The Rogue Six Four

Roadkill

2009-09-23T00:49:00.003-04:00

I was on my way to work this morning, when I saw you lying in the road. Stretched across the yellow lines, you lay there exposed to the weather that has so thoroughly beleaguered Georgia and Tennessee. But instead of paws or a furry countenance sticking up vulnerably into the air, frozen by rigor mortis, pages fluttered lifelessly. No lifeblood dried stickily on the tarmac, but words and occasionally sentences spilled out into the road. I speculated - were you chased onto treacherous Ochs Highway by some literary critic who runs with the coyotes of Lookout Mountain? The hunt is over, at least for you.

Now the dark silhouettes of students circling in the sky herald your disembowelment. One lands, and greedily snaps up a few quotes out of context to be taken back to its young paper, to whom they will be fed without correct citation.

The Other Lookout Mountain

2009-09-06T20:41:00.002-04:00

There are a number of posts that could follow that title, most of them dealing with some kind of socioeconomic issue, examining class differences. This not about that; rather, it's something much more trivial. I'm sure you've had the experience where you dream about alternate versions of familiar places, and that's what I mean by "other" Lookout Mountain.

So, in my version, which comes back every now and then, I'm driving south on the mountain (or sometimes inexplicably flying - those are the best). And while Lookout Mountain is a long mountain, stretching from Tennessee south through Georgia into Alabama, this dream-version is huge. I come across huge canyons with sheer cliffs, stretching down to wide rivers, dwarfing anything in Cloudland or Little River Canyon. The mountain keeps going, becoming a high Southwestern scrubland with Utah-like rock formations. Sometimes, when it's an aerial view, it'll be under a full moon that illuminates immense waterfalls that lead off the mountain through a kind of pine wilderness. I think it's in this area (much higher than the 2000 ft real elevation) that there's this secluded lake between a number of peaks.

The real Lookout Mountain is pretty cool, for sure, but man, I wish I could find this version.

Home

2009-06-09T15:53:00.007-04:00

It's so good to be in PA, even if it's just for a week. As I look at the gardens in the back (which look great and have supplied us with vegetables - Mom has really put some work into it), I'm reminded of how much my parents invested in us five kids. Whether it was a trampoline, making us work in the garden, supporting our excavation and construction in the far corner of the yard or, most recently, helping us in our world traveling to expand our view of the world, MAN! They really worked hard to give us the best and train us in the way we should go. It's great to come back and see our house transforming, growing, becoming more and more that place of refuge that it always has been. I can't wait to come back when all five of us have families of our own, and our kids can play in that yard and in that tree.

More pictures from the Europe trip are up on Flickr.

(the best tree in the world)

Possibly the Best, and Saddest, Song I Have Ever Heard

2009-05-22T01:45:00.004-04:00

It reminds me of everything I've ever found, lost, hoped for and cried over. I was listening through "Freewheelin'" and having not been too familiar with it rediscovered this. I think I may have listened to it once before; but by myself in the international wing of O'Hare it hit hard. It's going to stay up there with my favorites. It's number one for now.

The Girl from the North Country - Bob Dylan

Hagia Sophia

2009-05-20T06:56:00.006-04:00

Often erroneously called the church of St. Sophia by tour guides and websites, the Church of the Holy Wisdom was built in the late 6th century and still stands imperiously on the tip of the Golden Horn. When Sultan Mehmet conquered Constantinople in 1453, the Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque (that's where the minarets came from). In the early 1900s, Ataturk, as part of his plan to modernize Turkey, converted it to a museum showing the history of the Christian Byzantines and the Muslim Ottomans.

It is huge. There is no other way to describe it as you walk inside - gigantic medallions with Arabic lettering hang from colossal pillars, and early Christian mosaics glitter on in the archways. There are lots of tourists, but it's ok; there is plenty of room. One quarter of the main dome is under restoration, but most of the rest of the building is viewable.

Once an iconic part of the Christian church, it is perhaps a little ironic that it has since become the architectural model for mosques around Istanbul. The domes of the Blue Mosque serve as a good example of the Hagia Sophia's influence (see right).

It was interesting to finally see Christ depicted in the Hagia Sophia. In a city that seems to be somewhere between secular and Muslim, seeing the image of the Savior (in the Greek, called Pantokrator) was strangely refreshing and relieving.

Istanbul

2009-05-19T18:46:00.005-04:00

This is as far East I've ever come. A number of things contributed to my desire to see this city: first, doctrine classes at Covenant. Learning about the traditions of the Eastern church, the councils of Nicaea, Constantinople and others, the early fathers Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil as well as Athanasius and Nicholas really placed what used to be the capital of Christendom squarely in the realm of my imagination. Secondly, for a class with Dr. Stewart - Renaissance and Reformation - I wrote a paper drawing heavily on Steve Runciman's book on the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. In particular there is a section that describes the Emperor Constantine XI tearing off his imperial badge, making a pact of honor with three nobles fighting beside him (one of whom was an Italian who claimed to be related to the Emperor and traveled to the city to defend Christendom), and charging headlong into his foes, never to be seen again.

This morning, having been forced to greet the day at 5am by the muezzin's call to prayers from the mosque, I jogged around the old walls here in Sultanahmet (the part of Old Istanbul that has the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and other famous landmarks), most likely not far from where Constantine XI made his final stand. iPod in hand (or in ear?), I listened to Ralph Vaughan Williams' Variations on a Theme by Thomas Tallis to complete the mood. It was a good way to start the day.

