Category Archives: music

once

Posted on
3

If you haven’t seen the Irish indie film Once yet, it’s definitely worth renting this weekend (or whenever). I saw it a few weeks ago and found it to be one of those movies where you’re not ready to talk much right afterward…so you just sit in the silence of your thoughts while the credits roll and the closing music plays quietly. I don’t want to ruin the movie because I think it’s probably better if you go into it without knowing much, but in case you need a small preview to help convince you to go rent it, here’s the video for the song “Falling Slowly” by the film’s co-stars Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová (the song that just won an Oscar for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture).

What struck me most about Once is how simple it is — I heard it only cost around $150,000 to make and they filmed it in 17 days using Handycams — yet, after the first few minutes you hardly notice that the production quality is comparable to a lot of videos on youtube because the characters and their stories (especially their music) are so intensely real. Shortly after watching the film I went on iTunes to download “Falling Slowly” and read a few comments people left about the soundtrack, including one by a user who goes by the name “nycsuarez” that I think speaks to the heart of why the film and it’s music have been resonating with so many people. It said:

There’s something that millions of dollars, the finest – most beautiful actors, the fanciest camera work and the experienced aural work of a top Hollywood composer/soundtrack supervisor can’t buy – and that’s emotion. And authenticity. And beauty. Virtually everything contained with the film “Once” and it’s accompanying soundtrack speak to all that filmmakers and Hollywood should aspire…every song both contributes to the plot of the film, to the structure of the story and the emotions felt by both characters and individuals lucky enough to experience this great cinematic achievement.

Comments like this address not only what worked well in the film – emotion, authenticity, beauty — but they also make a fairly harsh criticism of most other Hollywood films. While thinking about nycsuarez’s comment, I realized they could have just as easily come from a person who has been going to churches for years and just finally found a specific church that approaches faith, life and worship with a realness that most other churches seem to be lacking (honesty, authenticity, they don’t take themselves too seriously, but they take God and faith very seriously). Perhaps it’s a stretch to say that Once gives a new perspective for us to see the church with, but the film definitely offers a new outlook on what is “needed” to make something meaningful, significant and/or real. It didn’t take millions of dollars and Hollywood’s best actors, producers and studios to make a film that has gained a lot of recognition and acclaim. Similarly, churches don’t need expensive sound systems, the best media tools, cool lighting effects or hip worship bands in order to usher people into the presence of God in meaningful ways. Sure, I think those things are cool and sometimes they can help enhance the worship experience, but all that is really needed are people who are open to God’s call and willing to serve the world and invite others to come together to experience the transforming hope, love and forgiveness that is found in Jesus Christ. What do you say Church? Let’s stop making it more difficult than it needs to be. Let’s allow films like Once to remind us how to be the people of God, gathered together as broken pieces and bound together by love. It’s time to become the Church, Christ’s beautiful bride. And as Stevie Wonder would sing, “Isn’t she lovely?”

Kid Rock’s gospel song

Posted on
2

While wasting some time this morning watching TV (VH1 Top 20 Countdown) instead of studying (Systematic Theology), I didn’t expect to see this guy (Kid Rock) singing this song (“Amen”) — but there he was right in front of me on the screen, the former husband of Pamela Anderson singing about having “faith in human nature, our creator and our savior; I’m no saint, but I believe in what is right…c’mon now, amen.”

Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for the full lyrics to Kid Rock’s song “Amen.”

Continue reading →

Music.

