music

More Music I Like

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I’ve been listening to a lot of music in my car lately. When you have a long commute to and from work like I do, music is what makes the miles pass by without the monotony.

To say that my musical tastes are eclectic is like saying that the Pope is a little Catholic or that Kanye West is slightly fond of himself. I think I’ve reached the level of “they should make pills for this” in terms of my musical diversity and range.

So, here’s a sample of what I’ve listened to in my car on the way home from work:

  1. Toad the Wet Sprocket – Bread and Circus. It’s a definitive 90’s album that was recorded in 1988. This kind of music makes me want to go to the kind of coffeehouses that used to exist before Starbucks made them so very mainstream.
  2. Neil Young- Chrome Dreams II. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I like it. Besides, you don’t really hear too many 18-minute songs these days.
  3. Coldplay- Ghost Stories. It’s not my absolute favorite of theirs and isn’t nearly as good as Viva La Vida, but it’s still Coldplay, and that makes it entirely listenable.
  4. The Violent Femmes- The Violent Femmes. It’s from the early 80’s but sounds as fresh as anything being played on Lightning 100. It’s very punk in attitude if not in sound. Whatever it is, it’s classic.
  5. XTC-Oranges and Lemons. This is pre-grunge alternative music at its finest.
  6. Geoff Mann-In One Era. This is some very interesting (and sometimes odd) British Christian music from the early 80’s. I believe this is obscure even for hipsters.

I think that gives you a good idea of the variety of what I’m listening to, if not to the full extent of my eclecticism. I don’t really categorize my music anymore. It’s either music I like or music that bores me.

As always, I’m continually looking for new music that explores the road less travelled. In other words, I’m not all that interested in what’s trendy or what’s on the pop charts. The more obscure, the better.

The end.

 

Once Again, Happy Birth-Month to Me

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I’ve taken it upon myself to celebrate the whole month of February as my birth-month. Why not? I was born in the shortest month of the year (even counting the extra leap year day that comes once every four years), so I might as well milk the month for all it’s worth.

I will be 44 on February 28. I’m not ashamed of that. A lot of people didn’t get to see 44 because they died way too young. These days, anything shy of 80 is too young.

I’m thankful for my 44 years. I’m thankful for every day that I wake up and see the sun and feel the wind in my face. I don’t take these things for granted any more.

I hope to celebrate this birthday well. I’d love to have a birthday dinner at Mafiaoza’s, either at the Factory in Franklin (if it’s open by then) or at the original location on 12th Avenue South.

As usual, I accept all major credit cards, checks, cash, and gold doubloons. I love gift certificates, especially to places like Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Target, Amazon, McKay’s, Frothy Monkey, McCreary’s Irish Pub, and any other places where they sell music, books, movies, or food. FYI.

I hope to see you during this month of festivities. I hope to have some good face-to-face conversations and catch up with as many of you as possible, especially in places where they serve coffee-based beverages. Which reminds me. I also like gift cards to Starbucks, The Well, and The Edgehill Cafe.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I see now more than ever how truly blessed I am to know the people I know and to have seen and felt the love from all of you, and especially from my Abba Father.

It’s been a very good ride so far.

 

 

Great Lines

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As you probably know by know (if you’ve been keeping up with my posts over the years) is that I am a sucker for a great line, whether from a book or a movie or a song. I have been known actually to get chills from a great quote delivered at just the perfect time.

One such line that got me tonight goes like this: “I am a part of all that I have met.” It’s from Ulysses, a blank verse poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

For me, the reverse is just as true. All that I have met is now a part of me. All the people who’ve crossed my path and touched my soul are now in me in some form. I’ve learned a lot of little things– how to be kinder, how to live in the moment, how to be completely and unabashedly yourself– and incorporated them into who I am becoming.

Every experience, every conversation, every moment has played a part in shaping the present version of me. None of us have arrived at that place where we no longer need to learn or grow. There’s always room for improvement.

Still, the beautiful part of the life of community and faith is that we get to learn and grow together. We learn from each other’s failures and well as successes. We laugh and cry with each other. We spur each other on to keep going whenever one of us feels like quitting.

Yeah, the movie was great, too. I’d seen it before, but as I mentioned yesterday, I was able to enjoy the scenery a lot more when I knew that everything was truly going to be fine in the end.

My prayer for you and me is that we live not just for ourselves, but in such a way that makes people better and makes them not want so much to be like us but rather be like Jesus.

I think that covers everything I wanted to say tonight.

 

Back to the Random

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I haven’t really done a completely random, stream-of-consciousness blog in a while, so here it is. Ta-da!

I pride myself on being musically diverse. I drove home listening to the Greatest Hits of Procol Harum and got home to find a package from Amazon containing Adele’s latest album, 25.

Speaking of commutes, you know it’s a long one when you can listen to an entire Greatest Hits CD in the time it takes to get from work to home.

I don’t really mind. I look at it this way. I have a job to commute to and from, a car to commute in, and another day to be alive and driving. The upside is way better than any slow traffic.

