Here’s what is making news today…

• Album of the Year
• Artist of the Year
• Group of the Year
• Recorded Song of the Year
• Song of the Year
• Seasonal Song of the Year – “How Many Kings”
• Rock Song of the Year – “My Last Amen”
• Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year – “Ending is Beginning”
• Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year – “Here I Am”
• Modern Worship Song of the Year – “Live For You”
• Inspirational Song of the Year – “The Beggar Who Gives Alms”

1. Skillet – “Awake”
2. NeedtoBreate – “The Outsiders”
3. Mark Schultz – “Come Alive”
4. Selah – “You Deliver Me”
5. J Moss – “Just James”
6. Leeland – “Love is on the Move”
7. James Roberson – “Everybody Dance”
8. Hillsong – “Faith+Hope+Love”
9. Oh, Sleeper – “Son of the Morning”
10. Vickie Winans – “How I Got Over”

• Barlow Girl – “Love & War”
• Thousand Foot Krutch – “Welcome to the Masquerade”
• Bethany Dillon – “Stop & Listen”

~j

Sorry about the delay in yesterday’s post…Forgot to click the “Publish Post” button before closing out the browser. Oops!

Here’s what I’m listening to this week.

• Chasen – “On and On” (80%)
• Kutless – “What Faith Can Do” (80%)
• Phil Stacey – “You’re Not Shaken” (70%)
• Sanctus Real – “Forgiven” (70%)
• Robbie Seay Band – “Miracle” (70%)
• Barlow Girl – “Beautiful Ending” (70%)
• Remedy Drive – “Heartbeat” (65%)

Those percentages by the way indicate the chance that particular song has of being played on Total Axxess, in my humble opinion. However…As always, I leave it to the Test Results! Now…Not all of the songs I’m listening to this week were tested, only Chasen. I’ll be filtering in the others over the coming weeks.

By the way…If you have a suggestion of a song/album/whatever, for me to listen to, leave me a comment with details!

~j

Last week’s Total Axxess Music Test provided me with the following Top 5 Testing Songs:

1. The Fray – “You Found Me”
2. Bluetree – “God of This City”
3. Fireflight – “Unbreakable”
4. The Afters – “Ocean Wide”
5. FM Static – “Take Me As I Am”

This week, here are the Top 5 Testing Songs:

1. The Fray – “You Found Me”
2. Bluetree – “God of This City”
3. Fireflight – “Unbreakable”
4. FM Static – “Take Me As I Am”
5. The Afters – “Ocean Wide”

So…FM Static and The Afters switch spots…Still…Last week’s Top 5 Testing Songs hold on for another week!

~j

Happy Tuesday!

It’s always good when a Tuesday rolls around, because that means NEW MUSIC! Here’s a couple of notable albums worth picking up when you get a chance:

That’s it…Kind of a quiet New Release Tuesday.

Oh…Read this little blurb from someone asking Phil Wickham a bunch of questions, thought it was entertaining and worth sharing, so…Here you go!

Q&A with Phil Wickham:

What’s the most played song on your iPod? “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon

What are you reading right now? “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn

Your favorite summertime activity? Going to the beach!

What sports teams do you root for? The San Diego Chargers when they are in the playoffs.

What’s your go to Starbucks order? A grande coffee.

Your favorite Bible verse? Revelation 21-22

What’s the name of your new album and when does it come out? It’s called “Heaven & Earth,” and it releases Nov. 17.

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be? A backup dancer for TobyMac

Do you twitter? Yup! Follow me @philwickham

That’s it for today. Short and Sweet!

~j

Great question…Here’s what Todd Agnew is listening to:

“First, there is so much new music out this week that it is hard to make a playlist. But I definitely look forward to spending more time with the new Skillet record, the new Leeland, and the new Selah CD.

And for you rockers, I’m enjoying this new EP by Silverline. And of course, there’s new records by Matt Redman and Aaron Shust to consider as well. The new Derek Webb, Stockholm Syndrome is amazing. And Matt Papa is a great new worship artist, incredibly creative, who released a great new record last week called Your Kingdom Come.

