My Top 10 Moments in Music

This list just happened out of thin air. Drew and I were just discussing incredible music and it prompted me to think of my all time favorites (in the form of a top 10 and some honorable mentions) moments in music history.

First I will start with the Honorable Mentions:
- The first HM is sharing the song "Should Have Been a Cowboy" by Toby Keith with Troy Woodyard. Not only have we played this song together for fun, but when we hear it on the radio, we call and leave it as a voicemail. It's fun!

- Second HM; During the miraculous UK - Arkansas football game from this past 2008 season, where UK came from behind to win in the last four minutes....Kate and I shared a spirited song and dance to (believe it or not) the UK Marching Band's timely rendition of "Hey Baby". Now forever making me smile when the song plays, and also thinking of Kate!

- Third and final HM; also related to UK Sports....post tornado and post the ridiculous loss to Georgia at the Georgia Tech campus at the 2008 SEC Tournament, the group in the car was a little down in the dumps. Miles began with the first line from "Build Me Up, Buttercup" and the rest of the car began with the echo ('Build me up'). Before long the whole car was singing it acapella as we ventured through Atlanta. Simply amazing! A special hats off to Ryan, Jay, Matt, Miles....and I suppose myself.

Now onto the list.....

10. "Bubbly" I would have never thought that Colbie Caillat would have cracked my Top 10, but indeed she has. Not too long ago, Brandon Hall, Robbie Gray, and myself performed somewhat impromptu at Common Grounds Coffee House at their Monday open-mic night. We wanted to end with a tongue in cheek "bang" but have some fun...so what better to cover than "Bubbly"? Not only was it a blast to play, but the crowd, which was once consumed with coffee and conversation, gave us their full attention and ultimately their voices as they sang along. It was awesome. Their may be a video floating around facebook of it if you can find it ; ).

9. "Vultures" by John Mayer Trio, live in Nashville. In the fall of 2005 I witnessed my first Mayer show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN as he played with just two other amazing muscians in forming the John Mayer Trio. It was a night full of blues and rock and blew my mind...starting my fandom of JM. Vultures was the highlight of my night, and something I will always remember, no matter how many times I see him live, which if we are keeping count is now at 5. John, you had me from "hello".

8. "This is it" by Kenny Loggins. Every single high school golf match had it's traditions; we warmed up with putting, we heeded the pre-round meeting from our coach, but more than anything, the members of the 2002 ACHS Golf Team sang as loud as we could to this Kenny Loggins hit. Rooted in classic 80's style this record now holds a special, special place in the hearts of each member of that golf team. "STAND UP AND FIGHT....THIS IS IT!"

7. "Strawberry Fields Forever" & "Imagine" by the Beatles/John Lennon. This past April I had the privilege of traveling to New York City as an adult chaperon with Anderson County High School and my sister, Laura's, senior class for their year-end trip. The first ipod moment on the countdown, this little ditty happened while standing over the Imagine memorial in Central Park. It just felt surreal to be there and be alive inside the music in my head, and the music that was his life. Neato.

6. "How Great Thou Art" - Christy Nockels/Matt Redman at Passion 06. After the final conference session of the night, all the attendees of Passion 06 were invited to attend one of many late night events. In the home of the Grand Ole Opry, and a former church, The Ryman Auditorium, it was an incredible night of worship capped off by singing this song of worship and praise.

5. "Everything In It's Right Place" by Radiohead, live in Indianapolis. Widely known as one of the best and most inspirational bands in music history, Radiohead puts on quite a show. Attending with Drew, Joe, RJ, and my boy Mike, we were wowed by a musical performance of the ages. Even though I sat in the grass I was blown away by the feel, movement, and momentum of the music. It was so intense it felt like a workout. I could have probably chosen any song, but this was the one for me....one of my faves, plus the light show was crazy good.

4. "The Music of the Night" by Phantom of the Opera, live on Broadway NYC (April 2003/April 2008). This is the only song on the list that I have had the chance to experience in the same way twice. Little known fact about Andrew: he loves musicals, especially the Phantom. I believe I have seen the Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber four times, but the two times on Broadway were especially memorable. The first time I set by my gal Elizabeth Ingram, and the second time, and on the seventh row (wow), I was blessed to share the song with my sister. This is my favorite song from the musical, so this moment took the cake. Hearing it so close gave me goose bumbs both times!

3. "Worship in Espanol". I'm going to credit this song to Julian Mejia. If you don't know about Julian, I suggest you click the link or read my older post from November 2007. Sadly I do not know the title of the songs that played over my cd player, but with Julian riding shotgun on our way to a worksite in New Orleans we jammed to spanish praise and worship. Meredyth, Laura, and I listened as Julian sang, and sang proudly. We switched to an English cd a bit later and her heard us sing. He told us, in Spanish, that our worship, while he couldn't understand the words, smelled as if it were a "fragrant flower". I love this man with all my heart, and for this small moment in my life, it was awesome to share a moment of worship with this Saint in NOLA.

2. "Covered in Rain" by John Mayer. Surprisingly, JM only made it on my list twice, and this one is by far the best moment. You may not be familiar with this song since it has never been recorded in the studio by John. At a recent concert, Mayer told the story behind the song. Shortly following the events of September 11th, the Mayer tour bus was scheduled to roll into NYC. This event had been scheduled far before the catastrophic events that had taken place. In an effort to propose a tribute to the city, Mayer took a bridge from his hit "City Love" that says...."the day she called up and came to me, covered in rain...." and formed it into a sequel to the song...about how the characters in "City Love" (a man and a woman) lived in reaction to the tragic events of 9/11. That is a pretty cool idea in and of itself. What makes this song special to me, is that it was roaring through the ipod as I stood at the Eleven Tears Memorial at Ground Zero. It was a very gripping moment for me that followed up an emotional story that had just told by our tour guide. I stood there, watching the water drip, and listening to this song, I, for a moment, did not feel like a tourist....I felt like an American, not one dripping with patriotism, but one wrapped up in the burden, the struggles, and the hopes of my fellow citizens. It was a heavy and profound moment; and music just happened to be involved.

and finally....

1. "Amazing Grace" by the attendees of Passion 05. As a Sophomore in college this was one of my first conference events that I felt like I participated in, not really attended to learn something or be motivated. For it's first conference since the mid 90's, the Passion group put on a week long conference event as opposed to a concert/message event. Over 15,000 college students descended upon Nashville, TN to ring in the New Year with Louie and the boys of Passion (Dave Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman, etc). On the next to last session together, the David Crowder Band was leading the group in worship. Worship was awesome in and of itself, but what happened next is the most overwhelmed I have ever been by the Spirit of my Lord. DCB led us in "Come Thou Fount" leading into Louie's teaching time. As the band ended, they tagged "Amazing Grace" and were going to let the chorus ring out as Louie transitioned on the stage. However, we, the crowd, were not finished. As Louie walked out for his turn, we were firing up for the second verse. He stood there dumbfounded, in front of this mass of thousands, screaming at the top of their lungs this heralded anthem of our faith. The was no music, no sing along track, no words on the screens; just us, as a mass of 15,000, crying out in worship. Louie walked back off the stage and let the crowd participate in it's worship as it finished out the entire song. The moment was absolutely breathtaking...and a small glimpse of what I can envision in Heaven. When it came to my number 1, it was a no brainer....it was this.

So there you have it...the current journey through my musical Top 10 moments. Please, feel free to make a list of your own...I would love to read about your moments. If I left any moments off, I'll edit them in a later post.