Lumination’s 2014 Dove Awards preview: New Artist of the Year

For the second year in a row, Lipscomb is hosting the 45th Annual Dove Awards. On Tuesday, Oct. 7, the title for New Artist of the Year will be given to one of five artists. The nominees are as follows: 1 Girl Nation Andy Mineo Ellie Holcomb Hillsong Young & Free Love & The Outcome Andy Mineo seems to be a popular artist as he offers a different sound for those who listen to Christian music. Mineo’s popularity is distinct, as he has two songs nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Song of the Year — “Stop The Traffic” and “You Can’t Stop Me.” Mineo’s album Never Land is also nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year. Hillsong Young and Free, not to be confused with Hillsong United, has become popular for the younger crowd. Their song “Alive” has been nominated for Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year. In addition, their album We Are Young & Free has been nominated for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year and Praise and Worship Album of the Year. Contrary to the upbeat sounds of Andy Mineo and Hillsong Young and Free, Ellie Holcomb offers a more folk, singer-songwriter sound. Holcomb’s album As Sure As The Sun was nominated for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year. Although she is not nominated for as many categories as the other artists listed, I think she could easily take away New Artist of the Year. Holcomb’s sound resonates more with me, and I would guess it does for many other college students as well. As I listen to her music, I imagine myself sitting in a coffee shop studying or fellowshipping with friends. Her...

Movie Review: Secret of Kells

“The Secret of Kells” is an Irish movie that was nominated for best animated picture in the Academy Awards, is an entrancing animated film that showed at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville. The fanciful storybook animation is reminiscent of Samurai Jack and Kim Possible, though the animators don’t hide from the two-dimensional look for the majority of the film. I’ll be looking forward to seeing how good it looks on Blu-ray. The plot revolves around a young Irish lad, Brendan, living in Kells, a community surrounded by walls. The walls are to protect the people from the Norse invaders whilst they complete a book that will “bring light to the darkness.” The plot is fairly simple and easy to follow overall, but a lot is going on in most of the scenes of the film and it can be hard to take it all in at first. It was, however, enough to grab and hold the attention of me, a college student. Though the “Abbot,” “brothers” and Celtic crosses would hint at Catholicism, the filmmakers seemed to avoid any kind of religious agenda. If you do your research, you will see that the Book of Kells is actually a heavily illustrated and ornamental book containing the four Christian gospels in Latin. I wouldn’t recommend the movie to people with small children, as I imagine a few scenes (such as when the Vikings attack, or when Brendan encounters the cave of Crom Cruach) might be too frightening for them. The soundtrack to the film was also incredible. Mostly featuring classic instrumental Irish folk music, it’ll definitely be one to pick...