Posted on
3

The invention and evolution of digital music has not only changed the way we listen to music, but it’s also effected the way we “obtain” music (buy, borrow, steal). At the root of everything involved are ethics and preferences. My first year of college happened to be the year Napster was started (1999). I have always loved music, but until that point in my life, I had to drive to the store and shell out 15 bucks or ask a friend to make me a tape of music they had already bought if I wanted new music. But now, with Napster, everything had changed. I could sit in my dorm room and by simply logging onto a computer program I was connected with other people around the country (maybe even the world) who were willing to share their music with me for free. It was an incredible new reality for me, and I took advantage like it was going to end the next day. I remember staying up until at least 4:00 am several nights that year because I kept thinking of songs I had always wanted (but never had the money to buy the entire album). All I had to do was type in the name of the artist and/or song and within a few minutes I could have the song downloaded onto my computer and a few days later, by giving a few dollars to a guy who lived in another dorm who had a CD burner (another technological breakthrough that I was in awe of), I could have those newly downloaded songs on a CD and listen to them wherever I went (which at that time was usually basketball road trips). I can remember being on the bus and having some of my teammates make a big deal out of it when I had TEN different burned CDs (they thought that was a lot). By the end of my first semester I think I had downloaded every song I could think of that I didn’t already have on a CD, which probably meant I had somewhere around 1,000 songs.

That same year, Napster became the center of debate in the music industry after several bands (most notably Metallica and Dr. Dre) filed legal complaints against the service for allowing users to download their songs without permission. Napster was definitely not legal, since users were literally stealing music (the artists and record companies were not getting a single penny while people were getting their music for free). The music peeps didn’t like this arrangement, but me and all my friends thought it was a pretty sweet deal (remember we were broke college students, the only thing better would have been a restaurant that delivered free pizza around the clock). Sometime during either my freshman or sophomore year, Napster reached an agreement that they would lock the doors to their music network on anyone who was pirating their songs. So, on a cloudy day in a dorm room on the campus of Luther College, I attempted to log on to Napster like I had so many times before, but rather than gaining access to a glorious buffet of free music, I was instead greeted by a message from Dr. Dre stating that because I had some of his music on my computer I would no longer be able to use Napster (ever!). This was not good news. The irony in this story is that I had just purchased tickets for a concert that coming summer in which Dr. Dre was one of the main acts (I think those tickets were around $60 each). Thanks, Dre…I can’t wait for your expensive concert!

Well, sometime between staying up all night downloading music, going to Dr. Dre concerts and wherever I’m at today, I began thinking about the ethics involved in my behavior as a music lover. Perhaps it has something to do with working in a church and going to seminary, or simply growing up and maturing (including some changes in my music preferences) – and I suppose having friends in the music industry and actually having money to buy music may have played roles as well – but today it’s pretty uncommon for me to get music in a way that is not legal. I’m not going to say it never happens, but it’s a much more rare occurrence than when I was 18. But even looking at this situation with the assumption that the ways most people get music today is legal; there are all sorts of other issues involved, including how individuals listen to music and their preferred methods of getting their favorite music from a CD, website or hard drive to their ears.

I have friends who vow they will never buy an actual CD again; they prefer to buy individual songs or full albums on iTunes. There are certainly advantages to this method of purchasing music. For example, all I need to do is look at all the shoe boxes full of CDs under my bed to realize that I could free up a lot of storage space if I had only bought those albums from iTunes or some other digital music store. Call me old school, but I still love buying CDs. I can’t imagine missing out on one of the greatest joys in my life; the new music experience. I love struggling to take off the clear wrapping around a new CD, fighting to remove that sticker label that runs across the top so I can open the case; and the pop-noise the disc makes the first time you take it off the little round prongs that keep it in its place, I love that sound. I love the smell of a new CD almost as much as I love the smell of the new shoes that came in those boxes where I now keep all my old CDs (but seriously, nothing compares to the smell of new shoes). I love looking at the photography and design of the entire packaging of a CD. When I first started buying CDs in middle school, I remember getting excited by all the new ways record companies printed graphics (and even pictures) onto the actual disc; and when they started making the entire case clear – meaning there was a hidden image to discover behind the CD – I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever. I love flipping through the album’s liner notes – and I still don’t understand why it’s so hard to get them out of the case the first time, but then gets easier every time after.