After taking a cruise on the Bosphorus, grabbing a nap and making sure that everything was set for me to catch the bus to Athens tomorrow, I went to the Rumeli Cafe and ordered a dish composed of minced beef and garlic-seasoned yoghurt sauce that was quite tasty. For a starter I got a mixed cheese plate featuring a number of Turkish cheeses, one of which I really enjoyed - it was salty, like feta, but a bit harder and had a local spinach-like green in it. Really good. My waiter, Lutfu (u=oo as in book), was very sociable and we talked for quite a while. He lamented the fact that Turkish visas make it very hard to travel, and he doesn't have much of a chance to practice his English.

Apparently I was a likely candidate for English conversation, so he invited me to go with him and try the the nargile, or water pipe, when he finished his shift. He would be meeting two friends of his and I was welcome to come. It was an incredibly unique experience (the nargile uses no tobacco or anything; it's really just steam and whatever flavoring you put in there - Lutfu put in rose petals and mint leaves. They also serve hot water with those same ingredients, and you put in a sugar cube for a kind of tea-like drink. Also very good). I found out that Lutfu is 19 and that he and his cousin Selda moved to Istanbul from east Turkey. They are Kurdish, and Kurds make up 35% of the 71 million people in Turkey. Great people, and I really enjoyed talking to them.

Coming back to the hostel (from which I can see the Hagia Sophia), I met and talked with Adem, who is involved with film and theater both here in Istanbul and the UK. We shared ideas and dreams, and let him listen to a few songs as well as showing him Drew's "All My Friends", which he loved. It was great to connect through art with someone in a lasting way, and we hope to continue talking through the internets.

Tomorrow I will actually go into the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, and hopefully some of the Bazaars in the city. Then on to Athens.

Flickr (more coming soon): http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattiebrown/?saved=1

1.5 new songs: Icarus and Asheville

2008-09-07T00:39:00.005-04:00

Recorded a little bit with Jon tonight. They're up at http://www.myspace.com/moresecretsongs.

Icarus is about a lot of things - mainly about moving from a straightforward, narrative structure to something a little more poetic, more meandering and a little darker, along with the risks involved. Stepping off the beaten path of the familiar leads to new kinds of beauty, but it carries with it an inherent wildness; the deeper and darker woods are often more intriguing than the trail, but it's easier to get lost.

Asheville is about nostalgia, and wishing things could stay. I'll finish it soon.

New Song (It's a Short One)

2008-07-31T00:31:00.003-04:00

Already got a song called "Irony", this one's called "Subtlety".

Ireland Report (part 1)

2008-07-29T20:23:00.003-04:00

I arrived on Tuesday morning July 1. The rest of the team was scheduled to get there on Friday the 4th, but the complexities of travel necessitated that I get there early. It ended up being a great thing that I was there early (I'll explain why in a second). As I collected my bags and made my way out to the departures lobby, I thought about the next step. This ended up being a major theme for my time across the pond. I learned the practicality of Elizabeth Elliot's brilliant advice: do the next thing. For me, the next step was to make contact with the Boals, interns and other folks at Abbey Presbyterian. I didn't have too specific a plan; I figured that I would find a relatively cheap hostel until the rest my team arrived and that I would keep my guitar and maybe one bag at the church. I called the Boals, caught a bus to Parnell Square, and actually met Alan on the street (Alan Boal is the pastor of Abbey Pres.). We went into the church, and I met each of the interns in person - Liz, Luke, Wes, Jacqueline, Paige, Katie, Steph (whom I knew from Covenant), their team leaders, David and Kathy Fidati, and then Katherine and Christy, with whom I go way back (at least back to December and the previous summer, respectively). The Fidatis, Katherine and Christy offered me the couch in their apartment till my group came, which was a huge help since even a "cheap" hostel is going to be relatively expensive and sleep there is not necessarily a given.

I was able to meet with the interns that day as they went over what needed to be done in preparation for the Arts Festival the next week. Every time I've gone in the past I've seen Abbey's work develop and grow, and this time was no exception. Six nights of the Arts Cafe. Lots of local Dublin musicians, artists, and poets would share their work; the first three nights would be "anchored" by Suzie Young and Soul Connection, a jazz group from Belfast, while the last three nights would be anchored by my team. There were plans for a hip-hop workshop as well as recitals in the sanctuary during the day. A lot of work still had to be done.

One thing that had to be done was the organization, setup and testing of the sound system. Alan's predicament is that the Dublin City Council isn't going to substantially fund arts endeavors based out of Abbey until Abbey gets reputable, established acts and artists to come and participate in the festivals and cafes, but Abbey can't exactly bring those kinds of groups until they get funding. A catch-22, as we Americans might call it. Thankfully, Abbey had managed to get Soul Connection to come, and they were both established and incredibly talented, but as professionals, they had specific needs when it came to sound. This is why it was great to get there early. Steph White and I were able to go through all the equipment available to Abbey and piece together a kind of cyborg sound system that we miraculously got working, complete with monitors and 2 aux mixes apart from the main. Abbey Pres. actually helps facilitate 4 different congregations (including its own), and each time the congregation that meets in the basement (French-speaking African Pentecostal) has been gracious enough to let us use their sound system. So between what was downstairs and what we found upstairs we were able to get it functional.

