Rita Springer: I Have to Believe - review

I usually review CDs and DVDs that I like simply because if I’m going to spend my bucks on something I pretty much know I’m going to like it going in. This will be an exception. I’m not wild about the new Rita Springer album, I Have to Believe.

I liked one of Springer’s earlier albums so when I saw that her new album was 1) on sale, 2) produced by Margaret Becker and Nathan Nockels (both very good signs), 3) on sale, 4) included a *free* Best of Rita Springer CD and 5) on sale I figured I could not go wrong. I was wrong.

On first listen I just wasn’t grabbed by this CD at all. The songs struck me as unremarkable and, when I finally got to a song that grabbed me, I realized that it was a cover of a Delirious song. But, I figured, give it time – maybe I was just in a bad mood when I listened the first time. Maybe I was expecting it to be different than it was and wasn’t being fair. So I waited a week, played the CD when I wasn’t paying attention once and then listened intently again. I liked it even less the second time.

The first song starts out nicely with gospel / blues piano and some bluesy soulful singing but aside from that, the melodies overall don’t grab me and the lyrics are really pretty shallow. After hearing Sarah Groves and U2 I want a little more from my lyrics than I’m getting from Springer. (Frankly, even Paul McCartney’s lyrics are superior – well, maybe not “English Tea” but at least that song has a killer arrangement.) I think she’s sincere – it’s just that she misses the boat. The point of “Love with Justice” is that Rita Springer is “in love with justice” whatever that means. You can’t imagine what “My Hero” is about - well, maybe you can. It's about how Jesus is my hero. The problem is that the songs never get past the kind of sloganeering that these songs indicate. So, if you’re looking for some new great worship songs – go listen to an old Matt Redman or Chris Tomlin album.

Preaching to the Choir: A Rant Against Bad Preaching

Mary at Preaching to the Choir has an absolutely wonderful post about bad preaching that you should read. Really. It's amazing.

The Concert for Bangladesh

It’s been over 34 years since the Concert for Bangladesh. I was just 17 at the time – in fact, it was something like two days after I had gotten my drivers license. I lived in NJ, only about 20 miles from the site of the Concert but I seem to remember not knowing much about it until after the fact. I do remember spending a lot of time listening to All Things Must Pass, which I had gotten for Christmas the year before, and I was also a fan of Cream and Eric Clapton. I played his first solo album a lot back then. I also played the album from the concert and I picked up the CD when it came out some 10 years ago.

So it was with great anticipation that I watched the DVD of the concert for Bangladesh this morning. I certainly have no issues with the transfer from film to DVD – it looks and sounds just fine. I also have not yet watched the extras – I’ve read that the 45 minute documentary on the making of the concert and the film is almost worth the price of the DVD all by itself and I’m looking forward to watching it. I’d seen the film only once before in a theater and, to my knowledge, it had not been released on VHS so this is an occasion for George Harrison fans, of which I number myself one.

So here are some random thoughts now that I’ve seen this concert again after all these years:

• Technology has come a long way. Things are better in tune now; musicians can hear themselves and each other on stage much better.


• Bob Dylan had to adjust his own mike stand before he could play. That wouldn’t have happened today – it would all be set before he went out there.


• The film crew was making it up as they went along – it took nearly the whole verse that Leon Russell sang in “Beware of Darkness” for them and for the light crew to find him!


• Rock was a lot more countercultural back then! Now rock music is all about show business – back then, the musicians hardly acknowledged the crowd – that was too much like being one of those old fogey entertainers.


• Eric Clapton was not in a good place in his life – he almost could have been absent on the stage. Even his solo in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” sounds like he’s hardly trying.


• Billy Preston was cool.


• Ravi Shankar smiled a lot more during his set than I expected him to based on just listening to the album for all these years.

Bono rates the U2 albums

One of the more fascinating parts of the generally fascinating Rolling Stone interview with Bono is his discussion of each of the U2 albums. Bono is, not unexpectedly, perhaps harsher on his lyrics than I would be although his comments often strike me as being really perceptive regarding each album’s relative strengths and weaknesses.

One comment that really struck me was about How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Bono said (and I’m paraphrasing because I don’t have the interview in front of me) that it was perhaps their strongest collection of songs but that the whole was not more than the sum of its parts. Bono found that particularly annoying. (For a point of reference, he said that Achtung Baby was a counterexample – the whole of that album is more than the sum of its parts.)

Now I really like Atomic Bomb as an album. I agree that the collection of songs is amazing. But do I agree with Bono’s assessment? I’m not sure. As I thought about it though I started to think of albums that are better as albums then they are as individual songs. I immediately thought of Sgt. Pepper (Beatles). Then as I thought more I came up with Tommy (the who), Layla (Eric Clapton / Derek and the Dominos), Band on the Run (Paul McCartney), Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon), Beyond Nature (Phil Keaggy) and Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits).

But what about other albums I would also consider great? Are there other great albums that are more like a collection of great songs than a really coherant whole album? I think I would put one of my all-time favorite albums in this category – The Beatles’ Revolver. Who’s Next and Close to the Edge might be other examples.

So perhaps there are two ways to have a great album: 1) have such a killer selection of songs that the album reaches greatness just by the sheer heft of the material or 2) have an album that works as a whole, so that each song is better because of the company that it is in. I’m thinking of albums that really knock me out here – all of the albums that I’ve listed are albums that I put in some of the all-time-great-album category and, surprisingly, they seem to fall into both of these camps.

I’d love to hear some other examples of great albums and which of these categories readers think they fall into.

Rosa Parks, Bravery and Injustice

Rosa Parks’ death reminded me last night of how one person’s small but brave act can sometimes have consequences far beyond what one can imagine. The thing is, the actual thing she did – sitting – is not a big deal. It’s the context that makes it remarkable. I also think of the brave young man who stood up to the tank in Tiananmen Square for example – his brave act also had a ripple effect. He just didn’t move and, because of his bravery, moved many many people. Small things done to combat injustice can turn out to be big things. Sometimes we might think we have no power because the problems are too large for us to deal with. I'm not suggesting that the unknown student in Tiananmen Square changed everything in China. I'm not suggesting that there is no longer racial inequality in the U.S. because of Rosa Parks. But I am suggesting that their small acts of bravery were an important and necessary first step toward righting a great wrong.

I wonder which everyday injustices I am not standing up to. I wonder what things I should be stubborn about. I wonder what consequences my small actions can have.

The Bono Interview podcast

Rolling Stone has a podcast of their interview with Bono available for download (along with instructions for how to set up your computer to get it) and it is, so far at least, a fascinating look at this conversation between Bono and Jann Wenner, longtime RS editor. I found many things in this discussion interesting, especially how, at times, Wenner seems unable to grasp some of the spiritual concepts that Bono was holding out. Bono suggests that when Dylan sang "how many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man" he meant it as a rhetorical question however, as a young man Bono wanted the answers so he asked God these rhetorical questions. Bono had to explain that a couple of times before Wenner got it - it seems that asking God questions that you really want the answers to was something that young Bono thought was a great idea and Wenner has never considered.

My biggest disappointment with the interview, however, is that when Bono is talking about the Psalms of David as the blues he starts to reference the song "Wake Up Dead Man" and quotes the first few lines. It sounds like he's ready to say more about this fascinating song (which may have been based on Psalm 44 - at least that is the suggestion made in .Get Up Off Your Knees) when Wenner interrupts him with a question about the Christian group that Bono, Edge and Larry found themselves involved with. It could be that Bono was finished with his discussion of "Wake Up Dead man" and that Wenner, reading the body language jumped in appropriately to keep him answering questions. But I wish I knew what else Bono was ready to say about that.

For anyone interested in U2's music or in Bono the person this interview is a must-hear.

The Lazy Blue Tunas blog

The Lazy Blue Tunas now have their own blog!  Look here for future Tuna updates and setlists.

Lazy Blue Tunas - setlist - 10/21/05

Lazy Blue Tunas
Calvin College Class of 1975 Reunion
10/21/05

The Tunas played at Calvin College last night and had a great time with some of our old friends at the class of ’75 reunion.