I have an iPod, so the first thing I usually do with a new CD is import it into iTunes and start listening to it on my computer, but it’s uncommon that I get through the first song before reading the artists’ Thank Yous (as well as the lyrics, but I always read the Thank Yous first). When it comes down to it, I think that’s actually one of the main reasons why I still buy CDs. Sure, it makes sense from a “just in case” perspective to own the CDs — just in case my hard drive should crash and I lost all my music that wasn’t backed up somewhere — and I realize that when you download full albums on iTunes you usually get a pdf of the CD liner notes (what iTunes calls the “Digital Booklet”), but it’s just not the same as holding the real thing in my hands and reading the song lyrics and Thank Yous. There’s something deep and meaningful that happens to me in that moment. Maybe I’m the only one who experiences this (and feels a need to re-experience this when it comes to getting new music), I’m not sure, but the only thing that makes new music more meaningful to me is when I get a CD after seeing that band or artist in concert. I love the feeling that I know a bit about the people behind the music, like they’ve let me into their life or world (or their reality of life in the world), even if it was just for an hour with a few hundred/thousand other people (depending on the size of the concert); but music is a deep and personal thing to me, and nothing is as intimate as being in the same room as people when they’re creating music that puts the thoughts, feelings and emotions of my life into melodies and lyrics. Augustine, the philosopher and theologian from the 4th and 5th century is quoted as having said that “He who sings prays twice,” and although I’m not quite sure what this means, it is clear to me that to many people, music (whether singing or listening) is a sacred thing. No two people have exactly the same taste in music, but regardless of the person, great music always connects with the soul of the listener; so whether it’s worship music, rock, folk, hip hop, country, classical or experimental, one of the greatest joys I’ve experience in life is getting to know the hearts of the people who make the music that connects with my soul. That’s why I love going to concerts. And that’s also why I will continue buying CDs as long as they still make them (and I wouldn’t be surprised if music went “digital only” during my lifetime).

Last night I went to a concert. It wasn’t a great show, but even a bad concert is (usually) better than no concert. I went with a friend and he had an extra copy of one of the artist’s albums, so I ended up seeing live music and taking new music home with me (one of my favorite combos). Since I got home late I didn’t open the CD until this morning, but as I was reading the Thank You notes – after following all the wonderful steps I described above – I found myself reading something I had never read before. Everything seemed pretty normal, as he followed the standard industry format – “Thanks to… God, Jesus, family, friends and anyone else who helped me make this album and become who I am today” – followed by the list of websites where people can “visit him.” But this is where my new music experience was changed forever…

After listing his website and myspace page, he wrote the following: “let me just give you my cell phone number… 555-123-4567! I’d love to hear you from! (And no, this is not a joke!)”

Seriously, this is actually what he wrote; and yes, I changed his phone number because I’m fairly certain the number he listed is his real cell number (although I don’t really know why I’m protecting his personal information since he already shared it with everyone). Honestly, I’m still not sure what to think about this. It’s certainly gutsy, especially in a world where privacy is such a big deal. I have no way of knowing how many people have actually picked up the phone to tell the guy “Hey man, I was just listening to your CD and I wanted to say whats up,” but it’s probably safe to assume that at least a few people have done it. (It doesn’t add a whole lot to the story to give the name of the artist, so I’ll only say that he’s a young male Christian singer, and while he’s no Justin Timberlake, I’m sure JT would never give his phone numbers inside a CD.) I’m intrigued by this invitation for interaction between an artist and his fans, and I’m considering calling him to ask a few questions about his innovative move, just to see if he’s happy with his decision (to find out what kind of response it’s created). If nothing else, it would give me an opportunity to find out if the number he gave is for real.

I never really know what I’m going to write about on anewdoxology until I sit down in front of my computer and start typing. I usually have a general idea because something has inspired me or got me thinking about something I want to explore deeper, but I never write something just to write something. I have to feel led to write before I start writing, and believe it or not, there have been several things I’ve spent hours working on that never made it online (and one recently that I put up for a few hours and then decided to take down). Writing is therapeutic for me and it helps me better understand how I see and think about things in the world. So this morning, I opened a new CD and went about a very normal thing in my life (with no intention of writing about it). I was struck by the openness of an artist to not only share his faith with others through the music he’s created, but also to share part of himself with his fans by giving them his phone number. There’s a lot of trust shown in this action, but if you really think about it, why are we so scared to trust other people with personal things about ourselves? I don’t just love music because of how it sounds, but because of how it makes me feel and the many wonderful ways it leads me to think and ask questions about the most basic and profound aspects of what it means to be a human in this world. I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way…