Still listening to the new Kings of Leon (incredible) and the latest Third Day, Revelation. Oh, and still killing the Albertine record by Brooke Fraser. -Todd Agnew”

There you have it…Straight from an artist mouth! Check ‘em out!

Here’s what’s making news today:

• Jason Gray – “Everything Sad is Coming Untrue”
• Derek Webb – “Stockholm Syndrome”

Meanwhile…Here at the station, I made some changes this week. After reviewing results from the latest “Total Axxess” music test, Bluetree – “God of This City” moved into regular rotation for the whole day. That left a slot open for my “Total Axxess” group of songs, so…I added The Fray – “You Found Me”. Listen for it on “Total Axxess” as early as tonight! (7p – 11p)

~j

Earlier today I spoke about Chasen and how I wasn’t able to give you a taste of their song, “On and On”, well…Just wanted to update you…There is a new Music Test on JQ Family Rewards and one of the songs being tested is Chasen – “On and On”.

What are you waiting for? Go take the test!

Before I delve into today’s post. Just want to bring your attention to the right-hand side of the blog. Every time I mention an artist in a posting, I’ll be adding their name & link to the “Notable Sites” listing, that way it’s easy to find who’ve I’ve talked about and easy to find them!

That said…Here’s today’s posts.

With a new album review on Tuesday, song scores yesterday, I’m listening to music today. Here’s how I listen…I turn it on and make notes in my “Music Diary” so that I can look back and reference my initial reaction AND since I assign a percent to each song (percent, as in, what percent chance does it initially have at being played on Total Axxess) I can also look back and see how good my gut feelings were on those initial listens.

That said, here are a few songs I’ve listened to that are worth mentioning:

• Barlow Girl – “Beautiful Ending”
• Robbie Seay Band – “Miracle”
• Chasen – “On and On”
• Kutless – “What Faith Can Do”
• Remedy Drive – “Heartbeat”
• Sanctus Real – “Forgiven”

Diary thoughts? Here they are…

So…We’ll see what happens. I’m very excited about the Chasen song. I’d really like to give you a sample, but…I can’t find it on YouTube, Their Website or MySpace, iTunes, etc. AND I don’t feel right uploading part of the song…Don’t want to break the rules. So…the only chance you’ll have in the near future to catch a sample of it, is in a Music Test on JQ Family Rewards. Not a member? Sign up today…it’s easy, free, and you could win some prizes.

Anyway…That’s enough for now. If you have any thoughts…Toss ‘em in the comments!

~j

So yeah, I work for a radio station, and I help to program the music that runs during our evening program…”Total Axxess“. It’s a little more CHR than the rest of scheduled day, or a little more ‘rocky’ for those who don’t know what CHR means.

Anyway…For the last week I’ve been testing 10 songs with the station audience to see what songs they actually want to hear. Here are the songs I tested: (in alphabetical order by artist)

• Bluetree – “God of this City”
• Decyfer Down – “Fading”
• Fireflight – “Unbreakable”
• FM Static – “Take Me as I Am”
• Group 1 Crew – “Movin’”
• NeedtoBreathe – “Lay ‘Em Down”
• Skillet – “Hero”
• Tenth Avenue North – “Hold My Heart”
• The Afters – “Ocean Wide”
• The Fray – “You Found Me”

The Fray – “You Found Me” currently isn’t in rotation for “Total Axxess” on the station, but I wanted to test it anyway because I think it’s a solid song. Here the Top 5 testing songs:

1. The Fray – “You Found Me”
2. Bluetree – “God of This City”
3. Fireflight – “Unbreakable”
4. The Afters – “Ocean Wide”
5. FM Static – “Take Me As I Am”

The song that didn’t test well and came in last place, Group 1 Crew – “Movin’”.

With that information, looks like I’ll be dropping Group 1 Crew and adding The Fray. So…Keep an ear out between 7p-11p weeknights, for The Fray – “You Found Me”. Want to hear it sooner…Here’s the Official Music Video!

That’s all for now. Thanks for ‘tuning’ in.

~j

It’s Tuesday…And if you love music (or Movies) enough, you know that new albums release on Tuesdays! (Usually)

That said…I have 4 notable CD releases today.