It’s All Been Done
Look Thru Any Window
Change the World
No Matter What
Hotel California
Istanbul
Handle With Care
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Golden Slumbers +
I Want You Back
Got You on My Mind
Zorro

New updates on the Tunas very own weblog at lazybluetunas.blogspot.com

Add to the Beauty - Sara Groves

Two weeks ago I missed seeing Sara Groves in concert.  I was disappointed.  I almost talked to her.  I could have but I didn’t have anything clever to say since I had missed her set.  Mostly what I wanted to say was “hey, I’m Meredith’s Dad!” (because Meredith had just finished playing with Jars of Clay) or I thought about saying “I’ve mostly given up on CCM except for a very few artists and you’re one of them” but I heard somebody else say that to Steve Mason (from Jars of Clay) and it sounded really fan-like and I really didn’t want to be “that guy.”   So I just smiled and walked on past her.  I don’t even think she saw me smile.  

But I have liked Sara Groves ever since her album All Right Here came out a few years ago.  That album was just about perfect – the songs evoked a wonderful sense of caring for other people, a dependence on God’s grace and a gentle fragility that allowed the listener to feel like we knew people just like those that Sara was singing about.  The beautiful songs were complimented by Groves’ voice and Nate Sabin’s production that allowed us to hear all the emotion that the songs deserved.  

Her follow-up to that album, The Other Side of Something was again produced by Nate Sabin with some production by Charlie Peacock, but it suffered from a common disorder in artists that have a good quirky record -  popification (see my earlier posting about that term).  It was like someone – maybe the record company – told her she needed to be more mainstream in order to have a hit.  I don’t know why she went down that path but she almost lost me.  Sure, there were some good songs on there (like “Roll to the Middle” and the fabulously-funny-but-too-close-to-home “All I Need”) but many of the songs were too obvious and the production too slick.

So when I saw her new album, Add to the Beauty, I was cautiously hopeful.  So cautious, in fact, that I passed it up when I saw it on her merchandise table at the concert.  After thinking about it for a couple of days, though, I picked it up at a local store.  I’m really glad I did.  The old Sara is back.  I’m not sure the songs are quite as strong as on All Right Here, but they’re close (and, truth be told, that album set the bar pretty high).  Groves once again goes back to one of her favorite themes – that the love of God is needed to help us love each other.  In Add to the Beauty she doesn’t use a lyrical sledgehammer to make her point but does it gently with directness, grace and sometimes even humor, as in the delightful “To the Moon.”  With Brown Bannister in the production chair this time she seems to be back in a place where production doesn’t overwhelm the songs or scream “Look!  I’m trying to have a hit!”  Groves and Bannister hit just the right balance between art and accessibility.  With this album Groves shows that she has the potential to be an artist with a long and interesting career.

Yahweh and U2 in concert

I’ve been thinking again about U2 since I’m finally reading Bill Flanagan’s excellent book U2 at the End of the World.  I’m struck by a number of things (aside from how little Bono seems to sleep when he’s on tour) but especially the way the band continues to tinker with their show to make it more say what want it to say and to react to what’s going on in the world and in their lives.

That made, for me, a connection to the song “Yahweh”, one of my favorites from How To Dismantle and Atomic Bomb.  I had some questions about the use of the Muslim crescent and the Jewish star a friend helped me sort through that.  What I haven’t seen anywhere, though, is the way the band changed the last line the night I saw them and, I assume, had been for the entire leg of the tour – perhaps for the whole tour.  The line on the album is “take this heart and make it break.”  An allusion that most people with a Bible background understand – PS 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

U2 usually uses “Yahweh” as the last song for the evening coming right after they sing “40,” a version of Psalm 40 with a bit of Psalm 6 thrown in for good measure. In concert, though, when I saw them, Bono sang “take this city’s heart and keep it safe,” That turn of the phrase turns the song from a personal confession (and quite a remarkable one at that) into a benediction. Bono once again changes the lyrics to fit the setting and does it in a way that blesses everyone.  I really like this band.

A poem worth reading

Look here for a very good poem by Bethany.

Water Walking

Father Ron Hatton wrote a post and here is where my thoughts went after reading it.  It’s not a direct response but it’s what I thought about.

Ron’s post reminds me of the talk I did this weekend.  We had a baptism in our church – we baptize infants – and I always get to present, on behalf of the congregation, a baptism candle and give a little talk while I do it.  I’ve done this for over 14 years now and I’ve almost never repeated myself because scripture is full of stories of the covenant.

This Sunday I told the story of Jesus walking on the water and of how Peter went out to him but started sinking.  Jesus reached down and pulled him up saying “you of little faith.  Why did you doubt?”  There is no answer given because the answer is that we are all of little faith.  We can’t get up on the water by ourselves.   Unless Jesus reaches down and pulls us out we can’t do it.  That same Jesus reaches down to all of us and in this baptism we are reminded that he is reaching down to little Alden as well.

It is only through the grace of Christ Jesus that we can do the good that we do.  It is through the covenant that Christ comes to us – not because we deserve it, but because he chooses to.  Our good works, whatever they are, are only our response to this gift of grace.

Meredith's Jars of Clay Adventure

Yesterday, around 11 AM, my daughter Meredith was practicing with her string quartet in the Calvin Fine Arts Center when someone came in to the practice room and asked if someone could play with Jars of Clay for the night’s concert.  Both violinists said they didn’t play by ear but Meredith, who had been playing along with “Like a Child” since 8th grade said, sure I’ll do it!  Soon Dan Hazeltine, the JoC lead singer came by and said “want to play with us tonight?”  “I have to play at a wedding at 5 but I could make the 8 o’clock show.”  “Great, soundcheck at noon – see you then.”

So Meredith quickly calls a couple of people and does the soundcheck where they suggest she play on three songs.  She does and then goes to get ready for the wedding.  We meet her at the wedding (which was very nice – congratulations, Jen and Steve!) and then we all went to the Prince Conference Center for the reception.  Meredith left a early (and so did we) and she hung out backstage with Dan, Matt, Steve and Charley while Sara Groves and Chris Rice opened the show.

Then Jars of Clay came on, did a couple of songs and then brought Meredith out to a huge welcome from her friends and family in the audience (it was a sold-out show) and launched into “Like a Child” which Meredith nailed.  It was like one of those dreams you have when the band says “hey come play with us” and then you do and then you’re great and the band raves about how good you are.  Yeah, that really happened.  Meredith played another song and then came back for the last encore.



Afterward we hung out with Meredith and her new friends for a while.  We were all impressed with what nice guys all four of the guys in the band are.  They treated Meredith like a special guest and talked about what fun they had playing with her in the band.  They jokingly said they were going to take her with them to Wisconsin for the next show. What a great night.  

EDIT: Here's what Chimes - Calvin's Student newspaper wrote:

A highlight of the show was when Calvin freshman Meredith Keeley received the honor of playing violin onstage with the contemporary combo. The band picked her out of a practice room, plopped her on stage and marveled as she played magnificently.

The crowd went wild to see one of their own performing with the Christian-rock legends, but Keeley never lost her cool and fit in perfectly, moving to the music and playing off of the other members beautifully.

Read the whole review here.

Cream: Royal Albert Hall, May 2005

Carolos Santana was once asked what he played when he practiced. Was it riffs, chords, songs? He replied that he just played one note over and over again until it plugged in to the universe.

That’s what I was thinking on the way in to work this morning with the new Cream album on the car stereo. Cream, the supergroup from the 60s with Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker got together again for a series of concerts at Royal Albert Hall in May 2005. The CD and DVD of those concerts was released this past week and I’ve been enjoying them immensely.

To hear Clapton surrounded merely by a bass and drums puts him back in a setting he has not been in for quite some time. Clapton always assembles an outstanding band but he always has keyboards or some other guitarist (or two) to support him. In a power trio like Cream we get to hear what Clapton can do when he’s responsible for filling more of the sonic space again and it is like we really get to hear him play now. And it’s worth it.