Why do you love music? What specifically about music stirs your soul and leads you to thoughts and questions that drill to the core of what it means to be alive?

coldplay

Posted on
2

I’ve been to a lot of incredible concerts in my lifetime so far, some that I’m still proud to tell people about (like Garth Brooks, Chicago, Jay-Z, Ben Harper and Jack Johnson, just to name a few), and others that I’m now a little bit embarrassed to admit that I attended (so I won’t list any of them here). Concerts can get pretty expensive, but rarely have I let the high cost of a ticket keep me from seeing one of my favorite bands or artists put on a great show. Yet one of my biggest regrets in life so far was not going to a Coldplay concert with one of my roommates during our senior year of college (the video above for “Clocks” is from that tour). In my defense, I wasn’t a huge Coldplay fan back then (I am now), but that shouldn’t have mattered. Sure, I was a college student at the time, so driving to Minneapolis from Iowa on a weeknight (a “school night”) and paying $50 for a concert probably wouldn’t have been a great financial or academic decision, but I should have realized that a band like Coldplay was guaranteed to put on a “that was the best concert I’ve ever been to in my life” type of show. In fact, that’s exactly what my roommate said about the show when he got back from that concert, and five years later, he still says the same thing about that show. I suppose it’s possible that his memory of the show has improved with time, but during that same time period, my regrets about not going have only increased. I wish I had gone to the Coldplay concert at the Target Center in 2003…

I’m not someone who likes to live in regret, I suppose no one does; I just don’t see the point of it — especially as a person of faith who believes in the forgiving power of God’s grace — but if there’s anything we can take from our past mistakes it is wisdom that will help us not repeat them. So today I have a short list of bands and artists who I will do whatever I can to see in concert if I get the chance, regardless of ticket cost or other factors; the list includes Coldplay, U2, Michael Jackson and possibly John Mayer and Kanye West (I would definitely love to see those last two in concert, but I’m just not sure if they’ve achieved “short list” status yet).

Coldplay’s new studio album is rumored to be set for a May ’08 release and according to a post on the band’s website earlier this fall, it’s going to be “the album people will remember them by.” Hopefully the tour for this album will include a stop in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Who is on your short list that you wouldn’t miss seeing in concert for any reason???

Broken

Posted on
6

I created this video for one of my seminary classes on ministry in a media culture. It’s a collection of photographs, Scripture passages and quotes that I find meaningful; set to the song “Broken” by Lifehouse. As a whole, I think the message of the piece is powerfully simple…God enters into our brokenness and offers us grace, hope, healing and strength. I hope you find it inspiring, affirming, comforting, challenging, or whatever other words you’d use to explain how it moved you to feel or think. If you’d like to share your thoughts in reaction to the video, please leave a comment.

(3/11/08): Thanks for all the comments and emails about this video, it has been cool to hear how it has touched so many people. I never expected this to be anything but a project for class, but I’ve now been asked for permission by a church to use the video during one of their services for Holy Week and we plan to use it in worship at Journey in the coming months as well (if others are interested in using it in worship, please let me know). I made a few small changes, so this is now the second final version of the video (the two earlier versions are still on youtube).

Journey worship (playlist, etc.)

Posted on
6

Several of the people who visit anewdoxology each day get here by following a link on the Journey webpage. Journey is the worship service that I helped start last month at a church in Golden Valley, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis). We worship on Sundays at 5:00pm and if any of you live in the Minneapolis area and would like to experience something different than what most churches offer on Sunday mornings, you should check it out. You can read what I wrote about Journey, or go to the Journey site for more information (including directions and a link to podcast sermons).

