Music for Holy Week, on Spotify

A few years ago I began creating mixes of music for specific liturgical seasons and occasions. Every year I tweak them a little, depending on what new music I've heard and what old music I've discovered. Holy Week is my favorite week of the year, and I've published on Spotify a playlist of songs for this week.

Clearly, not all these songs were intended by their writers to be about Holy Week. So here are some brief annotations of the playlist to explain why the songs are meaningful to me.

Palm Sunday

Sufjan Stevens - The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake. Mood music: it's not just that it has "Palm Sunday" in the title, although that's how I stumbled upon this little instrumental in the first place. I love the sense of foreboding this piece evokes.

Isaac Everett - Preparation. From his liturgically organized album Rotation, this is the song for riding into Jerusalem ... to die.

Matisyahu - King Without a Crown. How many Hasidic Jewish reggae artists do you know? This song is just really cool, and hopefully my Jewish friends won't mind me re-appropriating Matisyahu's work as I ponder what sort of king Jesus intended (or didn't intend) to be.

Living Colour - Cult of Personality. One of the rockin'est songs 1989 had to offer, this is all about political power. The more of it you have, the harder it is to keep it pure.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida. I always think of Palm Sunday when I hear this song. "Who would ever want to be king?"

Monday

Johnny Cash - Personal Jesus. Everyone seems to want Jesus to be personal. And I think he is. But does "personal" also mean "convenient"?

Tracy Chapman - Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution. Here's a song for the Zealots among Jesus' disciples. Change is coming, and we're going to bring it! And Jesus will lead Israel to a glorious new day! We'll kick the Romans out and take back our country!

The Beatles - Revolution. This is Jesus' answer to the Zealots. What kind of revolution are you thinking of, really? Are you sure I want to be at the head of it?

Tuesday

Prince - Thieves in the Temple. I guess here I'm taking a metaphorical love song and turning it literal again, but we'll let that one go. The sanctity of the Jerusalem temple has been compromised.

Stone Temple Pilots - Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart. Perhaps I'm taking the most liberties of all with this song, which is probably about an acid trip. But I can totally imagine Jesus tearing around the temple, knocking over tables, releasing sacrificial animals, and screaming, "God is not for sale!"

Wednesday

Sting - Jeremiah Blues Part 1. Nobody seems to know what time it is. Don't they see their civilization collapsing around them?

Sixpence None the Richer - Melody of You. I imagine Mary Magdalene singing this to Jesus.

Thursday

Leonard Cohen - The Guests. The guests are arriving for the Passover feast, but the mood is ... off. Just a bit. No, a lot.

Isaac Everett - Valediction. A beautiful poem about wheat, grapes, life. Someday I'd like to use this in church.

Son Lux - Betray. I know you're about to betray me, Judas. But I still want to have dinner with you.

The Judybats - Being Simple. This is the first of a series of songs I imagine Judas singing. Judas can't comprehend the kind of simplicity it takes to love unconditionally. Nor can he trust that it will come to him.

Cher - Heart of Stone. Maybe it would be easier not to care at all. "With a heart of stone, you'll be well protected/ With a heart of stone, love's not resurrected."

Audioslave - Like a Stone. And a man decides to turn to stone.

U2 - Until the End of the World. Here's Jesus singing to Judas.

U2 - With or Without You. Yet Judas makes his choice. He can't live, "with or without" Jesus.

Don McLean - Vincent. We're in the garden now, and this song isn't only about Vincent Van Gogh.

Coldplay - Death and All His Friends. Jesus is tormented. He doesn't want to play this game with death, yet it's the only way to knock its weapon out of its hand.

Sixpence None the Richer - Love. "Unless a seed goes into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed."

U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love). This song isn't just about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Friday

Sufjan Stevens - For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti. "I did everything for you ..."

Isaac Everett - Execution. Psalm 22, as sung from the cross.

Jesus Christ Superstar - The Crucifixion. From the musical itself.