Social media is a funny beast. Some posts that you think are completely awesome go seemingly unnoticed and some random picture of a dog taking a bubble bath get all kinds of likes and comments. I don’t get it. Still.

But life doesn’t begin and end with social media. In fact, it’s probably good to put down the smart phone every now and then and experience your life in person. Those kids will only be small for so long. Those parents and grand parents will only be around for so long.

You probably won’t regret not checking your Instagram or Pinterest account for a couple of days, but you will regret one day realizing that you lost precious time to spend with those you love who are now gone.

One of the experiences you’ll miss with your head buried in your phone is the amazing fall weather we had today. If I could bottle up the weather, the sky, and the smells, I completely would. And maybe make it into a Yankee Candle.

Being up since 5:30 am, or as I call it, the Ungodliest Hour of the Day Before The Sun is Even Out, I will call it a night. I’m still completely overwhelmed by and grateful for every single one of my readers, whether they read all my posts or only check in occasionally.  I’m also very thankful for the spelling nazi on my laptop that caught that I had misspelled occasionally (as well as misspelled, which is awkward).

Good night and may the peace of Christ be with you and keep you till morning.

One of My Favorites

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Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Fri Sep 30 - Sun Oct 2, 2005

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
Fri Sep 30 – Sun Oct 2, 2005

Often at night, I’ll put on my headphones and get out whatever CD strikes my fancy and lull myself to sleep with some good music.

Last night, it was Gillian Welch’s Time (the Revelator). I love her music. In an age where music feels mass-produced, it’s a refreshing change to find songs that seem hand-crafted and lovingly spun.

I have all her music. I could put on any of her CDs and instantly be transported into a happier place of mind.

I actually got to see her and Dave Rawlings at the Ryman back in December of 2011. It was the last stop on their tour and it was fantastic. They had no opening act and played for 2 1/2 hours. It’s at least in my top three best concert experiences of all time.

Also, the Dave Rawlings Machine is good stuff, too. It’s basically a reversal of her albums with him doing the lion’s share of lead vocals.

Basically, go with whatever music moves you, whether it’s popular or not, top 40 or not, recent or not. Even if it’s Kenny G or Zamfir, Master of the Pan-Flute.

I wouldn’t want to live in a world without music and art. It would almost be like living in a world with justice but no mercy.

So yeah, I like music.

The end.

Music I Like

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I’ve gotten to the point where I really don’t care how old the music or what format it is. If it speaks to me and tells me my story, I like it.

I used to look down my nose at country music. I thought it was too hick for me. Then I tried to listen to it and didn’t like it.

Later on, I found some Dwight Yoakum. It turns out that I really did like country music after all, just not the sugar-flavored pop with a twang that passes for country music these days. Yes, I just showed my age.

I have just about every kind of genre from just about every decade that music has been made. I like it all.

Lately, I find myself gravitating toward the road less traveled, musically speaking. I don’t tend to go for top 40 as much. I like more alt-country and Americana-style music.  But not to the point of being hipster. I’m not there yet.

There’s still nothing better to me than the right song at the right moment. It’s almost like the song becomes a part of the soundtrack of your life and the moment becomes etched in your memory.

I like the Grateful Dead, mostly because every time I listen to one of their songs, I think about Uncle Bob and how much he loved the Grateful Dead. It makes me happy. Hopefully he’s up in heaven smiling at my new musical broad-mindedness.

I also tend to avoid music awards shows like the bubonic plague. All they do is reward mediocrity and popularity over actual talent. Generally speaking. And that was my soapbox speech for the evening.

The beauty of music, as well as art, is that there really is no such thing as bad art. Art and music are subjective, and chances are that what turns me off completely may speak to you where you are and you may love it. More power to you.

As Uncle Mikey aka Mike Glenn says, that’s why Baskin Robbins has 39 flavors of ice cream. Not everyone likes Rocky Road. Not every one likes what I like in music. Some actually like Justin Bieber. God bless and keep listening. Just make sure you have your headphones on when you’re around me, please.

 

 

Patty Griffin and the Long Ride Home

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“I’ve had some time to think about you
And watch the sun set like a stone
I’ve had some time to think about you
On the long ride home” (Patty Griffin).

So, here’s the deal. The Red Sled has a pooped-out transmission. Thankfully, that means rebuilding and NOT replacing (which is apparently about $1400 more). That got my anxiety up a bit.

But on my ride home, I had Patty Griffin’s A Kiss in Time to keep me company. To those who only know top-40, Patty Griffin is an astoundingly amazing artist who has the rare combination of angelic voice and keen songwriting ability. This particular album captured her in a 2003 live performance at the Ryman Auditorium (the same place where I saw her live in 2011).

There’s something about music that forces you to be present in the present. You can’t daydream about the past or fret about the future when a good song is playing. You can’t help but notice the music. At least I can’t.

Music is a reminder that you can’t change the past or control the future. All you can do is to live in the present and receive it like the gift it is. Each moment is a package waiting to be unwrapped by those not enslaved to their smart devices.

