Things These Artists Are Not (Vol. 2)

Here's some more songs that tell you what the singers/bands are, in fact, NOT. Indeed, you'll find artists here who are not strong enough, not okay, not the doctor, not gonna take it, and so much more! Oh yeah, and commentary is included for each song here. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Apocalyptica ft. Doug Robb  ~  "Not Strong Enough"  (Maybe you're just not trying hard enough...?)

2)  Marina And The Diamonds  ~  "I Am Not A Robot"  (Well, of course, you're not, Marina. You're a singer. And a darn good one!)

3)  Doris Day  ~  "I'm Not At All In Love"  (Sure, sure, sure. Nobody's buying that.)

4)  Glen Campbell  ~  "I'm Not Gonna Miss You"  (In light of Campbell's Alzheimer's diagnosis a couple of years ago, this haunting ballad – his final single – is heartbreaking yet beautiful.)

5)  Newton Faulkner  ~  "I'm Not Giving Up Yet"  (Hang in there, Newton. Perseverance is key.)

6)  Bryan White  ~  "I'm Not Supposed To Love You Anymore"  (Well, what are you gonna do if you still love somebody? There's no "on/off" button when it comes to love.)

7)  My Chemical Romance  ~  "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"  (I'm not, either. I promise. I wouldn't lie to you.)

8)  Gavin DeGraw  ~  "Not Over You"  (He's not. Believe me. He talks about you all the time. You guys should really get back together. You were meant for each other.)

9)  Carolina Liar  ~  "I'm Not Over"  (Sheesh, what is it with people who just can't – or won't – let go! Oh yeah, I forgot about that "on/off" button thing…)

10)  Skillet  ~  "Not Gonna Die"  (Nope. Not tonight, at least.)

11)  Armin van Buuren ft. Sophie Ellis-Bextor  ~  "Not Giving Up On Love"  (As well you shouldn't, Sophie. You're still young. Your prince will come. Just give it time.)

12)  Victoria Beckham  ~  "Not Such An Innocent Girl"  (Is that really something to be bragging about?)

13)  The King's Son ft. Blacko  ~  "I'm Not Rich"  (I'm not either, but I don't live like a millionaire…)

14)  Calvin Harris  ~  "I'm Not Alone"  (He's definitely not alone. There's a bunch of people in cages in his underground dungeon.)

15)  Twisted Sister  ~  "We're Not Gonna Take It"  (ANYMORE!!!)

16)  My Brightest Diamond  ~  "I Am Not The Bad Guy"  (The bad guy she may not be, but a unique powerhouse of a voice she does possess.)

17)  Alanis Morissette  ~  "Not The Doctor"  (She's not the nurse, either. Don't be fooled!)

18)  Kutless  ~  "Not What You See"  (My eyes must be playing tricks with me. I could've sworn he was what I saw.)

19)  SOJA  ~  "Not Done Yet"  (Keep calm and carry on then…)

20)  Kari Jobe  ~  "I Am Not Alone"  (No, you're not. And neither am I. None of us are. Praise God!)

Things These Artists Are Not (Vol. 1)

Here's a bunch of tunes about things that the singers/bands are NOT. Among these songs, you'll find artists that are not your heroes, not in love, not in the mood, not on drugs, and not sorry, just to name a few. There were so many of these "NOT" songs that I had to split the post into two parts. For those of you who care, I have included a smidgen of snarky commentary for each song. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Tegan and Sara  ~  "I'm Not Your Hero"  (Or your heroine either, for that matter.)

2)  Meiko  ~  "I'm Not Sorry"  (Unapologetic, however, she definitely is.)

3)  Sam Smith  ~  "I'm Not The Only One"  (Nope, there are definitely others, Sam.)

4)  Payton Rae  ~  "Not Your Cinderella"  (I wasn't confused. She doesn't look like Cinderella.)

5)  La Roux  ~  "I'm Not Your Toy"  (So don't treat her like one!)

