Saturday, January 31, 2009

Parade Of Chaos - Zao

Zao is a metal band that has been very innovative and influential over the years. Some of the band members are Christians, but they
do not like to be labeled as a Christian band, understandably. It never made sense to me that there seems to be a need to make that distinction. If this were a logical thing to do we would also see bands calling themselves Jewish bands, Muslim bands, Atheist bands, and any other religion or social identifier you can think of. But that doesn't happen because when you use a label like that it puts limitations on both the band and its listeners. It sounds as if the band can only write Christian music, and you will only like it if you are a Christian. Neither are true. These bands with members who profess to be Christians write and perform their songs in exactly the same way as all the other bands. It's just as ridiculous as labeling the person who cuts your hair a Christian barber.
Zao tends to write songs with dark subjects like most metal bands. They write about sorrow death, tragedy, and the end times. This song reminds me of some of the things said by Old Testament prophets at various times when Israel strayed from God and conformed to the culture around them. I think it can apply to the Church today in the sense that  no one is taking a stand or showing a strong presence on the world stage in defense of God's will. "True leaders are gone". It is possible that the United States is heading down the same road Israel traveled in those days. That is a pretty drastic thing to say, I realize, but scary none the less. You can listen to Parade Of Chaos on youtube, but the person that uploaded it combined it with The Buzzing which is also a good song,  but if you want to skip to Parade Of Chaos it starts 3:20 into the clip.
We march like fools in a parade of chaos.
We march like fools in a parade of chaos.
Led by our enemies.
While we sing their praises.
Led by our enemies.
While we kiss their hands.
The morning rained fire. 
Let the heavens retire.
Over the eyes of the blind.
And the vioces of spoiled children.
True leaders are gone.
We turned our back too many times.
And bit the hand of the provider.
Chaos kills us.
Chaos. 

Hot Rod Horse - Rose Blossom Punch


Aaron Sprinkle has lent his talent to a lot of my favorite bands either as a musician or a producer, not to mention that he was (or is) in 3 of them. Some of the bands he has worked with in some capacity are Blenderhead, Damien Jurado, Deftones, Eisley, Emery, MxPx, Pedro The Lion, Project 86, Squad Five-O, Starflyer 59, Stavesacre, and Zao. Those are just my favorites on a long list. The 3 that he was a member of are Poor Old Lu (reference to The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe), Rose Blossom Punch, and Fair (who as far as I know are still active). He also recorded 3 solo albums.

This is a love song despite the misleading title. I don't really have much in particular to say about the song, I just wanted to put one of his up here. I will say that in listening to it today I rediscovered the steel guitar in the background. It sounds great and it is a pleasant surprise from a band with absolutely no country sound at all. I guess it doesn't make much sense to talk about the way it sounds then only post the lyrics when I didn't even discuss them, so if you want, you can listen here. It's only a 30 second sample, but it's all I could find.



Hot Rod Horse - written by Aaron Sprinkle from Rose Blossom Punch's album Ephemere.

"absence from those we love is self from self - a deadly banishment."
-William Shakespeare

Drivin' through Tennessee
Not a house in sight
I think about all the times
We've held each other tight

I hear your voice on the phone
Before i go to bed
I lay awake all night long
With your face inside my head

I'm too far away to see you
And all I want is to be with you
And look into your eyes
And I feel so alone without you

I've got a thought 
It keeps me sane
You've got to know it's true
No matter which 
Way I drive
I'll end up home with you

I'm too far away to see you
And all I want is to be with you
And look into your eyes
And I feel so alone without you

Say a prayer for me
And when you do 
You know I'll say one too
I'll be thinking of 
That special girl I love

I'm too far away to see you
And all I want is to be with you
And look into your eyes
And I feel so alone
I feel so alone
I feel so alone
Without you

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Doubting Thomas - Nickel Creek














