Well, the calendar still says November, and America hasn’t entered its tryptophan-induced coma yet, but Christianity Today already has their list of the best albums of 2007. Obviously, given the publication’s title, this is skewed to the “Christian music market”, whatever the heck that is, but here’s how the Square Pegs came in on it:

• Derek’s The Ringing Bell at #11, making him four-for-four in getting his solo albums on their list.
• Jeremy’s Recovery at #4, which is too low, in my opinion, but I haven’t heard #3 or #1.
• Caedmon’s Call’s Overdressed at #2, which has Andy O and Derek involved in the whole music scene and Randall on the songwriting end.

I personally would have Recovery up there at the top, but that’s just because it’s such a breakthrough in sound for Jeremy, a truly unique work of art in a “Christian music marketplace” seemingly content in making homages to other folks. [Which isn't to say that such homages can't be a lot of fun, because The Ringing Bell certainly is. It deserves the lauding that Paste and others have given it.]

This time next year, I fully expect that we’ll be having much the same discussion, with two of the Andy’s with new projects due to release and rumblings that Osenga might put out one himself, a new record [and an EP of duets with Sandra!] coming from Derek, and what all else, I don’t know just yet. Should be music for your ears…

Yes, a lot of what we do here is link to interviews, and yes, you’ve read some of it before. So here’s the money quote from Colossians Three Sixteen’s interview of Jeremy Casella:

I wrote about my life on [Recovery]. I drew from personal loss, failure and the longing for something better than the condition I find myself in. I’ve found that most everyone can relate to that sort of subject matter so the new music is finding an audience even if it doesn’t fit nicely into pre-conceived categories and assumptions of what an artist who is a believer in the Gospel should be.

The most difficult part of being an independent artist is getting press coverage for your material. Marketing in general is just a difficult thing for me. I think it’s more about financial resources than it is about the lyrical content of the songs.

Yeeeep.

Well, other than the fact that they miscounted the number of Pegs—remember, there are now as many Pegs as Osenga has toes—INFUZE does a good job of interviewing our man Jeremy. They delve into his friendship with Phil Keaggy, which is pretty cool. I hope that you’ll read the whole thing, even if I do steal their thunder by putting the money quote out there:

Artists tend to say for other people what they can’t say for themselves. Music is a spiritual language that we all understand. Not everybody can speak it but everyone understands it. I want my songs to be meaningful to people, so I feel a responsibility to make good art and give them something that’s at least worth the time it took to create it.

[My apologies to Jeremy for taking so long to post this. It's been one of those weeks/months.]

Sure, I disagreed with the last five-star CT review that I read, but I really agree with Christianity Today giving Jeremy’s Recovery five stars. It deserves every one of them. It is still the best new record I have purchased this year, and it vies with The Decemberists’ The Crane Wife and M. Ward’s Post-War for best album I’ve purchased in 2007, regardless of release year. You should give it a try.

[Thanks to Jeremy for the tip.]

We linked before, and we’ll link again: Jenni Simmons interviews Jeremy Casella.

Mental note: you have a Casella interview that you have yet to publish.

Houston-based freelance writer Jenni Simmons recently interviewed Jeremy Casella, and part one is now available on jeremycasella.com. Here’s a snippet to whet your appetite:

Jenni: When did you realize that without a doubt, you were meant to be a singer-songwriter?

Jeremy: There was a time when I wanted to pursue some other things, but I realized coming into my early 30’s that there’s really nothing more I could do as well. I’ve always loved music and it’s always felt natural to interact with the world around me using music. You want to spend your life and your time doing something that you feel is the best use of your abilities. As I’ve gotten older, music has become more and more of a passion.

Jenni: I think your calling becomes pretty clear, and something about your 30’s makes it especially clear.

Jeremy: Actually, a couple years ago I was freaking out a little bit about some of my label troubles and I met a guy in Dallas and shared my disappointments with him. He asked me how old I was and I said, ‘about 27.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry because your real work in life begins in your 30’s, and your 20’s are just a primer.’ When I turned 30 about a year ago I really found that to be true. It has given me hope that my 30’s will be productive, a new chapter. I’m glad to leave my 20’s behind - it was a very difficult time, for me anyway. Half the time you’re wondering what you’re doing with yourself. Even though I’m in my early 30’s, I feel like I’m settling into my life’s work in some way.

I’m finding that myself … as I draw close to 30, I’m I’m hitting my stride professionally [and with my hobbies, too].

The whole thing is a good read. Check it out.

Want to see a great concert this fall? Eric recently posted this on his blog:

I’m hearing rumors of a fall tour with fellow Square Pegs, Andrew Osenga, Andrew Peterson, Jeremy Casella and myself. I will certainly attempt to keep you updated as these plans develop. If you or someone you know is interested in booking a show in your town, please drop myself or The Breen Agency an email. We’re looking to fill dates in late September to late October.

If you can help set this up, send an e-mail to Eric through his website.

We’d hoped to have this for you yesterday, but we’ll serve no wine before its time! You can pre-order Jeremy Casella’s Recovery TODAY.

Jeremy and the great folks at Portland Studios have a video about the making of Recovery up on the new JeremyCasella.com. You can pre-order the CD, and after you finish the pre-order, you get a digital download of the album … right away.

I’ve had this album since Thursday night, and it’s all I want to listen to right now. There are just so many facets of this finely-crafted record that I can’t begin to describe them all to you. Andy Osenga and Matthew Smith have both raved about this to me, and when I talked to Derek a couple weeks ago about it, he said, “I haven’t heard it, but everyone I know who has just won’t shut up about it.” For good reason.

The full CD launches 22 May 2007. More details in Jeremy’s post.

Jeremy noted that Monday was the last day of mixing for his new record, so I contacted him wondering if the disc was going to be delayed. Indeed, it will be, but only by a week to May 15th.

I still haven’t heard any of it, and neither had Derek when he and I talked about it on Thursday night. But whenever either one of us asks anyone about it, whoever has heard it has rave reviews. We can’t wait to hear it.

Also, Jerry recently turned 31, and Kierstin’s entry in honor of her husband is worth reading:

eli and i are proud of him for so many reasons. beyond the fact that he’s pouring his heart into a new album full of brilliant artistry and heaps of perseverance (and he’s doing it all to take care of us, his family), we are proud of him for being such a caring husband who rarely fails to love his wife well, no matter the extent of patience it requires. and we are proud of him for being such a dedicated new father who handles every middle of the night diaper change without a complaint, and tears up at the sight of his son’s tiny face. not every man has that depth of sensitivity.

Yeah, we like that Casella guy, too, Kierstin.

Jeremy writes about destroying his vocabulary:

As a songwriter who is a believer in The Gospel, it is easy to fall into a certain language when speaking lyrically that really only exists in evangelical circles. Even more, the language or “code” spoken does not edify or express the reality of the Gospel as it relates to total reality. After reading Schaeffer, Guiness and Pearcy — I realized that in order for me to truly communicate like a believer that I need not use the “code” language of evangelicalism any longer. So I sought to destroy my vocabulary and rebuilt it like a human being instead of a sub-cultural robot.

I know that this is one thing that Jeremy said that he really stressed in writing for the new record. As good as his stuff was before, I think that we can all agree that this should make his work even more accessible.