taste in music

i love music... and my taste in music has evolved over the years. i grew up on 90's alternative: third eye blind, red hot chili peppers, stone temple pilots, soundgarden, etc... and i still love it (especially TEB!).

late in high school and into college, i got on the christian music kick; and anything that wasn't 'christian' wasn't worth listening to.

now, i've come to ignore 'labels,' such as christian, when it comes to music. music is an art form. i believe in a creator of all things, thus also creating this form of expression... and i believe that it was meant to be a good thing. so if music is 'good' (i suppose that depends on the opinion of the listener), then it is of God, in my opinion. there is a lot of great music out there, no matter the label placed upon it; people using their talents and creating something beautiful from nothing... that is what God had in mind (at least in my mind). there is also a lot of bad music out there, including christian and secular music.

over the years i have tried to outline what makes music 'good' to me. i hope you can do the same for yourself... i'm not trying to persuade anyone to like 'my kind' of music. here is my criteria for music these days. a piece of work must not fit all of these for me to consider it worthwhile; it only has to meet one. but more than one is a super-bonus!

1. CREATIVE: music must be creative, either musically (melody, progressions, movements, etc.) or lyrically (poetic, witty, even persuasive). [the album leaf, future of forestry, relient k, come to mind for me].

2. PLEASANT SOUNDING: simply put, if a tune is pleasing to my ear, then i am a fan and it is a good piece of work.

3. PASSIONATE: you can usually tell if a song or album was born out of something real, with a certain passion behind it. i am a fan of eminem's "when i'm gone," his 'farewell' song. it overflows with passion that has been brewing for some time.

this obviously isn't an all-inclusive list... and it will probably evolve as time progresses... but that's it for now.

Christians influencing the media and pop culture

because i know you all read all of those articles i posted (ha... i know they were long)... i thought i would post one Brian McLaren's responses from "10 Questions for Brian McLaren."


Question:
I'm going to put you on the spot and ask for your thoughts about some conservative Christian organizations, like the Parents Television Council, seeking to pressure the government into censoring television programming. Is this going to work or will it backfire? [i think this question relates to the boycotting of certain media as well, such as "The Golden Compass," etc.]

McLaren:
----------
"I think the Christian community is making an extremely dangerous mistake with this. The mistake is we are going from dissatisfaction to legislation and missing the middle step of persuasion. Now you would think, from our beliefs from the Gospels, that God isn't just interested in us being focused on the law, but he actually wants to change our hearts. That’s my understanding of how the Kingdom of God works, but we (the church) don't seem to understand that.

So our first move when we're unhappy about something is to get laws passed about it. To me that is pure Colonialism; Colonialism says change the world, by controlling other people against their will. The work of persuasion would be much harder, and it requires us to change our rhetoric 180 degrees. You can't, and you don't, influence people you identify as the other side of the culture war. The language of the culture war is the language of "strength on our side" to dominate the other side. That leads to belief in things like redemptive violence, which is incredibly widespread in the Christian community, and which, I think, needs to be questioned in light of the teachings of Jesus. That discussion you certainly aren't going to hear on religious broadcasting.

So, firstly, I think it’s a gross and foolish mistake of strategy. If we were to take 30 percent of the effort spent on legislation and invest it instead on sensible and palpable persuasion, we would get an awful lot farther."
----------

i would add that sometimes McLaren's words can come across as cutting or extremely cynical towards others, but he really isn't... i've read his work and listened to him speak; he is very soft-spoken and is really trying to help by speaking what he believes; not discredit other people's beliefs.

mclaren

brian mclaren is without a doubt one of my favorite authors. he is one of the 'fathers' of the emerging church movement, and has some very interesting things to say. [if you want to read his works, i would recommend starting with his earlier three-book set: 'a new kind of christian', 'the story we find ourselves in', and 'the last word and the word after that'. he will shatter some of the philosophies that were engrained in you growing up... and it can be a little unsettling... but i am convinced that it is for the good.

i recently found this article, entitled "10 questions for brian mclaren." it doesn't exactly introduce a person to the emerging church philosophy, but he does convey his opinion (which stems from the philosophy) about some interesting topics. a great read.

brian also recently posted on his website "Refections on 2007," found here.

it addresses the good things happening around the world and in the church, as well as criticism the emerging movement has faced (to which he stresses we never respond in a harsh or abrasive way, citing the words of MLK Jr.).

anyway... both a good read.

