Spiritual Quality of Music, Part Two
A few months back a good friend asked me to compile a CD of music for him. Actually, it was for another friend. This person was suffering from cancer and he wanted me to make a positive, uplifting CD of church music for her. It's was a tough one. First of all, I didn't personally know this person. I would have no preconceived notions about her personality, likes and dislikes, what type of music she enjoyed, etc. I didn't even know her name. Secondly, I was fairly new to the idea of worship music. I took the challenge and set off to compile this collection.
It wasn't easy. There was a lot of anxiety about it for me. One of the caveats that my friend Chris had said was, "nothing too obscure or random." That's my entire concept down the tubes! I think he was making reference to a CD of Beach Boy music I gave him during the summer. To me, it was obviously not random. I knew exactly what songs were supposed to be there and which I wanted to avoid. I also wanted to expose him to Beach Boy music that was a bit off the beaten path. So, okay, there were some obscure numbers there but they are all jewels.
When I started to focus on the songs that I wanted to place on this CD, I scoured iTunes for something that I connected with. I downloaded almost all of the songs. As I always do, I had to test drive the playing order for a few days to fine tune it. (Is that odd? I don't think so). The whole thing has to move and flow exactly right or the rhythm is off and it's not working for me. I ended up moving a few songs to other spots. I tried my best to avoid what I call the "Tomlin Effect." Too many Chris Tomlin songs throws the balance off.
Finally, I got it right. Even as a worship music novice, I could feel that it worked. Here's what I put on the CD, (if you want to play along):
1. Today Is The Day - Lincoln Brewster
2. Blessed Be Your Name - Tree63
3. Glorious - Chris Tomlin
4. Eternal - Sanctus Real
5. How Can I Keep From Singing (Acoustic) - Chris Tomlin
6. Open The Eyes of My Heart - Sonic Flood
7. Half Our Lives - Sanctus Real
8. Uncreated One - Chris Tomlin
9. God Is It True (Trust Me) - Steven Curtis Chapman
10. City On Our Knees - TobyMac
11. Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly) - Sanctus Real
12. Safe - Phil Wickham
13. Amazed - Phillips, Craig and Dean
14. Prodigal - Casting Crowns
15. My Refuge - Sonic Flood
16. Finally Home - MercyMe
For me, it worked great. As you can see, it has a bit of the "Tomlin Effect" - three Tomlin songs (but three Sanctus Real songs too, so there). These songs had to be there, it worked better with them included. I gave Chris the disc to give to his friend and I hoped that it did the job. It's hard to know if it brought anything to the table for her or not. I hope so though. I guess it doesn't matter too much, it helped me. Isn't that enough? It's helped the few friends that I've given it to so that means something.
Today, my friend Chris told me that his friend passed away yesterday. I was surprised by how much that impacted me. I mean, I never knew her except through my friends concern about her.
I happened to be driving so, I grabbed my iPod and put on this playlist one more time. This time it meant something totally different.
It wasn't easy. There was a lot of anxiety about it for me. One of the caveats that my friend Chris had said was, "nothing too obscure or random." That's my entire concept down the tubes! I think he was making reference to a CD of Beach Boy music I gave him during the summer. To me, it was obviously not random. I knew exactly what songs were supposed to be there and which I wanted to avoid. I also wanted to expose him to Beach Boy music that was a bit off the beaten path. So, okay, there were some obscure numbers there but they are all jewels.
When I started to focus on the songs that I wanted to place on this CD, I scoured iTunes for something that I connected with. I downloaded almost all of the songs. As I always do, I had to test drive the playing order for a few days to fine tune it. (Is that odd? I don't think so). The whole thing has to move and flow exactly right or the rhythm is off and it's not working for me. I ended up moving a few songs to other spots. I tried my best to avoid what I call the "Tomlin Effect." Too many Chris Tomlin songs throws the balance off.
Finally, I got it right. Even as a worship music novice, I could feel that it worked. Here's what I put on the CD, (if you want to play along):
1. Today Is The Day - Lincoln Brewster
2. Blessed Be Your Name - Tree63
3. Glorious - Chris Tomlin
4. Eternal - Sanctus Real
5. How Can I Keep From Singing (Acoustic) - Chris Tomlin
6. Open The Eyes of My Heart - Sonic Flood
7. Half Our Lives - Sanctus Real
8. Uncreated One - Chris Tomlin
9. God Is It True (Trust Me) - Steven Curtis Chapman
10. City On Our Knees - TobyMac
11. Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly) - Sanctus Real
12. Safe - Phil Wickham
13. Amazed - Phillips, Craig and Dean
14. Prodigal - Casting Crowns
15. My Refuge - Sonic Flood
16. Finally Home - MercyMe
For me, it worked great. As you can see, it has a bit of the "Tomlin Effect" - three Tomlin songs (but three Sanctus Real songs too, so there). These songs had to be there, it worked better with them included. I gave Chris the disc to give to his friend and I hoped that it did the job. It's hard to know if it brought anything to the table for her or not. I hope so though. I guess it doesn't matter too much, it helped me. Isn't that enough? It's helped the few friends that I've given it to so that means something.
Today, my friend Chris told me that his friend passed away yesterday. I was surprised by how much that impacted me. I mean, I never knew her except through my friends concern about her.
I happened to be driving so, I grabbed my iPod and put on this playlist one more time. This time it meant something totally different.
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