Music Monday 11.27.06

in

JosephAnother new CD to mention this Music Monday, Joseph Arthur's Nuclear Daydream (myspace). 

Joseph_arthur Man, I am enjoying this CD thoroughly.  Nuclear Daydream is my introduction to Arthur, and what a great introduction it is.  His sound reminds me a bit of Elliot Smith.  A lot of Mick Jagger.  But if Mick Jagger isn't a sound you are looking for, please just trust me and check it out anyway.  I think you will be very surprised.

KEXP in Seattle has a live concert of Joseph Arthur online (51 minutes), as well as a video interview.  Also, search for the KEXP Live Performances podcast on iTunes to discover great new music.

Reviews

Metacritic puts Nuclear Daydream at an 81, which means "universal acclaim."

Paste: "The multitalented Joseph Arthur...is a metaphysician who fashions his complex interior monologues into deceptively simple pop songs. Nuclear Daydream, his fifth album, is post-apocalyptic religious music, endlessly ponderable and disturbingly beautiful."

New York Magazine: "His latest album, Nuclear Daydream, is his fifth, and it is a tutorial in finely textured songwriting. The tunes are generally slow to mid-tempo, built from simple chord progressions and driven by a powerful, versatile voice that blends bits of Jagger, Dylan, Bowie, and Stipe. Arthur’s lyrics tend to be blunt vignettes about the struggles of love and faith, and they do occasionally veer into solipsistic clichés. But because his delivery is so full bore, you find yourself helplessly singing along even to lyrics that might otherwise make you wince, such as “Woman, you make me feel / Woman, are you for real?” And though the sentiments are often bleak, Arthur takes such cathartic pleasure in expressing them that even the darkest moments contain a glimmer of hopefulness."

Music Monday 11.20.06

in

JnewI have a few CD's I can't wait to talk about, but I'm going to wait to talk about all of them but one. 

Ys I recently picked up Joanna Newsom's (myspace) new one, Ys.  It is one of the strangest and most wonderful CD's I've heard. 

If you think all real music is 3-5 minutes a song and should be radio-ready, this isn't for you.  Please no hate mail if you buy the CD and don't like it.  Ys' five tracks run about 55 minutes or so.  This music is not about belting out pop hits, but about an experience, about poetry and meaning and depth of beauty.  It may not grab you at first listen (though it did me), and many of you will quickly dismiss it after hearing a clip or two.  But I'm telling you, the grandeur of this album is something to behold.

The music seems to put you in a world of knights and horses and castles and kingdoms, and it makes you wonder if there are dragons in the nearby caves.  It's magical if there ever was magical, with Newsom on the harp and her unique voice breathing out drama.  Newsom is a poet, and the CD's booklet is the thickest I've ever seen at just under 30 pages of lyric/poetry.  It's edges are gold like a Bible or a leather-bound edition of Tom Sawyer, fitting for such literary music.

From "Emily"...

Pa pointed out to me, for the hundredth time tonight,
the way the ladle leads to a dirt-red bullet of light.

Squint skyward and listen--
loving him, we move within his borders:
just asterisms in the stars' set order.
 
    We could stand for a century,
staring,
with our heads cocked,
in the broad daylight, at this thing:

    Joy,
landlocked in bodies that don't keep--
dumbstruck with the sweetness of being,
till we don't be.
Told: take this.
Eat this.
 
    Told: the meteorite is the source of the light,
And the meteor's just what we see;
And the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid of the fire that propelled it to thee.
 
    And the meteorite's just what causes the light,
And the meteor's how it's perceived;
And the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee.

More on Ys: Metacritic, Pitchfork, Dusted, Observer Music Monthly.

Under the Radar: "The full orchestra doesn’t smack of overproduced grandiosity, which is a nice surprise. Less surprising, of course, is the album's incredible lyrical density."

Drowned in Sound:

It’s only very occasionally that I’ve come across an album that sounds so out of step with the times in which it’s created that it sounds startling, even shocking, like a smouldering asteroid that crashes through the ceiling of your house.

Often it’s something so odd, so next level that it seems like it can only have come from the future. But Ys, the second full-length album by prodigious folk musician Joanna Newsom, sounds like it has come from some dimly remembered past. Like old wives’ tales, these autobiographical myths are built from grains of truth and wisdom, a vivid, living, textured account of a memory glimpsed or forgotten, like a dream upon waking or a fable from a faraway place written a long time ago."