On Wednesday I took a train out to Kilkenny, where I was planning on meeting the Bennetts, a family I've become close with each time we've gone out there. For the first time on an Ireland trip the team was not scheduled to go out to Kilkenny, so it was my intention to go and see them on my own while I had some time. I spent the afternoon and evening in Kilkenny, making my way to Kilkenny Presbyterian for their midweek meeting. There I got to see some old and new friends from past trips, and after the meeting Cliff Bennett and the boys, Jack and Oliver, came to pick me up.

Cliff Bennett works with a chain of pet stores in Ireland and his wife, Alice, is an established artist (I've seen some of her work and she is very talented). They have two boys: Jack is 12 and Oliver is 9, and they are some of the coolest kids I've ever met. I met the Bennetts in summer of '06, when Cassie Pettit, Ellie Novenson and I went to their house for lunch after church. We learned a little bit about them - they're originally from Zimbabwe (of British descent) and moved to Ireland years ago when things got complicated for white people living there. The boys showed me the ins and outs of Hurling, an amazing sport they play in Ireland. By the end of our lunch, the boys and I had hit it off pretty well, and they gave me a hurling stick (a "hurl" or "hurley") to call my own as well two hurling balls (the "sliotar"). It was awesome.

Anyways, I've seen them each time I've gone back and it's always been a highlight for me. This time I was actually able to stay with them and spend some time with the boys, which was the perfect way to start out the trip. On Thursday I took an afternoon train back into Dublin and hung out with the interns some more before crashing that night on the couch. In the morning I would go to the airport to meet a team composed largely of people I had never met in person and who had only met themselves the day prior in the Atlanta airport.

To be continued.

Made it.

2008-07-01T12:42:00.002-04:00

I'm typing this from the yellow internet cafe down the street from Abbey Pres. Made it safe and sound; I connected with Pastor Alan and the interns and it's great. It's funny, it doesn't really feel like another country anymore. For me it's almost just like hopping over to Atlanta or going up to PA. Just another temporary home for this world citizen. Pictures coming soon.

I had an 8-hour or so layover in Chicago, during which time I explored a little bit of the city and the park. It was a beautiful day, and I actually caught a noon-time concert sponsored by the Pitchfork Music Festival. These guys were playing; they were pretty good. Guess they're a local band. They had two drummers - one on a normal set, and one with two floor toms, a trash can, bongos and a cymbal. Got a few pictures and sound bytes.

New stuff

2008-06-30T02:46:00.003-04:00

so, I got a new camera, and along with it a flickr account. right now, i've got pictures of new mexico and our little adventure with the tree attacking the Drexlers' cars. soon there will be pictures of this guy tromping around the British Isles. but in the meantime:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattiebrown/

I got it, and it's awesome.

2008-06-17T23:12:00.001-04:00

The Political Post

2008-06-17T00:31:00.003-04:00

Here it comes. The obligatory political post.

My prediction: McCain's going to win. I may have to eat my words, but I think that people are going to vote the way they always have, and that the Democrats are just louder than they have been in the past. The same people are going to show up to vote.

But I could be wrong. Either way, I think it's interesting how the Democrats are constructing their rhetoric in case McCain wins by labeling his prospects for victory as nigh impossible. Right now everyone (in that camp) is talking about Obama just has to win, citing his popular appeal - interestingly, at one point the article cites an academic who "correctly predicted the last six presidential popular vote winners", a popular dead horse to beat among Democrats. The point is that when (if) McCain wins, the Democrats are going to cry foul (like they always do) and claim that there was no way it should have happened, likening the government and conservatives to everything from outdated, backwards backwoodsmen to the Gestapo.

You know, ultimately, I guess I'm a single issue voter, which is anathema to the average collegiate. The problem is that I read an article in the Bagpipe a while ago by Jared Mollenkof entitled "America's Elms", and the imagery has stuck with me. He used a story in which a German clergyman during World War II crusaded for the preservation of an endangered species of elm in a part of rural Germany, while Jews were being murdered in a concentration camp just outside town. My point is that the economy, the war, the environment, etc. are all important concerns, but as long as I live in a country that supports the systematic elimination of those without power or voice, I can't really think about anything else. They are all just elms in the face of a national crime. On top of that, I am a conservative, so while John McCain isn't exactly conservative, he is pro-life, and he is more conservative than Obama, which makes him at least a somewhat desirable candidate.

On a slightly different note, if I were to talk to someone about the abortion/pro-life debate, the tack I would take is a philosophical one. A common issue up for discussion in Philosophy classes is the defining of "person". No-one can claim to know for certain that the organism inside the womb is NOT a person. Scientific study cannot define something that is essentially spiritual. It's not a clincher, but I think that everyone has to come to the realization that any claims about the personhood of whatever is inside the womb are based on personal feelings and not facts. The truth is that the facts are hazy - you could make a pretty compelling argument that there is a negligible difference in the "personhood" of a baby just born and one in the third trimester, and you could (and I do) claim that the God of the Bible has something to say about babies in the womb, but the first argument is only going to go so far while the second will only appeal to certain people. However, it would be very possible, while discussing the issue with someone, to bring them to the point where they realized that all their assumptions about the unborn are based on social, economic and personal experience instead of what they know to be true about the being in question, which ultimately is the only thing that matters. Then they have to look at two options: if it isn't a person, then there is no problem with "terminating" it. If it is, then it is murder. If we don't know (which we can't, philosophically), then logically, it is the equivalent of (at the very least) voluntary manslaughter. On a national level.

That's why I'm voting for McCain, hoping that he can take us in the direction where it is indeed a crime to murder babies. Even if it's in small steps.

