#musicmonday continued
Hi Inspirational ones!
I hope you had a great weekend. For those of us in the UK, it has been COLD. As I sit on my sofa and type, I am wrapped up and really considering wearing gloves because… winter. Gosh.
I hope you enjoyed the previous blog post that went out last Tuesday. As this space gets back up and running again, I mentioned that I wanted to bring back a few features. One of them being Music Mondays. If you are new here, #musicmonday is a segment where I share 3 Christian songs with you all, because I love music and it brings me joy to share songs with others. There is hardly a day that there is not a song or melody playing in my mind or through my headphones/external speakers. Music is life-giving for me!
Indugle me for a bit whilst I pick at the roots of my love for music…
Music & Me
From a young age, I have enjoyed music. I remember my mum singing different songs in the kitchen and being too shy to join her. I used to be one of those people who recorded songs from the radio on a cassette and cut them off just as the radio host started speaking. The playback quality was AWFUL but I was young and didn’t know any better.
I think my first tape was Aaliyah’s “More than a Woman” which was released as a single after she passed in 2001. Some of my first albums on my Sony CD Walkman were Luther Vandross’s “One Night with You - The Best of Love”, Donell Jones’s “Life Goes On”, Britney Spears’ “Oops I Did It Again” (“Don’t Go Knocking On My Door” was my TUNE!) and Aaliyah’s eponymous album “Aaliyah.” I’ve always been one to embrace different styles of music. From Motown and R&B, to pop, to rock - the My Chemical Romance and Panic! At the Disco kind. There is only one genre I couldn’t quite get down with - heavy metal (sorry to all the fans out there!)
I appreciate the sound of music - the harmonies, the chords, the unity of the instruments and voices. The creativity in melodies and the depth of the lyrics. The way music can make you feel empowered or permit you to sit in your emotions just for a while. Some songs hype us up to dance and work out, and others can calm us down when we are angry. At times, one can find a relatability in music that is hard to put into words. Some songs just ‘get’ us and our situation. I want to share music that really speaks to people in different situations, and also ones to vibe to.
‘But wait! Natalie - you mentioned non-Christian music above, but Music Mondays is for Christian Music. Why not all types of music?’
I have been on a journey with the types of songs I listen to since University. A good friend of mine challenged me to take note of lyrics, and I realised that a good amount of the songs I was listening to had hypersexual, non-committal and sometimes aggressive lyrics which didn’t line up with my faith values. However the Christian songs I remember listening to were Methodist hymns, Kirk Franklin, some African praise songs and Songs 4 Worship compilations (if you know you know). As good as these were, it led me to believe Christian music was limited in its scope, and not as exciting as secular music. However, my friend then introduced me to other styles of Kingdom music and artists like Kierra Sheard, Lecrae, Ambassador, Mali Music and my eyes were opened. Since then, I’ve been on a personal quest to expand my Christian music library!
Now, if I add a song to my library that is not under the Christian banner, I make sure to take notice of the lyrics as a first step of approval. To be fair, I do the same for faith-based ones too. Words are so important to me and I want to make sure I am feeding my soul with true, good and comforting things. There’s more vetting I go through, but that’s for another day! Please oooo I’m not claiming to be perfect, because from time-to-time I might hear a song that is a bit… questionable for the lack of a better phrase and muscle memory takes over until I realise… oops! Then I have to catch myself and give myself grace because God gives me grace amid my conviction! I share that for anyone else of similar persuasion that feels shame when muscle memory takes over. Don’t beat yourself up too much. We are human and sometimes these things happen. Take it to God, get up and continue to move in His ways.
In summary, I want to help those who are looking to pursue the expansion of their music library and inspire you to share your finds with others. Christian music is not boring and there is sooo much to explore!
I am working out the frequency of Music Monday as not to overwhelm myself with all the plans I have for this space. So bear with me as I calibrate. For the meantime, I put together a playlist from the songs I shared on Instagram. I will be updating the playlist with each Monday edition so feel free to save it if you have Spotify. Enjoy!
Are there any songs you think I should consider adding to this list? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time, stay peaceful and blessed!