Isaac Everett - Sermon. The tune is "What Wondrous Love Is This."

Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos - Victimae paschali laudes. The Lamb has been slain ... but that's not the end of the story.

Saturday

Isaac Everett - Lamentation. The text is "Stabat mater."

Radiohead - Where I End and You Begin. Where is that, anyway? And how do we make sense of all this unbridled chaos? It's like the end of the world ... and the beginning, all rolled up into one.

Chapelle du Roi - Lamentations of Jeremiah I. Jeremiah's words apply here as well.

Sufjan Stevens - To Be Alone with You. O Lord, I'd give anything to be with you again.

the revealing: music for epiphany

Here's some music for the season of Epiphany, which began on Friday and continues well into February. During this season, we focus on Jesus the human being: his birth, his coming of age, and the qualities of his ministry. I've arranged the music for this season by theme as follows:

Suite 1: Incarnation. Enjoy the Baby Jesus just a little longer, as the Magi did.

Suite 2: Baptism. Today (January 8) is the feast of Jesus' baptism, marking the beginning of his ministry. These songs are meant to evoke images of water and of the light of heaven breaking through and anointing Jesus as the Messiah.

Suite 3: Calling. Just as Jesus called disciples, he calls us, too. What is the shape of your call?

Suite 4: Fishing. We are called not just to be disciples, but to be apostles, sent out into the world with Good News.

Suite 5: Teaching. At the heart of Jesus' teaching was one very important concept: love.

Suite 6: Healing. Wherever Jesus went, he came close to people and healed them. Sometimes this meant curing them of their diseases as well.

Suite 7: Praise. The people came to adore Jesus profoundly.

Suite 8: Transfiguration. Many of the people wanted Jesus to become a powerful earthly ruler. But God had different plans, and the Transfiguration on the mountaintop marks the shift from Jesus' early ministry to the much more somber second half, as Jesus prepared to set his face toward Jerusalem and the Cross.

At various places in the suites, I have worked in the three movements of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, my favorite choral piece ever. These three pieces are sung in Hebrew, and I hope they are effective at tying in Jesus' Judaism and his grounding in the Psalms.

Please: If you like something you hear, go buy it!

the emerging: suites for advent

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Annunciation

Thanksgiving is upon us. I’m looking forward to the break, although I’ll certainly have my share of reading and writing to do for school during this time.

And then, on Sunday … Advent begins! I’m one of those who prefers to mark this season with dark blue instead of purple, but blue Advent candles are not easy to find, especially tapers. Any leads around Alexandria?

Many people treat Advent as a penitential season, and this isn’t wrong. But it’s not Lent, either. Instead of focusing on our sins, we’re anticipating the birth of someone who is eternally arriving.

I first compiled these Advent musical suites in 2007 and have revised them from year to year. They are mixed into suites by theme, based on the Church’s ancient tradition of  “O” Antiphons. Right-click the blue header to download the mp3 of that suite. And please: if you like something you discover here, go buy it! 

Suite 1: Eschaton

R.E.M. - It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)
Crazy World of Arthur Brown – Fire
George Michael - Praying for Time
Mary Poppins - Stay Awake/ Sufjan Stevens - Year of the Sheep
Peter Hallock - Let My Prayer Come Up as the Incense
 

Suite 2: Wisdom

Godspell - Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (1)
Peter Hallock - O Sapientia
Sixpence None the Richer - Sister, Mother
Martina McBride - Love's the Only House
Sting - Love Is the Seventh Wave

Suite 3: I Am That I Am

Peter Hallock - O Adonai
Sixpence None the Richer - Anything/The Waiting Room
Hooters - All You Zombies
Coldplay – Us Against the World
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (2)

Suite 4: Come and Save Us

Peter Hallock - O Radix Jesse
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Pray Your Gods
Aimee Mann - Save Me
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Herbert Howells - A Spotless Rose
Seal - Love's Divine