6)  10cc  ~  "I'm Not In Love"  (Methinks he doth protest too much.)

7)  Stacie Orrico  ~  "I'm Not Missing You"  (That's what they all say…)

8)  Britney Spears  ~  "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman"  (So…I'm confused. What else does that leave for her to be?)

9)  Brandon Heath  ~  "I'm Not Who I Was"  (That's all well and good, but how do I stop being who I am now?)

10)  Halestorm  ~  "I'm Not An Angel"  (Maybe not, but her voice soars like it's sprouted wings!)

11)  K's Choice  ~  "Not An Addict"  (Well, not anymore, at least…)

12)  Mark Lanegan  ~  "I'm Not The Loving Kind"  (He's not the smiling kind either, it would seem.)

13)  Jennifer Hudson  ~  "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"  (And I think she means it, too!)

14)  Shania Twain  ~  "I'm Not In The Mood (To Say No!)"  (Wait, isn't that a double negative? No?)

15)  Angus and Julia Stone  ~  "I'm Not Yours"  (This is heartbreakingly sad! Cats falling out of love. *sigh*)

16)  Tove Lo  ~  "Not On Drugs"  (Apparently, drugs and love display similar symptoms...)

17)  Gloria Estefan  ~  "I'm Not Giving You Up"  (Good for you, Gloria. Get that man back!)

18)  Lil Wayne  ~  "I Am Not A Human Being"  (There are so many mute-bleeps on this song that it's impossible to discern what he's rapping about. Something tells me it wouldn't make much sense unedited, either.)

19)  Natalie Merchant  ~  "I'm Not Gonna Beg You"  (And you shouldn't have to, Natalie!)

20)  Idina Menzel  ~  "I'm Not That Girl"  (Nope, she's definitely some other girl.)

Songs About Clowns

Let's start off our work week on a wonderfully creepy note, with a delightful collection of songs about everybody's favorite buffoon: the clown! Enjoy?  ~  JH

1)  Dwight Yoakam  ~  "Pocket Of A Clown"

2)  Elvis Costello & The Imposters  ~  "Clown Strike"

3)  Emeli Sandé  ~  "Clown"

4)  Placebo  ~  "Pierrot The Clown"

5)  Margot & The Nuclear So And So's  ~  "Dress Me Like A Clown"

6)  Shakira  ~  "Costume Makes The Clown"

7)  The Kinks  ~  "Death Of A Clown"

8)  Smokey Robinson & The Miracles  ~  "The Tears Of A Clown"

9)  Reba McEntire  ~  "Cathy's Clown"

10)  Bobby Goldsboro  ~  "See The Funny Little Clown"

11)  Korn  ~  "Clown"

12)   Judy Garland  ~  "Be A Clown"

13)  Soprano  ~  "Clown"

14)  Chris Garneau  ~  "Dirty Night Clowns"

15)  Dame Judi Dench  ~  "Send In The Clowns"

16)  Manfred Mann  ~  "Ha! Ha! Said The Clown"

17)  Beecake  ~  "The Clown"

18)  Kathy Mattea  ~  "Clown In Your Rodeo"

19)  Jack Johnson & G. Love  ~  "Rodeo Clowns"

20)  Oingo Boingo  ~  "Clowns Of Death"

21)  Bruce Dickinson  ~  "Shoot All The Clowns"

22)  Wolfgang  ~  "Cast Of Clowns"

23)  Spelling Nadja  ~  "Cloning Clowns"

24)  Edguy  ~  "All The Clowns"

25)  Goldfrapp  ~  "Clowns"

Fruits Of The Spirit Songs: "Self Control"

This final entry in the "Fruits of the Spirit" was dogging me, too, making it all but impossible to compile. Finally, I made a breakthrough and came up with more songs than I could use, actually. I tried to narrow it down to the best of the best. While you won't find the phrase "self control" in the titles of these songs (and most often, not in the lyrics either), the spirit and attitude of "self control" as a virtue, or "fruit" as it were, permeates each song in this collection. Did I mention that there are some really great songs here? Because there are. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Sanctus Real  ~  "I'm Not Alright"

