ROUND THREE: Endgame.

Ladies and gentlemen:

The moment of truth has arrived. After literal hours of consideration, the Life and Times of Joshua Clayton Blog is now ready to announce the results of judging in the first annual LATOJC Blog Summer Music Awards.

Drum-roll please.

We’ll start off with the Specialty Music Awards.

There were so many tracks in many categories that I found it imperative to have some Honorable Mention awards. So close…it was a tough decision. Of course, I felt at first like listing several honorable mentions for each category. I forced myself to be tough and only do one for each, at most. I’ll start off with those:

HONORABLE MENTION

“Tired Heart,” Bleach, Best Guitar Solo.
“She Cries,” EastWest, Best Guitar.
“I’m in the Way,” Jars of Clay, Best Acoustics.
“Jealous Kind,” Jars of Clay, Best Piano/Keys.
“Landslide,” Seven Places, Best Backing Vocals.
“Landslide,” Seven Places, Best Vocals.
“Take Me Away,” Delirious?, Best Drums/Percussion.
“Entertaining Angels,” Newsboys, Best Strings Arrangement.
“Show You Love,” Jars of Clay, Best Pop Song.
“Jesus Freak,” dc Talk, Best Rock Song.
“The Sleeping Giant,” Hangnail, Best Punk Song.
“Show You Love,” Jars of Clay, Best Soft/Acoustic Rock.
DavidCrowderBand, Best Artist.
Illuminate, DavidCrowderBand, Best Album.
“Facedown,” Matt Redman, Best Worship Song.
“I Aspire,” Hangnail, Most Listens for a Single Track.
“Tired Heart,” Bleach, Most Moving Track.


I repeat, those were HONORABLE MENTION for those categories.

Now for the specialty award WINNERS.:

BEST GUITAR SOLO was dominated by several heavyweights. Actually the choice I arrived at surprised me, as it’s not necessarily the most catchy solo. But upon fair analysis, the most artistic and most articulate guitar solo I found to be, “ALIEN,” DELIRIOUS?.

BEST GUITAR was perhaps the hardest specialty award to award. In the end, the best all-around use of the guitar was heard in “LOVE IS THE COMPASS,” DELIRIOUS?.

BEST BASS goes to “HELLO MCFLY,” RELIENT K. No further comment to be made there. Great backing and solos.

BEST ACOUSTICS goes to “STARS,” DAVIDCROWDERBAND. It’s crisp clear and beautiful. Everything you’d want in an acoustic song.

BEST PIANO/KEYS goes to “FALLEN,” TAIT. They’re pretty and catchy.

BEST BACKING VOCALS goes to “I ASPIRE,” HANGNAIL. They complement the chorus beautifully and potently.

BEST VOCALS goes to a song that is simple musically, allowing for two male singers to sing off each other. The vocals of “INSIDE OUTSIDE,” DELIRIOUS?, simply defy the normal abilities of human vocal chords, seemingly.

BEST DRUMS/PERCUSSION goes to “I’M IN THE WAY,” JARS OF CLAY. They’re fast furious and inventive.

BEST STRINGS ARRANGEMENT award goes to someone I didn’t intentionally intend to receive it, but “RUN,” KUTLESS, deserves it. While other songs had louder strings and more of them, the repeating cello line played several times in the song’s course are perfect and complement the guitars perfectly. This is the way to arrange strings. Simply beautiful and adding a whole new layer of depth to the song.

BEST POP SONG is “COLORED PEOPLE,” DC TALK. The three singers of this group that defined modern Christian music sing off each other beautifully…it’s a great feel-good song that makes you think…and it’s not “over-produced.” This is the good kind of pop.

BEST ROCK SONG (coveted award) goes to “GET UP,” BLEACH. It beat dc Talk’s Christian rock-defining anthem “Jesus Freak” by the slimmest of margins, but it deserves first. “Get Up” is catchy, strong, riveted by raucous guitars, and recurring riffs and beats that leave you coming back for more…again and again. It’s 3 minutes of solid, chunky, stirring, complex noise.