While this geriatric version of Cream may not play with the fire that they did in the 60s they really nail a couple of the songs and seem to have replaced the musical excesses they were sometimes guilty of in the old days with a more measured approach to their old songs. Old songs like “Born Under A Bad Sign,” “Politician” and “Sleepy Time Time” get wonderful readings from this batch of geezers that shows that they still understand how to play this type of blues-flavored rock with authority.

But it was a song that I don’t typically associate with Cream that really got to me this morning, the old blues standard “Stormy Monday,” reworked here as a Clapton tour-de-force. Clapton shows on this song that he is a master at this sort of blues interpretation, both as a singer and a guitarist. And for his solo he bends up to a note and hits it something like 20 times – apparently he waited for it to plug into the universe. It did.

Give me a 505

I used to write songs a lot.  Back in my high school and early college days I would crank them out like crazy.  It’s been a while since I’ve done that but I’ve wanted to again – partly just because but partly because it would be cool for my band to do a few original numbers as long as they’re good.

I also enjoyed helping Meredith edit a song she wrote and I thought I really added a lot to it and convinced myself that I was pretty good at that.  So last night I was visiting my father-in-law at the nursing home and while we’re sitting with him I heard a man from the next room crying out in a loud voice.  He would say the same thing about 20 times in a row and then change it to something else.  I wrote them down because I thought they’d make a great song:

“Please, somebody give me a chance.”
“Give me a 505.”  (pronounced five-oh-five)
“Somebody get me out of here.”

I have no idea what "give me a 505" means but it was said so loudly and with such a mournful tone that I thought it had to be preserved somehow.  So I’m working on it.

October - U2

Here is a nice reflection on U2's album October. I appreciate her take on the album as a whole as well as some of her reflections on specific songs. If you're a U2 fan (and if not, why not?) then this is worth checking out.

(And remember that U2 Sermons always has good stuff)

A Collision - David Crowder Band

Thursday night I got a copy of the new David Crowder CD, A Collision, and I have played it a couple of times since then.  There is much to like here and much that is really interesting.  It is too soon to really write a review of this – I hope to write more later – but already Bethany and Meredith and I have had IM conversations about it.  Bethany called it a postmodern album which makes a certain amount of sense to me.  Bryan has been telling me how cool Sufjan Stevens is and Crowder covers one of his songs on the album and, yeah, there is a lot of emotion in that song.

The big sound this band makes never seems to have the definition that, say, U2 has when they really go for it.  So I like them best when they use a bit more of their dynamic range (which they do often on this album) and when they’re at their most whimsical – which Crowder seems to be almost continuously.

Crowder is getting some attention for this album – it was the #2 downloaded album on itunes this week!  I’m looking forward to further talks about it with my kids and lots more listens in the car.

EDIT: Bethany has a nice review up now on her blog.

Pocket Franistans

John W. Campbell, one of the first and most important editors of science fiction in the middle of the 20th century was said to have told Isaac Asimov that science fiction mysteries aren’t possible because the detective can always say “I can just take out my ‘pocket franistan’ and solve this crime by doing this…”

Asimov responded by writing a series of science fiction mysteries (most notably his Robot Novels) that didn’t use a pocket franistan. Asimov said, and rightly so I think, that the only way you can have really good science fiction mysteries is if you lay out the rules early on and then stick to them. In other words, if you’re going to let your detective have some cool gadget then you’d better make sure the readers know it soon enough in the telling that they don’t feel cheated when it gets used.

All of this brings me to last night’s season premier of Alias in which Michael Vaughn dies. Here’s the thing – I’m not sure I believe he’s really dead and, even if he is, I’m not sure he’s completely dead. He’s maybe only mostly dead. Over the four previous seasons of Alias, I have not been convinced, especially lately, that someone is not going to open his jacket and say, “wait a minute – maybe if I inject Vaughn’s corpse with this special Rambaldi serum he’ll come back to life!”

Consequently, I can’t really commit to feeling bad about Vaughn’s demise. I feel like Alias is at a turning point – in the next few episodes they can grab me and keep me for the season by proving that they have no franistans in their pockets or they can use one and lose me.

Smart shuffle

The latest version of itunes has a hidden feature called “smart shuffle.”  This feature allows you to set the probability of having songs from the same artist or album appear next to each other as you randomly play your itunes.  I’ve had fun with this because one of the things I really like about itunes shuffle is that it takes the “what shall I listen to” issue out of my hands while I’m working.  I can have itunes on much of the day, get cool music continuously and not think about what I should play next. It's like Bob Radio. My daughter Meredith tells me that at least one other professor listens to my itunes too - apparently Bob Radio has at least one fan outside my office too.

Now that I have smart shuffle my computer puts me in a certain artist’s “zone” for a while.  Yesterday, for example, I heard most of the Aqualung album with a few other songs in the middle just for variety. Very cool indeed.

The Blessing

Laura and I are writing about worship for kids and today I worked on the blessing.  This is one of those mysterious things that are sometimes hard to get a handle on.  Here are some of the things I wrote about it:

In many churches, as we close our time of worship the pastor raises his or her hands and speaks familiar words: “The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”  These words, known as the Aaronic blessing, were given to Moses in Numbers 6.  God told Moses that these are the words Aaron was to use to bless the people of Israel.

Blessings have been given by a number of people in the Bible and it is clear that they have a weight to them that goes beyond just mere words.  In Genesis 27, for example, Jacob tricked Isaac to get his blessing.  When Esau discovered this he asked his father "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?"  Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?"  Today, if one of our children tricked us into saying something nice about them we’d just say we didn’t really mean it or we’d say “I thought I was promising these things to Esau” but there was something about the power of this blessing that Isaac gave Jacob that went beyond the words used.  There was something else happening here as well.

David Stubbs writes that a blessing is “a calling for the Holy Spirit to come and transform us.”  Being blessed by God, he writes, “means that we become holy, reflective of God and the purposes of God.”  There is clearly something more to a blessing then just a word of encouragement.  The power of the blessing seems to have been diluted somewhat over the years so that we really don’t expect God to transform us because of the words spoken.  But blessings given in the Bible suggest that these words are powerful and they have to power to transform us and to make us holy and reflective of God.  The actual nuts and bolts of what happens when we are blessed is mysterious.  Somehow, something special happens.  It’s hard to put our finger exactly on what it is but God is working in our lives in a way to transform us into his servants.  He is preparing us to do his work, to be his agents in the world.  We are blessed so that we can go out of worship prepared to bless others.

Because of this, the words of blessing at the end of our worship are often coupled with a charge, calling us to go out into the world as God’s servants.  God tells us “Go out into the world but know that I go with you.”  Just as God calls us and welcomes us into worship, he also sends us forth ready and able to do His work.  Many of the blessings that we hear come from the closings of Paul’s letters.  These letters were about a variety of topics, usually in response to specific needs and issues related to the people to whom Paul was writing.  In the same way, his words of blessing to them have the effect of saying “OK, now that I’ve told you about this, you need to go and do it.”  Just as the believers in Cornith or in Phillipi, we are given God’s blessing and sent out to do God’s work.

Ray

It took me a long time to finally get around to seeing the movie Ray even though some of my friends spoke very highly of it.  Now I see why.  This film has it all – a powerful story, a wonderful performance by Jamie Foxx and a killer soundtrack.  This is one of those films which, while you’re watching it, you’re thinking “wow, this is really really good.”  The performance of Jamie Foxx absolutely towers over this whole film.  Other supporting actors do well but go almost unnoticed as we see are captivated by the way Foxx recreates Ray Charles.  The transformation is so complete that it’s hard to believe he is lip-syncing.

The film does not gloss over Charles’ heroin addiction but presents it as just something Ray had to overcome and, at the end of the film, sure enough, he has and now all is cool.  There is no showing the divorce from his wife (which, if we just watch the film, never happens) or some of the other hardships of his life.  Nonetheless, taken on it’s own terms, this is a powerful film and performance.

New DVDs

I am in the process of watching a few things I haven’t watched before – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Ray.  I finished watching the HHGG but not yet Ray.  I expect to have written opinions about both soon but if any of my readers wish to give me their opinions before I write, I’d love to hear them.

25 Ways U2 Changed the World

I like this article a lot.

