{"id":23356,"date":"2012-07-19T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2012-07-19T13:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christandpopculture.com\/?p=23356"},"modified":"2012-07-19T08:00:03","modified_gmt":"2012-07-19T13:00:03","slug":"grace-notes-cheap-music-from-amazon-july-2012-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2012\/07\/grace-notes-cheap-music-from-amazon-july-2012-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace Notes: Cheap Music from Amazon (July 2012 Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Grace Notes<\/strong>\u00a0is a weekly exploration by Jason Morehead of\u00a0signs of common grace in the music world<\/a>. We hope to alert you to wonderful music, some of which will be spiritual in nature but all of which will be unique and worthy of your attention. Each week we will share brief reviews of albums worthy of your attention and maybe a video or two.<\/em><\/p>\n

This time around, I\u2019m going to do something different and highlight some exceptional, perhaps even necessary, albums that are currently on sale via Amazon\u2019s MP3 store<\/a>\u00a0for $5 or less. (All of these albums were on sale as of the week of July 15, 2012.)<\/p>\n

Depeche Mode \u2013 Violator<\/em> (Buy Now<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Depeche Mode has released a number of solid albums over the last three decades, including Some Great Reward<\/em> (1984), Black Celebration<\/em> (1986), and Playing The Angel<\/em> (2005). However, I think it can be said with great certitude that their finest album is 1990\u2019s Violator<\/em>: nothing they\u2019ve done before or since, good though it may be, comes close to touching this album. Here, the group\u2019s fusion of synth-pop, dance music, and rock and roll reached its dark and brooding zenith, particularly on such songs as \u201cWorld In My Eyes\u201d, \u201cPersonal Jesus\u201d, and \u201cPolicy Of Truth\u201d. Lyrically, Violator<\/em>, like much of Depeche Mode\u2019s catalog, frequently deals with sex and sensuality, but the album\u2019s grim tone often reveals a sense of desperation and brokenness underneath it all, making the album more than just a mere celebration of carnal pleasures.\u00a0Even though it\u2019s an album that conjures up an immediate time and place \u2014 it could only have been released in the late 80s\/early 90s \u2014 there\u2019s a timeless quality about it that makes it feel just as fresh and, dare I say, cutting edge now as it did when I first heard \u201cPolicy of Truth\u201d back in high school.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=diT3FvDHMyo&w=600<\/p>\n

Arcade Fire \u2013 Funeral<\/em>, Neon Bible<\/em>, The Suburbs<\/em> (Buy Now<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

What can I say about Arcade Fire that we haven\u2019t discussed already? If there was ever a house band for CaPC, then you could make a pretty good case that it would be this\u00a0Montreal-based collective who, over the course of three albums, have released one fiery indie rock anthem after another. Decrying materialism, consumerism, and spiritual decay while singing (and oftentimes shouting and screaming) the virtues of community, sacrifice, and spiritual renewal, Win Butler, R\u00e9gine Chassagne, and the rest of their motley crew\u00a0might not be making \u201cChristian\u201d music in the usual sense, but they are<\/strong> making\u00a0music that Christians can certainly rally around and celebrate. All three of their albums are essential listening, but if you have to buy just one\u2026 stop spending money until you\u2019ve saved enough to buy all three<\/strong>.<\/p>\n