It’s been sitting on my shelf for two years now (sorry Penguin!), but I’ve finally got around to reading Heather Cox Richardson’s book on democracy and authoritarianism, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. It is well-written and not good. As for well-written, I’m sure we’ve all seen her writings floating around the internet space (at least on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and a couple of others–but I’m not on everything so take that with a grain of salt). She is... Read more
This review of Megan Moroney’s Cloud 9 is part of the ongoing “top of the country” series, wherein I review the songs and albums that have hit #1 in the Billboard charts. Overall, this is an excellent album with some solid songs on it. Some of the stand out songs include: -“I only miss you” (with Ed Sheeran) -“Beautiful Things” -“Bells & Whistles” (with Kacey Musgraves) And I enjoyed “Stupid,” but as some of my friends would point out, of course... Read more
The Way of Repentance by Chris Brauns explores, well, the way of repentance. What do we do when we do wrong? That is a question that not only every Christian, but every person will have to answer at some point in their lives. Fortunately not only does the Bible give us an answer to this question, it is an answer which is to define every aspect of the Christian life. If you want the full details you should of course read... Read more
This week’s Top of the Country post steps into Luke Combs’ new album The Way I Am. As we would expect from Combs, this is a solid album that is perhaps a bit more reflective than “Beer Never Broke My Heart.” As far as I can tell (and feel free to correct me in the comments), these are all original songs. There are no covers here. At some point I should write a piece on the decline of covering others’ songs.... Read more
Long after Netflix made it and made it available, I’ve finally gotten around to watching the first season of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. Like the graphic novels, it is interesting and generally very well done (particularly compared to some of his other comic work). Sandman has been out long enough I won’t go over the plot here, other than to note that it generally stays true to the source material while still being compelling TV. That is a hard needle to thread, and... Read more
This week’s Top of the Country post examines Luke Combs’ hit “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” (from his new album The Way I Am.) Right off the bat, the title alone hits well. We have all been sleepless in a hotel room at some point, and it sucks. But this song gives more specific circumstances: Not only is the singer “sleepless in a hotel room”, he is hurt and lonely. (And let’s be honest: this is definitely a “he.”) Tossing and turning waiting... Read more
If you’re looking for a great read and an even greater listen, pick up Stephen Fry’s book Heroes. Look, I wouldn’t normally recommend book two of a four book (so far) series, but I’ve not read the others so I can’t recommend book one first. I can, however, say that this book is excellent. Even better, Fry reads the audiobook himself, and does a superb job. This volume collects Fry’s tellings of the ancient Greek myths about the heroes. His earlier... Read more
We’ve got a new Top of the Country this week with “Time’s Ticking” by Justin Moore. As Billboard points out, there’s irony here in the title since “Time’s Ticking” now has the record for the longest amount of time on the charts to reach the number 1 spot. Less ironically, this song opens with a blast of classic Country music references. Including references to Ray Scott’s “Long Black Cadillac” (itself a nod to Dwight Yoakam’s “Long White Cadillac” and Josh Turner’s “Long... Read more
Of course, “disciplines of devotion” should never usually be quick. But these three new books are at least short, so Prayer by Courtney Rissig, Fasting by Cassie Achermann, and Sabbath Rest by Megan Hill will fit in the busy schedules that seem to dominate our worlds. All three of these are useful (and again: short). But I think the one that stands out for contemporary American Evangelicals is Fasting. Not because it is better written than the others, and not because “fasting” is any more Biblical... Read more
It took me a while, but as part of this series on Billboard’s top of the country charts I’ve finally finished listening to Morgan Wallen’s album I’m the Problem. Why did it take so long? Because it’s thirty-seven songs long. Thirty. Seven. Songs. And yes, there is an “interlude.” And yes technically it’s a “double” album. In that case maybe thirty-seven is actually a touch short. But it was still a large task to listen through. It was not, however, an unpleasant... Read more
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