Suite 5: You Open and No One Shuts

Peter Hallock - O Clavis David
Mr. Mister – Kyrie
Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
Bad Religion – Sorrow
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Suite 6: Rising Dawn

Peter Hallock - O Oriens
The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
Sixpence None the Richer - Waiting on the Sun
The Polyphonic Spree - Light and Day
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (3)

Suite 7: Prince of Peace

Peter Hallock - O Rex Gentium
J.L. Hosler - You Heavens Above
Simon & Garfunkel - Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream
John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change
John Denver & Robin - When the River Meets the Sea
Goo Goo Dolls - Better Days

Suite 8: But What If ... ?

Peter Hallock - O Emmanuel
Joan Osborne - One of Us
Isaac Everett - Expectation

Suite 9: Amen

Sting - Gabriel's Message
Conductus - Ave Virgo Virginum
Franz Biebl - Ave Maria
J.S. Bach - Magnificat in D, BWV 243, I: Magnificat
St. Mark's Cathedral Choir - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Isaac Everett – Incarnation

The Season of All Saints and All Souls

"Come have breakfast ... in the rain."

I love the rhythm and flow of the church calendar. At this time of year, I always feel like we're moving into a new season. I know it's still "the Sundays after Pentecost," but there's a chill in the air, and I can't believe it's still the same season it was in June. So when the Feasts of All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2) come, at least in my mind, we're moving into a brown season, a season of harvest, a season of burning leaves. This season will carry us into late November when the season of Advent begins.

This is a season in which we both honor death for its power over us mortals, and also mock it for its impotence in the face of Christ's Resurrection. The lectionary readings during this season turn grim and judgmental. I muse a lot about death in the month between All Saints and Advent.


At the same time, though, I'm beginning new classes this week. While I continue Church History and Hebrew, I'm adding two new ones: Revisioning Parish Ministry and Old Testament. So while All Hallows' Eve is about death, it is also about rebirth and renewal.


I began to create suites of music for each church season several years ago. Each year, I refine (and inevitably expand) each suite of music based on new theological reflections. Here's my music for this brown season of All Saints. The songs compiled here are mixed into suites by theme.

Having just finished a stint as a hospice volunteer, I am listening to these songs with fresh ears. And while I understand that Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages of dying have been scientifically discredited in recent years, I have found them to be an excellent organizing principle for this collection of songs. Enjoy ... and please, if you like something you discover here, go buy it!

(Right-click on a brown link to download it.)

Suite 1: The Souls of the Saints

Ya Kid K – Life
Yael Naïm – New Soul
Simon & Garfunkel – Blessed
Sufjan Stevens – The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies
U2 & Green Day – The Saints Are Coming
XTC – In Loving Memory of a Name
Sarah McLachlan – Prayer of St. Francis

Suite 2: Denial

Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch – I’ll Fly Away
Tori Amos – Happy Phantom
They Might Be Giants – Turn Around
Fastball – The Way
Radiohead – Airbag
Coldplay – 42
XTC – Dying
Howard Jones – Hunger for the Flesh
They Might Be Giants – Road Movie to Berlin

Suite 3: Anger

The Police – Spirits in the Material World
Modest Mouse – Ocean Breathes Salty
Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hell
XTC – No Language in Our Lungs
Metallica – Fade to Black
Oasis – Don’t Look Back in Anger
Queen – The Show Must Go On

Suite 4: Bargaining

Ralph Stanley – O Death
Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) the Reaper
Tennessee Ernie Ford – Sixteen Tons
They Might Be Giants – Dead
XTC – Rook
Postal Service – We Will Become Silhouettes
Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You into the Dark

Suite 5: Depression

Bob Dylan – Knocking on Heaven’s Door
R.E.M. – Daysleeper
Toad the Wet Sprocket – Begin
Queen – Who Wants to Live Forever
XTC – The Last Balloon
Howard Jones – Elegy