New Song

2008-06-14T10:57:00.008-04:00

A Better Thief

So I finally got to Rome
I saw the Coliseum
It was my my senior year
Valley of the Roman Forum
My class was sitting there
Apparently fatigued
But I was on my way to the Capitoline

A cityscape
Opened wide before me
I then saw the world
There in all its glory
And it was wild
Just the way Cat Stevens sang

Since then I've grown a little bit
Learned a few things
Maybe gonna write some hits
And play some weddings
Did some homework and I
Listened to the albums that I always should have known
Now it's time to play some music of my own

We hit those Dublin streets
Like a band of raiders
With hymnals in our hands
We set out from Findlaters
We sang our hearts out, and a few gave theirs away
I think I lost mine as I saw the moon over Bray

It was a dream
That I've since tried to capture
It's something Lewis talks about
It's something like the rapture
Further up
Further in

And so I've grown a little bit
Learned a few things
Maybe gonna write some hits
And play some weddings
Did some homework and I
Listened to the albums that I always should have known
Now it's time to play some music of my own

But there is nothing new under the sun
All I can hope to be is a better thief
Than the guy who came before me, and hope that you
Won't realize that I have stolen
All the tunes I thought were golden
Unless you're Brian Eno
You've only got a few notes
And chord combinations
Before you hit repetition
Solomon he knows what's up, he tells me the truth
So I'll drink from the cup of wisdom while I've got my youth
I must choose wisely

I guess I'll grow a little bit
And learn a few things
Maybe gonna write some hits
And play some weddings
Even though it seems that I
just keep discovering the shores I call my home
I guess I'll keep playing music of my own.

Listen here.

Also, for those who don't know, most of the songs for the upcoming album w/ Third Lobby are here:
Matt Brown's Secret Songs
And here:
More Secret Songs

Abbey Pres.

2008-06-14T02:20:00.002-04:00

So, I'm headed to Ireland at the beginning of July, on a fourth trip to work with Abbey Pres. in Dublin, specifically in music ministry. The first time I went, it was awesome, because it was Ireland, and the British Isles occupied a very special place in my imagination growing up. I wanted to see the rolling green hills and the ruins and the pubs, which are all good things that God enjoys, but I think the desires of my heart have been tinkered with to be more in line with his - now, more than anything, I get excited about going back and seeing the people God loves. It's great to feel a part of something big and epic, and every time I step out of the Dublin airport and onto that bus that goes to Parnell Square I feel like I've started a new chapter.

In this chapter, an amazing team of interns from the US are already there, working hard and loving on (sorry Dad, I know you hate that phrase) the people of Dublin. Already there are stories that are being told of wondrous things going on at Abbey. So: I would encourage you to read their blogs (I've posted a list) and see how these agents of the Kingdom are surreptitiously sabotaging darkness and breaking through with light. Pray for them! And pray for us, so that when our team touches down we can jump right in with those who have been laboring tirelessly before us. It's going to be great. As you may have heard me say before, this is going to be "sick". As in crazy awesome.

June 27th Show

2008-06-13T09:40:00.006-04:00

Ben did the flyer...many thanks to his awesomeness.
For those of you (probably all) who can't read the text at the bottom, it is my riveting autobiography:

Matt Brown has been writing songs since he was in 9th grade, when his biggest worries were about girls. He still worries about girls, and he still writes songs, but he worries about many other, seemingly bigger things, which he also writes about.

Actually, most of his songs are happy, snappy pop songs about things like life, love, history, philosophy and meteorological phenomena. Since 2004 his band Third Lobby has played concerts in the Chattanooga/Lookout Mountain area and has traveled to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Missouri, Texas, New Mexico and even Ireland. With Third Lobby he has released two albums and is working on a third. He really likes root beer, talking to people, and long walks in the mountains (not the beach).

He takes himself very seriously.

So...please come. It would be so freaking sweet if you were there. It's free.

Music and Church Planting

2008-06-11T14:44:00.003-04:00

So I'm working in Admissions now. Some might see that as selling my soul to the Man...if so, my soul was sold when I was freshman. The truth is, I love Covenant, and have no qualms about introducing it to other people. I know it's not perfect, but nothing is. I've had the opportunity over the past four years to take my music and use it to show people one aspect of Covenant, in a way that is arguably more human and relatable than the average college recruiter presentation - for me, it's a slice of what I and many others have been able to do at Covenant as a student: pulling musicians together and playing my songs for people. On the Third Lobby tours, we haven't had to give a specific Covenant spiel; we just had to play concerts, services and youth groups and just be ourselves, and people would talk to us. So now I'm doing some of the normal Admissions Representative stuff, but I'm beginning to plan music trips for the late summer and fall, and I've got some ideas to take it to the next level.

While at Covenant, I've been doing this music ministry leadership internship at North Shore along with Dave Hess and David Henry, two very talented musicians and leaders. We three also went on the December Ireland trip, which was a blast as well as an awesome growing experience. One of the great things about both the internship and the Ireland trip (hey that rhymes) is that they both helped bring about a team mentality, for us three in particular but also for everyone involved in both enterprises. The weeks leading up to the Ireland trip were great because the team got together on Friday mornings to pray and talk about our vision for the trip and its implementation, and as we got closer to leaving we prepared and did a concert at Lookout Mountain Pres. as well as leading music in Chapel and at North Shore. Doing these together was great; one, because most of the group were really talented musicians, and two, because we were all on the same page as to why we were doing it. It made me want to assemble a crack squad of believers and start a church somewhere (Sam Belz, you would be the preacher). While I recognize that this is probably a faulty perspective (no-one can just pull together everyone they want and start a perfect anything; effective ministry always involves real people thrown together who are forced to compromise), there was definitely something special about our team.

