Abba

The 80′s started with a bang, and like most kids my age I whittled away many a Saturday cradling my poor-man’s ‘Ghetto Blaster’ listening to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40.

Too many classics to mention but one band pretty much sums it up:

A-Ha

The 90′s began, and so did my guitar playing. Overnight it seemed my taste in music matured from cheesy pop to Christian heavy metal…

King’s X

King’s X would still be one of my favourite bands if it weren’t for their public turning away from the Christian faith.

Someone must have been praying for me during this time because folk music started to be played on my system more and more…

Keith Green

During the 90′s and early 2000′s because of my loathing of ‘artificial music’, I simply refused to listen to, let alone buy any band that featured a keyboardist. One band caused me to repent of my syth-descrimination…

Delirious

The early 2000′s showcased some simply amazing New Zealand guitar driven worship – which I might add, has shaped my music style permanently. Props to Dean Rush (Form), Bruce Conlon (Eight), Brian Platt (Solace), and Mark Bourgeois (Elephant). Amazingly, all of the above attended the same church in Auckland.

Eight

One band has dominated my stereo in recent years: David Crowder Band (which genuine Christian isn’t a fan of him?)

David Crowder Band

2010 is just around the corner, and where is my taste in music heading? I’m not too sure, but thanks to a good friend of mine, my latest musical purchase is reminiscent 80′s disco synthpop.

Owl City

And so, my life defined by music genres…

1970′s – Disco
1980′s – Pop
1990′s – Christian Heavy Metal
2000′s – Guitar Driven Worship
2010′s – Reminiscent 80s disco synthpop???

Full circle it seems. (I don’t know whether to laugh or cry

What I bet most of us Gen X’s don’t know (or anyone else for that matter) is that Mr. T had a brief stint as a singer/songwriter. I kid you not… and video proof follows.

Kinda catchy if you ask me…

…And that would make me cool (because we all know that anyone into retro stuff is rather hip). Another, even more shocking confession… We even own two copies of the DVD ( original and special anniversary edition).

I do believe a Sound Of Music revival is coming to the world… View clip below, be inspired, and spread the love.
]]> http://www.symondrake.com/the-sound-of-music-rocks/feed/ 7 http://www.symondrake.com/o-how-he-loves-us/ http://www.symondrake.com/o-how-he-loves-us/#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:00:00 +0000 Symon http://www.symondrake.com/?p=111

This song is absolutely phenomenal! It’s amazing how powerful a worship time one can have with the assistance of Youtube . Thanks heaps Neen and co. for introducing the song at camp.

Whoever’s leading worship on Sunday morning, 21st Dec has to do this! (I have a cunning plan…)

And for everyone who has a problem with the ‘sloppy wet kiss’ lyric… just get over it. One of the best moments in the world is when your one year old child, totally out of the blue, kisses you for the first time. Three words to describe it…. wet, sloppy, and amazing.

Anyway, she showed me the following clip. It brought tears to my eyes, put everything in perspective, and proved yet again that God is good regardless of the circumstances or the news, and that the garment of praise really does combat the wet blanket of heaviness.

Be blessed.

Youtube is awesome for watching classic retro clips, and I just found one which features my three favourite muppets of all time! I’m a blessed man, I am.

My five favourite Muppet Show characters have always been (in order of greatness):

Beaker
The Swedish Chief
Animal
Crazy Harry
Gonzo

I showed ‘Mahnahmahnah’ at youthchurch the other week. Most of the crowd wouldn’t have been born when the song became famous. I don’t know which was more entertaining… the video-clip or watching the people watching the video-clip.

Yes indeed, the magic of the Muppets really does span generations.

So, to add some happiness to your day, and to offer an antidote for those mid-week blues, here’s Beaker singing ‘Ode To Joy’. Enjoy!

(Expect more random Muppet posts in the future;-)
]]> http://www.symondrake.com/ode-to-the-muppet-show/feed/ 6 http://www.symondrake.com/stellar-karts-latest-is-stellar/ http://www.symondrake.com/stellar-karts-latest-is-stellar/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:30:00 +0000 Symon http://www.symondrake.com/?p=37

After two months of trashing ‘Innocent’ to death (bought the single on Itunes), I bought Stellar Kart’s latest offering: Expect The Impossible. I usually stick to worship-orientated bands, but the video for ‘Innocent’ was so funny, that I stepped out of the boat of ‘preferred music genre’ and tried something different… Amen. I love these guys! Summing up the album in 5 words: catchy, happy, Christian, energetic, and 80′s influenced. (I know what you’re thinking, but 80′s is a number, not a word

As young people get older they tend to progress (or regress, depending on how you look at it) to more milder Christian artists like ‘Shaun McDonald’ or ‘Casting Crowns’. Must be the kidult in me, but I think I’m going in the opposite direction!

The album takes me back to the carefree days of going surfing, no mortgage, and no renovations. I have an attitude toward depressing Christian music (should there be such a thing?), and Stellar Kart has a great message in every song, and is very uplifting while tackling some of the ‘depressing’ issues of life… like wondering-if-the-right-person-will-ever-come-along for example. Here’s some lyrics of ‘The Right One’ just to prove my point…

It’s time to say goodbye

Mistreated one too many times

Mistakes that I have made

Along with these tears will fade away in time

Some day I’ll find…

The right one, my own shooting star

That someone, who won’t break my heart

And I’ll wait forever until we meet

You’re one in a million

The right one for me

The band’s style is: pop-punk/power-pop. I give it almost 3.75 out of 5. The whole family loves it, and after 3 months of thrashing, ‘Innocent’ is my still my 4-year old daughter’s fav song of all time. She even requests that we sing it at Creche on Sunday! (Video below.)

Check out their website here.

Check out track samples of the album here.

Check out the official Stellar Kart youtube channel here.

I want to be innocent
Yours wholeheartedly
Innocent
every part of me
Take me back so I can see
The way that love was meant to be

(I need to get a synth-axe!)