Suite 6: Acceptance

 
Indigo Girls – History of Us
Flaming Lips – Do You Realize?
Sufjan Stevens – We Won’t Need Legs to Stand
Seal – Prayer for the Dying
Semisonic – Closing Time
Pink Floyd – The Great Gig in the Sky
Byron Hawkins & J.L. Hosler – Crossing the Bar
Beatles – Let It Be

The Harrowing: Suites for Easter

The Harrowing of Hell

Here are six suites for the season of Easter. The first three are meant for tonight and reflect the Church’s Great Vigil of Easter. Suite 4 is about continuing joy (starting with a tribute to Thomas), while suite 5 is about continuing to wrestle with the Christian life. Suite 6 is for the Day of Pentecost, which will land on June 12 this year.

I’d love more suggestions for this list in particular. Personally, I find it much easier to come up with songs for seasons like Advent and Lent than for a purely joyful season like Easter. The danger is to fall into mere happy-clappiness … and I say this not as a musical snob, but as a liturgical snob.

So if someone could shake me out of that a bit, I’d really appreciate it! What are some great songs of pure joy that are not overly sentimental?

As usual, I’ll point out that these songs are under copyright, but the way I have mixed them together is not. Right-click each header to download the suite. But if you hear something you like, please … go buy it!

Suite 1: Fire and Story
XTC - Sacrificial Bonfire
Peter Gabriel - Blood of Eden
Jars of Clay - Flood
J.L. Hosler - Abraham and Isaac
Eva Cassidy - Wade in the Water
Aimee Mann – Wise Up

Suite 2: Tomb as Womb
Sixpence None the Richer - Tension Is a Passing Note
U2 - Grace
XTC - Wrapped in Grey
Dent Davidson - Litany of Saints
U2 - Wake Up Dead Man
Jeff Lee - Easter Proclamation of John Chrysostom

Suite 3: Joy
Isaac Everett - Resurrection
XTC - Easter Theatre
U2 - Beautiful Day
Electric Light Orchestra - I’m Alive
XTC - Senses Working Overtime

Suite 4: Living the Resurrection
Susan Werner - Probably Not
Godspell - Day by Day
Alison Krauss & Union Station - When God Dips His Pen of Love in My Heart
Sixpence None the Richer - Breathe Your Name
Isaac Everett - Adoration
U2 - Get On Your Boots

Suite 5: Mystagogia
Sufjan Stevens - A Sun Came
Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars
John Mayer - No Such Thing
Queen - You’re My Best Friend
Susan Werner - Help Somebody
The Beatles - In My Life

Suite 6: Pentecost
St. Mark’s Compline Choir - Come, Holy Spirit
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Nightingale Song
God’s Property - Stomp
Starfield – Revolution
Sixpence None the Richer - I Can’t Catch You
The La’s - There She Goes
Sufjan Stevens - All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands

The Unraveling: Music for Holy Week

Giotto, "The Kiss of Judas"

Are you ready for Holy Week? As promised, here are some ready-made music mixes. The music is under copyright; the way I have mixed the songs together is not. PLEASE: if you hear something you like, go buy it!

(Right-click the headers to download each suite.)

Holy Week Suite 1: Binge
Isaac Everett - Preparation
U2 - Magnificent
Matisyahu - King Without a Crown
Living Colour - Cult of Personality
Coldplay – Viva La Vida

Holy Week Suite 2: Purge
Johnny Cash – Personal Jesus
Tracy Chapman - Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution
The Beatles - Revolution
Prince - Thieves in the Temple
Stone Temple Pilots - Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart

Holy Week Suite 3: Supper
Sting - Jeremiah Blues (Part 1)
Sixpence None the Richer - Melody of You
Leonard Cohen – The Guests
Isaac Everett - Valediction
Son Lux - Betray

Holy Week Suite 4: Betrayer
Cher - Heart of Stone
Judybats - Being Simple
Audioslave - Like a Stone
U2 - Until the End of the World
U2 - With or Without You