U2 in Chicago 9-20-05

What a wonderful concert I attended last night in Chicago – my first-ever U2 concert.  Major thanks to my friend and colleague Ron Sjoerdsma for getting the tickets (nearly 10 months ago!) and for going with me.  The two of us were a couple of wild and crazy guys in Chicago – OK, not really – we sat in the third level and whined about how loud it was – but we both had a great time and U2 was fabulous.

Opening band Dashboard Confessional didn’t do much for either of us except burn a couple of cilia in our ears which we could have used later on.  By the time Bono and the boys hit the stage it was 10 PM Michigan time (and remember – we had a 2 ½-3 hour drive ahead of us) but I was wide awake and really impressed with the lights and the show.  I’ve never seen such a light show and the artistry and creativity were amazing.  The “City of Blinding Lights” opener was SO COOL and when Bono started singing “hello, hello” and crowd counted off “uno, dos, tres, catorce” I realized that I was in the midst of a LOT of serious U2 fans and that proved to be true all night.  The intro to “Elevation” was also full of crowd response.  The way Bono and the band worked with the crowd and seemed to be able to improvise things on the spot (while still being incredibly choreographed) was inspiring.

An acoustic version of “Yahweh” early in the night signaled that they were mixing things up from the Toronto shows and they did all night long, even playing “The Ocean” from Boy.  Too many highlights to list separately except I need to say that I’ve now finally heard “Pride” and “”Where the Streets Have No Name” live so I can be content that my concert life is now significantly more complete.

Home at about 2:35 AM and really really tired at work today but it was worth it.

Lazy Blue Tunas setlist - 9/15/05

LAZY BLUE TUNAS
ONE TRICK PONY  9/15/05

It’s All Been Done
You Were On My Mind
If I Needed Someone
No Matter What
Fountain Of Sorrow
Zorro
Veronica
Change The World
Look Through Any Window
Good Lovin’
Hotel California

Handle With Care
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Better Man
I Want You Back
Your Mother Should Know
Friday On My Mind
It’s Gonna Be Alright
Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End
Some Of My Lies Are True
Istanbul

Got You On My Mind 

More Chaos

I’ve listened to Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Paul McCartney’s new album multiple times over the last 48 hours and I’m convinced that this album has more depth than almost anything else he’s done since the Beatles. “Paul gets serious” is the tag line for many of the reviews that have come out this week and, to a certain extent that’s true. It’s tempting to just say that producer Nigel Godrich just got rid of all the cheesy stuff but that’s just not true. The sense one gets in listening to this album is one of vulnerability. Paul has never sounded this vulnerable on an album. In many ways, this is the album I sort of expected after his wife Linda died. Perhaps he needed to be happier to sing about how sad he was. A big part of this is the production, however – Godrich allows us to hear Paul sing without many effects on his voice and without going back and giving us pitch-perfect, no quivering vocals. We can actually hear that Paul is older and wiser for the first time.

Some have complained about a lack of rockers but I think that adding more up-tempo stuff to this album would have severely damaged the mood of the piece. It is interesting to read different reviews online – one reviewer singles out for praise what other reviewers call a misstep. For me, a few of the so-called weaker songs are among my favorites; “English Tea” and “Friends to Go” are among my favorites. There are a few melodic and chordal surprises on the album. The unexpected minor in “Jenny Wren” brings us up short and causes us to pay attention when we’d otherwise just let the song wash over us. The tempo changes in “Promise to You Girl” are surprising (although it is tied with “A Certain Softness” for my least favorite song on the album). On my first listen I found the first few lines of “Too Much Rain” are almost too much to listen to after hearing how emotionally open the album had already been – and that’s before I got to the stunning “Riding to Vanity Fair” and “This Never Happened Before.”

Overall, this album sits nicely on the shelf with McCartney’s finest post-Beatles work; Band on the Run, Tug of War and Flaming Pie.

The joy of teaching

I’ve been thinking a bit about teaching lately.  Yeah, I actually do that a lot – occupational hazard – but I’ve been thinking about enjoying teaching lately primarily for two reasons: a) I am teaching less than I ever have and b) my daughter Bethany is teaching for the first time and we talk about that a lot.  

For the last 8 years I’ve been teaching a wonderful course which had a LOT of student contact – five days a week, three hours a day with the same group of students.  It was intense but I loved getting to know the students.  On top of that, I have another course with content that I also really love (teaching religion in the elementary classroom) but far less student contact – only four hours a week for half a semester.  Now, because I’m department chair and have a course buy-out to do some writing, I only have my four-hour-a-week class and I find that I really relish the time in class.  I truly like the students I have this year (although we’ve only met three times so far) but I like the vibe we have going and it’s been a lot of fun to put a few new things in the course.  I look forward to each session – something I didn’t have the time to do when I was in class 19 hours a week.  (I know that teachers in real school are laughing right now but 19 college hours was at least as much work as a full week of full-time middle school teaching.)

Then there is Bethany’s teaching. I think she has some of the same teaching bug that I have.  We have a good time talking about the evils of grading and the buzz you get from having a class goes well.  Plus, today one of her students said “this is my favorite class!” (It works better with a southern accent.)   She was clearly pleased with that – who wouldn’t be in your first semester of teaching ever.  These are the things that remind me that, after nearly 30 years of doing this, I still enjoy teaching.

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

I have only listened to the new Paul McCartney album one and a half times so I can’t yet write a complete review so here’s my short first-take:

Wow.    

sunset

My daughter Meredith took this at the south pier in Holland a couple of weeks ago. I just thought I'd post it because it's been my computer wallpaper ever since.

You know youre a grad student when...

My daughter Bethany and her grad school colleague Becky(a U2 fan, by the way – 9 days until I see them in Chicago!) are developing a list of things that indicates that one is a grad student at the University of Georgia.  It’s a fun list.  Check it out.

Lazy Blue Tunas at the One Trick Pony

Lazy Blue Tunas – Thursday, Sept 15 – One Trick Pony, Grand Rapids, MI

Pete Bardolph will play a set at 8 PM, the Tunas go on at 9:00.  Lots of fun.  Come on out!

The twist

We got soft ice cream this afternoon on the way home from the nursing home visiting my father-in-law.  Laura and I got vanilla (no jokes please) and Lynnae got “twist.”  Twist is a mixture of vanilla and chocolate “twisted” together.  But they weren’t twisted. They were side by side.  Vanilla on one half and chocolate on the other.  The cone in the picture here is indeed twisted since the person making the cone twisted the cone as the ice cream was being dispensed but the one Lynnae got was just plain.  

Does this constitute false advertising?

New Orleans Photo Essay

Father Ron Hatton has a link to a fascinating photo essay on the last week in New Orleans. I didn't realize that, at least in the area where this person was, things got significantly worse there on Day 3 and 4 then they were at the end of Day 2. Things were bad at the end of Day 2, but not flooded. Worth looking at.

McCartney learns how to play Sgt Pepper' from U2! - Sify.com

McCartney learns how to play Sgt Pepper' from U2! - Sify.com

How can this be? McCartney played Sgt Pepper on the World Tour of 1990. I was there and I have the CD (Tripping the Live Fantastic) and VHS.

He played it on the world tour of 1992. I was there.

He played it on the Back in the US tour. I have the CD and DVD.

And he played it on the follow up tour of the world - including the St Petersburg show. It's on the Red Square DVD (see my review here).

He may never have played this version exactly before but still. McCartney has been known to revinvent history and this is a great example. He's not one to let the facts get in the way of a good story.

The Word is Live - Yes

The latest Yes album is once again difficult to find in stores so I had to order it through Amazon which, in itself is cool in a “hey I got a package” kid of way but it means that it arrived about a week and a half after the release date so I was really ready to hear it.  This is a three-disc set called The Word is Live (a pun on a line in an early song – “the word is love.”)


