bethany dillon has been one of my fave female singer/songwriters since college. i can't pick one song that's my favorite, but one i really enjoy is "Why" on her first album. she's talking about Jesus, trying to figure out His love for her despite all the times she's pushed Him out of her life. she uses the metaphor of someone living in a house with "3 locks and the shades down" - us, when we try to "close" ourselves off from the One who created us. the chord progressions in this song are awesome, too.
"Control" by mute math is a great running song. i listened to this song in my college days to keep me up for all-nighters, or keep me motivated at all. now when i listen to it, it reminds me of my own need for control in my own life. "take control of the atmosphere", "such a beautiful surrender" - i guess you should just listen to the song to take in all the lyrics, but i imagine the singer wrestling with giving something over to God in his life, and then finding the joy of what it is to release it - "such a beautiful surrender". at the end, the singer starts yelling and it's awesome. this song (among other songs) makes me wish i was a drummer, because at the end, the beat is ridiculously good.
although not for spiritual reasons, the song "fix you" by coldplay is one of my favorites on X & Y. i got to see this song performed live back in november at the wachovia center (larissa and andrea treated me!). you have to listen to the entire album, but "fix you" has this radical progression from super slow to steady and insistent, and keeps building. i love the sparse way the drummer drums at the end. i also love the way the drummer plays in the song "viva la vida" - when they performed it live, he used a tympany and pounded the same rhythm for the entire song - just one steady, fast beat. i do like the song "viva la vida", but it's kind of addicting and then it starts to drive me crazy, because i can't get the tune out of my head.thank God for the gift of music, being able to listen to it, and enjoy it.