Holy Week Suite 5: Garden
Don McLean – Vincent
Coldplay – Death and All of His Friends
Dan Bern – God Said No
Sixpence None the Richer - Love
U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love)

Holy Week Suite 6: Crucifixion
Sufjan Stevens - For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
Isaac Everett - Execution (Psalm 22)
Jesus Christ Superstar - Crucifixion
Sufjan Stevens - The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake
Gregorian Chant - Victimae paschali laudes
Isaac Everett - Sermon (What Wondrous Love Is This)

Holy Week Suite 7: Lamentation
St. Mark's Cathedral Choir - Were You There
Isaac Everett - Lamentation (Stabat mater)
Sufjan Stevens - To Be Alone with You
Radiohead – Where I End and You Begin. (The Sky Is Falling In.)
St. Mark's Compline Choir - Lamentations of Jeremiah

Liturgical Pop Music for Lent

At the beginning of each new church season, I like to offer music for the season. I have mixed these songs together--and sometimes created mash-ups--into suites on themes of Lent. If you like something you hear, go buy it! (Right-click each header to download the suite.)

Lent Suite 1: Ashes (Ash Wednesday, March 9)

Ludwig van Beethoven - String Quartet in C# Minor, 1st Movement / Church of the Apostles - Psalm Fifty-One
Kansas - Dust in the Wind
XTC - Deliver Us from the Elements
Sixpence None the Richer - Love, Salvation, the Fear of Death

Lent Suite 2: Desert (March 13)

Arrested Development - Tennessee
Crowded House - Into Temptation
Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike
U2 - Vertigo
Collective Soul - The World I Know
The Choir - Wilderness

Lent Suite 3: Suffering (March 20)

R.E.M. - Losing My Religion
XTC - The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul
Alice in Chains - Them Bones
Sixpence None the Richer - Meaningless
Sufjan Stevens - Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)

Lent Suite 4: Experience (March 27)

Indigo Girls - Closer to Fine
Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
XTC - Dear God
R.E.M. - Hope
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Jesus Met the Woman at the Well

Lent Suite 5: Return (April 6)

Death Angel - Veil of Deception
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Before You Were Born
Paula Cole - Me
Indigo Girls - Prince of Darkness
Susan Werner - Forgiveness

Lent Suite 6: Liberation (April 13)

Tina Cousins - Pray
Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over
Simon & Garfunkel - Sparrow
Blind Melon - Change
U2 - Walk On

Stay tuned for music from Holy Week as we get closer to it.

The Revealing: Suites for the Season of Epiphany

We think of Epiphany as the day when the Magi arrive—January 6. (Always late every year, aren’t they?) But Epiphany becomes a whole season, stretching until the beginning of Lent. As an added bonus, Epiphany is VERY long this year—because Easter is VERY late (April 24).

This season is sometimes called “Ordinary Time,” but I don’t think it’s ordinary at all. It’s a green growing season in which we hear all about the young Jesus—the baby, the child, the young man beginning his ministry. I often wish we had more stories of Jesus as a child. We don’t, but those we have belong here.

Here's some music for Epiphany. It starts out sounding like Christmas music, but then it moves through stages of Jesus’ life and work. After his baptism, Jesus calls the disciples (we’ll save the temptation in the desert for Lent). He goes fishing for people. He teaches and heals. People flock to him and praise him for the amazing things God is doing through him. And finally, Jesus is transfigured on the mountaintop, marking a solid line between his earlier ministry and turning toward Jerusalem and his eventual crucifixion. We’ll also save that part for Lent, of course.

