Top 5 Bands or Artists that Either Are Major Influences on Me, or That Have Captured My Attention Recently

Many, many of my readers have been asking me, “Jeff, your amazingly awesome pictures from the GodConversation are so amazingly awesome…what are your musical influences? What music do you like? What music moves you?? Please tell us!” (Oh, wait…maybe I dreamed that last night. Oh, well.)

Anyhow, since this is my blog, I write what I want to. And today I want to write about music. And the fact that Kat just happens to be doing “Music Monday” on her blog has absolutely nothing to do with it.

So…for your amazement amusement…I give you my Top 5 Bands or Artists that Either Are Major Influences on Me, or That Have Captured My Attention Recently:

• 5. OneRepublic. This band just released their first album a few months ago, but through MySpace and Timabland’s version of their song “Apologize”, they had already gained a lot of notoriety. First saw them on “So You Think You Can Dance.” (Yeesssss, I watch it. What of it?) Current favorite OneRepublic song: “All Fall Down.”
• 4. Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Okay, I’m showing my age. I don’t listen to them a lot these days, but they are an influence because Bruce Hornsby singlehandedly revived the popularity of the piano in an age of synthesizers. Favorite B.H. & R. song: “Mandolin Rain.”
• 3. David Ruis. A former Vineyard worship leader who wrote “Sweet Wind”, “Sweet Rain”, and “Mercy Is Falling.” Currently has an indie worship band called Indigika. (Don’t ask me how to pronounce it.) David has been a huge influence, has a strong prophetic bent, and has a paradoxical ability to be innovative and creative with sounds, and still able to play the same chord for 5 minutes and keep me interested. Current favorite David Ruis/Indigika song: “By Your Blood.”
• 2. Daughtry. (Yes, a guilty pleasure–he soooo should have won Idol.) Maybe a bit commercial and “pop”py at times, but I’m digging on the rock guitar sounds and “wall of sound” thing. (Plus, he’s basically clean lyrically. It’s either him or Nickelback, and I can’t stomach most of Nickelback’s lyrics.) Favorite Daughtry song: “Crashed.”

And the number 1 Band or Artist that Either Are Major Influences on Me, or That Have Captured My Attention Recently: (drumroll, please….)

• 1. U2. I mean, really, was there any question? I know very few modern musicians who would not cite U2 as a major influence. In my opinion, the most recent band whose music has reshaped the musical landscape. Current favorite U2 song: “Bad.”

So there you have them. How about you? What music moves you???