It's the second week of Advent, 2010, and I've put together a playlist of songs that feel appropriate to this moment. They are songs that represent both the darkness of the world and the power of the penetrating light. They are songs about waiting, hoping, and dwelling in the now-and-not-yet. I'll be listening to them with plenty of hot cider and a hopefully quieted soul, beckoning Emmanuel to come and ransom this captive creation.
Jonsi - "Hengilas" Coldplay - "We Never Change" Cat Power - "Where is My Love" Julie Lee - "Hope's the Thing With Feathers" Low - "Closer" Mumford and Sons - "After the Storm" The Antlers - "Kettering" Pedro the Lion - "The Longest Winter" Jars of Clay - "In the Bleak Midwinter" Hem - "Strays" Mindy Smith - "Follow the Shepherd Home" Sun Kil Moon - "Gentle Moon" Sufjan Stevens - "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" The Walkmen - "While I Shovel the Snow" Over the Rhine - "White Horse" Sara Groves - "O Holy Night" Sarah McLachlan - "Silent Night" Dustin O'Halloran - "Opus 23" Hem - "Almost Home" Bifrost Arts - "Salvation is Created" Over the Rhine - "The First Noel"