First of all, the packaging is very nice although perhaps a bit strange.  The three discs are housed in the front and back covers of a book and the discs overlap by about 50% so the book is a lot shorter than other books which held two CDs.  That means, for example, that getting disc one out means you have to get disc two out first, a bit of a pain.  The third disc is in the back cover.  The book itself is something like 64 pages and is full of color pictures and fan memories which mostly fall under the “yes is soooooo cool” category and don’t really add to my understanding of the band.  A critical essay (even if it’s not critical as most essays in boxed sets aren’t) would have been nice.  Greg Lake from ELP wrote one and managed to point out that Chris Squire and Greg Lake were responsible for the cutting edge bass sound that they both became well known for and that Bill Bruford left Yes for King Crimson which Greg Lake founded, by the way.  My opinion of Lake wasn’t changed by this essay.

But I didn’t buy it for the book – I bought it for the music.  The point of this is to collect live tracks spanning the first 20 years of their career which are in some way different than the multiple live recordings already out there – and Yes has released a lot of them; Yessongs, Yesshows, 9012live, Keys to Ascension 1 & 2, House of Yes, Yes Symphonic, and numerous DVDs.  There are two tracks, the first two, that were previously released on the Live at the BBC set but all the rest are brand new, including a couple of tracks featuring Patrick Moraz on keyboards and also the Geoff Downes / Trevor Horn version of Yes.  Trevor Rabin shows up in four tracks at the end of the set.  Some of the tracks are songs that have been unavailable and were never recorded on a studio album or a live album before.  

The sound of the CD is one of the most disappointing aspects – it sounds like a bootleg recording.  One would expect, then, that the performances better be pretty good (or pretty rare) to warrant this and, indeed, they are.  Steve Howe absolutely rips it up on a couple of songs and this early recording of "Yours is No Disgrace" is full of fire.   Patrick Moraz was an amazing player and gets a chance to shine on “Sound Chaser”.  The early version of one part of “Starship Trooper” with Peter Banks on guitar is a revelation.

There is a lot to enjoy here and I’m just dipping my toe into the set.  All in all, this is a fine set and any Yes fan would enjoy it – I’m looking forward to spending more time with it.

Back Home - Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton’s new album, Back Home, has an interesting story behind it. It seems that Eric knew it was time to make an album and was excited about it but didn’t quite know what he wanted to do so he called his producer and collaborator Simon Climie and said that he wanted to get started. They had a plan, though, that whenever they got stuck they’d record a Robert Johnson song. It seems that the Johnson songs were so easy for the band that they finished a whole album of his music before they finished Eric’s new “regular” album. So, about a year ago, Me and Mr Johnson was released.

Clapton then turned his attention back to the new album and finished it up. With that sort of backstory, one would expect the album to sound a little unfocused, perhaps like there is no real central theme or concept that the artists were going for. It turns out that that’s only partly true because Clapton did, indeed, have a theme in mind. It seems that Eric is a happy guy these days with a wife and three small children and he wanted to write and sing about that. Now in the early 70’s he was completely broken-hearted, using drugs and his life was a mess. He made what is, perhaps the album of his career – Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Can a happy Clapton make a great album?

Well, I don’t know if he’ll ever be able to, but he didn’t this time. However, this is a nice album and before I’m accused of damning with faint praise I don’t mean that in a negative way. There are some really nice songs in here and some fine vocal and guitar performances. “Revolution,” the first single is incredibly catchy. I dare you not to sing along the second time you hear it. The guitar solo on the Vince Gill penned “One Day” is amazing and quintessential Clapton. His cover of George Harrison’s “Love Comes To Everyone” is very nicely done, although perhaps too respectful of the original to be necessary. There really isn’t a blues tune in sight although “Lost and Found” comes close.

So this is hardly a barnburner but I keep putting the album on my stereo and I really can’t get some of the songs out of my head. It doesn’t have the passion of Pilgrim or the earthiness of Reptile. In some ways this album is similar to Slowhand which is hardly a great Clapton album but was one of his most commercial successes. If you’re a Clapton fan you might be disappointed with this album but if you’re not, this is one that really might get your attention.

A matter of scale

I have been thinking a lot about the hurricane victims and considering the problems faced by rescuers.  It seems to me that, aside from the inherent difficulties in rescuing people from areas that are horrible – flood, disease, etc. – a big part of the problem is simply a matter of scale.  There are just too many people who need help for this to be done quickly.  Let’s consider the super dome with 20,000 people inside.  They all need to be bussed out of there.  How many people can a bus hold?  Let’s say 40.  That means we need 500 busses.  If the roads are closed and there is one route in and we can only load one bus at a time, how long does it take to load a bus?  Let’s say 10 minutes.  That means 5000 minutes of loading – that’s 83 hours.  Even if we double the speed at which busses can load that’s two full days of just loading people on busses.  That doesn’t account for the idea that the busses may not be available or the fuel for them might not be available.

I’m not saying the people in charge are doing it right – I don’t know and I’m in no position to judge because all I see is the devastation and frustration of the people there.  But I do know that rescuing 100,000 people is a lot different than rescuing 10 – when the numbers get this big it is a whole different problem.  


I hope and pray that things get a lot better soon.

Singing with my kids

Singing with my kids

Today I played guitar and sang in church again with my kids – at least with three out of the four of them. Pastor Marv thoughtfully asked if I would like to do this today since this is the last day Meredith and Bryan will be with me in church for a while since they’re leaving for Calvin College in a few days. I gratefully accepted the invitation. They really did a fine job, as usual. We lead the congregation in Chris Tomlin’s “Holy is the Lord” and then, after the Apostles Creed, sang Parachute Band’s song “Complete.” I wanted a song which featured Meredith and also gave us a chance to use the three part harmony (Meredith, Lynnae and me) that comes pretty easily to us. Plus, this is a song that I’ve wanted to do since I first heard it a number of years ago. It went well and I especially appreciate the chance to do this. Meredith and Bryan have gotten a lot better over the years. It’s going to be different around here with them in college.

More on Bramwell's book

As I said in a previous post, I'm enjoying Tony Bramwell's book, Magical Mystery Tours. The deeper I get into it, however, the more things I find that don't fit the facts that I've heard from other sources. Here's a small example: Bramwell talks about the making of A Hard Day's Night and says something about "what script?", suggesting that it was mostly improvised. Yet, in the DVD of A Hard Day's Night we find the script and it is uncanny how the original script matches the seemingly improvised dialogue. This sort of disconnect happens every once in a while in this book.

I'm still enjoying the book and treat it as someone who remembers a lot but just doesn't always get the facts exactly right. Consequently, I now only recommend it to someone who has read other more authoritative books about the Beatles. This gives some great color but it is clearly one man's story and not a definitive history of the boys.

Lazy Blue Tunas - setlist 8/21/05

Lazy Blue Tunas at Fliptfest, Rockford, MI 8/21/05

Handle With Care
Some Of My Lies Are True
Look Thru Any Window
I Feel Fine
A Better Man
Kicks
It’s Gonna Be Alright
Change The World
Good Lovin’
Golden Slumbers
Zorro

It’s All Been Done
Hotel California
Don’t Let Go
Your Mother Should Know
You Were On My Mind
Part Of The Plan
Veronica
Istanbul
From Me To You*
I Want You Back*

Got You On My Mind*

(John Gelderlos on bass)
*with guest drummers from River Rock CRC

Meet Father Ron

A friend from the internet, Father Ron Hatton, has started his own blog: Musings From A Twilight World. I came to "know" Ron through the Phil Keaggy email list we both subscribe to but I've come to think of him as much of a kindrend spirit. it seems to me that his blog might be a lot like mine. His second-ever post was about Herman's Hermits. What's not to like about that! Check it out!

Mercury is toxic

From my local hometown paper - the Holland Sentinel:

He's not happy about it, but the owner of a local Lincoln Mercury dealership says he's willing to live with the fact that a local autism awareness group's billboard that reads "Mercury is toxic" wound up near his business.
The Holland chapter of Unlocking Autism, a national organization to raise awareness about autism, purchased the billboard on U.S. 31 to inform the public about what the group believes is the danger of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative used in vaccines. Member Joan Reinardy of Zeeland said the organization never intended to be ironic or to cause the dealership any discomfort, she said.

I'll try to get a picture.

