It’s such a ‘hip’ thing to say, “I like all kinds of music.” I just read a great post by Brett McCracken where he explains the Coldplay Effect. Hipsters and indies liked Coldplay when they were obscure, claiming they “just liked good music.” But when Coldplay got big, they dumped them for artists less well-known. It’s just a funny little cycle and McCracken turns it inside out in a way that makes so much sense. I’m really not trying to be hip when I say I like a lot of different styles, because I’ll add that there is definitely music I don’t like. I try to be indifferent about whether it is popular or not. It just seems like once music gets popular it all starts to sound the same. (Yikes, I hope I’m not a hipster in denial!)

Today, I decided to download music from iTunes.

This is worth sharing only because I never do. I am a pretty good internet sleuth for free (legal) music. Artists are sharing their music in return for our free publicity. This situation works out well for me, unless someone asks me to make a mix for a party… I don’t have what runs on the radios these days. So, I really can’t remember the last time I used my iTunes account.

That’s the first reason I mention I downloaded music from iTunes.

The second reason is the dissimilarity in the two albums.

The first is from a rap/hip hop artist who has gained crazy popularity with people like John Piper, CJ Mahaney, and Randy Alcorn. I love what Shai Linne said about the album in an interview when asked why rap is a good platform for his message,

“In many ways, I think hip-hop is actually an ideal genre for a project like this, because the format allows for so many more words to be used than in other genres. Because of this, the potential for transfer of ideas is much greater. Hip-hop lends itself to exposition. The challenge was finding suitable musical backdrops to properly convey the emotional depth of such a glorious topic.”

I like rap. I like to rap freestyle and roll out someone else’s rhythm. This kind of rap, though, the kind expositing Truth, has got me like a cup of hot coffee on the first day of snow (today).

The second comes from the guy who wrote, “How He Loves,” which you might know from several other artists who have recorded since. I like the way this guy thinks. “Genuine” is one of those terms people like to manipulate these days, but I believe John Mark McMillan. I’m a person who likes poetry and beauty and simplicity and purpose… and revealing a stronger, redemptive thread running through the tapestry of tragedy.

I’m so glad Truth has no genre.

My heart is happy that God created us in His image with a desire to create beautiful things. My heart is even more happy when people do this and it inspires me to return to my First Love.

It is TRUTH that allows us to

let LOVE fly like cRaZy