Because of the talent and connections we've got here at Covenant, I want to take what we've got that's special and share it with other churches, specifically, church plants, which are often short on resources and manpower. Dave Hess and I have been talking about how we can use our gifts, talents and passions for the good of the Church, and I think this is one way that we individually and Covenant as a whole can give back and minister to the Church. So this fall I'm hoping to put together a super-team of musicians that can do a church service on their own, plug into a larger, existing team for a service, lead music for youth group, or split up into smaller teams of 2-4 to cover more ground on a trip and help, say, three churches on a Sunday morning. The plan is to have a small group (5-10, and the personnel may change depending on schedules and area) of musicians that can do all that but that are talented and diverse enough to put together a 2-3 hour concert or coffee house (much like in Dublin) consisting of original music, classics and classical. So if you know any churches that would be interested in something like this, please let me know! The idea is that yes, we will still be representing Covenant, but we will be doing much more than just giving a talk and answering questions; we hope to provide a real tool for ministry that also continues to build the relationship between churches and Covenant.

Ah, what the heck, I might as well. (Thoughts on Weezer and Coldplay)

2008-06-09T22:39:00.008-04:00

I have so many things I should be working on right now, but... I have to give my two cents on the recent musical achievements of two iconic bands: Weezer and Coldplay. They are both wildly popular, but beyond that there are few similarities, except that they both released albums after a brief hiatus.

All of my friends grew up with Weezer, and I heard their name thrown around, along with snippets of songs like Say it Ain't So, The Sweater Song, Island in the Sun and of course, Buddy Holly. On one of my recent routine trips to McKay's used bookstore to get the albums that I should have always been listening to and loving, I finally picked up the Blue Albums. I subsequently lived a 30-minute or so adolescence on the drive back up to school. Then, after hearing the recent single, "Pork & Beans", I took an interest in the new album (my ears are still relatively new, mind you). Listened to a few tracks online (thank you, Hype Machine), and picked it up at Best Buy. Oh man.

The first track, "Troublemaker", had me rolling with laughter it was so good. The breaking point for me was the verse in which he sings, with a guitar riff going on underneath: "You wanted arts and crafts, how's this for arts and crafts - wuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh THAT'S RIGHT!" The second track, "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived", I couldn't believe, was subtitled "Variations on a Shaker Hymn". Starting off with a dinky piano riff version of "Simple Gifts", Rivers Cuomo goes into a mock-rap, making it sound a bit like Jay-Z's use of "It's a Hard Knock Life". (Listener beware: it's a bit sexual, but in a mocking sort of way, a la Chazz Michael Michaels from Blades of Glory). But after the rap and in-your-face response, it just takes off. This is the new Bohemian Rhapsody...can I say that? It at least echoes the greatness. Every half minute or so the song shifts gears to a new sound, resulting in a masterpiece of a song that covers just about every base musically. You really just need to listen to it.

Then it's "Pork & Beans", which is a great song. The two after that are great - "Heart Songs", a somewhat sappy (but it's alright) walk through all the songs that influenced Rivers Cuomo, and then "Everybody Get Dangerous", which is awesome, just because it has the lines: "Hey Dad, my friends got some new ninja swords; Is it cool if we slash up this place...And get dangerous?" And then the rest of the album is good, sort of. But that's where I finish raving and move on to Coldplay.

Viva La Vida (or Death and All His Friends) is much easier to talk about than the Red Album, because I really can just say that you need to buy it and listen to the whole thing over and over again. (You can listen to the whole thing right now, at http://www.fm97.com/cc-common/news/sections/special/coldplay.html) I heard Violet Hill when it came out a while ago (again, thank you Hype Machine), and I really liked it. I thought it was interesting Coldplay was going for rock and roll, but it was good. Then Viva La Vida came out, and burrowed into my brain and I've been singing it since. Way to go, Eno. Brian Eno's production has really helped Coldplay make an excellent album. Viva La Vida is such a good song, but so is every other song on the album. I would suggest listening to Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love, Cemeteries of London and Death and All His Friends if you've already heard the singles and want to hear some great tracks from the CD. In the words of the wife in Raising Arizona: "I love it sohohohoho much."

Awesome.

2008-06-08T19:14:00.003-04:00

Everything about this music video is awesome. The song itself, the direction and feel of the video, and the dancers. The moves are so tight.

Gnarls Barkley's "Going On":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENE1eWtW7e8

The God-People-Art/Artist Triangle

2008-06-08T00:44:00.004-04:00

I was talking with Wade Williams yesterday on our back from Birmingham, where we had met with Tom Saxon to talk about details concerning the Ireland trip in July. The general topic for the day was the intersection between faith and art (which touches on just about everything). One of the things I've tried to develop in the past years (at least partially) is a sense of the relationships between the artist, his art, his audience and his God, and I've come up with a sort of triangular model. (Which I can't give a diagram of here but I can at least give the idea.)