Pat Robertson calls for assassination of Chavez

This article describes Pat Robertson's call for the assasination of Venezuelan Preseident Hugo Chavez. This is just plain wrong. If he is guilty of crimes then he should be captured and tried. (Chavez, I mean - although that is true for Robertson too.) Robertson is reported as saying “You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”

Christians need to distance themselves from this sort of rhetoric.

Magical Mystery Tours

I am in the process of reading Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles by Tony Bramwell, boyhood friend of the Beatles and employee of Brian Epstein. I’m only about 20% done with the book – I had expected more airport time this weekend but I was able to catch earlier flights – but so far I’m really enjoying it. This is a story I know well, having read way too many Beatles books, but Bramwell’s take on it is his own personal story and that adds a layer I have not read before. Plus, the writing is engaging, thanks to co-author Rosemary Kingsland.

Terry Ott has written a few things about this book – how John Lennon is the “star” of the first part – and I’d have to agree. (Terry's review nudged me to get the book from the library). It seems that Tony was particularly struck with how John Lennon was a genius, although a haunted one. The firing of Pete Best was also an interesting part. I find it easier to picture where things took place because of my visit to Liverpool this past January. I was even in the reproduction of the Cavern at the Beatles Story Museum. That helped me put myself in the Cavern with them as I read along. If you’re a Beatles fan (and why not?) and you’ve read other versions of their story or if you’ve seen the Anthology, then this book strikes me as a must read.

A New Semester in Georgia

Bethany starts teaching tomorrow at the University of Georgia. That's just strange. It hardly feels right that she should be teaching already. I have a lot of confidence in how she is going to do because she's been talking (a lot!) since she was very young and this is a speech class but still.


And to make things worse, Meredith and Bryan are leaving for Calvin in less than two weeks. How can this be? It's a good thing Lynnae will still be home.

The White Album - again

Long time readers of this blog will remember this post in which I urged my younger readers to listen to The White Album (actually titled The Beatles). I am in the process of listening to all my U2 and Beatles albums again on my commute (in order of course) and last night on my way to and from Tuna rehearsal I listened to the White Album yet again.

The interesting thing for me is that, before this morning, I probably wouldn't have listed this as one of the best Beatles albums (usually my list includes A Hard Day's Night, Revolver and Abbey Road). But this is such an amazing work of songwriting and recording that I can't imagine why I don't hold it in higher regard (like that's possible.) I remembered that one reviewer at the time wrote something like "this album now clearly demonstrates that Lennon and McCartney are the greatest songwriters since Shubert." Now, I don't know about the Shubert part but the sheer amount of great songs on this album is stunning.

Listen to it.

The long national nightmare is over.

After probe, Paula Abdul to remain on 'Idol' - American Idol - MSNBC.com

who mix

I mentioned in a previous post that one of our traditions is a mix of music by the who on family trips. I told my friend Stybba that I'd post the mix so here it is:



All of these tracks are on the 35 Years Maximum R&B set. We sing "Magic Bus" together and "Who Are You" as well as "My Generation" and "Behind Blue Eyes." On our recent trip to Georgia, Lynnae and I were in one car with Laura and Bethany in another. I gave Bethany a copy of the mix but managed to find "Behind Blue Eyes" on the radio in Tennessee. I used the walkie talkie to contact the other car so we could sing along together.

Laura puts up with a lot.

Here's where we went, about 1750 miles:

West Wing Season 2

I'm working my way through the second season of West Wing and I was really struck again last night while watching the episode entitled "Shibolleth" that someone in Sorkin's organization has a pretty clear idea of faith. The Chinese refugee spoke elegantly and eloquently to the President about his faith in a way that put it in a very good light. He was being asked by the President if he was really a Christian or just faking it to get into the U.S. Bartlett's response showed that he, too, really understood what faith was. In the previous episode he mentioned that he had gone to Notre Dame because he had thought about becoming a priest. Then it struck me - his first name is Josiah. The biblical king who heard the word of the Lord when it had been lost for years and repented on behalf of Israel. Coincidence?

Man dies after 50 hours of computer games

This story is interesting. When I first read the headline I thought that perhaps he had participated in some sort of marathon but no - he just liked playing video games. He quit his job to spend more time playing games. I think it is safe to say that he had an addiction.

"Peoples"

This morning in church we sang "Gather Us In" much as we often do (except this time we sang with organ which is not my favorite way to do it.) However, in the song I was once again struck with the use of the word "peoples." Not "people" - "peoples" with an s. Isn't people already plural? So I did as I always do. I sang "people" instead of "peoples". It's not really a silent protest, but at least no one else notices. Then we sang the old hymn "Sing A New Song to Jehovah" and it is bad enough to have to use the word "Jehovah" in the hymn (since it is merely a made-up word to substitute for the too-Hebrew-sounding "Yahweh") but it also had "peoples" in it. Does this harrasment never end?

But then I got to thinking: does "peoples" communicate something different than "people"? So, I looked it up.

Dictionary.com says "pl. peo·ples A body of persons sharing a common religion, culture, language, or inherited condition of life." which is, I suppose, the point of using that term in this context.

Well, now I feel a lot less righteous about singing "people" than I did this morning. Too bad that all this thinking about one word in two hymns distracted me from listening to the sermon - I really liked the part I paid attention to.

Back home

Yesterday, after a tearful goodbye to Bethany at about 9 AM we hit the road and began our trip back. We actually had to drive off the road on Georgia route 316 (between Athens and Atlanta) because a truck full of chickens tipped over. Chickens all over the place. 5000 of them - see the picture. Really - it was pretty funny except for all the dead ones. We had to drive on the median because the tipped over truck blocked the entire road. So our trip was eventful pretty quickly.

Then in Northern Georgia I drove over something on the road and got a flat tire. I managed to get the car off the road and we ended up by the on-ramp for a weigh station. Very loud with four lanes of traffic whizzing past us. So there I am on the side of the road in 95 degree heat changing a tire. We drove into Ringold (with the help of the Sheriff) and found a place that could sell us TWO brand new tires. 2 1/2 hours and $200 later we're on the road again. So, after many stops along the way we finally got to Bowling Green (just north of the Tennessee border) at about 6:30 EDT.

Today was much better – we got off to a good start in Bowling Green and then drove all the way home to Holland with no problems. It was good to see Meredith and Bryan again. We talked to Bethany on the phone and she is doing fine. (Ask her about the Sitting Bear kidnapping.) So it was a long trip but we made it and it’s good to be home.

Athens, GA

Greetings from Athens, Georgia It's pretty warm here but this is a nice small city (more like a town) that seems to be pretty much all about the University. Actually, the town reminds me quite a bit of Northern New Jersey, where I grew up. The lush green and the style of houses as well as the rolling hills and curvy streets all seem like Ridgewood. It seems like a nice place. Bethany will do well here but I'm going to miss her.

road tunes

making artist specific mix CDs for the road trip:
- Beatles (1 - Revolver and singles from that era, 2- Sgt Pepper and singles)
- U2 (three CDs worth! Containing all of Achtung Baby, All That You Can't Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.))
- Clapton (Me and Mr Johnson mixed with Sessions for Robert J)
- the Who (the traditional Keeley family who mix - it's important to sing along badly with "Behind Blue Eyes" and our white van IS the "Magic Bus.")
- The Corrs (Forgiven Not Forgotten with some tunes from their latest added for good measure)
- Yes (excerpts from the Ultimate Collection)
- Coldplay (X & Y)

It's always good to plan for a trip.

A DVD Birthday

I scored three DVD sets for my birthday yesterday. All TV show sets. First my kids gave me the first season of Arrested Development, which I had never seen before. They were convinced that it was something that I would like after Bethany saw a few episodes and they heard my brother talk about it last weekend. I've seen the first six episodes now and it's pretty funny. It reminds me of the Office in that I think it will get a lot funnier when I've seen it a couple of times and start noticing the funny stuff in the background (like Gob shredding bread in a paper shredder).

I also got the first season of the Bob Newhart show, one of my all-time favorites. I watched only the first episode (not the pilot, which wasn't broadcast until about a third of the way into the season). At first I was a little disappointed that the video transfer wasn't crystal clear like I was accustomed to on DVDs but then I realized that I was watching 30 year old television and this was just the way it was. Then I watched and laughed through the first episode. Many of the characters I came to know and love were there right from the start. Great stuff.

