Music Minute! Wash Your Hands Edition

Hello, music fans! School's back in session for most of you and TV news keeps saying that H1N1 is out there and making the rounds, so here's a friendly reminder from ec to be diligent about washing your hands. Here's our favorite hand-washing tip:

You remember the alphabet song from being a kid? Turns out that if you wash your hands as long as it takes to sing it through to the end (including the "now I know" part), you'll have washed for about 20 seconds—enough time to get your hands actually clean. (You can also sing "Happy Birthday" through twice.) Scary thought: 20 seconds feels really long, so obviously we haven't been washing our hands enough. So sing while you wash!

For more tips on hand-washing, go here.

Now, for the music. First off, let's talk about an album you're going to hear about. Everybody's been talking this week about the new album from Derek Webb, Stockholm Syndrome. (Stockholm syndrome happens when a kidnapping or hostage victim begins to sympathize with his or her abductors.) You probably know Webb as one of the original members of Caedmon's Call. These songs are all about confronting the realities of the world around us, and how the Church should be making a difference. And he's right, we really ought to be. (Read more about living as a disciple of Jesus in our September cover story.)

Webb's new hip-hop sound, with tasty beats and a pop feel, is a departure from his folk-rock roots. The result is catchy, dreamy, and haunting. The controversial part comes in on Webb's use of "salty" language and topics in some of the songs, particularly "What Matters More," which is meant to encourage believers to examine their attitude toward gay people.

We want to be clear: we are not endorsing this album. But we're not condemning Webb or his work, either. We simply don't want to ignore the album and its controversy because it's uncomfortable to talk about. Webb has strong opinions about issues of injustice and takes them on with his usual brash style in this album. But we're not sure using foul language was the way to go about it. The uncensored version of the album was released via the Internet in July; the censored version (which does not include "What Matters More") was released in stores yesterday.

In other Christian music news, two albums with less controversy that we're really digging are Matt Papa's Your Kingdom Come and Jason Gray's Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue. Like Webb, Matt Papa is a man with things to say to the church. He says the goal of this album is to challenge himself and other believers to leave a lasting impression of God's goodness and faithfulness wherever they may be. Give a listen to "Open Hands.” Jason Gray's album is all about renewal, hope, worship, and sacrifice. Let songs like "More Like Falling in Love" and “For the First Time, Again” challenge and change you.


Next week, Bethany Dillon releases a new album called Stop & Listen. We love Bethany's music and we're excited to pass along this full-album preview from New Release Tuesday. Listen to the whole thing here (signup is free but required) and catch it on iTunes next week.

Thanks for reading, and keep your hands clean. Seriously!