Conversations
No Rain
The rain from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Florence just keeps coming. I've always enjoyed rain, even when there's too much of it. I think much of the reason is that rain always seems to lead to lowered lights, tea kettles whistling, and a sense that shelter is truly shelter from the elements. It's harder to have that feeling when it's sunny out.
Winter Blues...in a Nutshell
Well, the post holiday malaise has set in. Cold weather and the early darkness sits kind of heavy on the soul after all of the amplitude of Christmas and the self-reflection that accompanies “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight on January 1—to that one, thank God for college football!
Road Full of Promise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohqFsuiDCB4
"Decide what to be and go be it."
Away for Too Long
You can't go home again, right? In fact, you can't get the past back. Of course, we don't get to live in the future, either. What we get is the present. And while so many times we are trying to plan our futures or dwelling on the past, the present is the only thing that's real. It's all too easy to check out of the present.
Throw It All Away
Toad the Wet Sprocket are purveyors of fine pop-rock music. A couple of weeks ago, their song "Throw It All Away" piped through my car's audio system with all of the soothing gusto of 90s and 00s pop. The song is like a manifesto against materialism and for not being manipulated by the marketers, bad preachers, and politicos: figure out what you really need to be happy and throw the crap away.
Vanity
Okay this is to be a way bit self-indulgent. I have to work out my crap in front of God and everybody. The other night at the Knight Theater in Charlotte (a joint that was a bit too classy for my rock tastes) I went to see one of my favorite singers and song writers, Chris Cornell.
Trenches
Why is it that we spend so much of our lifetimes doing things and staying caught up in things that we have no passion for? Sometimes we get so lulled by the day to day of our lives that we stop asking what we want out of our lives.
Carolina Rebellion 1: Congregational Singing Revisited
Carolina Rebellion, for all the disappointment of three bands not performing, was a pretty cool place to be this weekend. The wind blew hard and the rain eventually came down hard, but for those who stuck it out it was pure rock bliss.
The Writing on the Walls
Ok, I've resisted the urge to say political things--as if there is any kind of statement that isn't political. What I noticed while I was sick and curled up like a dog last week was that we have lots of entertainment to numb our brains with, lots of it.
Who Knew?
I took my sister-in-law to see Pink in Atlanta last week. I've got to admit to having always liked and admired Pink because she writes really intense lyrics, isn't afraid of herself, doesn't seem to be afraid of much of anything, and she can perform the hell out of her own and others' songs.
Hats Off to the Bull
One of my favorite bands is Chevelle, mostly because their sound is so heavy. All three instruments (bass, drums, guitar) are like lead instruments. Their newest album, "Hats Off to the Bull," is pretty awesome from beginning to end, as I hear it, because the music is strong and the lyrics still vulnerable. It's the intensity that gets me.
Freedom
I went to see "Django Unchained" on Christmas night and left speechless (which is a big deal). Folks can debate the use of a certain word that has historical as well as racist context, and folks can debate all kinds of political implications of the movie, but by the end of the movie I was sort of wiped out; I had experienced something outside of myself that got into me somewhere inside.
Ring Them Bells
On December 21 at 9:30am, statehouses and churches rang their bells in grief over the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. This song by Bob Dylan may be the most perfect I could imagine as a follow-up, an invocation of grace, a benediction. We are so utterly incapable of grasping the grief of the families or of offering much in the way of solace--there is no consolation.
Do You Believe in What You See?
At some point we look back on what we've spent our time doing, how we've occupied those precious few days of life. Of course, we also look forward to how we might want to spend those days ahead of us, too. What's odd to me is how easily we make choices just hoping that something magical will happen to us without us making the even harder choices to act.
Maybe....
When I first moved to Charlotte a couple of years ago, this song debuted on 106.5. It's a good song, though the video frustrates me a bit. So often we end up with that crazy wanderlust--the desire to go somewhere, sometimes just anywhere. It's not a bad impulse, unless you're prone to impulsiveness of the dysfunctinal sort.
Congregational Singing
I saw Pearl Jam at Music Midtown in Atlanta on Saturday. Damn! Those guys, in their 40s, are still amazing. The energy of the band fed the energy of the "unwashed congregation" (as Bono calls it), which then fed the energy of the band, which ...
Breath
I miss Breaking Benjamin. This is one of the best songs--ever. It''s loud. It's gutsy. it's real. It has depth. Musically, I love the crescendos, the pauses, and the band totally together. When you mix all of that in with human heartbreak, then it's perfect. And it's not just me but a whole crowd of people--check out the video how the crowd sings along. This is good stuff.
Train & The Truth
So, by a stroke of dumb luck (no, I don’t believe it was in God’s plan), a friend just happened to have tickets to the Train concert the other night. So, even though I somehow missed most of their music, I went to the concert because I love live music, especially out at the NC Music Factory-- I love the energy of live music, the sense of anticipation, and how excited the crowd gets when the ba
All Along the Watchtower
All Along the Watchtower
words and music by Bob Dylan
“There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief
“There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth”
People Get Ready
The first time I heard the song, I was house sitting for my next door neighbors, who had the full cable t.v. package that included MTV (back when they were actually Music TV). I was in the throes of algebra homework, with MTV on in front of me, when I heard a commercial end. So, I looked up to see what video would come next.