BEST PUNK SONG is “SURVEY OF SELF,” HANGNAIL. This band takes punk where it hasn’t gone before. “Survey of Self” combines well-thought out lyrics with hardcore guitars and drums and leaves you breathless at the end. It starts and finishes suddenly…and the middle section is pure power.

BEST MEDIUM/HARD ROCK SONG is “YOUR TOUCH,” KUTLESS. This was the easiest choice. This is what hard stuff’s all about. Starting off with a restrained guitar rhythm and building constantly, taking plenty of sudden turns…and creating a soul-stirring cry that is eventually expressed in solid, shouted vocals in the end. Grunge with a message.

BEST SOFT/ACOUSTIC ROCK SONG is “SOMETHING MORE (AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSION),” SWITCHFOOT. Mixing various styles with this band’s trademark, rebel-against-the-status-quo “surf rock,” “Something More” uses strikingly extra-ordinary guitars to create a ballad about Augustine, who, “all this time…has never been awake before.”

BEST RAP/HIP-HOP SONG is “WHAT’S GOIN’ DOWN,” TOBYMAC. Cleverly playing off the oldie, Toby McKeehan combines thought-provocative verses with a red-hot chorus and electric guitars for a different sound. This will get you grooving to the beat of a different drum.

BEST ARTIST goes to a group who truly is an artist, in the sense of appreciating and demonstrating the artistic. British rockers DELIRIOUS? take it this year. Their variety of styles and true musicianship is appreciated. Just as no artist paints two pictures the same…no two songs sound or are crafted the same. Artistic.

BEST ALBUM is JESUS FREAK, DC TALK An oldie but a goodie, the definitive Christian rock album…traversing across a multitude of different styles…never have I felt such a sense of effort vision and purpose in a single album. The many messages expressed in each song…lavishly inventive lyrically and musically. And the three’s vocals are dynamic together. Let’s be freaky again like we did last summer.

BEST WORSHIP SONG is “WHO AM I?,” CASTING CROWNS. Gets you looking heavenward instantly. How beautiful and absolutely adorational of our Jesus. If you’ve heard the song, enough said.

MOST LISTENS FOR A SINGLE TRACK goes to “SHE CRIES,” EASTWEST. Actually I don’t own the song (will soon hopefully). I just played a 2-minute clip literally everyday this summer since I’ve had it. It’s amazing. Just imagine how many times it will be played once I get the full version (although I have heard the whole version twice before). The recurring soft guitar riff that rises and falls, with the softly-spoken then loud vocals is just spell-binding.

MOST MOVING TRACK is “MOUNTAINS HIGH, DELIRIOUS?”. It’s actually gut-wrenching. The teardrops of the opening piano…the wailing of the guitar madness at the end…the strained vocals…disturbing and liberating without being depressing. Musical expression at its best.

Next is an award for which no nominations were made. The list would have been to massive. BEST LYRIC(S), HONORABLE MENTION goes to:

“Little,” Seven Places.
“Headstrong,” Jars of Clay.
“Breakfast,” Newsboys.
“Reality,” Newsboys.
“Survey of Self,” Hangnail.
“What’s Goin’ Down,” TobyMac.
“Beautiful Day,” U2.

TOP 3 BEST LYRIC(S) ARE:

3. “The Sleeping Giant,” Hangnail. The song addresses the trend of the TV and the cinema in modern society and the subtle effects these media have in lulling us to sleep and dulling our view of reality. They are well-thought out and rock n’ roll. Unapologetically candid.
2. “Company Car,” Switchfoot. The song is almost a ballad, the testimonial of a businessman who has sacrificed his morals and values to further his life. As the speaker spills his guts, a unique viewpoint is offered on success.
1. “Jealous Kind,” Jars of Clay. Simply one of the best songs lyrically, ever. It examines the kind of love God has for us as…jealous. The piano gospel/blues track’s lyrics are as follows:

I built another temple to a stranger
I gave away my heart to the rushing wind
I set my course to run right into danger
Sought the company of fools instead of friends