Mixed in at various points are the three movements of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. Aside from being my favorite choral piece ever, these psalms connect us to Jesus’ Judaism, a piece we should never lose track of. They are sung in Hebrew, and I have tried to tie their content to the topic of each suite as best I can. The psalms Bernstein sets are …

Movement 1: Psalms 100 and 108
Movement 2: Psalms 2 and 23
Movement 3: Psalms 131 and 133

In addition, the music gets folksy sometimes, because Jesus hung out with regular folks. It has children’s songs, because Jesus loved children. It’s not just straight-up pop music—some of it is choral, some gospel, some country, some liturgical worship music, some electronic instrumental, some mellow pop, some alternative rock. Come to think of it, it’s a pretty bizarre mix. But I think that makes it an adventure. No doubt, every day with Jesus of Nazareth must have been a pretty wild ride. Enjoy the ride.

Yes, these recordings are under copyright, but the way I have mixed them into suites is original to me. If you hear something you like, please go buy it. I also welcome feedback on Epiphany music I might use to expand these suites next year!

(Right-click each header to download the suite.)

Epiphany Suite 1: Incarnation
Sufjan Stevens - The Incarnation/ Plainchant - Hodie Christus Natus Est [Procession]
Sufjan Stevens - Star of Wonder
Leonard Bernstein - Chichester Psalms 1
Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan - God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen/We Three Kings
Natalie Merchant - Wonder
Benjamin Britten - This Little Babe (from ‘A Ceremony of Carols’)
Sufjan Stevens - What Child Is This, Anyway?

Epiphany Suite 2: Baptism
Sufjan Stevens - Tahquamenon Falls
Alison Krauss - Down to the River to Pray
Church of the Apostles [COTA] - Come to the Water
Sufjan Stevens - Alanson, Crooked River
The Fifth Dimension - Let the Sunshine In

Epiphany Suite 3: Calling
Kermit the Frog - The Rainbow Connection
Susan Werner - Don’t Explain It Away
Sheryl Crow - Light in Your Eyes
Sufjan Stevens - Vito’s Ordination Song
Gonzo the Great - I’m Going to Go Back There Someday

Epiphany Suite 4: Fishing
Leonard Bernstein - Chichester Psalms 2
Mindy Smith - Come to Jesus
Chip Taylor - Dance with Jesus
Stevie Wonder - Have a Talk with God
Kanye West - Jesus Walks

Epiphany Suite 5: Teaching
XTC - The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
The Beatles - All You Need Is Love
England Dan & John Ford Coley - Love Is the Answer
Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule

Epiphany Suite 6: Healing
Isaac Everett - Ministration
Sufjan Stevens - Oh God, Where Are You Now (In Pickerel Lake, Pigeon, Marquette, Mackinaw)
Judy Collins - Amazing Grace
Leonard Bernstein - Chichester Psalms 3

Epiphany Suite 7: Praise
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord
The Doobie Brothers - Jesus Is Just Alright
Stevie Wonder - As
Sixpence None the Richer - Melody of You

Epiphany Suite 8: Transfiguration
George Harrison - All Those Years Ago
Plainchant - Hodie Christus Natus Est [Recession]/ Isaac Everett - Misconception
Church of the Apostles [COTA] - Awaken Us to Your Glory
Sufjan Stevens - The Transfiguration

The Emerging: Suites for Advent

The Christian year begins with the First Sunday in Advent, which often falls on Thanksgiving weekend. Advent continues for four Sundays, the amount of time we need to get ready to come close to the mystery of Christmas.


Here's some music for Advent. No, it's not Christmas music ... at least, not until right at the very end! These suites are built around the seven ancient "O" Antiphons, as sung by the choirs of St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle. Pop and choral music alternate and, hopefully, leave you with a feeling of anticipation and expectation.


Yes, these recordings are under copyright, but the way I have mixed them into suites is original to me. If you hear something you like, please go buy it. I also welcome feedback on Advent music I might use to expand these suites next year!

(Right-click each header to download the suite.)

