August 17, 2008

Viva La Vida: How I Would Have Done It

I just saw the bombastic video for "Vida La Vida" by Coldplay and must say I am a bit disappointed, because I like the song a great deal and thought it deserved better. In fact, for the past month or so I have been constructing my own video for the song in my head (something I do quite often for a song I really love) and think, well, my version would have been miles better, even if it might have cost a touch more.

Music videos are tricky things. We live in a subtle age, in which art which is subtle seems to be the most valued. How this parses out in music videos is that it is generally uncool to simply represent the exact content of the words, especially in real time with the action immediately mirroring the last sung words (something the Chris Martin does in the new video quite often). Nevertheless, sometimes I think direct representations of some of the words in a song can be quite effective, particularly if these are nested in a story the video is telling.

First, for reference, here are the lyrics to "Viva La Vida:"

___________________

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
Once you go there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People could not believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries Wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can not explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

(Ooooh Oooh Oooh)

Hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
______________

First, in a nod to the end of the video for "Yellow" (a simply amazing video made more or less accidently) I would begin by having a blazing sun rising out of the sea, and then the camera would pan to the left during the opening music. The scene would be a hot Mediterranean morning with a hazy blue sea, and a dusty, sandy shoreline in the foreground. The shot would pan to a castle on the very edge of a cliff top, surrounded by a dusty, crowded city, but this would be seen from the distance. The camera would circle down to a hovel and shoot Martin in the hovel from the back, in silhouette against the sea, on a balcony, beginning to sing.

I am not sure of the sequence of these flashbacks but I would like these ones included.

Martin in a home with a regal interior with a Mediterranean (Greek, Turkish, or something like) woman. Some initial "in-loveness" scenes might be included, but there would need to be one scene of her trying to stop him from leaving as he dresses and arms himself, obviously on his way to start a revolution.

Somewhere we need a scene of the woman leaving, intercut with Martin becoming very severe and hard.

Then miscellaneous revolutionary, storming the castle scenes with Martin leading soldiers could be scene. Some of the other band mates can be his military cohorts. This might be followed by snippets of his reign of iron.

To depict his reign unraveling, a scene of him being chased through the castle by the band mates as former fellow soldiers, now revolutionaries would end with him being forced to and then off a precipice...you guessed it, into the sea. This could all happen during the Oooh, oooh, ooooh's perhaps.

The flashback scenes would all be intercut with Martin as a humble cobbler, or whatever he is, wandering around the little hamlet where he lives, generally with obvious relief and joy on his face. Chris Marin can do some of his goofy dancing and gesturing here, but in a tasteful way. These sequences might also have a more serious scene where Martin walks sadly by a dusty church. At this point, perhaps the camera could zoom in on the face of a silent priest with piercing eyes who watches him as he walks by.

The video would end with the woman passing through the village (perhaps in a small entourage) and secretly recognizing him and staring at him and beginning to smile and him returning her gaze with serious/wistful/happy face. Then it would be back to the smile of the woman. You can't go wrong ending a video with the smile of a beautiful woman. Perhaps she could be in front of the sea with the sun setting behind her (the castle and and city and village could all be on a narrow peninsula so it would make sense that the sun could rise and set in the same place) and we could pan out to the sun in a similar fashion to the way we began.

Well, that is what has been taking up some of my thought processes during my drives this month. The picture below taken in Chicago does not illustrate my video, but also reminded me of this song.

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May 30, 2008

Hobbit Forming

By the sound of this transcript of an Internet Q & A session with Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, it looks like the Hobbit is in pretty good hands. It is not going to be a children's movie, but that might have been a little much to expect. As for the bridge film planned for after the Hobbit connecting it to the LOTR which they filmmakers will write on their own with hints from Tolkien, we will have to see about that one.

Here are some excerpts. Yeah, I geeked out the other day and read the whole thing:

Guillermo del Toro: I hope that Mirkwood can be pretty scary but not graphic, I hope
Riddles in the dark has an element of fear and suspense and to be
deeply atmospheric but still allow the ingenious, engaging contest to
take place. And Smaug should be all shock and awe when he
unleashes his anger so, it will be pretty intense but not gorey.

Question - In the Hobbit book, we have talking trolls and the Eagles and
Smaug talks as well, however in the LOTR Trilogy, trolls did no
more than grunt, Fellbeasts screamed, and the Eagles, who were
meant to talk, just stayed silent. How much will the portayle of such
animals change in the Hobbit?

Guillermo del Toro: I think it should be done exactly as in the book- the “talking beast” motif has to exist already to allow for that great character that is
Smaug. It is far more jarring to have a linear movie and then – out of
the blue – a talking Dragon....

We’ll see about the “Tra-la-la-“ later- but the book, I believe, in
echoing the “loss of innocence” England experienced after WWI, is a
passage form innocence to a darker, more somber state- The visual /
thematic progression should reflect that in the camera style, color
palette, textural choices, etc.

