After a 12-year hiatus, the pioneering alternative rock band the Pixies are back. But this time around they could care less about finding that usual magic ticket to music stardom: a record label.

“Record companies, schmecord companies,” lead singer Charles Thompson said (aka Frank Black or Black Francis). “Who needs ’em?”

Rather than recording a new album and signing a deal with a label, the Pixies are planning their comeback on their own terms. They released their first new single in 13 years, “Bam Thwok,” on iTunes, and they’ve been selling live CDs produced at the performances. Tickets, t-shirts, and these alternative music releases have been paying the bills.

Christianity Today has a personal and revealing interview with Scott Stapp, former lead singer of Creed, who is venturing out on his own with a solo career.

The interview touches on some interesting points, including the fact that Stapp was never asked personally if he was a Christian:

“The nature of my answers are a lot different now that I’m no longer with Creed. I’m a solo artist now, and I don’t have a band to hide behind. So when someone asks me if I’m a Christian, I have to say yes, because I am. But do you know I was never asked in 10 years if I was a Christian personally? We were only asked if Creed was a Christian band.”

And Stapp’s struggle with being a role model:

“But I’m glad nobody asked, because my life wasn’t right with God. The Christian community latched onto a lot of my music, because there were a lot of things about my struggle they related to. But I didn’t really want to come out and be identified as a Christian, because I didn’t want to be a hypocrite, because my life wasn’t right. I didn’t want to make any kind of public profession until I felt like my heart was right.”

Thankfully he comes to a conclusion many Christians still don’t get:

“I’ve since learned that my life’s never gonna be right, and I’m always going to be scrutinized and looked at under a microscope. And it took me, since I was 17 and left home, running from God, to now, as a 30-year-old man, when I honestly feel like I’ve come full circle and my heart’s finally in the right place. I’m still going to make mistakes, but I don’t have any problems with publicly professing my faith now. It just took me a long time to get to the right place in my relationship with Christ.”

The ‘inspired by’ soundtrack for The Passion of the Christ, scheduled to come out August 31, the same day as the DVD, features an eclectic mix of artists, including Scott Stapp, Lauryn Hill, P.O.D., Charlotte Church, MxPx and Kirk Franklin.

“It put my life in perspective,” said former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp. “When I think I have it bad, or when I’m feeling down or complaining or trying to place blame on certain things, I think about what Christ did for me and what he endured, [and] it puts things in the right order. What have I got to complain about? What I need to do is buck up and deal with this.”

Continue reading for a complete track listing.

Continue reading Eclectic Mix of Artists on Passion CD →

Patrick Andrew, former bassist and vocalist for PFR, performed at a release party in the Twin City suburbs last night, celebrating the release of his solo album, There and Then It’s Gone. Andrew was joined on his accoustic guitar by fellow PFRer Joel Hanson on guitar, Matt Patrick on bass, Paul Eckberg (formerly of Eager) on drums, and Mike Andrew on guitar (yes, three guitars in a stuffy Christian bookstore).

The impressive Andrew originals were punctuated by much laughter and few moments of forgotten lyrics, which only further reinforced the album’s themes. The biggest dissapointment was that the nearly-impromptu band came together only for this show. With two-thirds of PFR present, they did launch into a couple PFR tunes (“Great Lengths” and “Them”), simply whetting appetites for a much rumored upcoming PFR release. (Full disclosure: Monkey Outta Nowhere wrote the bio for Andrew’s press packet)

An interesting CD collection and book collaboration project is coming out later this year, “CCM’s Top 100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music.” The project will feature four two-CD volumes of 25 songs each coming out between September 2004 and June 2005. A book of the same name will come out in October giving details and stories behind each song.

The songs were chosen by a group of journalists, industry experts, and fans, though the whole process raises all sorts of questions about what constitutes “Christian music” and how specific songs were chosen (if dc Talk’s “What If I Stumble” made the cut, how many more dc Talk songs will be on the list?). I predict a the usual complete shutout for Tooth & Nail Records and their roster of groundbreaking bands.

The songs from the first volume (the 100 songs were not ranked) include …

Continue reading 100 Greatest Christian Songs →

Last week as 20,000 people prepared to rock out in central Minnesota at the 2004 Sonshine Festival, I wasn’t exactly excited. I’d be attending the three-day Christian music event with my church’s youth group as an adult leader. That meant three days in the hot sun chaperoning whiney teenagers. It’s never as bad as that, but I just wasn’t pumped.

But by Saturday afternoon dust clouds were rising all around me as I skanked with half-a-dozen of my youth group kids and hundreds of other rockers to the sounds of the Insyderz. My three days were filled with good music, lots of laughing, a bit of yo-yoing, and plenty of fun. Whiney teens they were not (for the most part); a rocking festival it was.

Over the three days I rediscovered music of my youth, discovered new bands, and pulled out my yo-yo for the first extended yo-yo jam in a long time. As you can imagine, the youth group kids saw the secret life of an ordinarily quiet and reserved leader.

Continue reading Sonshine 2004 →

I spent a bit of my birthday money on iTunes downloading a few tracks that have been stuck in my head (I’m tired of Drive 105 telling me when I can listen to them).

Strangely enough, I had my own Brittish invasion. Of the five songs I downloaded, three were Brittish pop bands: Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out,” The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me,” and Morrissey’s “Irish Blood, English Heart.”

I also downloaded Michelle Branch’s “Goodbye to You,” thanks to its perfect placement at one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s sixth season low points (of which there are more than a few).

Finally, I grabbed Standbye’s “Don’t Panic, Don’t Panic, Don’t Panic.” They’re a local band in a current state of not much happening. The song is available on the 2024 Records jukebox, but I wanted my own copy. 2024 recently added several of their artists to iTunes (including Romantica!), and it appears I’m the first one to download a Standbye song. Before I downloaded the song their list of ‘Top Downloaded Songs’ said “Contribute to this feature by purchasing music from this artist.” So I did, and now “Don’t Panic…” is listed. The ‘Listeners also bought’ feature also includes all the above bands — and only the above bands.

Sadly, I don’t think I won an iPod in iTunes’ 100 million downloads giveaway. Though someone from Hays, Kansas did.

As FM rock radio has become stale and repetitive, NPR has seen listenership soar 65 percent in the last five years. The music stations are beginning to take notice with the emerging format called “neo-radio.” Ironically enough, NPR covered it, explaining that neo-radio is characterized by knowledgeable DJs, a broader playlist (5,000 songs vs a typical 400), fewer and therefore more valuable commercials, more committed listeners, and perhaps most shocking, a calmer, quieter approach that’s more akin to NPR than shockjocks.