"Sunrising" by Future of Forestry

In the gold flood of light
Where the earth meets summer skies
In the satin chill of night
Where dreams await to rise
You bend, you kiss me
You pull me in
I can feel you
Running to me, running through me

Hear the call of night
Open the borders of time
Hear the song of the stars
Sound like a whisper
I've fallen deep from the day
Into eternal, eternal visions of our love

I am diamond, I am rust
From the place a love of love and pain
Made from heaven made from dust
Where dreams will live again
-------------------------------------------

this is a moving song... when listening to it, sometimes i feel like i have no idea what it means... but yet i know exactly... it's just a state of mind that can't be explained... a great work by these artists.

Chicago trip

a couple weekends ago, Lyndsey and I rode the train up to Chicago, along with my parents and my brother and his family (Matt, Amy & their daughter Sidney). it snowed huge flakes almost the whole time, which did a great job of putting us in the Christmas spirit. we stayed downtown on Ohio and walked up and down Michigan Ave., spent some time in the park, I tried starting a snowball fight or two but was unsuccessful, obviously ate some great Chicago deep-dish at Giordano's, had plenty of coffee and enjoyed some great time together. here are some pics.

O Holy Night

i've always loved the song "O Holy Night," but i am just now starting to see the depth to some of the lyrics... when you sing something all your life it tends to turn into empty words. i am starting to see the profound statements in this song. especially this verse:

Truly he taught us to love one another,
His law is love and his gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.


this sounds like the lyrics of a song you would hear written today; it emphasizes the kind of revolution Jesus stirred up in that time... that rather than violence and hunger for power, there was a much better way to live... the way we were created to live: in peace with one another and experiencing life to the fullest.

random Harper pic

Harper zonks out A LOT... it's pretty much what he does 80% of the time. he can strike some pretty crazy poses when he's sleeping.... and yes he sleeps with his eyes half open often.

you really need to click this picture and get the zoomed version to truly appreciate it...

all songs considered

i have to share this nugget of goodness.... NPR puts out a lot of podcasts, but this one is a gem. "Live Concerts from All Songs Considered" is a podcast of full-length live concerts by great, great artists, a lot of whom aren't mainstream but have HUGE followings and many of you probably like.

Iron & Wine, Rilo Kiley, Animal Collective, Travis, The Polyphonic Spree, Ben Gibbard (Death Cab frontman), Explosions in the Sky, Arcade Fire, Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys, etc...

Right now I'm listening to a show by my man Jose Gonzalez (thanks Derek)... just him and his geetar... great stuff. These aren't big tour bands with their big productions. These are small, intimate, just plain old music playin' shows. Check it out and make your iPod happy.... or you can just play them straight from the iTunes store while you have a snow day like me! (evil laugh....)

random Harper pic

Christmas tree

Lyndsey and I picked out, put up, and decorated our first Christmas tree last night. This is my first experience with a real tree, so I think I'm in for a treat. Here is a progression of events...

random Harper pic

I'm going to start posting these random pictures of our dog... he loves his tennis ball! We love our dog...

hair saloon

Men of the world, unite! I got my hair cut at Hair Saloon for Men today, and I must say I was satisfied. I got a card for a free haircut in the mail... so I used it... then I felt bad about getting a free haircut so I offered to tip her with my debit card, but she refused. Anyway, this is the ultimate experience for a haircut (I bet it's actually #2 to SportClips, which we don't have, so I've never been... I hear they give you a shoulder massage to top it off).

I walked in, and immediately was able to do two things which I love: watch SportsCenter and read the sports page of the Post. If you have a buddy, there are a couple tables with built in checker-boards. There's also a friggin' putting green. Then they take you back to your own booth-no stylists chatting it up with each other about the latest gossip-just a quiet, relaxing haircut. No walking to the sink for a rinse; they just spin the chair around and boom, you're there. Then they give you a hot towel and mint to complete the experience. When I left, they gave me a "passport" for a free scalp massage next time. Needless to say I will be heading back.

I know this was all an unabashed attempt to make me a regular customer, and frankly it worked.

Great American Smoke-Out

If you were unaware, today was the Great American Smoke-Out, a campaign to encourage people to stop smoking. I got a good laugh out of our high school's Medical Careers Club today... they walked around all day asking people if they smoked. If a person said no, they were given some candy... Smarties to be exact. If they said yes, they were still given candy-but they were given a Dum-Dum. Good stuff!

new links

I've posted a few new links on the side board... just wanted to comment on a couple.

