Opening rocker "Goodbye Ordinary," whose self-explanatory title and content encourage listeners to give their best for God instead of giving Him leftovers, be it in their worship, their attitudes, their actions or any other aspect of their lives. This track segues into "Time Has Come" which calls people to give their all for Christ and his renown rather than their own desires. First single "God With Us" is a soaring worship number whose premise is the notion of why on Earth God would feel anything for us or even want to pay attention to us.

Sara Groves has been hanging around the music scene for a good 7 years now, though I couldn't tell you why.  She records in this genre of music called folk/pop, but most people just call it boring.  Come on!  You can't dance to it or bang your head to it, so what good is there in it?  She even goes so far as to mix other types of music like jazz into her sound.  She can't fool me.  She's just trying to play off to those musical snobs that say that there's nothing new in popular music today.

We're hitting the road hard heading into the holiday season and some solid albums are finding their way onto the scene.  Here are some we're keeping an eye out for today:

The Ultimate Hits - Garth Brooks: Sure, it's another greatest hits collection from Garth but with four new songs and a DVD featuring videos for each song in the collection, the country fan in me just has to say yes.

Intermission to the Moon - A Dream Too Late: Newcomers on the Tooth & Nail label bring a solid indie rock vibe to the scene. 

Hvarf/Heim - Sigor Ros: The experimental rockers return with what we're hoping is another amazing release. 

Tell Me What You Know - Sara Groves: One of contemporary Christian music's finest singer/songwriters, this promises to be a good one.

I-Empire - Angels and Airwaves: The group of exiles from other bands returns with their sophomore effort.  Shows some promise.

A Place to Land - Little Big Town: Peaceful, easy harmonies charmed many on the group's debut.  Let's see if they avoid the sophomore slump.

Storm the Gates of Hell - Demon Hunter: Christian rock's supernatural slayers return with another hard-hitter.

Did we miss your favorite?  Amazed that we didn't mention something?  Let us know!

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The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, contemporary Christian's largest annual musical extravaganza, has announced it's lineup for it's 2008 tour.  Joining founders and hosts NewSong this year will be none other than MercyMe, Skillet, BarlowGirl, and Mandisa of American Idol fame.  Tweenage newcomers NRG and hip-hop trio Group One Crew will kick things off with a pre-show party and the tour will also feature performances by the Xtreme sports Real Encounter BMX/skate team and a special appearance by speaker Tony Nolan.  Per usual, all of this is yours for the low, low price of $10 at the door!  Head over here to see when the tour's going to be near you.

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In case you just can't wait the four days before it's November 6th release, the folks over at NewReleaseTuesday.com are offering up a free stream of Sara Groves new album, Tell Me What You Know.  It's good stuff so head on over and check it out!

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No, the award-winning band hasn't lost any members.  And no, they're not thinking of going their separate ways.  Instead, the platinum selling group is setting it's sights on helping find the next big thing; specifically, the next big church band.  And they need your help.  Prior to Oct. 26th, church bands across the country were encouraged to submit an MP3 of their best performance to HearItFirst.com.  Now is where you come in.  It's up to online voters to listen to the entrants offerings and to vote for their faves.  The list will be pared down to a group of semifinalists and so forth until one stands supreme.  The winner will win a chance to perform at Mark Hall's home church but also a $4500 prize package from co-sponsor Gibson. 

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Seattle-based Barcelona is such a band that has let their emotions lead them, most notably on their debut release, absolutes. Comprised of a group of longtime friends who cut an album on a lark and realized that perhaps they had lit upon something more. The friends felt that something clicked and thus Barcelona began. And the significance of the name? The band simply sensed people could relate to the name because it is easy to say and spell. The name also signifies a "cosmopolitan" feel as well as a reflection of Europe.

Garage rock is invading the Cartoon Network!  In anticipation of their latest work, The Black and White Album, streeting on Nov. 13th, The Hives are teaming with the CN in order to bring their music to the masses.  The band's lead single, "Fall is Just Something Grown Ups Invented," is the network's fall theme song and can be heard every ten minutes.  Plus, the station will also debut the video for the single mid-November to coincide with the album release. 

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