2)  Jars Of Clay  ~  "Worlds Apart"

3)  Jeremy Camp  ~  "My Desire"

4)  GS Megaphone  ~  "Use Me"

5)  Skillet  ~  "Monster"

6)  Casting Crowns  ~  "Courageous"

7)  Relient K  ~  "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been"

8)  Tedashii  ~  "Make War"

9)  Third Day  ~  "Cry Out To Jesus"

10)  Plumb  ~  "Smoke"

11)  Matt Redman  ~  "Never Once"

12)  Hillsong Live  ~  "From The Inside Out"

13)  DC Talk  ~  "In The Light"

14)  Trip Lee ft. J. Paul  ~  "Fallin'"

15)  Casting Crowns  ~  "Slow Fade"

16)  Jennifer Knapp  ~  "The Way I Am"

17)  Fireflight  ~  "Unbreakable"

18)  116 ft. KB, PRo, Tedashii, & Andy Mineo  ~  "Temptation"

19)  Matt Maher ft. Audrey Assad  ~  "Lord, I Need You"

20)  Tenth Avenue North  ~  "The Struggle"

21)  Lauren Daigle  ~  "How Can It Be"

22)  Pillar  ~  "Further From Myself"

23)  Disciple  ~  "Dear X, You Don't Own Me"

24)  KB ft. Swoope, Trip Lee, & Jai  ~  "Open Letter (Battlefield)"

25)  Love & The Outcome  ~  "He Is With Us"

Fruits Of The Spirit Songs: "Humility"

This entry in my "Fruits of the Spirit" series was one of the hardest of all of them. Various Bible translations use the words "gentleness," "meekness," or "humility" to describe this "fruit." Well, there almost no songs that directly speak of gentleness and very few that cover meekness – shocking, I know. But I found that there are quite a few songs that – in their lyrics or merely in their themes – deal with the subject of "Humility." So that was the tack I took with this one. And a fine set of songs it is, too! I truly hope you will enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Graham Kendrick  ~  "Meekness & Majesty"

2)  Big Daddy Weave  ~  "Audience Of One"

3)  Colton Dixon  ~  "More Of You"

4)  Jennifer Knapp  ~   "Martyrs & Thieves"  (BLOGGER'S NOTE: Yes, I DO know she identifies as a lesbian now. But that fact does not lessen the truth or the message of this song, which Jennifer wrote several years ago when she was then identifying as a Christian musician.)

5)  Kutless  ~  "Give Us Clean Hands"

6)  Hillsong Live  ~  "Unending Love"

7)  Christafari  ~  "Here I Am To Worship"

8)  Israel Houghton  ~  "I Surrender All"

9)  Austin Chamberlin & Lauren Zielenski  ~  "All I Am"  (This is a lovely cover version of a Phil Wickham song, for which I couldn't find a music video.)

10)  Hillsong Live  ~  "To Be Like You"

11)  Planetshakers  ~  "Surrender"

12)  Flame ft. J.R.  ~  "Tonight (All Of Me)"

13)  Hillsong United  ~  "Like An Avalanche"

14)  Jimmy Needham  ~  "Being Small"

15)  Chris Sligh  ~  "Empty Me"

16)  Hillsong Live  ~  "Narrow Road"

17)  Leeland  ~  "Holy Spirit, Have Your Way"

18)  Flame ft. V. Rose  ~  "Surrender"

19)  Chris Tomlin  ~  "Lay Me Down"

20)  Hillsong Live  ~  "You"

21)  Deitrick Haddon  ~  "Have Your Way"

22)  FFH  ~  "Wholly To You"

23)  Seventh Day Slumber  ~  "Surrender"

24)  Rend Collective  ~  "All That I Am"

25)  Hillsong Live  ~  "I Surrender"