So I go to bed tonight knowing that in the end everything will be fine, because God’s already there and He’s promised me that He’d take care of the details.

Hopefully, I won’t keep myself up half the night coughing out my lungs like I did last night. That’s not my idea of fun.

Here’s hoping you find something to smile about and celebrate about God in the days and weeks to come.

My celebration will be my head hitting the pillow as soon as humanly possible.

 

More Music & Nostalgia

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Today, I got a CD in the mail. Not a big deal. I’ve gotten a few of those over the years (understatement of the century to say the least).

This one was a bit different. This was an album by a band called Johnny Clegg & Savuka that my uncle introduced me to almost 20 years ago. I wish I could thank him again, but he’s no longer living. All I have left are the music and the memories. I can see his face every time I listen to a Grateful Dead song.

In fact, both my uncles on my dad’s side helped to instill in me a great love for music as well as inspiring me to broaden my musical horizons, a move that I have never once regretted.

For me, music is better than just about anything else at conjuring up old memories.

Whenever I hear a Julie Miller song, I’m immediately transported back to Union University circa 1993 and some great friends who really modeled what real Christian faith lived out could be. Not stuffy, pew-sitting faith, but vibrant every-day kind of faith that was honest and transparent.

I can hear any Phil Collins song and immediately feel the same way that I did as an 8th grader way back in 1986.  Heck, just about any 80’s song will transport me back to junior high/high school.

That’s what makes the musical aspect of worship so great. Music is the best way to trigger memories of God’s faithfulness in the past to remind you that He’s still faithful now.

I can still remember how my grandmother, long after she’d forgotten her address and the names of most of the people she loved, still able to sing the old hymns that were embedded deep in a part of her brain that Alzheimer’s couldn’t touch.

After all, music is the only expression that activates and utilizes every part of the brain. But that’s another topic for another day.

 

All Those 10,000 Maniacs and That Toasted Graham Latte

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cd-10000-maniacs-mtv-unplugged-13654-MLB189732027_6669-F

“These are days, you’ll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this and as you feel it

You’ll know it’s true that you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you” (Natalie Merchant, Robert Buck).

Maybe I look at music a little differently than most, but it seems to me that certain kinds of music lend themselves to certain seasons of the year.

Obvious example: listening to The Beach Boys conjures up all sorts of images of summer. For me, a lot of 90’s alternative music makes me think of cooler temperatures and fallish weather. Don’t ask me why. It just does.

My soundtrack for the drive from work to meet my friend at Starbucks was the fantastic 10,000 Maniacs compilation, Campfire Songs. It covers the Natalie Merchant era and makes me want to wear a sweater. PS Maybe I’m old, but most of the new music I hear doesn’t even come close to the likes of 10,000 Maniacs or Natalie Merchant as a solo act. And it’s sad that it takes 8 songwriters and 3 producers to come up with something that pales in comparison to what guys like Freddy Mercury or Brian Wilson could do all by themselves.

I had every intention of enjoying a pumpkin spice latte, but the new toasted graham latte called out to me. Not literally, because that would have been super weird. More like a metaphorical kind of calling.

 

I’ve found that for me, the best kind of therapy is a good song at just the right moment. Music has a way of bringing me back from obsessing over the past or fretting over the future. It forces me (in a non-violent way) to be completely in the present.

Maybe that’s why I nerded out a bit when I found Patty Griffin’s newest album, Servant of Love, at Best Buy. It truly made my heart happy and immediately went into the CD player in my Red Sled aka my 1997 Jeep Cherokee with almost 293,000 miles on it.

God speaks to me most through music, and it doesn’t always have to be overtly Christian music. Sometimes a song that’s not even remotely about God can be a vehicle through which God speaks directly to my need.

God is good like that.

The end.

 

Music and Endorphins

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I read somewhere that one of the reasons so many people love good music is that it causes the release of the endorphins which cause pleasure. In other words, for me a good song can take me to my happy place.

There’s nothing better than the right song at the right moment to create a soundtrack event. It’s almost like you’re suddenly inside a movie when that song comes on.  Maybe I’m the only one, but I have those moments often.

I think all the hymns and praise songs are a testament to the power of music to convey truths in a powerfully emotional way. Music is the only experience that engages all of your brain at one time (and I’m fairly certain that’s right because I read it on the internet. They can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true, right?)

For me, the perfect song was Creepin’ by Stevie Wonder right as the sun was setting on my drive home tonight. Heck, there is no bad time for a Stevie Wonder song. Any Stevie Wonder song.

Jazz is good for late at night, especially after midnight. Nothing is more perfect than some Red Garland in the wee small hours of the morning.

My point? I love music. I probably love it too much, if that’s even possible. I have music and songs in my head almost non-stop. It’s like my life has it’s own incredible soundtrack that no one hears but me. Maybe they make pills for that. I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t change it if I could.

While music in worship is important, worship is more than music. It’s more than singing. In fact, if you’re not worshipping already when the music starts, if your worship isn’t a lifestyle, then you’ve missed it. But that’s another topic for another blog on another day.