Midway through 2017 I decided to make a conscious effort to expand my music taste. I have a bad habit of listening to one artist, and sticking with that artist until death do us part. (Or I just get tired of binge listening to them.) So hopefully, I will get some feed back from you on music suggestions, as I am still very out of touch with some good music that I know is out there. As we move forward into the new year, I've decided to boil down some of the bands/artists that I want to keep and the ones that I need to drop. Here they are:
The Gray Havens - Keep 'Em
Most of you knew that they had to make the list, so might as well put them at the top of it. I'm keeping them in the rotation due to their remarkable ability to produce wholesome music without wandering into cheesy analogies. They do a very good job at telling stories through their music. They continue to impress me. Their most recent album they dropped in 2016 Ghost of a King is well worth the listen.
One of my favorites: At Last, the King.
Taylor Swift - Drop 'Em
Taylor. You used to hold a special place in my heart. You produced albums such as Fearless and Speak Now. But now, with the advent of Reputation you have really dropped out of my books. For me, I am dropping Taylor Swift from my regular listens. I had already been tending this way for the past few years, but I decided to give her entire album a listen, and it didn't impress me. At all.
NF - Keep 'Em
Yeah, we are bouncing all over the place. First it was Christian folk pop, then it was straight up pop, now we're in rap. I am completely sold on NF. He, much like The Gray Havens, delivers phenomenal content and tells brilliant narratives in the process. He is telling a story with each of his albums, and his latest album Perception is no exception. And for that reason, he is an easy keep.
Favorite song - Destiny.
But if you want to know what the album is all about listen to - Intro III.
Eminem - (Tentative) Drop 'Em
To stay in the same genre, I want to discuss Eminem for a second. I have listened to a couple of his recent songs, and have tried to work through his most recent album, but there seems to be so much anger and hatred built up in his music that it wears me down. To add to this, the message in his music doesn't cut it for me. But he is definitely ridiculous at what he does, so I'm only listing him as a tentative drop. (Open for discussion.)
Ed Sheeran - Keep 'Em
Ed Sheeran continues to impress me with the music that he writes and produces. He has always been a solid go to. I tend toward the singer/songwriter genre over all, and he is the epitome of that genre. I must admit that he has a slightly different sound in his album Divide with some of his songs like Barcelona and Galway Girl, but it makes sense to me. Much like anything else, you tend to grow in whatever craft you have dedicated yourself to, and you continue to find out more about yourself and your abilities the longer you work at it, and I think that is what we are seeing here with him. For all of these reasons, he is an easy keep.
Favorite song - Dive.
Rich Mullins - Keep 'Em.
Didn't see that coming? Or you might've thought, who? He was a staple in my family growing up, so that is probably one of the reasons that I am partial to him. He was a well known contemporary Christian music artist back in the 80s and 90s. He produced albums such as The World as I Best Remember it, Volume One and Two. In my opinion, he produced good contemporary Christian music. He is a keeper and well worth a listen.
Favorite song - Boy Like Me/Man Like You.
Niall Horan - Drop 'Em
I tried but I couldn't. I knew about him from his former days with One Direction, but his recent album Flicker (Deluxe) didn't clear the bar. (And the bar wasn't that high.) Simply for that reason, he is a drop for me.
Steals -
To close out, I just want to recommend you a couple artists that may only have a couple well known songs, but that should definitely crack into your playlists.
Daniel Duke - Keep 'Em.
Jason Gray - Keep 'Em.
James Arthur - Keep 'Em.
Also, discovered these jewels:
Jon Bellion - Anything Acoustic. I know he is fairly popular, but I ran across some of his acoustic stuff, and they are really good.
What are some of your suggestions?
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