The other day in the gym, my Ipod happened upon an MxPx song that took me back to the high school/college years. Back then I listened to a lot of Christian “Punk” and “Ska” music. I’ve been reminiscing ever since, playing a lot of the old jams, so I thought I’d share some albums that I listened to religiously (no pun intended) when I was younger.

Here they are…

The band is named after the greatest invention of all time, so right there they get bonus points. I first heard Slick Shoes at a Christian rock festival when I was 18 years old. Burn Out is probably one of my favorite albums of all time and is only a hair better than Rusty, which you should also listen to if you want to be cool.

Favorite tracks include East on Tracks, For Better For Worse, Late Night Showing.

Sample Track: East on Tracks

 

MxPx is from Seattle, make that Bremerton, so that means they’re cool even if they suck. Luckily, they don’t. They’ve been around for over 10 years and have put out a ton of albums, but none of them compare with this one, their third. This was the album that got me into punk music in the first place.

This album has most of my favorite MxPx songs including Doing Time, Christalena, Southbound I-5, Middlename, and what might be their biggest hit: Chick Magnet.

Sample Track: Doing Time

 

I wasn’t a big fan of Ska before I heard Five Iron Frenzy; then I picked up this album and things changed. All of the sudden I started liking music with horns in it and stuff; listen to the song and you’ll know why. If you’re not a big fan of ska, maybe the same will happen to you. I still pull out this album every once in awhile because it brings back great memories.

Favorite tracks include Blue Comb ‘78, Oh Canada, Handbook for the Sellout and Every New Day.

Sample Track: Every New Day

  
 

I picked this album up, finally, my first year in college. I say finally because everyone around me told me to get it, but I just ignored them. I liked Five Iron, but I didn’t want to admit I actually liked Ska music. I’m glad I finally gave in. This is easily my second favorite ska album, maybe because it’s not your typical ska…it’s edgier. Every track makes you want to jump up and down like a loser…

Favorite tracks include Resolution, Little Man, Unite, and Supertones Strike Back.

Sample Track: Supertones Strike Back

  
 

The W’s were different from other bands because they were swing, not ska. There is a difference…at least that’s what I told myself. There were other swing bands that came out around that time, but this album was my favorite by far.

Favorite tracks include Moses, King of Polyester, Flower Tattoo, and The Devil is Bad.

Sample Track: The Devil is Bad

  

  

 

If you like any or all of these bands (which again, if you’re cool, you will) I would also recommend these albums:

Ghoti Hook - Sumo Surprise
Value Pac - Value Pac
Dogwood - More Than Conquerors
Fanmail - The Latest Craze

I have developed the habit of sharing my thoughts on all the books that I read. It serves two purposes. One, I am able to share with whoever looks at this site some books to read, or to avoid. And secondly, it allows me to spend more time with a book and reflect on them a little more than I would if I just read it and set it down.

Unfortunately, I haven’t really had the chance to share what my favorite books are, mainly because I read them before I started doing this. So, instead of going back and individually posting an entry for every book I decided to compile a list of my favorites in one post.

Here they are:

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Quick Synopsis: One of the 20th century’s enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world, and the ultimate achievement in a Nobel Prize–winning career.

The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.

Quick Thoughts: Easily my favorite book of all time. it can be hard to read and is admittedly not for everybody…but the writing and events that take place in the book are what fiction was made for.

  

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Synopsis: Set in 1935 England, this “New York Times” bestseller is enthralling in its depiction of childhood, love and war, England and class, making it a profound–and profoundly moving–exploration of shame and forgiveness, of atonement and the difficulty of absolution.

Quick Thoughts: If you’ve seen the movie that came out this year, you know what the story is about. It’s less about love than it is about the results of your actions. In my opinion, the style in which Ian McEwan writes fits this story perfectly.

  

  

  
 

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Synopsis: Donald Miller’s fresh and original voice may change the way Christians view the “status quo” faith and build a bridge to seekers who believe that organized religion doesn’t meet their spiritual needs.

Quick Thoughts: I’ve written about this book before. (Blue Like Jazz) I like to call it my instruction manual, besides the Bible of course, on how I want to live my Christian life and share my walk with others.

  

  

  
 

  

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Synopsis: A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewis’s books.

Quick Thoughts: Another book on Christianity. If you’ve ever wondered about the world and why Christians believe what they do, this book would be of interest to you. It’s philosophical in it’s writing and C.S. Lewis goes fairly “deep” but it is worth the read.

  

  

  

 

 

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Synopsis: Oscar is a 300-pound-plus “lovesick ghetto nerd” with zero game (except for Dungeons & Dragons) who cranks out pages of fantasy fiction with the hopes of becoming a Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake.

Quick Thoughts: I read this one recently and fell in love with the characters. The books has tremendous power and immediately jumped into my top five.

  

  

  
 

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Synopsis: In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to a charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet and invented a life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. Jon Krakauer brings Chris McCandless’s uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows and illuminates it with meaning in this mesmerizing and heartbreaking tour de force.

Quick Thoughts: This is an amazing true story and written in a journalistic style, basically it’s a large magazine article. Exciting, and heartbreaking.

  

Also, before I finish, I should mention the Harry Potter books. I’ve read them and enjoyed them all, some more than once.

I’m not sure if I have written about the movie Once before. To be honest, I’m not too worried about it. If I have it doesn’t bother me, the movie is so good it’s worth writing about again. So, whether I have said it before or not, I’ll say it now: You have to see the movie Once.

I watched it again last night, here in my simple room, and once again I’m thinking about it long after the credits have rolled.

The movie takes place in Ireland and is about a guy (who isn’t given a name) who spends his days, and sometimes nights, as a street musician. He meets a girl (who also goes nameless) and they form a friendship over their shared love for music and their similar situations in life.

The movie is a musical in the sense that there are full songs throughout the movie, sung by the main characters, but it’s not a musical in the sense that the characters don’t stop what they’re doing to sing, or dance. The music just fits in with the story, it comes naturally. And, unlike many musicals, the music is good, real good.

I’m not sure what else to say about Once other than even if you aren’t particularly a fan of the music, I have a feeling you’ll still like the movie. After watching it last night I am convinced I can confidently place the movie in my top 3 favorite movies of all time, if not my favorite. It’s just that good. I hope you watch it.