Ethur: this is an organization ran by the guy who started xxxchurch. It's goal is to invent and implement very cool projects, usually grassroots types of things, that will have a positive impact on our world and society. They look to tackle issues "from porn to poverty," and have some sweet stuff going.

Junky Car Club: this is one of Ethur's projects. It's kind of an unnofficial club with a cult following... if you join you get a bumper sticker and some other cool stuff. Its goal is to encourage people to sell their expensive sports cars and buy a "junky" car... not really junky, just something older and reliable that won't cost any money (i.e. an early 90's Accord)... and then intentionally use that money to sponsor a couple of children, etc... use money that's going towards your social status to help someone else's "life-status." (i came up with that one...). I think I already qualify for this club......

leaves

The benefits of having the city's 3rd oldest tree in your front yard are obvious (wait a minute...). But it has its cons. "Cons... that's impossible," you say. I know, I know, but it's not as it seems. This tree is EVIL. First it drops these little gobstopper looking things all over the yard, giving our dog thousands of little balls to drag into the house... but it doesn't stop there.

It seems to find enjoyment in dropping an unlimited number of leaves to the earth. MILLIONS, I tell you! I wish I had taken a picture, for I had a mound of leaves in my front yard up to my neck. I cleaned up the yard, went in and ate lunch, and I swear that when I came back out the yard was completely covered again. This mammoth of a beast tree won't be laughing when I send the order for the CHAIN SAW BOYS to come play! HAHAHAHA!!!

The Gods Aren't Angry

Rob Bell is the man. He did a speaking tour last year entitled, "Everything is Spiritual." He just started another one... if you're anywhere near one of the venues, GO! You will not be dissapointed...

www.thegodsarentangrytour.com

now i know...

that halloween is really nothing more than a great excuse to buy lots of candy and hope that few kids show up and/or turn off the front light with the knowledge that you'll have more candy left over dangling in the back of your mind........ the things we learn as we grow up.

saturday saturday

more to come soon, extra busy this past couple weeks... but a few updates:

-Harper is a total mama's boy.... if he knows Lyndsey is in another room, he just can't relax... and within a few minutes he'll make his way to find her.

-We have new babies in our family all the time (no worries, not us...)! My brother Matt and his wife Amy have a second one on the way... my cousin Nathaniel and his wife just had one up in Chicago-land... and my cousin Devon and his wife are now expecting their second back home near Mt. Vernon. What a huge, awesome family. Yay for babies!

-Speaking of family, it's so great to have such a big family that is so close, even if some of us have moved out of the area. We grew up within 15 miles of each other and during the summers, we would all congregate (all the aunts and all the grandkids... I guess 10 or 11 of us kids) at our grandparents' house every Monday for some good ol' fun havin'. My grandparents live on a farm with plenty of barns and woods and fields and a lake, so we were rarely bored.... I hope to be able to replicate that quality-time-with-family-experience for our children somehow, but it's looking like it will be hard.

-School is flying by... we have three weeks until Thanksgiving break (which the kids get 4 days off that week), and then three more weeks until finals... gonna be Christmas before we know it.

lyrics: "Surely We Can Change" by David Crowder Band

well said, mr. crowder... all too often we like to "pray for change", but not take part in that change at all... just wait for divine intervention to change the world... but it's up to us. i believe that our prayers for change are important, but are only as meaningful as the actions behind them. [lyrics to follow].

------------------------

And the problem is this
We were bought with a kiss
But the cheek still turned
Even when it wasn’t hit

And I don’t know
What to do with a love like that
And I don’t know
How to be a love like that

When all the love in the world
Is right here among us
And hatred too
So we must choose
What our hands will do

Where there is pain
Let there be grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Help them be brave
Where there is misery
Bring expectancy
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Something

And the problem it seems
Is with you and me
Not the Love who came
To repair everything

Where there is pain
Let us bring grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Oh surely we can change
Something

Oh, the world’s about to change
The whole world’s about to change

sweet video

If you haven't, you have to check into RelevantTV... it's a great place to see all sorts of great music, much of it that never hits mainstream but is fantastic none the less.

Their feature video this week is Needtobreathe's "Signature of Divine". Over six days, these guys took 3,000 still photos and compiled them to create this video... unbelievable. Gotta check it out...

