Friday Random Ten

The last concert in my concert series is Chris Tomlin, who I saw last fall and you can reread my thoughts from then, rather than having me rehash that here.

Instead, I'd like write about one of the songs that he does that I really love, especially with the emphasis Tomlin has put on sharing the story behind one of our oldest hymns, "Amazing Grace". John Newton wrote it in the 1700s where he had spent most of his live as a slave trader. The ship was being rocked by a storm, and he was relieved from his post in the middle of that to return under the deck. Shortly thereafter, the man who replaced him was swept overboard and lost at sea. That event, and the lack of control he had over such an occurrence started him on a path to accepting the tenets of Christianity in his own life, and to one powerful poem. Tomlin added a refrain in his version, and that's what you can watch/listen to below.



Then I asked Pandora to make a station off of Chris Tomlin's style. Here is what I they picked:

"How Can I Keep From Singing" by Chris Tomlin* on See The Morning
"Here I Am To Worship" by Passion on Our Love Is Loud
"All Who Are Thirsty" by Kutless on Strong Tower
"I Give You My Heart" by Reuben Morgan on World Through Your Eyes
"Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin* on Arriving
"Wholly Yours" by The David Crowder Band on B Collision
"All Creatures of Our God and King" by Passion on Hymns Ancient & Modern
"All The Heavens" by Reuben Morgan on World Through Your Eyes
"Better Is One Day" Collection: Top 25 Praise Songs 2005 Edition
"Made To Worship" by Chris Tomlin* on See The Morning

As I would have expected, this list is pretty heavily laden with the standard worship songs of today. Most of these songs have been recorded by multiple artists along the way, and seem relatively nondescript for listening to. They are fun to sing, but it's not what I want to have pumped into my ears during the workday. Good thing I am now officially finished with my little Pandora experiment. I think I can safely say I'd rather listen to a more eclectic mix than might be identified by Pandora, so I'll be back to iTunes next week. I know you just can't wait.

* Acts I've seen live