz/Donald Miller
-To Kill a Mockingbird/Harper Lee
-The Outsiders/S.E. Hinton

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Review: Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona was the next pick on our ever expanding Netflix que.  It's been quite a while since my last viewing of this classic Coen brother flick, but time has been kind to this movie.  After 23 years, the movie is just as fresh and relevant as it was in 1987 when it was first released.  The diaper theft and the ensuing chase is worth the entire movie.  This was one of the best movies that Nicholas Cage ever acted in.  He was still fresh and a bit creepy in his eternally stoned way.  His acting since then has gotten very formulaic an cliche.

I will refrain on too much synopsis since most of you have already seen this classic movie.  And the more enlightened of you have seen it more than once.

Nate's rating----- 4 out of 5 nateys

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5 Things I Learned This Independence Day Weekend

1.  Some people are very irresponsible with fireworks.
2.  Idaho Falls is a boring place 364 days of the year.
3.  Great things can happen when people work together, like a fireworks show on the 4th.

4.  Cops get really stressed out this time of year.
5.  Idaho Falls seems to be very polarized between people of the dominant religion and those that are not.  I'm no more a Mormon than the Pope, but perhaps instead of complaining about it, we ought to learn to love each other.

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