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/TV/#

People Getting Punched Just Before Eating

I stole this from another blog... I didn't watch SNL whis weekend but I find this kind of stuff hilarious....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxIEjZUw8yg

And some more Digital Shorts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnpNkPCcfBM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRU2gLpBm68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8FxLWJJ0Ls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-BmkE3nMhI

small group outing

Here are some pics from our small group's outing to Brussels, IL on Sunday. We drove up the Great River Road, rode the ferry, and ate at historic Wittmond's Hotel. It felt like we were a big family eating dinner at our grandparents. Good times and good food!

The Office quote of the night

so far... and it's only been on 10 minutes.

"It seems that the website has become alive." - Dwight

song i wrote

I had the day off Monday for Columbus day and this is how I spent part of it... these are the lyrics and I put explanations/additional insight in parenthesis.
_________
Title: "Melody Final"

when my time (of relevance)
runs out
nothing left

windows close
winds that blew
find new breath (someone else to use)

now is fine
doing good
is this so bad?


i have song
they can hear
render must (i must 'play'... in the metaphorical sense... do what i can do, i suppose)

there is time (words from on high from here on out)
realize
you are few (those who want to change the world)

go and sing
of a love
of a life

take my eyes
restore
hope will win

watch for me
i am there
they are there (all people.... created in god's image... see Him in them)
--------------

This song was born out of my realization that I only have so much time in this world to make a difference. My "window" of being culturally relevant and a person of influence is constantly closing. Let's face it, there comes an age where we can't really have an influence on those who are driving our culture, right? I need to do the absolute best I can do while I have this chance. For me, that means using music in some way. It means sharing my philosophies about life and church and God and spreading a message of love and hope. Maybe it means working for the church full time?

Harper update

We've had Harper a little over two weeks now, and he's come to life. He still has to warm up to new people, but overall this guy is a super dog. He is Mr. Affectionate 90% of the time... he loves to curl up and rest his head on you somewhere, be it your lap, hand or foot. But he definitely has his moments of mischief (see below). He also loves feet and anything that smell like feet (his favorite are my flip-flops). He hates having a leash on him; we're working on it...

We woke up Sunday morning to find one of our throw pillows by his bed. This particular pillow has a bunch of small wooden beads, about the size of a pencil eraser. Harper had chewed off 31 of them. 31. We found 27. Hopefully he didn't eat the other four, but it's looking like he did... We called the vet, they said he should be fine but to keep an eye out for any vomiting or "straining". He seems fine right now, but he's a little mopey today; I think it's having its affect on him.

Poor guy loses his manhood tomorrow...

the church

I'm really no theologian, and I'm no church historian, but I've been thinking a lot lately about the church and its focus. [when I say church, I'm referring to The Church in general, not any particular church]. For the most part, the church I've always know has been very focused on individual change; repentance within your own heart, changing your ways, personal "salvation", etc. Certainly the concept is important, but I wonder if the church should go about it a little differently.

Shouldn't we be focused less on our individual souls, and more on what kind of A People we are? As in all of us... a group of people. What if our focus shifted from 'me being more like Christ' to 'us being the People of God'? Trying to live as God created us as A People? Can we really live as God created us by our self anyway? We weren't really designed that way, it seems to me.

Now I understand the idea behind this individual focus: that if everyone has internal change, then this will cause systemic change across the board. But does this ever happen? Or do we just kind of think about how proud we are to have changed and kind of gloat about it, whether silently or publicly?

But if we got on board with being the people of God, maybe that would stir people's hearts in a more serious way, causing internal change.

If I'm right, when Paul said things like "repent" (which I've heard many times literally means to 'rethink the way you're thinking'), he was talking to a group of people.

When we are focused on our individual change, it seems to breed a bit of competition; a scoring system for how much each person has changed or lives the way of Jesus. But a group trying to live as Jesus, or as God designed them, now that's a group with a common purpose. That's something that I can see people getting on board with. That's a group of people that is there for one another. I have to believe that bigger things can happen when this type of environment is fostered.

Maybe more on this to come later...

radiohead

Radiohead's new cd "In Rainbows" comes out October 10th. Good band. As a marketing ploy, they are allowing you to pre-order it for whatever amount you want to pay. That's right. I think you can even pay nothing and just pay the like 50 cent transaction fee.

I just paid 1 pound, which after the transaction fee came out to $2.95. Yessssss! Check it out!

http://www.inrainbows.com/Store/Quickindex.html

remedy

David Crowder Band released their newest album Tuesday, "Remedy". I've been waiting for this for months! Ted Nugent makes an appearance.... unbelievable. Anyway, this album is great... it's a little different than what I expected, but it's refreshing.

