My favorite band in the entire world is called Tenth Avenue North. They are an alternative Christian band who create uplifting music that celebrates God’s love without slapping you in the face with it.
That quality is so rare nowadays. With so many social outlets, people feel the need to share their opinions and beliefs about everything. We get bombarded with people trying to convince us to believe this and that. It’s easy to tell people “this is what you should believe” and berate those who disagree with you. Also, a lot of music lately focuses on themes of sex, drugs, hate, partying, and other negative subjects. Don’t get me wrong, I can rock out to Miley’s “We Can’t Stop” or bump my bass to some Kendrick Lamar. There’s definitely a time and a place for music like that. However, it’s such a relief to find refuge in some uplifting music from now and then.
Lately, I’m find myself seeking out more social conscious songs (see Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Same Love“*). I appreciate when artists and bands go out of their way to create messages of hope. I have a feeling that with the lightening quick popularity of “Same Love,” a sort of musical revolution is beginning. Yes, people will always love listening to songs that spell out their fantasies of casual sex and wild partying. That will always be a huge draw. But I feel that people are getting restless – searching for a deeper meaning in their musical choices.
This is why I find spiritual refuge in bands such as Tenth Avenue North. In the same category as Relient K, Owl City, Needtobreathe, Lifehouse, Falling Up, and Thousand Foot Crutch, they sing about God’s love without being obnoxious or overly preach-y. They make good quality music that people of all spiritual backgrounds can appreciate. It’s only with certain songs or if you look for the deeper meaning that you realize they’re actually about God’s love and the Christian faith. I think it’s incredibly smart that these bands have tried to market themselves to a wider audience – not JUST followers of Christ. Why not show everybody God’s love through some awesome music?
I just really want to share my absolute favorite Tenth Avenue North song called “You Are More.” The chorus goes:
You are more than the choices that you’ve made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You’ve been remade.
You are more than the choices that you’ve made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You’ve been remade.
This message – that you are MORE – resonates with EVERYBODY. Every human. Every individual. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your past. Your mistakes do not matter. Because you are part of a greater plan. YOU ARE MORE!
They ask the question “But don’t you know who you are?” Well, do you? You are a child of God. He loves you. Unconditionally. How awesome is that? How could that NOT make you smile? Whether you believe in Jesus or not, it probably feels pretty cool to know that somebody loves you no matter what.
I would recommend watching the music video because it clearly illustrates the message visually. I absolutely love it.
*I could go on and on about how incredible Ben Haggerty and Ryan Lewis are, but I’ll save that for another time :)