I was listening to the Allen Hunt Show on the radio tonight on the way home from the grocery store. The topic that listeners were to call in about was your worst mistake, or the one you regretted the most. He said many times that there is nothing so bad that you can never get over it. That got me thinking of God's love for us and how it is unconditional. I think a lot, living alone, because if I wasn't thinking about something I guess I would have to be asleep or in some kind of zombie state or something. Anyway, those thoughts reminded me of this song. It expresses doubt in the faith you have. It is a song that can be sung as a prayer. You have probably caught on by now to my fondness of these songs.
I can listen this song section by section and relate to each one. The first speaks of doubts of life after death, which I have felt. Next, doubts that God is concerned about our well being (does He really know or care what is going on in my life?). This part also reminds me of this quote from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe - ""Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly."Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the Great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion."... "Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy. "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you?  Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he is good. He is the King I tell you."" - this is a great illustration of Jesus.  The next section of the song is brilliant. Very well written and amazingly revealing and personal about the writer even though I think most followers of Christ have experienced the same thing. We ask for opportunities to share the Gospel (a slap in the face meaning that you are likely to be rejected by the ones you share with, and show the blind and tell the deaf I take to mean sharing when it is easy for us). The master of death line threw me off at first. That is not one you hear in reference to God very often. Then I looked at it as Jesus being the master of his own death, and it made sense. I love songs that are so well written that you want to dissect them to determine their meaning, or create your own meaning. Jeff Tweedy from Wilco wrote this line in his song What Light - "And if the whole world is singing your songs and all of your paintings have been hung just remember what was yours is everyone's from now on". The next section is powerful as well. It has applied to me both as a believer and a teacher. I had a good friend in the Army when I was in Iraq who was raised in a Christian home but was at the time an Atheist. We had nothing but time to talk there, and our conversations were often of religion (or philosophy I guess is more accurate). He had tremendous knowledge of the Bible and the Christian faith. Neither of us pushed our views on the other, in fact he saw that I was struggling and offered encouragement and advice that somehow worked even though he is an Atheist. Amazing how God works through those around you, huh? Those discussions were exactly I needed at the time to strengthen my faith that had been weak for a while. The last couple of years I can relate as a teacher. Worrying if I can teach effectively when I struggle as well, not so much with my faith, but with my personal relationship with God. Which leads to the prayer part of the song - "Please give me time to decipher the signs, please forgive me for time that I've wasted"

Doubting Thomas - written by Chris Thile from the album Why Should The Fire Die? (2005)
What will be left when I've drawn my last breath,
Besides the folks I've met and the folks who know me,
Will I discover a soul saving love,
Or just the dirt above and below me,

I'm a doubting thomas,
I took a promise,
But I do not feel safe,
Oh me of little faith,

Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face,
Then I beg to be spared 'cause I'm a coward,
If there's a master of death I'll bet he's holding his breath,
As I show the blind and tell the deaf about his power,
I'm a doubting thomas,
I can't keep my promises,
'Cause i don't know what's safe,
oh me of little faith

Can I be used to help others find truth,
When I'm scared I'll find proof that its a lie,
Can I be lead down a trail dropping bread crumbs,
That prove I'm not ready to die,

Please give me time to decipher the signs,
Please forgive me for time that I've wasted,

I'm a doubting thomas,
I'll take your promise,
Though I know nothin's safe,
Oh me of little faith

Saturday, January 24, 2009

If Heaven Ain't A Lot Like Dixie - Hank Williams Jr

I thought about this song when we were teaching a series in Bible study on Heaven. Now, I wouldn't recommend  demanding to be sent to hell or New York City rather than a heaven that is not like Dixie, and I am sure that Bocephus wouldn't either. It's just a fun concept for a song. He has written a lot of entertaining songs that have made him very popular, but most of them are not deeply philosophical in nature, so don't expect much of that kind of commentary here today. He has written a song about inventing a machine that can fax a beer, one about how he was born to boogie, who could forget Buck Naked, defending his right to shed his clothes when he gets home from work. Then there's All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight which he modified into the extremely popular Monday Night Football theme. (I bet he never sings Buck Naked and Rowdy Friends back to back) I am just picking on the guy - I like all those songs. I felt a little sorry for him when he followed up with All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down. Seriously though, not all his songs are silly. I think he is a great songwriter. By the way, he has been a big supporter of the Republican Party for years, and I read that he announced that he will be running for U.S. Senate from Tennessee in 2012. I am looking forward to following that race when the times comes.
I think heaven will be a lot like Dixie, and the rest of God's creation. I think heaven will include the earth as God created it as well as the good things that we have done to modify it. I believe all the beauty of nature described in this song will be there, and the members of the Opry who are there will be able to use their talents to worship God. I have to say that I share Bocephus' sentiments about the South. I absolutely love it and I am proud to have grown up here. So, Hank, I think we are in luck. Although, there will probably be some, if only a few, hints of New York City as well.

If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie
I don't wanna go
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie
I'd just as soon stay home 

I was one of the chosen few
To be born in Alabam
I'm just alike my daddy's son
I'm proud of who I am
I went through a lot of good women
And shook old Jim Beam's hand
If I never see the pearly gates
I've walked through the promised land 

If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie
I don't wanna go
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie
I'd just as soon stay home
If they don't have a Grand Ole Opry
Like they do in Tennessee
Just send me to hell or New York City
It would be about the same to me 

I've got wild honey trees and crazy little weeds
Growin around my shack
These dusty roads ain't streets of gold
But I'm a happy right where I'm at
All these pretty little southern belles 
Are a country boy's dream
They ain't got wings or halos
But they sure look good to me 

If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie
I don't wanna go
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie
I'd just as soon stay home
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie
I don't wanna go
If heaven ain't a lot like Dixie
I'd just as soon stay home
If they don't have a Grand Ole Opry
Like they do in Tennessee
Just send me to hell or New York City
It would be about the same to me 

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

South Texas Girl - Lyle Lovett & His Large Band



















I have never been a big Lyle Lovett fan, I like some of his songs and some of them I don't. This one would actually make my list of top however many songs you want to put a number to.