We have a lot of fun “doing church” a bit differently at Journey, including the music, messages and overall worship “style.” We realize that not everyone is immersed in the Christian sub-culture (music, media, books, etc.), and we also realize that when people come to worship — or a concert for that matter — their level of comfortability is often influenced by how familiar they are with the music. If they know the songs, they feel right at home; but if they’ve never heard the songs before, they might feel uncomfortable and out of place.

journey-imix.pngThe last thing we want to do at Journey is create an uncomfortable atmosphere where people don’t feel like they can connect in worship. So, as a small step to help people connect, I created a playlist on iTunes of all the songs we’ve used in worship at Journey (so far). These are not recordings of Ben and the worship band, but the original versions of the songs that we borrowed for worship. You can download the songs for $0.99 each and burn them onto a CD, put them on your iPod/mp3 player or just listen to them on your computer. The thought is that if we are more familiar with the music, we will feel more comfortable in worship and be able to sing together with confidence. Our hope is that these songs will become anthems for our community and a soundtrack for our lives.

Here’s a link to the Journey: fresh worship playlist on itunes-png-small.png.

Note: if you don’t have iTunes, click here to download it for free.

Jesus walks

Posted on
2

I want to share a few thoughts and video links on Kanye West’s antics and achievements at the Grammys on Sunday. Kanye won four Grammys, including Best Solo Rap Song (“Stronger”) and Best Rap Album (“Graduation”). I thought his mega-production performance of “Stronger” was really cool and his stripped-down performance of “Hey Mama” was pretty emotional, but nothing was as memorable as Kanye’s acceptance speech for Best Rap Album during which the producers of the Grammys started playing the “wrap it up” music, but in a forcefully persuasive tone that only Kanye could pull off, he silenced the music (and got an ovation for doing so) by saying, “it would be in good taste to stop the music” and then went on to dedicate the award to his mother who recently passed away. It was a fascinating moment bring together Kanye’s full-range of personality…respect, arrogance, passion and emotion.

To celebrate Kanye’s big night at the Grammys (only Amy Winehouse won more awards, with five), here’s a video from one of Mr. West’s first hit songs, “Jesus Walks’ (which is my favorite song to do karaoke, no joke). This is actually the third version of the song’s music video, which is incredible since most songs are lucky to get one video, but Kanye is unique like that; I guess two videos just weren’t enough for him. I’m glad he made this version because it offers an interesting perspective of someone’s idea of what it looks like to have Jesus walking with us during our everyday lives.

“I ain’t here to argue about his facial features / or here to convert atheists into believers / I’m just trying to say the way schools need teachers / the way Kathy Lee needed Regis / that’s the way I need Jesus.”

_________________________________________________________

I apologize if any of the links lead to deleted videos. I’ll try to update them if any of the videos disappear, otherwise you can probably find the videos on youtube.

Update (February 18, 2008): I just checked the links to the videos of Kanye at the Grammy’s and realized all three have already  been removed due to copyright issues (in less than a week). I’ll do some searching and see what I can find…

Music on Grey’s Anatomy

Posted on
Reply

In one of yesterday’s entries, I noted that among Mat Kearney’s big breaks was having a few of his songs featured on Grey’s Anatomy. In fact, he has had two songs (“All I Need” and “Breathe In, Breathe Out”) used as “the song” – which is a pretty big deal, since it usually means a longer portion of the song is used at or near the end of the episode. (Side note: being one of VH1′s “You Oughta Know” artists didn’t hurt Kearney’s career either, especially when they asked him to headline the first “You Oughta Know” Tour last spring).

It seems Grey’s Anatomy is on a mission to help up-and-coming-artists by playing their music during pivotal scenes of their show (see also: The Fray)…a show that just so happens to be watched by a whole lot of people every week, resulting in the band’s song being heard by a whole lot of people (and to top it off, there’s an ad at the end of every episode with sound clips and information about the songs in that week’s episode…iTunes must be a sponsor because the segment includes the line “music from tonight’s episode can be downloaded on iTunes”). If you want to find out more about what songs played in which episodes, ABC has a Grey’s Anatomy: Music Guide where you can search by season and episode to find out which songs were used and, starting somewhere in the middle of Season 3, there’s even a link to buy the song on iTunes and a rather detailed explanation of when it was playing during the episode. (For instance, Ben Lee’s song “What Would Jay-Z Do?” plays at the beginning of Episode 8 of Season 4, “with a view of the Seattle skyline. Derek has a drink with Sydney, Meredith and Cristina watch from a distance, and Mark offers him an escape plan. In the hospital, Bailey puts up an announcement and does a dance. Meredith and George see Izzie and Derek in the elevator and decide to take the stairs.”)

