top albums/ep’s/songs of 2010

These are just my personal favorites of the year. What I really loved.

Comment back with your own “top-whatever” lists if you’re up for it.

Top 20 Albums

20. Judd & Maggie – Choose
19. Trent Dabbs – Your Side Now
18. Andrew Peterson – Counting Stars
17. Dave Barnes – What We Want, What We Get
16. Jenny & Tyler – Faint Not

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f.m.i.m.v.5 song #5 = “nobody wants to be born on christmas day”

Every time a new song is released I will post a little write-up about the song from festive.mood.inducing.music.vol.5

Song #5 = “Nobody Wants to Be Born on Christmas Day”

Phew… the last song! I didn’t know if I was going to make it with this one. Typically, when I’m recording these Christmas songs I give myself at least a two or three week headstart before I have to release the song. That way I have enough time to record all of the parts and mix the song adequetely. Well, with this last song, I started recording on Monday of this week, and finished all of the recording and mixing late Thursday night. Just a bit stressful.

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f.m.i.m.v.5 song #4 = “wonderful christmastime”

Every Monday I will be posting a little write-up about the song released that week from festive.mood.inducing.music.vol.5

This week, song #4 = “Wonderful Christmastime”

Some people really love to hate on the song “Wonderful Christmastime.” If we’re being honest here… it IS a bit annoying and repetitive. And Paul McCartney can really do no wrong as far as I’m concerned, but this song is surely near the bottom of his quality scale. However, who cares… it’s FUN! Am I right or am I right?

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“god rest ye merry gentlemen” @ the bluebird cafe

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of playing at the historic Bluebird Cafe with some dear friend’s in special “Christmas-ized” writer’s round.

See below for video footage of me playing the Christmas Carol, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

Make sure to check out my studio recording of this song too.



(Video footage filmed by Ryan Mitchell)

f.m.i.m.v.5 song #3 = “o holy night”

Every Monday I will be posting a little write-up about the song released that week from festive.mood.inducing.music.vol.5

This week, song #3 = “O Holy Night”

“O Holy Night” is one of my all time favorite Christmas songs. I’ve tried to tackle it for the last three years on my Christmas EP’s but I’ve never ended up with an arrangement I was satisfied with. So I’ve always kept it on the back burner, and knew one year or another I’d be ready to try it out for real.

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f.m.i.m.v.5 song #2 = “hark! the herald angels sing”

Every Monday I will be posting a little write-up about the song released that week from festive.mood.inducing.music.vol.5

This week, song #2 = “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”

I guess I have a thing for Christmas songs about Angels, or perhaps there’s just a lot of songs about Angels? Either way – I was happy to add this gem to this year’s Christmas EP.

When I’m working through potential song ideas every year, I probably play through at least 10-15 songs before I settle on which ones to record. Sometimes, arranging the song can be a major pain and take me many different sessions to figure out a direction. Luckily, “Hark!” was an immediate connection for me.

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