Fun Friday Videos!
So this week I have 2 fun videos for you to watch. Can’t see videos below? Click over to my blog!
Video #1 is my husband’s pick. It’s a fun look at what certain movies might have been like if other celebrities were cast. Enjoy!
Video #2 is my pick. If you’ve known me a long time than Zebrahead is a name you’ve definitely heard MANY times. They were my absolute favorite band for years and years. Although I don’t listen to them much anymore, this cover is awesome and the video is hilarious. Enjoy!
Music Tuesday:Coconut Records
Ever seen a really funny movie with Jason Schwartzman’s name in the credits? Ya know, this guy: 
Well, did you know that before he was a big famous actor he was the drummer in Phantom Planet? I used to love them! Anyway, this all has a point. In 2006 Jason started a new band called Coconut Records and I’ve been a fan ever since. The music is west coast indie rock and in my opinion, is the type of music you could cruise for a long time listening to and never get tired of it. This past year Coconut Records
released a second album with vocals from just as famous actress Zooey Deschanel. It’s worth a listen! Not sure where to start? Click the link below for their first album. My favorite songs are Nighttiming and West Coast.
New Music Tuesday:I Want Your Feedback This Time!
Have you ever reached that point where you love your music but you’re just craving something new? I reach this point every few months and this time I would like your help! I love to worship. But I’m not a huge fan of the traditional worship or even contemporary worship music. I can worship to a lot of different styles of music. Except rap. Just can’t get into that 
What bands/groups/singers/songs do you recommend?
Who is your favorite worship artist?
What about jamming in your car — who do you listen to?
I want to hear from you!
New Music Tuesday:Eisley
Eisley isn’t a new band and they don’t have new music out but since they’re coming to NY this week I thought I’d share a bit about them 
Eisley is an indie pop/rock band from Texas consisting of a bunch of young family members. Now if you’re thinking the Partridge Family or Brady Bunch, please stop. Eisley is great music for days like today. Ya know, it’s kind of gloomy so you don’t want anything too crazy but you definitely want to hear some great non-depressing music. And personally, I love doing pilates to Eisley. I’m able to zone out in a busy gym and just relax to their soothing sound.
So check them out: http://www.myspace.com/eisley
New Music Tuesday:Various Artists w/ Videos!
Hey guys! Unfortunately I’m insanely busy at work (we have a show coming up in 2 weeks) so writing full blogs during the day is pretty impossible. So instead of my usual blog about 1 artist, I’m referring you to my current favorite website.
It’s Relevant Magazine, a Christian run music magazine who thinks so far out of the box that I’m not sure there ever was a box. Check out their website but most importantly, check out their music video page. I can spend hours on it! Now I’m just going to put a little disclaimer out there. Relevant DOES work with and promote non-Christian bands as well as Christian artists you’ve known about for years. So use your judgment and do some research before falling in love with a band.
Before I go, here are some of my favorite videos on there that I haven’t posted on my blog in the past:
“Sing Sang Sung” – Air (love the video concept and art work)
“Microphone” – Coconut Records (guilty pleasure band of mine for a while now)
“Hold On” – Abandon (good video, good song)
New Music Tuesday:Hawk Nelson
New Music Tuesday:Owl City
Have you ever heard a song and immediately knew you had to hear the rest of the album? That’s what happened the first time I heard synthpop insomniac artist Adam Young, a.k.a. Owl City. Owl City is a mix of fun sound effects, “light life” topics (i.e. Going to the dentist and cold winter days) and a beat that will surely make your head bop. As I described to Rachel the other day at work, “It’s the type of music that will either put you in a good mood and make you dance in your car or you’ll turn it off because you’re in a bad mood and it’s absolutely annoying to hear music like this when you’re in a bad mood.” Still not sure? Well let’s put it this way…he’s friends with Relient K…it has to be fun!
Check out Owl City’s latest release that I just had to buy at 7am Thursday before work: Ocean Eyes
New Music Tuesday:deeflash!
Today’s new music artist is definitely the highest on my list. This up and coming DJ/Music Producer released his first EP simply entitled deeflash EP
And when I say produce I of course mean that I listen to the song when he asks me to and tell him what I like and don’t like, often with guidance on what I’d like him to change haha. So with that said, I’d like to go on the record and say that I had a huge part in the success of Red Eye Every club it’s been played in explodes when the song comes on. And the “whistling” part is quite catchy! Have NO idea what I’m talking about? Well shame on you! Check it out now by clicking the links or images above. Prefer video? Watch the music video I created for it!