You know I’ve been unfaithful
Lovers in lines
While you’re turning over tables
With the rage of a jealous kind
I chose the gallows to the aisle
Thought that love would never find
But hanging ropes will never keep you
And your love of a jealous kind
Love of a jealous kind

Trying to jump away from rock that keeps on spreading
Look for solace in the shift of the sinking hand
I’d rather feel the pain all too familiar
Than be broken by a lover I don’t understand
‘Cause I don’t understand

One hundred other lovers
More, one hundred other altars
If I should slow my pace
And finally subject me to grace
And love that shames the wise
Betrays the heart’s deceit and lies
And breaks the back of foolish pride

And now for the top 10 tracks, in no particular order:

Drum-roll please.
Da-da-da!

THE TOP 10 SUMMER TRACKS (in no particular order):

1. “Mind’s Eye,” Dc Talk, Jesus Freak. Starting off with a ghostlike guitars and a short poem by Toby McKeehan…the ghostlike guitars get more volume and then rocket into a catchy bongo-beat to start this song that is an explanation to the skeptic of how we can serve a God we can’t see. Containing a rap, Michael Tait’s soulical singing of the soothing chorus, a preacher in the middle reinforcing the song’s point, “Mind’s Eye” is one of those songs that connects with the soul and makes you think, “yeah, exactly what I’ve been thinking but unable to express.”

2. “Get Up,” Bleach, Astronomy. Bleach knows how to rock. And the opening track from their last and final album release more than proves that. A growling guitar riff opens up, repeating over and over, louder and louder, with more and more drums till the lead singer scream-sings, “GET UP GET UP GET OUT YEAH!”, the recurring line in the song. No deep lyrics, but just a song to make you smile after a letdown or defeat and aspire to pick up and move on. Bleach shows their approach to picking up the pieces. Don’t have a pity party. Cough, sigh, scream, smile, and get to grooving again. The funky drum beat of this slow-tempo but high-energy rocker will leave you coming back for more, again and again and again. You may even look forward to waking up in the morning, if this is your “get up” call. And the growling guitars just make me smile everytime.

3. “Feel It Coming On,” Delirious?, World Service. While one band deals with hardship through lightheartedness, another may take an entirely different approach. And they both can work well. Here, delirious? chooses to stare pain in the face with an unflinching stance. The 5-minute rocker is full of twists and turns and is simply stunning. Opening with a restrained guitar riff that gets under your skin, and then proceeding with a funky bassline and weird drum pattern, Martin Smith half-whispers a verse ending “Careful when you look, for my heart has leprosy, all I want is to see Jesus, just one touch and I’ll be free.” And then the guitars change for him to sing “Oh…I feel….I FEEL IT’S COMING OOOOOOOO!, O-O-O-OON. And when you CALL…my name…IT FEELS LIKE HEAVEN!” Then comes in a killer riff, followed by verse two, which leaves the whispering for a crazed sing-scream until the chorus again, “HOLD ME TONIGHT” and then a cyberpunk guitar section. Here, the song simmers down into softness with interspersed piano, as the singer sings here and there…until the song speeds up a little bit again for a final…”hold me hold me hold me tight as we walk into Your burning light.” This is a modern masterpiece. And one rollercoaster ride that tugs at the heartstrings.

4. “New Way to Be Human,” Switchfoot, New Way to Be Human. Ever heard a band incorporate horns, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and pop sounds in a song that slows down then speeds up then slows down yet grips your attention to the end? Well then you have “New Way to Be Human.” A fresh way of looking at the redemption of lost humanity. The chorus is catchy and just makes you want to yell, “THERE’S A NEEEEEW WAY TO BE HUMAN!” And in truth, as the song concludes, God is the ONLY way to be human.

5. “Your Touch,” Kutless, Kutless. Some say Kutless emulates the band Creed too much, this and that. So I decided to buy their debut album and decide for myself if I’d like them. Hey kids. I found that we finally have a hard rock group to unabashedly proclaim the gospel. The album is great but no song can beat the opener, “Your Touch.” The opening restrained guitar leads into the grunge that simmers down into a repeated bass riff, then rockets into a “I was lost but now I’m found,” rockets back to the chorus, then ends with thrashing guitars and a screamed “YOUR….TOOOUUUUUUUUUUUU-UCH!” Hard rock isn’t normally my style…but this song seems too good to pass up for at least a listen.

