brooklyn vs. laguna beach

For being in Children's Ministry I listen to some pretty trashy music. While most people jazz themselves up for Sunday morning with a stop at Starbucks on the way into the 9am service or with the hope for a between service donut, I get my swag on by listing to T.I.'s "Swing ya rag" or the good ol' standby, Jay-Z on my 2.5 minute commute. My latest addition to the playlist? Christina Aguilera & NIcki Minaj's "Wahoo". If you know Christina, or have perhaps come across one of Nicki's latest slew of features in popular rap songs, this song is no "Genie in a Bottle". But don't worry, I bought the "clean" version.

Speaking of which, what passes for "clean" these days is quite open to interpretation. Not only in music, but in T.V. as well. Unless I am on my own on this one, I'm pretty sure there was an unedited F-bomb dropped at the MTV Movie Awards on cable T.V. a few weeks back. But I'm not here to judge. (Note here that I am only adding to the pile of evidence proving my tendency to listen to trashy music).

At one point I owned actual worship CD's, well, probably burned copies, but worship music nonetheless. I liked it. I listened to it. I moped around my room to it in my teenage angst. I'm not sure where all those CD's ended up--probably in Panama along with my baby blanket that I swear is keeping a small child warm at night. I mean, it's got to get cold at night there, right? Crap. It's amazing what you'll tell yourself to make losing your fondest childhood memento hit you in the gut a little less harshly.

Back to the worship music. I'm really not sure what happened to all that music, but I definitely don't own any currently. Unless you count U2, which is still up for debate. I could buy some. There is bound to be a "Top 10 Christian Downloads on iTunes" list, but really I'd rather check the "Genius Recommendations" which currently list the following suggestions:

1. Drake, Thank Me Later
2. Eminem, Recovery
3. Drake, 9am in Dallas
4. The Bravery, Live at the Wiltern...
5. 3OH!3, Double Vision
6. Weezer, Represent
7. Ice Cube, I Rap that West
8. The Gaslight Anthem, American Slang

...and quite a few others. Oh look!

9. Jesus Culture, My Passion

Hmm, I wonder how that ended up on there? I must have something with "Jesus" in the title buried in my rap & alternative laced iTunes library. However, in my defense Coldplay's "Parachutes" happens to be my number 1 played song with a play count of 259. While it may not be "Christian" music at least it's clean, right?

To be honest, I don't feel much remorse over my lack of the Red Man, Song on a Hill, or other Christian goodness. Personally I think it's funny when I catch myself listening to Snoop Dogg & Pharell's "Drop it Like it's Hot" or the New Boyz' "Skinny Jeans" while editing small group lessons and writing volunteer e-mails. Sometimes that's all that keeps me going through the day.

Speaking of getting through, who get's motivated for a good workout by listening to "Blessed by Your Name"? Let's be honest people, it just doesn't work like that. Maybe I'd give in to it for a stretching session at the end of a good burn, or perhaps a contemplative walk along the beach (really though, how often does that actually happen?) if you paid me with frozen yogurt at the end. There is nothing like turning Destiny Childs' "Survivor" or Christina's "Fighter" on to get your butt in gear.

I am definitely not judging you, your taste in music, or likely extensive collection of the Red Man. This is just one of those ironic thoughts I think is funny. There is really no other reason for sharing this with you than to hopefully get a good laugh out of it for you. I love my rap. I love my hip hop. I love that people never expect it out of me. I come across as more of a Jack Johnson, Taylor Swift kind of girl. While I think I own both those albums, they are pretty far down on my play count list. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong body, or rather the wrong colored body. Or at least in the wrong town. When it comes to music, I'm a little more Brooklyn, a little less Laguna Beach. I like it that way, And I look forward to many more dance parties to keep me laughing, and to keep you on your toes.