A special thank you and shout out to The Gates break dancers in this video. You guys continue to amaze me.
Canada Trip: Facts & Stories
So for those of you in the dark, Chris and I went up to Ottawa, Ontario in Canada this past weekend. It was our first time out of the country (well, except a cruise I went on in high school) and we had such a great experience. The car ride up was filled with beautiful trees and deep spiritual conversation. 
Then we crossed the border and had the excitement of seeing new road signs and landmarks we had never seen before. Around 8pm we parked at the St. Paul’s church where we were meeting everyone, across from the beautiful Gasthaus Switzerland that we were graciously given a room for the night by our hosts, HEAT Worship House.
Within minutes a very excited Rachelle came out to greet us and help us into our room. We then spent the night with Rachelle and Tyler setting up for the weekend and getting a tour of downtown Ottawa. Within the first hour in Ottawa I fell in love with the city. It’s clean and beautiful and unlike the city I know (NYC) it’s not crowded and doesn’t smell bad. I love the bilingual aspect even though I don’t speak a word of French and the architecture is amazing. The people are friendly and filled with life and seem really artistic and passionate.
It was a really fun night is quite the understatement, but is the only thing that seems to come to mind at the moment.
Due to some alcohol loving young b&b neighbors, we didn’t get much sleep. So Saturday was a LOOONG day. It started with a wonderful homemade breakfast at the inn and the best coffee I’ve ever had. It then continued with lunch at a cute healthy Cora’s Restaurant and then a visit to the Christian Book Store that James works at. We spent a while hanging out and looking at things around the store. We talked about the things of God and the irony of a gay book store being across the street. But eventually James had to get back to work and Rachelle had to get some things done so Chris and I were left with the afternoon to wander around the city.
Ottawa is the best of both worlds. It’s a beautiful city with lots of things to do and look at…museums and shopping, food and coffee…but within the city is grass and paths to ride bikes. Tunnels to walk under while looking at art and buildings to tour around. Sidewalks of houses and people walking dogs right next to boutique stores and farmers markets. And just minutes away are suburbs and parks…Canadian nature as they call it It really makes me reconsider my “I hate cities” mentality. Maybe I just hate New York City lol. And I’m not insanely thrilled with Philly either (sorry all you PA kids!).
Anyway, Saturday night was the “rave” – Psalm 119. It was a great time of dancing, art, God and worship. It’s hard to explain what it was like so look for the pictures and videos coming soon in another post! The rave ended at 2:30am and by the time we were done cleaning up and back at Tyler’s, it was 5am. We got to hang out with their core group eating ribs and rice and talking about God and books and their vision for HEAT. Although we were beyond tired, it’s definitely a day that I will never forget.
Sunday we woke up (after 4 hours of sleep) and had brunch at a Vietnamese Restaurant. We had Pho soup for the first time and mmmmm we need to find some closer to home! We then went to Rachelle’s to pick up her dogs and go to a park in Quebec. Although only there for a short time, it was a very enjoyable outing. I was amazed how quickly the signs changed from English/French to only English!
So around 3:30pm Chris and I said our goodbyes and headed back to NY. Although exhausted, our trip home was as great as the one there. It’s so wonderful being married to your best friend. Not only can we joke around and listen to music, but we have some of the best conversations I’ve ever had.
And about those Canadians…guys…you blessed us tremendously. In the next few days I’m going to blog about the deeper spiritual aspects of our trip but for now I’ll just say: I can’t believe we only just met you all. I’m not used to having such immediate, deep connections with people…it was a real treat. We can’t wait to see you all again and hope you keep in touch!
New Music Tuesday:Hillsong London
I have a lot of friends who love Hillsong and Hillsong United so here’s my recommendation for you, try Hillsong London! Not only do they do great worship but they have an awesome dance remix album that I highly recommend Jesus Is Re:mix
Not much more to say, the album speaks for itself and after a full weekend of dance music, I can’t wait to worship to this album again.
Coming Soon…!
Hey ya’ll! This past weekend Chris (deeflash) and I traveled out of the country for the first time! We took the 7+ hour drive to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and spent the weekend with some really amazing people. I can’t wait to tell you about it but seeing as we got about 8 hours of sleep randomly in the 3 days we were in Canada and just 5 hours last night, I’m a bit pooped. So here’s what to come this week in me4thought:
- Pictures from The Gates in Harleysville, PA
- New Music Tuesday:Hillsong London
- Our Canada Trip – Facts/Stories
- Insight/Inspiration from Canada
- and whatever else God leads me to write about!