Their last album, "A Collision", was just masterful. It was huge, epic, full of mystery and tragedy. How else could they follow that up but with something even huger. They did exactly the opposite. This album is short, simple and full of songs that the church can use; uncomplicated, yet intricate at the same time.

"A Collision" was sort of a release of grief for them, with the death of their pastor occurring in the process. "Remedy" seems to be a sort of healing, or reconciliation... good stuff.

mat kearney

We went to see Mat Kearney Friday night... good stuff. I tried to upload a video but couldn't get it to work... so here are some pics... some of mat and one in which i did a great job of ruining a perfectly good photo.

kickball

This weekend, our church put a team together to compete in a city kickball tournament. It was a super time, and the turnout was great. We just plain sucked all around, losing 16-1 and 14-1. Way to go, OnePoint! Pictured is our pitcher, Derek aka "Wild Thing", getting into his wind-up and then showing the cat-like 'flexes.

Harper

My wife and I, after a grueling period of trying to commit and choose the right one, finally adopted a puppy yesterday. He's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Harper, and he's just a sweety. He was so scared and just acted like a statue yesterday, but he's really warming up to us today. My boy!

tv

I'm not a huge tv watcher, but I have gotten hooked on a couple of shows in the last year or two... and yessssss it's that time for new seasons. Next Thursday: one hour of Earl and one hour of Office. I've booked my ticket. Just got done watching the season finales from the spring.... I'm stoked!

good lyrics.

This spring I found a band on iTunes called Future of Forestry (formerly known as 'something like silas', they have reinvented theirselves as well as their sound). I listened to the previews and bought the cd immediately; I never do that! It's absolutely great. It's creative, mysterious, and authentic as they search for and proclaim what is good and true.

Anywho, I like to post song lyrics, because we too often listen to songs and overlook the lyrics... but a good songwriter's lyrics can be so deep and insightful and really make us think and prompt us to examine them as well as ourselves.

Here are the lyrics to their song, "Open Wide". The chorus is in italics, it really sticks out to me....
___________________________________________
You have walked so deep a canyon
Deep a canyon now
In the end you know that you've been found
You're found
Heaven sure fell hard upon you
Hard upon you now
In the end you know that you've been found
You're found

You belong now
You are free

So open wide the arms you're given
You're too alive to just stand still
Open wide your heart as you breathe in
You're too alive to just stay here

You wondered how your searching heart
Your searching heart would roam
Coming to the place that you'd call home
You're home

You're shaken up
Awaken
You gotta live, you gotta love

cliche first post...

except it's the 2nd post... oh well. anyway, that was a doozy of a first post, and my apologies! i just got a little carried away... back into blogdom i come, wooohoo!!

An Objective Look at Abortion

I used to associate myself with one and only one political party. Whatever this party did, I was behind. Then I realized that, while I don't condemn anyone who is of that party or on that side of the political spectrum, I simply wasn't making objective decisions. I have since made a conscious effort to not vote or take sides on issues because of any one party says, but to hear what everyone has to say and look at the evidence they use to back it up. I feel like much more of an authentic citizen.

Anyway, abortion is always a hot topic. I used to be adamant about what I believed about abortion. But then, as I described above, I decided not to make a moral decision about something that's not just black & white... it's a messy situation. How can we say if it's "right" or "wrong" and that's the end of it? I don't think we can... but we can have conversation.

I recently found an interesting addtion to the conversation. While flipping through a magazine, I read a Q&A with the founder of an organization called Abort73. It is an organization that is against abortion, except there's a twist: they don't have any drastic religious or political agendas behind it (though they are ultimately a religious organization, as you will see in the end). They have spent much time studying this phenomenon and researching and talking to medical professionals and obtaining data and evidence... it's a very objective look at abortion.

I went to the website and was floored. They seem to have done their homework. I didn't even get throught a fraction of the presentation because I got nauseous during the 2nd video... it really made me sick. One of their goals is to inform us of what actually physically takes place during an abortion. You will have to see for yourself. Just know it gets a little graphic.

I am a firm believer that we should all research "hot topics" like these on our own and make objective decisions on what is true/right/etc, and I encourage everyone to do so. So listen to this organization's contribution to the conversation; they've spent a lot of time and energy on it, and they seem to have done it with only one agenda: what's best for the human race.

www.abort73.com