If ever there is a literal hall of fame and museum for Christian rock bands similar to the Cleveland structure that recognizes Hendrix and Zeppelin, at least two Essential Records artists are a lock to be inducted.

Say what you will about Third Day's recent pandering to the adult-contemporary crowd, but their legacy is unmistakable. Beginning with a self-titled debut in 1996 that brought us classic songs like "Consuming Fire," "Nothing at All" and "Thief," their catalog boasts many of the genre's best tunes.

Scan the back cover of The Elms' latest album and you'll see four anonymous heads of brown hair. Their animosity reflects the sweeping generalizations introduced through this album; The Chess Hotel is music for the every-day man working the blue-collar factory, the Midwestern woman keeping house, and the simple Southern couple just learning what it means to be in love. These characters serve as pieces to an intricate chessboard passed down from generation to generation. The Chess Hotel is small-town life in all its glory—even when the glory shines more like tin than gold.

James Blunt's "You're Beautiful," from his popular CD Back To Bedlam, was all over TV, especially as part of several TV show soundtracks that appealed to twentysomethings. Then it became a huge hit on the radio. The well-promoted ballad, about seeing someone beautiful you used to love on the subway with their new love, really touched the hearts of millions around the world. "You're Beautiful" speaks to all the people who've loved and lost, who wistfully remember the great feeling love can bring, but must face the fact that they're not going to get together again with their former lover.

It's clear from the outset that Mat Kearney is something of a different breed. One song, with its acoustic charm and Kearney's signature falsetto will remind you of the best of current pop/rock radio fare. Then the next track will feature Kearney's spoken word delivery and understated vocals, blending folk/rap elements successfully. On Nothing Left To Lose, Kearney weaves effortlessly between the two to create an album that feels both experimental yet cohesive.

Kearney's roots can be found on his previous indie release, Bullet. Tracks such as "Middle," "Girl America," or leadoff effort "Undeniable" have been carried over to the new release and highlight the best of his debut. For fans who are new to Kearney, this is great news as you are truly getting the best of Kearney's songwriting. "Girl America" in particular is a beautiful track of Kearney singing of the problem of the American culture as it pertains to image and pressure for teenage girls to aspire to.

As I write this, renowned magician and idiot David Blaine is about to star in an ABC special called "Drowned Alive." The idea here, according the promos ABC has been running, is to hold his breath underwater for nine full minutes or die trying. To do so will be a tremendous triumph of man over himself. A wonderful display of the potential of the human will and body. And incredibly stupid.

If you're like most human beings, you don't do this type of thing. You breathe in and out over the course of one and a half to four seconds in perpetuity. Things might slow down when you're asleep and speed up when you're on the treadmill, but what's important here is that you do it on a regular basis. You do it unconsciously and without resistance. You've made your peace with the fact that, for whatever reason, your survival depends on it. You accept that in order to live, you (wait for it…) need to breathe.

Cross Movement has seen better days. The crew that once captured the interest of mainstream rags like The Source and Time and seemed poised to burst through the atmosphere of the Christian industry has been laid relatively low lately. Their most recent LP was released on a label of their own making that hasn't made many waves outside of the CCM harbour. And even within the Christian industry, Cross Movement Records is by no means a heavy hitter in the vein of Gotee, the current hip-hop powerhouse, or the former Uprok Records.

A companion (or alternate) piece to the original movie soundtrack, the Narnia Inspired By album features eleven newly-written songs from an assortment of popular Christian artists. For the most part, those involved stick to that which they know and do best. Jars of Clay’s “Waiting for the World to Fall” is an engagingly wistful slice of harmony-rich modern pop recounting youthful wonder lost. The eminently spirited “New World” shows TobyMac’s dexterity with both hip-hop and grunge to be little diminished since his glory days with dc Talk. The falsetto vocals on “Open Up Your Eyes” lend Jeremy Camp’s characteristic guitar-driven pop/rock a mesmerizing, almost haunting quality. And even Kutless’ by-the-numbers acoustic post-grunge hits the mark on “More than It Seems,” thanks to the group’s skill at forging instantly-memorable hooks and melody lines.

You're probably not the person you want people to think you are. If you're like me, you're at least two people, and probably more. You're one guy at work and another guy at home. You're one girl at school during the week and someone else when you're alone, journaling your innermost thoughts. You're probably a lot more polite at church than you are when you hit the parking lot and strap into your seat and your brother is threatening to smear boogers on the back of your neck. It's just human nature.

Since at least the mid-'90s, singer-songwriter Ben Harper has attracted the ear of certain church folk due to his spiritually-tinged (though sometimes ambiguous and other times profane) lyrics. The ever-present -- and often pointless -- question of the artist's true standing with the Creator of the universe was posed, and merit could be found on either side of it. But not until Harper recorded an album with legendary gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama in 2004 had his affiliation with architects of Jesus music been so close.

Having grown up in the church, I’ve sung my fair share of songs written about “the sweet by and by.” I’ve listened to sermons about the streets of gold. I’ve read the Biblical accounts of the heavenly gates (not just pearly, but decked out with twelve kinds of semi-precious stones). But I’ve wondered how we can live in the “here and now” in an effective manner. I don’t want to see this life on earth simply as a time marker until we get to heaven.