Finally, I also got Season Two of West Wing. This is such a fine show that I just couldn't resist adding to my collection. I haven't watched any of it yet but I'm looking forward to it.

So Happy Birthday to me. I'll enjoy these presents for many weeks.

The Christian Century writes about Joel Osteen

This article in The Christian Century, which was pointed out to me by Jamie Smith is excellent. I had wondered about what Joel Osteen was really about and, while it is usually wrong to base one's opinion on the what others say rather than going directly to the source, Jason Byassee peppers his review with quotes and seems to be even handed in his assessment of Osteen's book.

Have any of my readers read this book? Is Byassee accurate?

Why blog?

Bethany was in a meeting this past week and the Dean of the Chapel asked her why her coterie of bloggers blogged when they spent so much time together anyway. She and I talked about this in the car on the way home that day and came up with two reasons.

First of all, blogging expands the circle. I, for example, was not privy to the discussions in the worship apprentice office but I could take part in some of the talk by reading the blogs and by starting my own. I am grateful that this group of young people welcomed me into their loosely defined blog-ring and encouraged me (or at least didn’t discourage me) from participating in the discussions.

A second, equally important reason, though, is that writing and talking are different things and the act of writing can result in more carefully thought-out arguments or discussions. I like that notion of using my blog to think through some things as I write them. The fact that there is, apparently, an audience is an important part to helping me try to write better – I’m actually writing for readers.

Jessica Simpson strikes back

The following is from today's MSNBC:

Jessica Simpson is telling some Christians to take a walk.

A group called The Resistance has accused Simpson of looking like "a stripper” in her video for “These Boots Were Made for Walking.” In the video, the “Dukes of Hazzard” star washes a car while wearing a barely-there bikini.

But Simpson, a pastor’s daughter, says that sort of attitude is why she didn’t pursue a career as a Christian singer. “It didn’t really surprise me because I grew up with a lot of that backlash,” Simpson said, according to World Entertainment News Network. “That’s why I didn’t end up going into the Christian music industry. I think that if they're really good Christians the judgment wouldn't be there.”

I really do have some sympathy for people who try to be Christians in the mainstream marketplace. I know that they are targets for anybody who has their own narrow view of the way Christians should act. I have referred to this in my previous post about Jessica Simpson's video for These Boots Are made for Walking. But is Jessica really being fair here? Is The Resistance being fair? I have never heard of the Resistance before today so I did a little research - it wasn't hard - and discovered that they are a very different group from most mainstream Christians. In fact, the way MSNBC characterises them, simply as Christians, is hardly fair to the rest of us. I am so in disagreement with their views that I don't even want to link to their site. Here is a sample. The Resistance's website says that "There is a Satanic pentagram clearly designed in the street layout of Washington D.C." So this is a group that isn't really on the same page as I am. What they wrote regarding Jessica is a lot more inflammatory than MSNBC lets on. I am willing to bet that Simpson really doesn't know much about this group other than that some reporter told her that a Christian group said she looked like a stripper. Given that I can understand her reaction. My initial reaction to her quote, without knowing any more background than the short MSNBC article has, is that Simpson is unfairly characterizing Christians as heartless critics who can do little but take potshots at people trying to be light in the world. However, it seems that more often than I'd like to acknowledge, that view might be more true than I think.

It is also worth noting, however, that even MSNBC characterises her wardrobe in the video in question and "barely there." I still think it was a mistake for her to make the video in that way. it's one thing to dance like that in your living room (see my earlier post for her father's response) but quite another when the whole world is watching. But, given these two choices, I'm with Jessica on this one.

School of Rock

Just about a year ago my kids gave me the film School of Rock on DVD and I just watched it again. It is one of my favorite films of all time. Jack Black strikes me as the kind of guy who could very easily get out of hand. I think he’s probably hard to work with and perhaps a director’s nightmare but he is really on target in this film.

Black plays a rock guitarist who clearly is high on enthusiasm but certainly low on accurate self concept and maybe even on talent. He ends up as a school substitute teacher and teaches the class to form a rock band that goes on to play in a battle of the bands.

As a school movie or a teacher movie it doesn’t have much to add to the list of great school movies (although there are certainly things in the movie that teachers or future teachers could discuss!), it’s more about rock and roll. When Black’s character is teaching his students about how to rock he has some wonderful lines like “raise your goblet of rock” and “one great rock show can save the world.”

When I saw the ads for this film I was so convinced that I would dislike this as both a school move and a music movie that I didn’t see it until my band-mates convinced me otherwise. I’m glad I took their advice. School of Rock rocks.

things Bethany wrote: Types of Blogs Revisited

Go to things Bethany wrote: Types of Blogs Revisited to see the results of discussions that Bethany and I have been having in the car on the ride home about her previous thinking regarding types of blogs.

Nicely done, Bethany!

Teaching Worship

Look here for a report on the Teaching Worship seminar that I attended on Tuesday and a summary of their discussion of my manuscript on ministry to children. They read the first part of a book that I have been working on for two years and hope to finish and publish in the near future. I am grateful to John Witvliet and his seminar for taking the time to engage me in a discussion of these issues and also of my text. Here is what Carrie Steenwyk wrote about the discussion:

The last half of our session focused on excerpts of a manuscript by Bob Keeley on helping children develop faith. One of the participants pointed out a great line in Keeley’s manuscript that served as argument for the entire conversation: “Giving children a thin understanding of God can be a recipe for a broken faith later on.” So, in what ways can we help children have a broader understanding of God? One of the primary ways is through storytelling—both our stories and Bible stories. Bob emphasized the importance of having parents, grandparents, and other adult church friends share stories of God’s faithfulness throughout their lives with children. He also argued against using Bible stories as simply moral lessons. In the words of another participant, “Bible stories are always interpretative stories that give formation to the people of God and help them understand what it means to be a community that receives blessing and who are supposed to be a blessing.” In other words, Bible stories should help us know who we are and help us become who we should be. This is true regardless of whether we’re eight or eighty-eight.

More on U2 and Coldplay

I've written before about the comparisons between U2 and Coldplay but on the way home yesterday, X & Y by Coldplay was on the car stereo again. I’ve had that album in the 6-CD changer since I bought it on it’s release day. That is an indication that I like it a lot. But during one of the songs – and I’m sorry that I don’t know many of the song titles, an unfortunate side-effect of doing much of my listening while driving – I was struck for at least the second time by the drums and bass. Actually, I was struck by the absence of a particular type of drum and bass playing.

I’ve listened to more than a little U2 and Coldplay has made no secret of the fact that U2 has been an influence on them. Their grand sound is more than a little U2-like and many people have noted the similarities. They’re more than just U2 wanna-be’s, of course. They have their own groove and their own sound but, still, the lingering U2 comparisons are too many to avoid.

U2’s strengths are legion but their secret weapon is their rhythm section. It is amazing how often I find myself listening to the bass line as a key melodic player in a U2 song. As I write this, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” is on my itunes and, sure enough, the bass has a wonderful riff that goes throughout the verse and serves as an excellent counterpoint to the sung melody and to Edge’s wash of sound. Larry Mullins’ drumming is often the driving force behind the songs – the thing that propels it into the stratosphere, especially the way he leads into new song sections really helps the songs have a much greater emotional impact.

Coldplay’s rhythm section, while completely adequate, hasn’t gotten to that point yet. While the players might be really important to the creation of the songs, it seems to my ears that they could be pretty easily replaced. That is something that might give Coldplay less staying power in the long run. We’ll just have to see what happens.

Lazy Blue Tunas - setlist 7/19/05

The Tunas played at a private party in Ada, MI 7/19/05. It was a warm night and we played outside where we got heated up and a little bug-bit but it was a good show (although, typical party, it seemed like we were playing only to the bugs until it was all done and people raved.