As a result of the writer’s strike there hasn’t been a new episode of Grey’s on TV for at least a month (this is true for most other shows as well, including my other Thursday night favorites – Scrubs and The Office), but there’s hope TV fans! No, the Writers Guild of America does not seem to be nearing a resolution with the television and movie companies (the big issue seems to be about how much money the writer’s receive from DVD sales)…the hope and good news comes in small installments because it seems several shows had a few new/un-aired episodes “in the can” before the strike, and they have been airing them sporadically…but since they have no idea when the strike will end, they don’t want to use all the new episodes and be left with only reruns for the rest of the season. The whole situation really sucks for shows like Scrubs, which is in it’s final season and needs to wrap up several loose ends in the story, and because the actors are contracted for the rest of the season and they get paid per episode; so without writers there are no scripts, and without scripts there are no episodes to shoot, meaning the actors can’t get paid and we, the viewers, have to wait until who-knows-when to see how the series will end.

ABC is finally airing a new episode of Grey’s Anatomy tonight (8pm central) and “the song” will be from one of the most recognizable groups in Christian music over the past 15 years, Caedmon’s Call. (In case you miss tonight’s episode–or don’t have DVR–it will be re-aired on Friday, January 11 at 7pm central, or you can watch it on abc.com). Here is the press release from Caedmon’s record company (INO Records) about their song being featured on Grey’s…

Caedmon’s Call’s lyrically compelling song about redemption, “Ten Thousand Angels” will receive a rare and lengthy place on an upcoming episode of the ABC hit drama series “Grey’s Anatomy” on January 10th. Featuring vocals by Derek Webb, the song will play for five consecutive minutes during an emotionally charged final scene.

In order for the song to fit the length of the scene, an extra minute was even edited in, and with lyrics including ‘so lift up your heart now, to this unfolding, all that has been broken will be restored, here runs deep waters for all who are thirsty, love has come, love has come for you’, its use on one of television’s biggest shows is especially uncommon.

“It’s an honor to be asked to help carry some of the emotional weight of a powerhouse show like Grey’s,” says Webb. “ I think the spiritual significance of a song like “Ten Thousand Angels” will have some really special chemistry with what is bound to be an important episode in the season.”

“Ten Thousand Angels” is a bonus track on the group’s current release, Overdressed, which was in the top 5 (no. 5) of iTunes Editorial list of 2007 for overall “Best Christian Albums”.

Mat Kearney

Posted on
1

If you’re not familiar with Mat Kearney’s music you need to watch the video for the song “Undeniable” (sorry it’s not just posted here, but I couldn’t find a version of the video on youtube that allowed embedding on other sites). If you want to listen to more of Mat’s music, check out his myspace page and then go to iTunes or your local record store to buy some of his music, it’s great stuff. Kearney is probably best known for having his songs featured on popular TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Laguna Beach, The Hills, Friday Night Lights, One Tree Hill and Scrubs, among others; a special version of the video for his song “Breathe In, Breathe Out” was part of the season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy Season 4 and it was also on the latest Grey’s Anatomy Soundtrack, Volume 3 (watch the video). Mat Kearney’s music explores the emotions of life and relationships while subtly discussing themes of faith. Take for example the song “Undeniable”… I realize it’s probably about a girl, but read the chorus (lyrics below) and try arguing that it’s not also a statement about the presence and greatness of God, similar to something you’d find in the Psalms (note: Kearney started as a Christian artist and this song was originally on his debut album).

It’s undeniable how brilliant you are
In an unreliable world you shine like a star
It’s unforgettable now that we’ve come this far
It’s unmistakable that you’re undeniable

– Mat Kearney, “Undeniable”

Merry Listmas and Happy “let’s look back on the” Old Year!

Posted on
1

Have you ever noticed how many lists there are during this time of year? My family and I send out lists of things we’d be excited to receive as Christmas gifts from each other, music channels have “list shows” for the top songs of the year (click here to watch any/all of VH1′s Top 40 videos of the year), even Santa keeps lists of the “naughty” and the “nice” kids around the world.