Here's a side note that's worthy of an entire post.  Please listen to the Espers' song "Voices."  I have their most recent CD, Espers II, which is tremendous.  "Voices" is from Espers, which is on my "must buy" list.

Jesus Christ: The Talking Doll

in

Jesus2For crying out loud...

A talking Jesus doll has been turned down by the Marine Reserves' Toys for Tots program.

A suburban Los Angeles company offered to donate 4,000 of the foot-tall dolls, which quote Bible verses, for distribution to needy children this holiday season. The battery-powered Jesus is one of several dolls manufactured by one2believe, a division of the Valencia- based Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co., based on Biblical figures.

But the charity balked because of the dolls' religious nature.

Toys are donated to kids based on financial need and "we don't know anything about their background, their religious affiliations," said Bill Grein, vice president of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, in Quantico, Va.

As a government entity, Marines "don't profess one religion over another," Grein said Tuesday. "We can't take a chance on sending a talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family."

Michael La Roe, director of business development for both companies, said the charity's decision left him "surprised and disappointed."

"The idea was for them to be three-dimensional teaching tools for kids," La Roe said. "I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible."

According to the company's Web site, the button-activated, bearded Jesus, dressed in hand-sewn cloth outfits and sandals, recites Scripture such as "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." It has a $20 retail value.

You can learn more about this amazing product here, including the fact that this Jesus has "realistic eyes."  I like my version better.

My observations...

1. Jesus is worth way more than $20.  Hence, this cheapens Jesus.

2. I don't see any reference to Jesus saying anything about "hypocrites" or "white-washed tombs" or many other Scriptures.  So this doll misrepresents Jesus.

3. Jesus welcomes all the little children.  So isn't it a bit odd that this doll was only going to be donated to "needy" ones?  Shouldn't every kid get their own free Jesus?

4. [sarcasm]At least the company got Jesus' skin color right.[/sarcasm]

5. Since when does Jesus look like Val Kilmer?Jesus3_cropVal_2_crop

Music Monday

in

From time to time I want to revisit some music I think is worth re-recommending. 

I have a number of CD's that I like and listen to now and again but aren't a regular part of my music diet.  I have some CD's I liked for a while and they lacked the depth that would make them last.  But there are a select number of CD's in my music rotation that never seem to grow old.  Here are 10 CD's (most are still fairly new) that I appreciate more with each listen, and so they often get played the most.  In alphabetical order (stars by my top three)...

Amos Lee: Amos Lee
The Avett Brothers (I refuse to choose, Thieves, Mignonette, Live Vol 2, all good)
Band of Horses: Everything All the Time
Cat Power: The Greatest
Page France: Hello, Dear Wind *
Shearwater: Palo Santo *
Sia: Color the Small One
Waterdeep: Sink or Swim
Wilco: Kicking Television: Live in Chicago
Winterpills: Winterpills *

Playcation

in

Yep, family is going on vacation.  We are headed to Wisconsin Dells (a couple hours North) on Wednesday and won't be back until next week.  Awesome.  Longest vacation to a non-relative location for us.  And we need it.  This has been a stressful year of ministry. 

Here's our family video from our Wisconsin Dells vacation over Halloween 2005.  Make sure you watch it all the way through.  The ending is spectacular.  Well, at least pretty cool.  Music from The Go! Team: Thunder, Lightning, Strike.

The Lanyard

in

Billy_collins_loc_1Billy Collins is a former Poet Laureate of the U.S. and creator of Poetry 180.  I heard an interview of him on some podcast, I think.  Maybe this one.  He read his poem, "The Lanyard."  I think it's brilliant and wanted to share it here. 

"The Lanyard" by Billy Collins

The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.        

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

Double Digits

in

Dsc_0088_1My daughter, Sarah Elizabeth McCoy, is 10 years old today.  She reminds us at every turn that 10 is "double digits."  That means today is an important day for her, and it's important for me too.

Dsc_00011 Sarah was born in Denver (Littleton) in 1996 she changed our lives and marriage more than I can ever explain.  I remember changing her diapers and watching her sleep so peacefully and gazing into her little life-filled eyes wondering what the future would bring.  She has made me very happy and terribly proud. 