So while you eagerly await these blog posts, check out the ministry we got to be a part of while in Ottawa: Heat Worship House.
New Music Tuesday:Mute Math & Andy Hunter
I was torn between posting about Mute Math’s newly released album, Armistice and Andy Hunter being awesome. So I think since it’s my blog and I make the rules, I’ll do both.
First up, Mute Math. To me, Mute Math is a fusion of so many different awesome genres that I really don’t know how to describe them. So I’ll let Wikipedia tell you a little bit about them: Mute Math (sometimes typeset as MUTEMATH or MuteMath) is a Grammy Award nominated American rock band from New Orleans that formed in 2003. Their music consists of many elements such as alternative rock, new wave, electro rock, christian rock, psychedelic rock, and post-rock with ambient vocals.
Woo, that’s a mouthful! Anyway, Chris and I own both MUTEMATH albums and I must say, the second is much better than the first…but the first is definitely worth owning and listening to over and over again. They’re one of those “I didn’t know it could get any better” type bands. It’s fun, it’s powerful and every song shines on a level of talent most musicians only dream of one day having. So with all of that said, check out their latest album:
Second up, Andy Hunter. Genre: Dance, Electronic, Awesomeness. Andy Hunter was one of the first electronic producers I ever liked. He did the music for the movie “Go” and created some of the great music that I love jumping around to today. Bonus! He’s also a Christian with an amazing heart and a great vision. Myself, my husband Chris and my friend Jeremiah took a workshop with him in 2006 and since then I’ve had such an amazing appreciation for his music and art in general. So look him up, take a listen, and if you need somewhere to start, this song is my current favorite: Wonderful (Life Album Version)
Me & Andy Hunter in 2006...after a long night of dancing. Please excuse the hair!
New Music Tuesday: Various Artists
So here’s the deal folks. It’s the Tuesday after a long weekend. I think we’re all not functioning 100%, and if you are, well then, good for you But us people who love to hang out and rest and don’t bounce back quickly like taking shortcuts. So today is shortcut music Tuesday.
This week there are a few good releases coming out. To be honest, I’ve only heard music off of one of the albums and I will give you my honest opinion. I THINK IT ROCKS. So definitely check out the new album by Thousand Foot Krutch and if you can, check them out at Creation Fest!
Thousand Foot Krutch - Welcome to the Masquerade
Other releases this week that interest me are:
Bethany Dillon – Stop & Listen
Barlowgirl – Love & War
So check them out and let me know what you think! I’ll be checking them out as well.
Here is wishing everyone a safe and “not so bad” day!
New Music Tuesday: Josh Garrels
Many of you have heard me mention the name Josh Garrels before but it’s come to my attention that he’s never actually been a “spotlight” in my blog…until now
For those who haven’t heard, Josh Garrels is a singer/songwriter out of the mid-west. I was first drawn to him because he was a young artist sitting on a stage with a guitar and a boombox. I was first drawn to his music when I heard him do an amazing cover of “Killing me Softly.” And I was first drawn to his albums when I heard the rest of his passionate, Christ-filled set.
Josh’s music is a mix of folk, indie acoustic rock and hip-hop and if you don’t know what that sounds like, then you sure better check him out!
Trapped
Everfound has a song that simply says “Let me out, I want to breathe again” and since the moment I heard it, it struck a cord within me. Not one of those pretty notes that you might hear in a ballad…it’s more like the pounding on a piano in that dramatic no way out type of way.
I think many of us feel this way. We feel trapped. We feel suffocated. Whether it be something big like a sin, dead-end job, failing relationship, or fear.. or something small like a bad day or fight that never seems to end. I believe we all relate to this line at one point or another…I think I’ll even go as far as saying as you might feel it often.
So I want to share some hope with my fellow trapped friends. Take this line and make it a declaration. Take a stand. Say NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!! to whatever is holding you under water. The name of Jesus is the most powerful name to declare so I say call out to him for your rescue…for your salvation. There is power in the name of Jesus. Ask him to let you out.
My name is Jessica and I'm a proverb31girl. These are my thoughts on living a proverb31 girl life. I invite you to join me on this journey!Subscribe