Advent Suite 1: Eschaton

R.E.M. - It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)
Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire
George Michael - Praying for Time
Mary Poppins - Stay Awake/ Sufjan Stevens - Year of the Sheep
Peter Hallock - Let My Prayer Come Up as the Incense

Advent Suite 2: Wisdom

Godspell - Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (1)
Peter Hallock - O Sapientia
Sixpence None the Richer - Sister, Mother
Martina McBride - Love's the Only House
Sting - Love Is the Seventh Wave

Advent Suite 3: I Am That I Am

Peter Hallock - O Adonai
Sixpence None the Richer - Anything/The Waiting Room
Hooters - All You Zombies
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (2)

Advent Suite 4: Come and Save Us

Peter Hallock - O Radix Jesse
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Pray Your Gods
Aimee Mann - Save Me
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Herbert Howells - A Spotless Rose
Seal - Love's Divine

Advent Suite 5: You Open and No One Shuts

Peter Hallock - O Clavis David
Mr. Mister - Kyrie
Sufjan Stevens - Chicago
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Advent Suite 6: Rising Dawn

Peter Hallock - O Oriens
The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
Sixpence None the Richer - Waiting on the Sun
The Polyphonic Spree - Light and Day
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (3)

Advent Suite 7: Prince of Peace

Peter Hallock - O Rex Gentium
J.L. Hosler - You Heavens Above
Simon & Garfunkel - Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream
John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change
John Denver & Robin - When the River Meets the Sea
Goo Goo Dolls - Better Days

Advent Suite 8: But What If ... ?

Peter Hallock - O Emmanuel
Joan Osborne - One of Us
Isaac Everett - Expectation

Advent Suite 9: Amen

Sting - Gabriel's Message
Conductus - Ave Virgo Virginum
Franz Biebl - Ave Maria
J.S. Bach - Magnificat in D, BWV 243, I: Magnificat
St. Mark's Cathedral Choir - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Isaac Everett - Incarnation

Suites for the Feasts of All Saints/All Souls

I have created pop music mixes for nearly every liturgical season. While I had intended to revise the one for All Saints/All Souls, I seem to have run out of time. No matter; as it stands, it’s one of my favorites. And maybe I’ll brush it up for 2011.

Yes, these recordings are under copyright, but the way I have mixed them into suites is original to me. If you hear something you like, please go buy it.

The six suites are called:

-          The Souls of the Saints

-          Denial

-          Anger

-          Bargaining

-          Depression

-          Acceptance

(Right-click each link to download the mp3.)

All told, it’s about two hours and twenty minutes of music. Enjoy this pop music festival of death and redemption.

Suite 1: The Souls of the Saints

Ya Kid K – Life
Yael Naim – New Soul
Simon & Garfunkel – Blessed
Sufjan Stevens – The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies
U2 & Green Day – The Saints Are Coming
XTC – In Loving Memory of a Name
Sarah McLachlan – Prayer of St. Francis

Suite 2: Denial

Tori Amos – Happy Phantom
They Might Be Giants – Turn Around
Radiohead – Airbag
Coldplay – 42
XTC – Dying
Howard Jones – Hunger for the Flesh
They Might Be Giants – Road Movie to Berlin

Suite 3: Anger

The Police – Spirits in the Material World
Modest Mouse – Ocean Breathes Salty
Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hell
XTC – No Language in Our Lungs
Metallica – Fade to Black
Queen – The Show Must Go On

Suite 4: Bargaining

Ralph Stanley – O Death
Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) the Reaper
They Might Be Giants – Dead
XTC – Rook
Postal Service – We Will Become Silhouettes
Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You into the Dark

Suite 5: Depression

Bob Dylan – Knocking on Heaven’s Door
R.E.M. – Daysleeper
Toad the Wet Sprocket – Begin
Queen – Who Wants to Live Forever
XTC – The Last Balloon
Howard Jones – Elegy

Suite 6: Acceptance

Flaming Lips – Do You Realize?
Sufjan Stevens – We Won’t Need Legs to Stand
Seal – Prayer for the Dying
Semisonic – Closing Time
Pink Floyd – The Great Gig in the Sky
Byron Hawkins & J.L. Hosler – Crossing the Bar
Beatles – Let It Be