Here is the setlist:
I'll Be Back
Handle With Care
Some Of My Lies Are True
Look Thru Any Window
I Feel Fine
New Kid In Town
Better Man
It’s Gonna Be Alright
Change The World
Good Lovin’
Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End
Zorro

It’s All Been Done
Hotel California
Don’t Let Go
Your Mother Should Know
Friday On My Mind
You Were On My Mind
Part Of The Plan
Istanbul
I Want You Back
Got You On My Mind

James "Scotty" Doohan dies at age 85

Here you can read a report on the death of Montgomery Scott, the chief Engineer on the Starship Enterprise. As a fan of Science Fiction in my youth I was absolutely thrilled to have a new show which actually took science fiction seriously. I remember being in middle school at the time and watched every Star Trek episode and film through the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager. It was only the recent Enterprise that really didn't capture my imagination. I've apparently moved on to more serious things. I watch a lot of Alias and the Simpsons now.

But Scotty was the quintessential engineer. The guy who made it all work, who could build a radio out of a couple of toothpicks and chewing gum, who made the ship "fly" no matter what the Klingons did to it.

He was a lot of fun to watch.

Another Tuna show

The Lazy Blue Tunas have another show tonight - a private party in Ada. We'll be playing pretty much the same set we played at the Museum last week - here is the setlist from the Grand Rapids Art Museum 7/15/05:
Handle With Care
Some Of My Lies Are True
Look Thru Any Window
I Feel Fine
New Kid In Town
Better Man
It’s Gonna Be Alright
Change The World
Good Lovin’
Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End

It’s All Been Done
Hotel California
Don’t Let Go
Your Mother Should Know
Friday On My Mind
You Were On My Mind
Part Of The Plan
Istanbul
I Want You Back
Got You On My Mind
Zorro

Of course, what we actually play may be quite different but it looks like a beautiful night and we're looking forward to a great time.

The Living Room Tour

Back in the early 70’s Carole King released Tapestry, an album that took the country by storm. Along with James Taylor, Carole King set the standard for singer-songwriters that has echoes even 35 years later. The amazing thing was that King, along with her ex-husband Gerry Goffin, had made tons of hits for other artists as writers in the 60’s. Suddenly (or at least it seemed that way) she was thrust into the limelight as a performer. The album sold a gazillion copies. Everyone, it seemed, had a copy of Tapestry in the seventies.

I was cruising the itunes music store and noticed that King had a new CD out, The Living Room Tour, that is mostly just her and a piano, singing the songs that she wrote. And not just the songs from Tapestry. A lot of her earlier hits too, like “Locomotion,” “Chains,” and even the Monkees’ “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” When I saw that Best Buy (the happiest place on Earth) had this double CD for $12.99 I was unable to resist it.

It’s great. At age 62 King’s voice has lost a bit and there are times when it feels like she’s straining but the intimacy of just her voice and her piano on these songs is just too good to miss. A highlight is the duet with her daughter on "Where You Lead I Will Follow", now with new lyrics so it could be the theme from Gilmore Girls. (I hear that a lot at my house these days, thanks to Lynnae.) And when she closes out the show with "You've Got A Friend" it brings me right back to high school.

Check out the reviews at Amazon to read more about it.

Quote of the day

One of the sites I check with my bloglines reader is the quote of the day. Today's quote is from Gracie Allen:
"When I was born I was so surprised I didn't talk for a year and a half."

I, Robot

I know this film came out a long time ago but I finally got around to watching I, Robot thanks to Bryan who found a cheap copy for me! Back in the 70s and 80s I was a huge Isaac Asimov fan and I, Robot is, perhaps, his best known book. What people who have not read the book don’t realize is that it’s actually a short story collection about robots tied together because of a few common characters (most notably Dr. Susan Calvin) and the three laws of robotics:

• A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
• A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
• A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

A collection of short stories does not easily become a film so I was curious what the film would be like. It turns out that the film is only based loosely on the book - Asimov didn't have nearly as much action in his stories. The film does include the three laws and Dr. Calvin but that’s where the similarity ends. I will say that the way the mystery wraps up (and I won’t give away the plot) is very much like something Asimov would do – having the three laws broken only to show that they really weren’t broken.

Will Smith is only somewhat believable as the main character (Detective Del Spooner) and Bridget Moynahan plays Susan Calvin in a way that makes you think that she is perfectly comfortable around robots. I’m not sure that was intentional. Don’t watch this for the acting. Asimov's Robot novels featured a detective, Elijah Bailey, but Bailey and Spooner have almost nothing in common. I'm not sure the film makers even thought about the Robot mystery novels despite the fact that this is a robot mystery based on Asimov's work!

However, the effects were a lot of fun and the movie hooked me. There are a few places at the end where the camera work is dazzling (in a special effects kind of way, not a Lord of the Rings awe inspiring kind of way) and the scene where the house is destroyed with Will Smith inside is really fun to watch. Overall, I'm glad I saw it and would recommend it to people who like Science Fiction and action movies.

Jessica's Boots

I have, for quite some time, been critical of people who are critical of Christians who operate in the mainstream of the entertainment industry. I think of the heat that Amy Grant took for her “Baby Baby” video which was completely harmless. Grant was shown in romantic situations with a man who wasn’t her husband. In this case, romantic doesn’t mean sexual – it means that they were shown taking walks, goofing off, hugging and other things of that nature. But some in the Christian community just couldn’t get past the fact that she was acting in a video with someone other than her husband. Other examples of this are the hassles that accompanied Michael W. Smith’s song “Love Me Good” or Sixpence’s “Kiss Me.”

I write all this as an introduction to what I’m about to write about what I saw on MTV this morning while eating breakfast. When Jessica Simpson first broke into the industry one of the few things that separated her from Britney and Christina was that she said she was a Christian. I actually remember looking at her web site early on when I heard this and, if I remember correctly, she even addressed the issue in one of her posts. She was trying to make it in the industry with her morals intact. I gave her a lot of credit for the stand she took on premarital sex. She seemed to be at least trying to be a person of faith and standards.

So this morning I saw her new video, “These Boots Are Made For Walking”, a tie-in to the new Dukes of Hazzard movie. She, of course, wears what one would expect – the Daisy Duke look of super short cut-off shirt and shorts but the dancing that she does goes pretty far beyond what I can see as what a person of faith would do. I was pretty stunned by the whole thing until, near the end of the video we, for some odd reason, get to see her wash the Dukes’ car in a bikini. At least I think it was the Dukes’ car – frankly it’s hard to pay attention to the car.

Is this video consistent with what Simpson professes?

EDIT: I found out I'm not the only one who noticed this. An article at SouthFlorida.com inlcudes this quote from Jessica's dad:

Simpson's father Joe, the aforementioned pastor, isn't bothered by the apparent sexiness of the video.

"She is not trying to be sexy. If you watch her, she's laughing throughout the whole thing," he tells "Inside Edition." "She's dancing like a crazy thing, like her mother and sister would dance at the house and be stupid. This is not her trying to be a Playboy model, which is what we're hearing."

Is he watching the same video I watched????????

Tunas at GRAM

My band, the Lazy Blue Tunas will be playing at the Grand Rapids Art Museum this Friday at 6:30! Come on out!

The Very Best Gift of All and Together All God's People

If you look here you can see the Christmas play that Laura and I have most recently published. So recently, in fact, that we haven't even received our copies yet. The Very Best Gift of All is the sixth Christmas play for children that we have published and there are two more waiting at Faith Alive to see the light of day. We don't know if they'll both come out next year or if they'll do them one at a time. We've really enjoyed our association with Faith Alive. They've been great about publishing many of our plays and asking us to write curriculum and other assorted things for them. This particular play had a different title - it was called The Gift of Grace, a title which I still prefer.

This will be the first time in eight years that Laura and I do not plan to write a new play for our church to perform for it's Christmas program. We are writing a short one-act play for the Banner to publish that is designed to be done at home with familes but no full-out play this year. we will recycle a program for the first time in over a decade.

Speaking of Faith Alive, I received in the mail yesterday a copy of Together All God's People which reflects some of the material which a team, of which I was thrilled to be a member, presented at a series of conferences on intergenrational worship. We travelled far and wide together and had a great time encouraging the church to think more intergenerationally. I'm please that a resource book came out of this. Thanks to Karen Wilk for putting it together!