P - Push a Dancer in Paradise

We're already to letter P in the A to Z Challenge. Today, we've got a variety of musical styles. In fact, we've got two styles in a single category. Let's get started.

Love
Plumb - I've been a fan of Plumb for over 15 years. From her start in Christian music in the late 90s, through her more secular music in the middle of the last decade to her return to Christian music with her most recent album. I got to see her in concert for the first time last month at Winter Jam. It was worth the wait.

Paradise City (Guns N' Roses) - On the other end of the spectrum is one of GNRs best songs. This is stadium rock at its best. Wailing guitars, driving rhythms, and the one of a kind voice of Axl Rose. Take me down...

Hate
Private Dancer (Tina Turner) - What is up with this song? Are we glorifying prostitution now? Am I missing something? I'll pass on this one. It also just sounds terrible. Not Tina's best work.

Hate to Love
Push It (Salt-N-Pepa) - Granted, this is not exactly musical excellence. It barely qualifies as musical averageness. (Hey, I just typed it so it's a word.) Sometimes, though, you just have to embrace the sheer fun of the music. It's got a beat and you can dance to it. And it doesn't have to be a private dance.

Tell me who you would put in each category. Do you prefer music with a message or just something you can shake your butt to?

Winter Jam 2014

Last night, I took my daughter and her best friend to Winter Jam. If you are not familiar with Winter Jam, it is a concert with 10 Christian rock bands for $10 per person. Admission and seating are first-come first-serve. Last year, my daughter and I waited in line for an hour and half in the cold rain and were nowhere near the door when they sold out. We weren't going to let that happen this year. We got in line five hours before the doors opened. That's a long time to wait in line with several thousand other people. But it was worth it.

The lineup changes each year. They bring a few marquee acts, some moderately popular acts, and some new up and coming bands. This year's lineup included the following:

• Derek Minor
• Love & the Outcome
• Everfound
• Colton Dixon
• Newsong
• Plumb
• Thousand Foot Krutch
• Tenth Avenue North
• Lecrae,
• Newsboys

There wasn't a bad performance in the whole bunch. There were several different styles represented from Hip-Hop/Rap to acoustic rock to hard core jams. Everyone was on and rockin' it. But the biggest surprise of the evening (one that got the crowd screaming like madmen even more than they already were) was when Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK) announced a special guest would be joining them for a song. The one and only Carrie Underwood! Now I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of Carrie's music. My tastes go much more hard core rock and metal than pop country. But I gotta say, Carrie really threw up the Rawkfist! If you don't understand the reference, you need to listen to more TFK. I was shocked at the way she rocked it with TFK. Well played, Carrie... well played.

After the concert, we stuck around and got autographs from the boys of Everfound and Newsboys. My daughter and her friend were thrilled to be called pretty by Michael Tait and Duncan Phillips of Newsboys. I got a "Good job, Dad" and a handshake from Michael Tait. Not a bad way to end things. Got home about 1 o'clock this morning, fell asleep around 3, got up for work at 6. Life is good.