We are list crazy in America, especially–it seems–at the end of a calendar year.

Apparently information isn’t interesting to us unless it can be organized in some sort of a list, preferably after first be filtered through a ranking system–starting with a large number (at least 10, but 20 or 40 is even better) and moving down to the #1 (random thing) of the year. And it seems we’re not only interested in the top/best things of the year, but also the lowest/worst things. A few examples…my sister brought the year-end issue of People magazine to my parent’s house over Christmas (the issue is dated January 7, 2008; explain to me how that works since I was reading it in December of 2007…was I time traveling while reading it?). Anyway, in big letters across the top of the cover of the “Special Double Issue” reads “BEST (AND WORST!) OF 2007,” and inside the magazine are all sorts of lists of the best (and worst) dresses, couples, stars, etc. of the year (according to the writers of People). Yesterday on msn.com one of the featured stories highlighted the Top 10 “Best housing markets” (listing the cities where home prices increased the most during the 3rd quarter compared with the same period in 2006) as well the Top 10 “Worst housing markets”).

I enjoy getting things I actually like/want for Christmas; I love music and culture, so I watch the video countdown shows on not just VH1, but also MTV, CMT and BET; and I do my best to stay on Santa’s “nice” list (I got some cash in my stocking this year, so the big jolly guy must still like me!). The lists of best/worst housing markets was somewhat interesting to me and I shamefully like reading People magazine, but there were a few other lists I ran across today that I didn’t expect to see. Like Foxsports.com’s “most hateable people, teams” of 2007“; babycenter.com’s Top 10 baby names of 2007 (girl’s and boy’s names); and–also from babycenter–the Top baby names through history, where you can find the Top 100 baby names for each year going back to 1996, the Top 40 baby names for each decade (1930s through 1990s), and the Top 10 baby names for each decade (1880s through 1920s). This is really incredible data. I never knew that my name (Andrew) was the 19th most popular boy’s name in the decade I was born (1980s), or that Margret was the #9 girl’s name in the 1940s (but #4 in the 1880s) and Mildred was the #7 girl’s name in the 1910s.

Perhaps even more interesting than finding humorous grandma names that were common one hundred years ago is looking at trends of popular names today that can be linked to popular culture (whether it be through character names on TV shows and movies, or even the names celebrities give their children). For instance, on NBC’s wildly popular show Friends, Rachel (and Ross) had a baby girl on the last episode of Season 8 and they named her Emma. The year before that episode aired (2001), Emma was only the 29th most popular girl’s name, but in 2002 it moved up to #11 . Friends was America’s most popular show until its last season (Season 10) in 2004. Baby Emma was a consistent character on the show and, as a result, Emma was the second most popular girls name in 2003 and the most popular for three straight years (2004, 2005 and 2006). It was finally de-throned this year, but it is still the third most popular girl’s name (and the final episode of Friends aired almost four years ago).

We’re now seeing a similar trend in baby naming thanks to the popularity of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and the star of its spinoff show Private Practice, Dr. Addison Montgomery (played by Kate Walsh). The name Addison wasn’t even on the Top 100 girl’s name list of 2005 (the year Grey’s Anatomy came out), but as the show quickly became more popular, so did the name. Addison was the 26th most popular girl’s name in 2006 and this year (the same year Private Practice premiered) it cracked the Top 10, coming in at #6.

Do you think we watch too much TV in America? Maybe, but I love shows like Friends and Grey’s Anatomy, and–although I can’t say whether they would influence the decision of naming my own child (thankfully I’m no where close to facing this decision)–I don’t plan to stop watching them anytime soon (and I don’t think it’s such a terrible thing that 15 years from now, there are going to be a lot of college girls telling the story that they were named after a baby on their parent’s favorite TV show).

I’m sure there are plenty of other fascinating lists that I have yet to learn about, not to mention other trends between the popularity of baby names and the world of popular culture, but I’m going to let you discover them on your own. Let me know if you find anything interesting.