CMT used to have a music video show called Wide Open Country where they played videos of artists who are on the border of country music but not what you hear on top 40 country radio. Some were classics like Johnny, Willie, Waylon, and George Jones. Some were people who have been on the scene for years but never got mainstream attention like Billy Joe Shaver, Kelly Willis, Steve Earle, and The Mavericks. Others were newer artists sort of on the edge of country music like Nickel Creek, Old Crow Medicine Show, Norah Jones, and Ryan Adams(not Bryan Adams of Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves fame, thank God. Summer Of '69 was the only halfway decent song he had and that wouldn't work here). Then there were some who you might not expect to see on CMT like Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty, Sting, and Bob Seger. They even played a song by Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly from the movie A Prairie Home Companion. So what I am getting at here, finally, is that I first heard this song (South Texas Girl, if you have forgotten where I am going with this) on Wide Open Country. The video is a collection of home movies. I am a sucker for the nostalgic songs of childhood or better days. Alison Krauss made a similar video for Simple Love that I am sure will eventually end up here as well. 

Every time I listen to South Texas Girl I think of my own childhood and it brings back my own memories even though there is very little in the song to remind me of personal experiences. The lyrics are good, but to get the full effect of the song you have to hear it, or even better, watch the video. If you search for Lyle Lovett South Texas Girl on youtube it will be the first video on the list.

South Texas Girl - written by Lyle Lovett from the album It's Not Big It's Large

*When he sings Refugio he pronounces it Refurio and the first time he sings Palacios it is pronounced pul-oss-ee-ose and the second time it's pul-ash-us. You will see why this note is important when you read that verse. It would be confusing if you can't hear how he is singing it. (if you are familiar with the sketch on funnyordie.com don't confuse these words for regalia and palatial. It's funny how two words in the same verse of the same song are so similar to the words that sketch is based on. This part of the note is not necessary, it's just funny)


Three in the front seat they sat on each side
That green-and-white '58 Fairlane it would glide
Down farm roads past open fields seeming like no big deal
As it was happening I never felt a thing

But now looking back it seems like it was everything
Singing with mom just so we could hear ourselves sing
Stealing a drink from the cold can in daddy's lap
Protected by only a small thin brown paper sack

And the wind blew the echoes of long-faded voices
And they'd sing me a song that the old cowboys sang
And I didn't know what the words meant or anything
I was just singing because I was supposed to

Sing Mother Maria watch over us please
As we wonder around in this dangerous world
Thank Mother Maria there's nothing so sweet
As the undying love of a South Texas girl

And with the windows wide open it felt hot to us anyway
Three bound together on a day just like any day
They told me and taught me and showed me and bought me
Whatever I wanted from the corner U-tote-M

They say the name Corpus Christi means the body of Jesus
Pronounce it Refugio city folks they don't know 
It looks like Palacios but sounds like Palacios
Just listen the next time you're watchin' Sid Lasher

And the wind blew the echoes of long-faded voices
And they would sing me a song that the old cowboys sang
And I didn't know what the words meant or anything
I was just singing

Saint Mother Maria watch over us please
As we wonder around in this dangerous world
Thank Mother Maria there's nothing so sweet
As the undying love of a South Texas girl

And I didn't know what the words meant or anything
I was just singing

And these days with car seats and open container laws
Social correctness leaves no room for Santa Claus
Sitting right next to me she looks like that used to be
Song that they sang for me

And with the windows wide open it feels hot to us anyway
Two bound together on a day just like any day
The wind blows the echoes of long-faded voices
And they sing us a song that the old cowboys sang
And now that I know what the words mean and everything
I am still singing

Saint Mother Maria watch over us please
As we wonder around in this dangerous world
Thank Mother Maria there's nothing so sweet
As the undying love of a South Texas girl

Saint Mother Maria watch over us please
As we stumble around in this dangerous world
Thank Mother Maria there's nothing so sweet
As the undying love of a South Texas girl
As the undying love of a South Texas girl

Friday, January 2, 2009

How Great Thou Art - Stuart Hine

This is the song that the title of this blog comes from. I actually took the name from a book by Robert J. Morgan called Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories. 

I always liked this song. We used to close out every service with it in the church I grew up in. I have sang it hundreds of times but it never got old.

How Great Thou Art started as a poem called O Store Gud (O Mighty God), by Carl Boberg, a Swedish minister,  written in 1885. The poem was published and some time later was heard sung with an old Swedish melody. Stuart Hine, who was an English missionary in Russia, translated it to English, added verses to it, and modified the melody to become what we know today. The song was made popular in North America by George Beverly Shea at the 1955 Billy Graham Crusade in Toronto.