Skillet – “Awake”
(Also available in Deluxe Version)

Mark Schultz – “Come Alive”

Leeland – “Love is On the Move”

and

NeedtoBreathe – “The Outsiders”
(Also available in Deluxe Version)

Oh…and the links are all for iTunes, mostly because of my love for Apple. Well…That, and the fact that you can then immediately listen to 30 seconds of every song on the CD.

Moving on…I’m a HUGE fan of NeedtoBreathe. I’ve been waiting for “The Outsiders” for a number of months now. Pretty much since I heard it was coming out. Well…I’ve gotten my hands on a copy and listened all the way through it about 5 times, and with 14 songs, that’s a lot of music.

Without further ado…Here’s my review!

NeedtoBreathe – “The Outsiders“

“The Outsiders” is NeedtoBreathe’s 3rd release. Following “Daylight” and “The Heat“. In this reviews humble opinion:

“Daylight” – Solid!
“The Heat” – Solid and Great!
“The Outsiders” – Solid, Great, and Different! (In a good way)

What I mean by this is, the essence of NeedtoBreathe is still there. The sound, tamber, build, etc. But something, that I have yet to determine, is a little different about this release, that’s…well…refreshing.

Here’s the “Track by Track“:

1. The Outsiders – Fun, upbeat, and catchy. For me, it brings me to the edge of country and folk rock. Right where I like it. Rating: 4/5

2. Valley of Tomorrow – Pleasant song and a catchy pre-chorus. The “oh oh oh” is what sucked me in. Word on the street is, any song with “oh oh’s” in it, always succeeds. Rating: 4/5

3. Through Smoke – Could be considered one of the songs that brings the ‘difference’ to this album. I like it, but it’s not my favorite. Raing: 3/5

4. Lay ‘em Down – Heard this one months before today’s release. The “We Will Rock You” hand clapping is catchy and best of all you can totally feel the soulful foundation of the song. Powerful. Rating: 4/5

5. What You’ve Done to Me – Kind of…eh for me. It’s still a solid tune, but not quite there with the majority of the album. Rating: 3/5

6. Hurricane – “Ooo’s” make an appearance in this song to help bring the catchy. The U2 sounding vocals and “Edge” guitar, create a familiar “ahhh” feeling. Rating: 4/5

7. These Hard Times – It’s okay. It’s in the middle of the album, and one that I would probably skip over more than I would search to it. Rating: 2/5

8. Stones – The love ballad on the album. It also brings a solid female vocal to the mix, that almost brings a lullaby feel to it. Good tune. Rating: 3/5

9. Prisoner – Yes! Difference is found here too, but boy is it good. I don’t ‘hear’ it on the radio, but it’s a good tune to rock/travel to. Rating: 4/5

10. Won’t Turn Back – Ahhh…Yes. I really like this one. Might be because of the banjo/piano combo. Again…Walks that line between Country and Folk Rock, but still keeps me comfortable. Rating: 4/5

11. Girl Names Tennessee – The most fun song on the entire album. Don’t miss this one. “Ooo’s” make a return, but it’s okay, that adds to the fun of this track. Rating: 4/5

12. Something Beautiful – Coming from my radio background, and knowing that “Lay ‘em Down” was a radio track, if I had to pick another radio track, it’d be this one. Has all the elements, great message, good chorus, and familiar sound. Rating: 5/5

13. Garden – Heard this one before the album released. Was good then…good now. Another solid tune for the radio. It’s a slower ballad song, but well worth the listen. Rating: 4/5

14. Let Us Love – I like this one too. I’ll say this, great way to finish the album off. It’s a driving song. The chorus seems like they decided to let everyone sing since it was the last song, a little awkard maybe at first, but after a couple of listens…works just fine. Rating: 4/5

Overall Rat
ing: 3.7/5

Overall…If you’re a fan of NeedtoBreathe…Pick it up, it’s essential that you do. If you’ve never heard of them or know of them but aren’t sure, still pick it up. There’s more than enough on this album to make it worth the purchase.

That’s all for now.

~j