CCM Countdown: 10

My countdown of the 50 Contemporary Christian Music projects that had the most impact on my life and ministry (through 2006) continues as we enter the Top 10.  Due to several ties, it's actually a Top 13, but hey, who's counting?  Beginning today, and continuing each Thursday, we will feature the albums one at a time and provide a bit more detail than before.  To see 15-11 and find links to go back to the beginning, click here.  Enjoy the first number 10!
 10)  THE ANATOMY OF THE TONGUE IN CHEEK-  Relient K-  2001

I owned a Relient K compact disc that I had never really listened to prior to seeing Matthew Thiessen and the boys live in late 2001 at a National Youth Workers Convention.  They simply blew me away, and before long my youth group at Wesley Memorial UMC was hooked on this album.  The music was pop/punk, the lyrics (written by Thiessen) were clever and spiritual, and every song was a gem.  Produced by former dc Talk guitarist Mark Lee Townsend for Gotee Records, Anatomy is an easy choice for my Top 10.

FEATURED SONGS

The opener Kick-Off rocks you you into the hit Pressing On, which reminds us to press on towards the prize that is life with Jesus.  The infectious Sadie Hawkins Dance (see video below) would often fill our van on youth trips, with its "OH-OH-OH" refrain. While not a spiritual song, Sadie really spoke to the teenage relationships I dealt with everyday.  Other classics include Down In Flames (which encourages Christians to stop beating up other Christians), Lion-O (a tribute to the classic 80's cartoon Thundercats) and Less Is More.  Perhaps the most powerful song is For The Moments I Feel Faint, better known by the first line of the chorus "Never underestimate my Jesus," which includes the great line "your telling me that there's no hope, I'm telling you you're wrong..."    I could always judge how popular a CD was with my students by how many wanted to borrow it. With this one, the borrowed it and I never got it back- over and over again! 
Download this:  For The Moments I Feel Faint

OTHER RECOMMENDED RELIENT K ALBUMS

Two Lefts Don't Make A Right, But Three Do-  2003

Deck the Hall, Bruise your Hand-  2003

Mhmm-  2004