Top ten pop culture tunes at Suncrest

March 16, 2009

One of the things I love about Suncrest is how our artists look into pop culture to show (and sometimes redefine) what the world around us is saying about various topics.  Here’s a look at my personal top ten popular songs we’ve used in our worship gatherings (links are to iTunes, in case you want to download one of these beauties):

10. Help From My Friends by the Beatles (Joe Cocker version) : We did this one last weekend while discussing the value of wise council in seeking God’s will– but it is on this list because I am obsessed with TV theme songs, and well, this is the theme from The Wonder Years, after all. Also a bonus: no one stood up and walked out on me when I did, indeed, sing it out of tune.

9. The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson : Yes, I am trading in my man card by putting this on the list. But it was a perfect tune for our “iMarriage” series, and we were able to hit it right as it had been made popular by an Old Navy commercial.

8. New Year’s Day by U2 : We are definitely fans of the boys from Dublin at Suncrest, and this is not the only tune of their’s that we’ve used (Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, anyone?), but this song, played in front of a video highlighting the various resolutions that get made (and broken) at new year’s was a great way to launch our “Hooked” series. You’ll be hearing another song from U2 sometime soon, I think… maybe something off the new album…

7. It’s Not My Time by 3 Doors Down: One of many, many creative ideas borrowed from Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL- this tune was a great way to illustrate the determination shown by Nehemiah from, yes, the book of Nehemiah in the Bible.

6. Believe by The Bravery : How does a song like this end up on the radio? (”So give me something to believe/Cause I am living just to breathe/And I need something more/To keep on breathing for”) I have no idea, but it rocks, and we rocked it at Suncrest.

5. My Hero by the Foo Fighters : I would say I am wearing my alt. rock love on my sleeve here, but the response to this tune was phenomenal…  this is one a lot of people resonated with!

4. It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by REM : This scores high for a few reasons, among them the fact that I love REM (first CD I ever bought) and this tune was the first time I sang “from up front” at Suncrest. Memorizing all the lyrics was quite an endeavor.

3. Beverly Hills by Weezer : Is there a better (or more fun) song to play on a week when we’re talking about living below our means?

2. Let Go by Frou Frou : As a twenty-something, I have a genetic disposition to love the Garden State soundtrack (and the movie it came from). This tune, made popular by that flick, was a great meditative wrap-up to our “Losing my Religion” series.

And my personal favorite?

1. Typical by Mute Math : the first two pop culture tunes we played at East Campus were “Losing my Religion” by REM and this, and for good reason– they totally captured the spirit, at least for me, of what we are doing with this new campus. An amazing song, fun to play live,  with truth dripping off its lyrics…”Cause I know there’s got to be another level/Somewhere closer to the other side/And I’m feeling like it’s now or never/Can I break the spell of the typical?”

So… any thoughts? Favorites that I’ve missed? Leave a comment and let me know!

Posted in Suncrest