6. “Landslide,” Seven Places, Lonely For the Last Time. The first time I heard it, I was like, “whoa! Who is THAT?” with a smile on the inside. “I feel crazy, hope is hazy right now…but I won’t freak out.” This is what I’ve nicknamed a “sugar punk” song. A song with loud guitar riffs that sets you at ease? Who would’ve thought? It’s so catchy…and the vocals are ethereal. “Here’s to the name above all names…I will trust you Jesus, I’ll be brave.” It’s a 2 and ½ minute joyride to get your hands back in the air where they should be and to affirm that we’re going to ride out the storm through the only Way out of the landslide.

7. “She Cries,” EastWest, The Light in Guinevere’s Garden. This was E/W’s first song I heard. So, naturally I couldn’t believe they were a metal band. This defo isn’t metal. It opens with a soft guitar riff that just sets your mind at ease. That and the gentle cymbals, along with the half-whispered verses are just beautiful. The thing that’s so good about the vocals is they almost seem unpolished…for the better. It’s a song sung from God to a girl who’s been down and trying to get things sorted out. She’s apparently been away from the Lord, or trying to recover from the past, in the need of acceptance. This is what I call talented musicianship. Volume doesn’t mean good music. And EastWest demonstrates this powerfully with “She Cries,” which ends with a whispered prayer from Psalm 51.

8. “I Aspire,” Hangnail, Transparent.. I can’t seem to get the opening punk riff out of my head. This is the most uplifting song I’ve ever heard…quite possibly. It’s one of those songs that rocks…yet is beautiful. The singer’s potent, “aspiring” vocals ring true with the listener: “I want to be a shining light, giving hope to those who feel hopeless, consuming the dark of the night. I want to be a burning light, giving charge to those who are weary, and keeping the fire alive!” The verses have a bit more creativity…but who needs creativity when the aforestated chorus is sung so beautifully? Ever since I’ve owned the CD containing this track, I’ve listened to it at least once a day…that’s been for over a month now.

9. “God Is Not a Secret,” Newsboys, Shine: The Hits. TobyMac joins the boys for this hip-hop/rocker. Hard guitars and turntables? That’s beyond the point. “You don’t understand, I’m not talking multiple choice. You don’t get it man. If the cries offend you, fine, another voice. I am not running for office here. I heard that new age lie…” “Take back your free advice…I will not play those games…God is not a secret to be kept.” This song is an answer to the temptation of people who say we should tone down our Christ-centered message. This got many listens this summer.

10. “The Sleeping Giant,” Hangnail, Transparent. Hangnail isn’t my favorite artist overall, but they must be pretty good for them to be the only artist to have 2 in the top 10. I guess it’s that I’ve never heard such eloquent lyrics in such a musically-great band. Here, we look at the fact that “Life is broken in Hollywood” and how “it’s hard to see the damage done” when “we can’t live without it (the T.V.) on.” The first part of the song is a mile a minute…but the simmering down ending of “Life is broken in Hollywood” allows the listener to contemplate what’s just been heard. And it’s a little unsettling to think of the ramifications.

AND NOW, IF YOU’RE STILL AWAKE, WE WILL OFFER THE AWARDS TO THE TOP 3 OF THESE 10, AND THEN THE #1 SONG OF THE SUMMER.

The bronze medal goes to “Get Up,” Bleach, Astronomy.
The silver medal goes to “I Aspire,” Hangnail, Transparent.

The choice between the song receiving the silver medal and the gold was as slim as the width of a strand of hair, but receiving the gold medal, the #1 song of the summer is

“LANDSLIDE,” SEVEN PLACES, LONELY FOR THE LAST TIME. Congratulations, Seven Places for putting out such a wonderfully addictive track!

Thanks for attending this year’s first annual Summer Music Awards. Have a safe and pleasant evening.