Basically the artist, as sub-creator, creates because he must. This sub-creator's creations glorify his Maker, whether or not that is his intention. (So this is the vertical relationship - communication with God, whether conscious or sub-conscious.) Then, because art does not exist within a vacuum, communities form around the artist and what ever is communicated from artist to audience (this being the horizontal relationship - communication with each other). It's basic; these are the only elements there really are to any kind of human expression, including sports, music, history, math, you name it. The key is for the artist to not lose sight of one or the other - if you love God, you'll love your neighbor; in the same way, if you are creating or performing or excelling for God, it is to be used to edify each other and tell one another truth. Don't coop yourself up with your art, either in physical reality or with regard to meaning through communication - once you lose sight of actually connecting with people and think that your art is significant in and of itself, your achievements are dead. Art for art's sake achieves nothing.

It was at this point that I made a connection I hadn't made before. In one of the meetings for our music leadership internship program (that's a mouthful) over the past year or so with North Shore, we discussed the idea of certain adherence to quality standards in a way that misses the mark. It's funny; we think that in music, whether it's a church service or a college music program, we can create something that's up to God's standards of quality, delivered on high either through classical composers or the producers of slick worship services in Nashville mega-churches. The reality is that at best, our efforts amount to a daughter's crayon drawing being proudly displayed on the fridge of her father. The point is not that you shouldn't try and do your absolute best; rather, it is that yes, God loves art, but he loves it because it is done by his children (using that term loosely here to mean the humans he created). He delights in art, and that art does not exist by itself on some mountain top, mysteriously and inexplicably existent. Art, by definition (wait, can I claim that?), is done by an artist. And it is these human artists that make angels wonder.

Caspian: An Addendum

2008-05-20T00:31:00.003-04:00

While people may take issues with discrepancies in the book and the movie, I believe that the filmmakers got it right on two very, very important points: Edmund and Lucy. In the books the Pevensies are faced with the question of how to live in light of their relationship to Aslan, and in no-one is this more clear than in Edmund and Lucy. Edmund is shown not only to be kingly, but he is shown as a changed person, quite conscious of his redemption by Aslan. His clarity of thought sets the stage for his role in Dawn Treader, and the scene in which he believes that Lucy truly saw Aslan is poignant. Lucy herself is more or less the main character in the first three books as she is the one who is always listening for Aslan, the one who simply wants to be with Him with her hands in his mane. Her child-like faith is no cliche. Also, the kids who played them did an excellent job as portraying children who had lived adult lives as royalty.

Lewis

2008-05-19T23:17:00.004-04:00

Saw Prince Caspian. Loved it. I'm sure that there are a number of you out there that didn't, but I don't care. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe wasn't bad, but definitely had its faults. Caspian tries to do a few things and does them well.

But this is not a review. The main reason I loved this movie is that it reminded me why and how I fell in love with Narnia in the first place. The Pevensie kids, at the beginning, are shown in London, still trying to adjust to not being kings and queens in another world, and at the same time they ache to be there. The viewer (at least I did) feels the tingling excitement as the siblings catch glimpses of the Narnian coast on the other side of the subway. As the London underground was torn away and replaced by bright skies and blue seas, joy could be seen on the faces of the Pevensies. They were back in Narnia.

The beauty of that particular moment (along with the early scenes of Caspian fleeing under a full moon through a much wider Narnia than we saw in the first movie, the scenes with the children rediscovering their kingdom, and the desire of them all, including Lucy, to see and hear Aslan again) lies in a truth that spans all of Lewis' writings, namely the Chronicles of Narnia and The Great Divorce. All of Lewis' fictional works are, as my high school teacher Mr. Schwartz might say, 'fraught with wonders'; in particular, they are full of incredible illustrations of theological and biblical truth. They are not merely object lessons, however. Rather, the truths illustrated are so powerful because of their context within story. But this particular truth runs through all of his work, as a kind of unifying theme. And as with anything worthwhile, it's a complex truth that is made up of a number of facets. The surface emotion is that desire to get back, to return to something that was beautiful, that gripped your heart. It reminded me of a passage in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in which Lucy reads a passage from a magician's book. It contains a story that lifts her spirits, but by the time she finishes it, she can't remember much, other than that it was "about a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill." Then later she asks Aslan:

"Shall I ever be able to, read that story again; the one I couldn't remember? Will you tell it to me, Aslan? Oh do, do, do."

To which he replies:

"Indeed, yes, I will tell it to you for years and years."

In a way, it is like the feeling I get whenever I open one of the Chronicles again after not having read it for years. It's similar to the feeling I get when I return to Dublin and step into Abbey Pres' sanctuary once again. It's the feeling I had when we were traipsing through the glens and scaling peaks near Glencoe in Scotland and I just wanted to be the heather and the rock and the wind. And it's in this that I think the deeper part of the truth is seen. Lucy just wants to hear the story again; Aslan, like Christ, is telling the story and Lucy is part of it. Her desire to return to the freshness of the story is just part of what is pulling Lucy's heart towards something outside her world. As Lewis writes in Mere Christianity: "If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world." For Lewis, Heaven is not about people sitting on clouds with harps. It is so much grander than that. It is the fulfillment of everything, but not in an "ending" sort of way; it is the beginning. Nowhere are there better descriptions of it than in and Dawn Treader, The Last Battle, and The Great Divorce. Heaven is a rich place, and it is for that which we groan. There the colors are more pronounced, the mountains are higher, the sky is bluer, the smells are richer. But the beauty lies not in what is there, but who is there. It is Aslan's country.

