Musical Thoughts

I am a music lover. I love all kinds and sounds. So when I got the 6 CD's I ordered in the mail today, I was very happy. I am a member of BMG, which I highly suggest if you buy a lot of CD's. There really isn't any catch involved with the club. But I realize I-tunes and such are replacing CD's...sadly. One of my favorite things about music is the album. I love thematic albums (ones that have a theme or idea and explore it through different songs throughout the whole album), but that is sadly lost now that music has become synonymous with just a song. Bono (from U2) once said that U2 doesn't really make songs they make albums. I think that's why when you hear a U2 cd it is a journey from the beggining to the end. This is one reason I have an issue with pop music. They have reduced music to a chorus or 8 words. I'm not bashing pop, I have plenty of it in my collection but I sure hope we dont lose the complexity of music along with the simplicity of pop. Anyways, as I was re-arranging my cd collection to fit the new ones in, I was thinking what my top ten albums would be. So I decided to give a top 10 list of albums with a short explanation on each pick. My list changes often so don't pigeon hole me to these. The top 10 is only picked from my collection so I'm sure there are better ones out there that I dont have...


10. Jars Of Clay "Furthermore" (double cd)
Half studio and half live it includes some of the best JOC has to offer. The last song 'worlds apart' live is amazing and seems to give me chills everytime I hear it. JOC is also one of the christian culture band's I respect the most. They don't often use christian lingo or cliche phrases and they are usually singing about something instead of nothing.

9. (tie) Caedmons Call "40 Acres"/David Crowder Band "Can You Hear Us"
40 Acres is probably one of my favorite christian lyrical albums I have and seems to open things up to me evertime I hear it. It seems to keep unfolding the older it gets. David Crowder is one of the few christian culture artists I still enjoy listening to. Thier latest album "illumate" was no where near as good as this one but it was experimental which I applaud and I think thier newest is going to be better than "Can You Hear Us". They are still trying to find thier sound in some ways. I'm excited to see where they go.

8. Lifehouse "No Name Face"
This is one of those cd's that kept growing on me the more I listened to it. The lyrics are powerful and its pop sound kind of masks the depth of the songs if you actually listen to them. Thier latest cd was lacking some on depth however. Also, I am a sucker for mid-90's sound since that's when I first started listening to music more critically.

7. Switchfoot "The Beautiful Letdown"
This album went on a strange journey through christian culture. It was overly marketed at anything musical and then bashed by christian culture because it didn't mention the word Jesus in it. However, it caught on big time in secular culture. I really like thier approach to music and life, also thier albums are thematic...always a plus. They have a refreshing sound with great socratic lyrics. I'm looking foward to thier new album. I hear good things.

6. Kelly Joe Phelps "Tap the red cane whirlwind"
This guy is amazing on the guitar. He is basically a one man band. The guitar player from a band that my band plays with sometimes introduced me to him. If there was a genre called 'driving music' he would be number 1 on my list. It is music that chills me out no matter what mood I am in. It is patient music that forces me to relax and wait. He stays on parts of songs where pop music would go to a chorus, he forces you to understand the song. He's also a great story teller and is definitly more interested in getting across an emotion, idea or story then something catchy. Check out his website, he has a lot of free music.

5. Dave Matthews Band "Under the Table and Dreaming"
I have always been a DMB fan, they were my first concert and ever since I was into them. I don't get thier lyrics sometimes but the music is probably the best in the mainstream right now. It's always original and take me places emotionally. I think DMB fans would argue with my album selection but since I am a guitar person I always seem to find this as my first choice when in a DMB mood. Although almost all thier cd's are great and if you ever have a chance to see them live take it. Amazing shows.

4. Coldplay "A rush of blood to the head"
I bought this cd before I ever heard a song. I read a review on it and it sold me so much that I decided to buy it. At first I wasnt sure if I was going to like it but it grew on me like most good albums do. They are great at climactic songs. The build you up and pull you down. They have some of the most emotional music that is out there. They also sing about real things and are popish but seem to take the best of pop and throw away the worst.

3. U2 "Joshua Tree"
The album U2 found thier sound. One of the masterpieces in all of music for the past 30 years. I can't say enough about U2 and what they have done. Almost all American music is deeply influenced by them, whether they know it or not. The Edge has changed the landscape of electric guitar playing with the use of effects. The whole cd is amazing and there isn't much to say besides amazing.

2. Our Lady Peace "Spiritual Machines"
Another band that a review influenced me on. The album is about the spiritual bankrupcy in America and our generation. It talks about being lost, lonely and darkness. It uses machines to compare us with since the loss of our souls leave us not much more than machines. They are not Christian, which I really like since it doens't have alot of the cliche lyrics and sound. "Gravity" was the album before this and is good as well but they definitly find thier sound on this one and the lyrics are better done. I can't say enough about this album, I wish more were made like it. They are coming out with a new album at the end of August...whoo hoo!

1. U2 "Achtung Baby"
My favorite U2 cd. It was Joshua Tree for a while but the more I listen to "Achtung Baby" the more I fall in love with it. Once again, being a guitar guy, this is Edges best work and he really controls the whole cd. I have never heard more emotion coming through a guitar and Bono does a great job in capturing the guitar with his best lyrics. You can hear a confidence that they have found thier sound and know what they are doing. They took 3 years off after 'Rattle and Hum' to make this album because they questioned thier sound from 'Rattle and Hum'. I don't know if any albums will ever be better than this in my lifetime in my own unproffesional opinion.

notables: Our Lady Peace "Gravity", the rest of my U2 collection, Derek Webb "She must and shall go free", The Killers "Hot Fuss", Jars of Clay "Who we are instead", Starfield "Self Titled", Counting Crows, Tupac

Tropical Light

I was messing around taking pictures of light through different glass and after I downloaded them into my computer I realized something different about this picture. It looks like there is a tropical fish made of pure light swimming around in the darkness. I think it's my favorite picture that I have taken now. Just thought I would share it with anyone interested. Check out my webshots page for more glass and light photos.

iPod users check this out

Iis this true? Does ipod really have a dirty little secret? Or is this anti-apple propoganda? I would like to know since I have been debating buying an ipod.

