My Own Little World

Hillsong UNITED has just released a new album. That sentence alone conjures various reactions, ranging from groaning to scoffing to cheering. Whatever the reaction, a new album from the Aussies is a momentous occassion in worship music. The Hillsong group of bands is arguably the best known and most sung of the major worship artists. Until 2013, most music critics did not want anything to do with any of the Hillsong bands, however, as they typically released what seemed like the same album over and over again. Then came Zion . The release of Zion  changed everything. A formerly complacent band radically challenged the format of the genre which they arguably defined and made for the first time in their career true art. This made it impossible for critics to at least like Zion . It appealed to the hipster crowd musically while still retaining Hillsong's hallmark songwriting. Enter Empires , UNITED's second studio album since transitioning into an indie-ish band. This de

Today, I got an interesting announcement in my inbox. I subscribe to Phil Joel's email newsletter that updates me on all things in his music. I really like him because of his tenure with the Newsboys (he is best known for singing the verses on "Entertaining Angels"), but I've been curious to know what he's up to as of late. I found out for the first time today that he has started a new worship project called  Zealand Worship . I immediately went to their website and looked for any music they had made available. Upon listening to the four tracks there, I decided to initiate a new section for my blog: New Artist Spotlight. I'll be doing these infrequently to highlight new artists, Christian and otherwise, that I find particularly appealing and intriguing. Zealand Worship fits this bill pretty well. They have a sound rooted in the mid-2000s "we want to sound like U2 but not make it too obvious" worship music but with a slight electronic edge to it.

Well, that was exhilarating. Honestly, Mad Max: Fury Road  might be the most fun I've had at the movies in quite some time. I spent the last couple weeks catching myself up on George Miller's action franchise after seeing how well Fury Road  was doing critically. Long story short, the original films are now some of my favorite action movies. Flash forward thirty years, and Miller is back at it again, making the fourth Mad Max film. Without Mel Gibson. Skeptical? Don't be. If there's one thing George Miller knows how to do, it's direct an action film. Save for ten minutes in Beyond Thunderdome , he made three action films that centered around the action. In today's world, most action films try to go for emotional depth and complex scenarios only to drag themselves down with unnecessary clutter. While Fury Road  does add narrative heft and some emotional backstory, it augments the action and doesn't distract from it. The one complaint I have with Mil