Dsc_00202_1 Sarah gave her first public speech last week on the Elf Owl.  It was so good the teacher asked her to repeat the performance as an example for the other kids.  Sarah cries easily over her sin and seeks Jesus.  Sarah loves her cat, Calvin.  Sarah loves music, learning the words and singing along.  Sarah loves her three younger brothers and will put up with tons of sibling frustrations in order to help and serve them.  Sarah will sit in her room playing with dolls with the Bible on tape playing in the background.  Sarah enjoys learning to bake with her Mom and shopping for clothes and eating anything with broccoli in it. 

Dsc_00321_2 Sarah is a gift that unwraps daily, teaching me about life and love and hope and kindness and beauty.  Sarah is my little girl who isn't so little anymore and is more like a woman than a girl.  I love my Sarah, and my Sarah loves me. 

Happy birthday Sweetheart.  I love being your Daddy and you make me very happy. 

Saturday Selections

in , , , ,

I'm getting a lot of hits from Spero News.

Have you been listening to Ken Myers' podcast from Mars Hill Audio?  It's called Audition, and it's a great free resource for provoking thoughts on theology & culture.  And if you don't subscribe to Mars Hill Audio, I recommend it.  At least get a free sample issue to try.  It's a key resource for stretching me beyond my current intellectual boundaries.

I've gotten through part of the Book TV discussion with Andrew Sullivan and David Brooks.  The conversation focused on Sullivan's new book The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How We Can Get It Back.  I originally caught some of the end of the show on TV.  It is intriguing concerning political conservatives and evangelicals.  You can also get at least some (maybe all?) of the video at YouTube, which has worked better for me than the Book TV video.  Al Mohler just had Sullivan on his radio show as well.

Speaking of evangelicals and the political world, I'm very interested in the recent comments of David Kuo, who is currently a columnist at Beliefnet.  Kuo served as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and has written the new book  Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction.  I just bought the book and look forward to reading it in the next couple of weeks. I was introduced to Kuo by watching Charlie Rose's interview a couple of nights ago.  Here's the Google Video of the program, and the Kuo interview begins at around the 35 minute mark.  Justin Taylor points to the Books & Culture review of Tempting Faith.

I'm already tired of the online discussion about Ted Haggard, and find Stephen Shield's post on the matter very helpful.  Mark Driscoll's good advice in his post on the subject are must reading, though nothing profoundly new (a typical sign of most good advice).

The late Mitch Hedberg has some important thoughts for us as Thanksgiving approaches.

I don't listen to country music, but the new CD by Alan Jackson is really good.  It's called Like Red On A Rose. 

I'm finishing up preaching Colossians this Sunday.  I've enjoyed N.T. Wright's commentary (TNTC) the most.  Then I'm taking two Sundays off for vacation and a planning retreat.  Tim Etherington will be preaching for me from Jude.

Oh No

in

HaggardUh oh.

The president of the National Association of Evangelicals resigned Thursday after denying an accusation by a male prostitute that the pastor paid him for sex over three years.

The Rev. Ted Haggard said he is also temporarily stepping aside from the pulpit of his church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, pending an internal investigation by the church.

Chicago Sports

in

Things are looking up for Chicago Sports.  Last year the White Sox won the World Series.  The Cubs have shaken the Dusty off their feet and grabbed what I hope is a real manager in Piniella.  The Bears have returned to Monsters of the Midway form. 

Shaq_1And now, is it possible?  Could the Bulls be moving toward a new era of winning?  They have made some good off season moves and there is a lot of buzz about the team.  But no one expected the 42 point blowout on opening night against the defending champion Miami Heat tonight.  Pretty cool, and it should be a good season to be a Bulls fan.

Astonishing Generosity

in ,

I'm preaching a series of sermons on generosity in January, and this post on "Astonishing Generosity" by Tod Bolsinger caught my eye.  A blurb...

• This is not just a strategy for adding some kindness to the world.  It’s a strategy for changing the world.  (It's a revolution strategy!)
• It’s not just about making the world better, it’s about making the world new. 
•Generosity is not just about making people think we are good nice and kind, it is about helping people see that God is good, compassionate and responsive to their cries.

It is a central activity of the followers of Christ to reveal God to the world. 

Our generosity is to remind people of God’s generosity.  Our generous forgiveness of those who fail us, giving to those in need, of openhandedness to those who were clinging so hard to the scraps of life, and welcome to those who are without a place in this world would be nothing more (and nothing less!) than a reflection of the “generous love of God into the whole world.”