Sports

Is it just me or does the AL get more coverage on ESPN then the NL in baseball? I suppose they might deserve it since they always seem to win the all star game, but it still bothers me. Any thoughts on why this is?

Five and a half pounds

Some things in life that change you immensely come about completely unexpected. They hit you before you see them coming and even afterwards you aren't quite sure what happened. Things like realizing you are in love, someone close to you dying or even car accidents. They are all things we know exist and should even expect in life but never really anticipate. They always seem to come at times we are least looking for them. Life always tends to hit us below the waist when we're not expecting it to.

Recently I have added another thing on this list. Babies. No I didn't have any babies...but someone very close to me did, my brother and sister-in-law, as a matter of fact they had twins...identical. I was the type of person who never "got" babies. I didn't understand why everyone thought they were cute or 'precious'. They always seemed to be sloppy messes that were no fun. You have to change them, burp them, feed them, entertain them etc...it just sounded like too much work for me. I would even say that I didn't want kids at one point. Besides the fact that they are a ton of work, the responsibility involved with raising another human being seemed too much to bear for me. You could do everything right as a parent and your child could still end up being a nutcase axe murderer, that wasn't a comforting thought for me. Not to mention the world I would subject a new child to. Sometimes I'm not sure if I want to live in this world, let alone bring another life into it. Babies...blah!

Yes I do have a heart...somewhere. And no I'm not a baby hater, this is a story of change remember. I think God did a good job with baby planning. She (meaning God and since were talking about babies I figure I'll go with the female label) gave us 9+ months to prepare for this huge change in our lives. You have to figure, it's God...She could just made it so the babies popped out right after the sperm hit the egg. Boy, that would of been crazy. Spring break would never be the same, girls and guys would have to get a bunch of extra tickets to fly home with their new bundles of joy from Cancun. Anyways back to the story...Unfortunately for me, I didn't use my grace period of 9 months well. I pushed the thought of uncle Drew out of my head and didn't want to comprehend the change that would occur in our families, especially since babies tend to be ripple effects. First a brother then a cousin then a freind and so on until everyone you know has a kid except you...kind of like weddings.

However, I still remember the moment I layed eyes on Nate and Noah when I went to the hospital to visit them for the first time. It was an odd feeling. One, like I said earlier, that hit me so unexpectedly yet so naturally. I suppose the best way to describe it is to say if felt like 'life'. I felt, for the first time, that I was holding all of what life was meant to be in my arms, weighing in at only 5 and a half pounds. Suddenly the world stopped turning and everything turned into a dream state. You know what I'm talking about if you've ever been in love or in a car accident, reality and dream become hard to distinguish between. So I sat there holding 5 and a half pounds of life changing baby in my arms just trying to soak in the moment and completely let myself feel the small eyes penetrate my hard cold heart. I never realized how cold my heart has become until my nephew looked into it. It's hard to understand how something so small could break through a wall that I have been building for 23 years from the pain of life just trying to keep out enough reality to hold onto my sanity. In my macho man state I just stared back trying my best not to cry, not that I had much of a choice the eyes were like tractor beams. Maybe it was because looking into the eyes of a newborn is about the closest we will ever get to looking at pure innocence, love and fearlessness. I have worked hard at becoming a "man" but as I stared into those innocent eyes I realized my life was full of escapism, fear and hate, everything I didn't want to be. I saw myself more clearly in the eyes of this small child than in any mirror.

I'm not really the type of person who misses people, even close people. There are instances but on the whole I don't usually have deep longings to see people I know all that much. However, somehow these tiny babies who can't even hold their own heads up, let alone talk, have reached deep into my soul and aren't letting go. If anything, the hold is getting tighter and tighter. So about 3 months have passed now and I am now beggining to "get" babies. I tend to be a slow learner with the concrete in life, as opposed to the abstract. It really is amazing when the beauty of life hits you. You remember why you are still alive.

Reflections on my day

As I sit in my car while driving to the church I work at, my mind begins to wander off to weird places. Who am I really? Why have I really decided to choose full time ministry as a profession? How much do I really believe of what I so often preach? These questions nag me at the very time I usually spend in prayer for the youth I minister to. Should I just push the question away and pray or let them saturate my mind for a while?

While stopped at a red light I look over at the car next to me. It happens to be a good looking female. My posture suddenly changes and I don't remember where I am supposed to put my hands...on the wheel, out the window or on my lap. I quickly become aware of the fact I haven't showered yet and my hair still has that "just got out of bed" look, where the right side of my hair is all standing up. I also think to myself "my left profile is not my good side" as I try to fix my hair without looking like I am. I never did catch her name but her posture never seemed to change when she saw me...

After four days of dogsitting my brothers dog I realize I have a lot less patience then I thought I did. I get annoyed when she licks me, barks at anything or even just wants to go to the bathroom. I yank the chain way too often as I take her for walks and don't want to change my schedule for her at all. I hope I'm not like this with my kids some day...

I plan on finishing up a book I started a few days ago after youth group is over. I end up watching FX's 30days for an hour then MTV's pimp my ride instead. I want to get up early and do some work tomorow morning but I figure I'll just sleep till 11 or noon instead. I plan on getting some work done for church rightnow but end up writing in my blog about nothing.

Sorry if this was too journalish for anybody, I just felt like I had nothing else to write about.