"The Rules of the Game"

2008-05-12T13:32:00.004-04:00

Never really saw myself enjoying a French black-and-white film from the late 1930s... and yet here I am. Today in Reading Film we watched Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game, a somehow simultaneously scathing and charming look at upper class society in France pre-WWII. Everyone has their spouse as well as multiple lovers; that much is accepted. But Renoir's story masterfully unravels each person's carefully crafted existence by the end, and you're left with little but pity for their aching hearts. Jean Renoir is actually the son of the Impressionist painter Auguste Renoir, and in addition to directing the film brilliantly plays a major part as Octave, a sort of outside observer among the elite who has gotten in a little too deep.

I am also listening to "Viva la Vida" on repeat. I'm going to be sick of it soon, but not yet.

New batch of songs

2008-05-10T19:06:00.002-04:00

New mix of Sun Dog, fuller and better and closer to what I want to do with it. New version of May vs. June, and if you think you've heard it before, you haven't. New mix of Concerning You & Me, with mandolin and violin. You can listen here.

Many thanks to Jon for his amazing work on these.

Sun Dog 2.0: Now with cello, mandolin and Sonic the Hedgehog

2008-05-10T02:06:00.002-04:00

See what I mean by listening here.

Still in the rough stages, so I appreciate your feedback.

Savory Snacks, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Claudette Colbert

2008-05-09T11:45:00.004-04:00

3 things today: food, music, film.

1. I'm a sucker for savory snacks. (In Darjeeling Limited there is even a packet of "Savory Snacks" they hand out on the train...bet they're good.) I really like crackers with lots of flavor, chex mix, Japanese rice crackers, etc. Good examples: Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thins, Barbecue Baked Lays (I just like them more than the regular kind), Cheddar Jack Cheez-its, and most recently, the Garlic Mozarella Ritz snack-thingies (they're different than the normal crackers). Just thought I'd share.

2. John Eldredge writes in Wild at Heart about how every man has a wound his father gave him, and discovering that and dealing with it helps him grow up. I found mine, Dad. We never listened all the way through a Beatles album. Or any album. I grew up only knowing the hits that they played on classic rock stations. No White Album, no Ziggy Stardust, no Bob Dylan... now look at the man I've become. Ok, so if that's the only chink in the armor, I've had it pretty good. (Needless to say, I don't really agree with this part of Eldredge's book.)

Seriously, though, over the past two years I've learned to listen through an album; really getting to know it, repeatedly listening to the whole thing even if there are parts I don't like, giving it and the artist/band a chance. (As a side effect I believe my attention span has increased as well. Wait, is that something shiny? I'm going to go draw a picture.) So I'm discovering things that people have known for years, but it's exciting nonetheless. It's similar to the feeling Chesterton describes as having when he embarked on his voyage to discover something new and as a result found orthodoxy. Anyway, been listening to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and these are some of the tracks I like and why:
1 - I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
The title wins me with its abrasive honesty. Good melody too.
5 - Jesus, Etc.
Still not sure what this song is about, but it's got such a beautiful melody, and the progression of the strings section throughout the song is brilliant - it never does the same thing twice. Also it reminds me of Tom Paulus.
7 - Heavy Metal Drummer
I had heard this one and Jesus, Etc. before and liked them both. Max pointed out the chord progression at the beginning (it's very cool and recurs throughout the song), and the alt-country instrumentation completes the feeling of nostalgia when Tweedy sings "I miss the innocence I've known..." Good track for the beginning of summer.
8 - I'm the Man Who Loves You
Again with the honesty. The abrasiveness is more in the electric guitar's intentionally dissonant line being played over acoustic seven chords (especially at the end), and it lets up just in time for a melody that's sassy just like the words. The song builds, adding a horns section that really fills it out, and the titular line in the chorus is one that you can't help singing with a smile on your face, especially if you happen to be in love. (Not that I would know.)
10. Poor Places
Good pacing. It starts out low-key with a repeated but not monotonous melody and builds up before releasing into an acoustic, sweetly-sung refrain. Then it descends into a kind of organized chaos, which is growing on me.

In YHF, Jeff Tweedy keeps things from getting too...natural, in that he includes ambient sounds and non-traditional percussion as well as keeping things interesting chordally. It's worth your time, if you happen to be like me and grew up without Wilco. Or even if you did.

3. It Happened One Night
Just watched it for Reading Film with Dr. Foreman. We also watched a clip, during the discussion time, from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a movie I love. If Jean Arthur or Claudette Colbert happen to be reading this blog (highly unlikely), then in the words of Jeff Tweedy, "I'm the man who loves you." It's that simple. Man, Frank Capra can manipulate you like nobody's business. But it's much more pleasant than the emotional manipulation of Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (yesterday's film). I'd rather be falling in love than sympathizing with the Communist revolution any day.

Summer Musings, pt. 2

2008-05-09T00:54:00.004-04:00

Haven't written on here since last summer. Not exactly good with the whole "consistently doing anything" thing. Maybe now that a large majority of acquaintances from the past four years are graduating and moving out I will be motivated to keep some kind of a regular update on life. Not that it's really that riveting. Maybe the key is: shorter posts?

Anyway, summer hasn't really officially started for me yet, as I still owe some work from this past semester (so what am I doing typing this?) and as far as the calendar is concerned, it's still spring. Taking a May term course - Reading Film with Dr. Foreman. We watched Battleship Potemkin today, and tomorrow it'll be It Happened One Night. Excited.

