I answer the musical meme

OK, Marybeth has tagged me to do the musical meme, and as I said earlier, it's extremely difficult for me to encapsulate the vast spectrum that comprises my musical tastes. I love music almost as much as I love breathing, and I like the best of most musical genres. But I'm going to give it my best shot here:

Total volume of music files on my computer: N/A. The computer I use the majority of the time is not my own.

The last CD I bought was: The Phantom of the Opera movie soundtrack, as a surprise for my daughter (but knowing I'd get to listen too!)

Last acquired:: My Radio 91 co-worker, Charmel, handed me Newsong's Live Worship & Rescue the other day. I haven't listened to it yet.

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:

OK, this was really, really hard, so I'm going to have to tack an addendum onto the list. But here's a shot (in no particular order):

~"And Can it Be," lyrics by Charles Wesley, music by Thomas Campbell. The powerful picture this hymn paints, and the spiritual import of its message, never fails to move me:
"Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature's night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee."

"I woke, the dungeon flamed with light"--Wow. I love that.


~"The Hallelujah Chorus," by Georg Friedrich Handel. If this is only a fraction of the glory of angel choirs in heaven, I can't wait to hear them. Although this song is often trivialized in comedy, it's one of the most sublime pieces of music on this earth. Just about transports me to the heavenlies.

~"The Star Spangled Banner," by Francis Scott Key. Yeah, I don't care if the tune was originally a tavern song and it's ridiculously hard to sing. The very sound of it, anytime, anywhere, is pretty much guaranteed to choke me up with emotion and love of my flawed but beautiful and amazing country.

~God is God, by Steven Curtis Chapman


Perfectly captures the fear and uncertainty we as Christians will all face at one time or another,("when the questions without answers come and paralyze the dancer") but reassures with the knowledge Job gained through his tragedies--"God is God, and I am not. I can only see a part of the picture he's painting."

~"Submission," by C. Austin Miles and Mrs. R. R. Forman (circa 1934)

"Not what I wish to be, nor where I wish to go,
For who am I that I should choose my way?
The Lord shall choose for me,
'Tis better far, I know,
So let Him bid me go, or stay."

My late father's signature song, the one I often requested him to sing, and just remembering his beautiful voice singing it brings me to tears now.

And here's an addendum, which still by no means covers the gamut of my musical loves:
~If I Stand, by Rich Mullins


"So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home"

Possibly my favorite Rich Mullins song. Simple, poetic, beautiful...says it all.


~"Where the Streets Have No Name," by U2
Haunting and majestic. Speaks to something deep inside my soul.

~That Kind of Love, by PFR
"Oh, where does that kind of love come from?
They say that it runs in His blood..."

I just love the symmetrical harmony and subdued but meaningful vibe of this song.

~"Rhapsody in Blue," by George Gershwin. I can remember lying on the floor as a child and listening to my parents' LP of this amazing concerto, and just getting lost in it. Beautiful, whimsical, cool, soaring, powerful, pretty...rhapsodic.

~"Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth," by Burlap to Cashmere. Three minutes of pure, exuberant joy!

~And just about anything from the voices of Larnelle Harris, James Ingram and James Taylor.

I know I'll think of more later, but this is the best I can do for now!

And hey, if you'd like me to tag you with this meme, let me know in my comments section.