Cranking out the songs, one after another, and laying them down just as fast with Jon Moon down in St. Elmo. Not going to rush this album; did that for both of the last two, and it's just better to take your time and do it well. There are a number of new sounds on the album, considering that I have taken the two years since we did Epic Everyday to try and catch up on everything I should have always been listening to. When this album gets out (which it will), you will hear some Beatles, some Brian Wilson, maybe some Bruce Springsteen, maybe some Wilco, some Rufus Wainwright, some Beirut, maybe a dash of Of Montreal and a sprinkle of Arcade Fire, a little bit of The Band, definitely some of my alter-ego Glen Hansard, some Zombies and some Kinks, Sting, Stones, most recently Vampire Weekend, and of course, Tom Paulus.

The point is that I'm listening, something which I hadn't really done for a while. Having a car (and a license) with a CD player has made me appreciate "the album". You can just stick it in and listen while you drive. Something I intend to do a lot of this summer. Some recent purchases: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco, the Blue Album by Weezer. Blowing my mind.

"That Was Mighty."

2007-07-30T06:16:00.000-04:00

That's what one man from Kilkenny Pres. said to me regarding our concert there the other evening - I've never heard someone put it quite like that, and I think I'm going to start using it. We've got one more day in Kilkenny, and Ben and Ryan DeWaters and I are going to walk around for a bit before we head back for our last night in Dublin. Kilkenny has been excellent; the weather has been for the most part favorable, especially for the days when we would be outside for the majority. We watched a hurling match with a family (it was great, Kilkenny won), and I think a highlight for many of us was reconnecting with families we met last year. The Bennett boys, who gave me a hurley and two hurling balls last year, are still doing well, Jack's team won a match while we were here and Ollie was just fun to be with. Really sharp kids, and the really cool parents as well. More reflections to come (I'm kind of working backwards in time, so if anyone is reading this, you'll have to bear with me.) 'Till the next post (I still have to talk about the rest of Dublin, three day foray into the Scottish highlands, and a little more about Kilkenny), cheers!

Dublin, Day 1

2007-07-17T14:18:00.000-04:00

Made it to Dublin with relatively few difficulties (compared to last year). Our hostel is very comfortable, and Robert, the guy who runs it, is very cordial and friendly to us as his guests. Mixed feelings overall, this time around. On one hand, there's not much mystery to Dublin anymore, and we kind of had to hit the ground running, meeting and practicing music even though our internal clocks are still on Eastern time. On the other hand, the familiarity of it allows some of us to move through everything a little bit easier, and also, after getting everyone together and playing through a few songs, I am very confident in the turnout of this week's goings on. Shenandoah in particular sounded very nice with cello, violin, whistle and accordion (along with other instruments). Lots of new faces, but we're getting to know each other quickly, and the familiar faces (both from the trip last year and those from Dublin) really help. Tomorrow we're on the streets playing and then a coffee house in the evening. Pray that goes well!

Summer Musings, pt. 1

2007-07-13T00:24:00.000-04:00

I am currently listening to songs by Rufus Wainwright, who I have always enjoyed when I've encountered his music, but never had the motivation to sit down and listen to his stuff. This is actually the result of watching the movie Meet the Robinsons, which surprisingly had a couple Rufus songs in the soundtrack (it's a Disney CG-animated movie, and Wainwright just seems in a completely different class - I know his "Hallelujah" was in Shrek, but Shrek went for the non-conformist edgy image). It's interesting to read about him; his music is classified as Baroque Pop or Popera by Wikipedia, due in part to his avowed influence by Baroque opera (he apparently loves Verdi, and is currently working on an opera of his own) and also to the epic quality of his songs both in the melodies and the arrangement. Right up my alley.

For the 4th of July I tagged along with Noah and Miriam as they went to the Red House (Charissa Bruhn and Natalie Lodico live there), where there was a bring-your-own-food grilling party, to which we three brought stuff for hamburgers. It was great to see so many Covenant faces from years past, including gems like Hope Davis and others from my freshman year, but things were kind of winding down during the interim period between dinner and fireworks, so there were a number of folks just taking it easy and sitting around the house and on the porch. Bill Robinsons was playing his guitar, and so I went and grabbed mine (even though the whole "let's jam" thing rarely works out with two guys with guitars) and we started just playing through classic rock songs and such. We kept playing through the evening all the way till everyone else was setting off fireworks and stuff (Bill and I provided the soundtrack). It was great, I had a really good time. Bill told me during one break that he had been listening to David Bowie recently and that one of his favorite songs was "Starman", and asked me if I knew it. The name sounded familiar, and as he played through it, it gradually became more familiar to me, especially during the riff after the chorus, which I realized was one of the main motifs for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It's incredibly catchy, and made me realize that I needed to listen to some Bowie, so when I got back that evening I bought Suffragette City, Starman, and Queen Bitch off iTunes. Queen Bitch's title might cause some to hesitate; don't. It's got such a great groove, and it's a fine song.

Lots of summer reading that's been done and lots that still needs doing - Monday onward will provide plenty of opportunities with the trip to Ireland and then California. So, coming soon will be a review of Michael Oren's Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Modern Middle East, an exposition on my current progress in Oren's other book, Power, Faith and Fantasy: America and the Middle East 1776-Present, as well as everything I've experienced in the first two thirds of Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov. I'll also keep you posted on our escapades in Ireland (and Scotland!).

2nd or 3rd Try

2007-07-12T18:50:00.000-04:00

This is yet another attempt at a blog. Maybe this one will be successful - maybe I just need to tell people that I have one. That may have been the problem last time.