Guillermo del Toro:
Smaug should not be "the Dragon in the Hobbit movie" as if it was
just "another" creature in a Bestiary. Smaug should be "The
DRAGON" for all movies past and present. The shadow he cast and
the greed he comes to embody- the "need to own" casts its long
shadow and creates a thematic / dramatic continuity of sorts that
articulates the story throughout-

In that respect, Smaug the CHARACTER is as important, if not more
important, than the design. The character will emerge form the
writing- and in that the Magnificent arrogance, intelligence,
sophistication and greed of Smaug shine through-

In fact, Thorin's greed is a thematic extension of this and Bilbo's
"Letting go" and his noble switching of sides when the dwarves prove
to be in the wrong is its conceptual counterpart (that is a hard one to
get through, Bilbo's heroism is a quiet, moral one) and the thematic
thread reaches its climax in the Bilbo / Thorin death bed scene.

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May 19, 2008

A Creative Review and Roiling Discussion...

...of the new Prince Caspian movie is presented by Jeffrey Overstreet on his blog.

I have posted a comment, which I also reproduce here.

Very creative review, Jeffrey, and a very graciously moderated discussion. I agree that “subvert” and “sinister” are perhaps a little too strong words to employ, but, to be fair, you are only positing these as possibilities. Nonetheless, it is quite disappointing the changes to which Douglas Gresham is willing to sign off on, and, therefore, I think we can question just how good a grasp he has on his step-father’s work.

A couple little notes. To be fair, I do not have the book here as I write, but I do believe that Peter does lop off the head of one of the two Telmarine Lords after they kill Miraz (which was fairly nicely done in the moview with the arrow, though Lewis’ duel scene is far more intimately staged). Still, the violence was rather too much for a PG movie, particularly all the throat slicings.

Also, there is perhaps some merit for women fighting in Narnia, but the fighter of the two Queens is Queen Lucy in The Horse and His Boy and not Queen Susan. Well, at least Lucy is with the archers in Archenland and is said to frequently go to battle.

The changing of Aslan’s lines is rather distressing, as is the the severe editing of his role. There is very little serious playfulness and holy fear about this Aslan. I very much missed him flinging Trumpkin into the air, catching him, and then saying (I believe) “Shall we be friends?” But, as you noted, the entire Trumpkin character has been changed from skeptic to a somewhat disappointed and apathetic believer.

I must say I did enjoy the movie, but perhaps because of severely lowered expectations and by pouring meaning and my own imagination into little things the filmakers gave us (like tossing bones to dogs), like the apples in the woods around Cair Paravel and the bulgy bear sucking his paws. And I felt rather moved at Susan leaving Narnia, for the very last time. And, for the record, Peter and Susan have to leave Narnia because they have received what Narnia, and what Lewis intended the books to accomplish for children (old and young), intended them to receive, an introduction to Christ, a theme which only gets stonger as the stories go along.

Perhaps my reaction after the movie in envisioning how movie makers might address future films was more telling of my heart, though, I think. I seriously doubt whether they can make the story of Eustace and his de-dragoning without stripping it of its meaning. And will Lucy be chided for eavesdropping? And what really is the big deal about sailing to Aslan’s country anyway? Can the Reepicheep envisioned in this movie be made to have such a sweet dream?

And I really want the filmmakers to cease and desist after the Silver Chair, which I believe they may anyway (the BBC folk did, though I don’t know the real reason). I think the The Horse and His Boy could be a very cinematic story, but think it would be viewed (perhaps somewhat justifiably so, I am at pains to say) as a bit racist, particularly in a post-911 world. And The Magician’s Nephew and The Last Battle, well, if you strip the religious imagery out of these there is not much left. And if the film makers are unable to depict the holy and good and whimsical aspects of Narnia now (and this may simply be a function of all of us having our sense of story predicated and tinged by Fall), I do not want to see them attempt depicting a New Narnia. There are so many ways the last two books could be messed up, I would prefer not to see them even try.

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April 30, 2008

A Little Like Lars; Only a Little

I was talking with a freind tonight how blogs can be funny things, and how sometimes people can oscillate between unhelpful openess and unhelpful holding back from the sharing of thoughts that really may help or encourage someone else if only they were shared. This seems to be a perpetual conversation I have with both fans and foes of blogging. In fact, I think these oscillations in openess often come to find their place in the blog life cycle (yes, I believe there is such a thing, but that will have to wait for another post), until the blogger finds his or her voice and settles down to do what they find is most helpful for them and their readers. Do people really think in these terms about their blogs? Probably not, but I sometimes do, and from what I have seen these dynamics do play out in a sort of trial and error process for many bloggers.

With regard to this blog, I have been told in the somewhat distance past that one friend stopped reading it, because she thought it too personal and revealing. That may be one of the reasons that it now features pictures more often than not, but not the only one. I really like to take pictures!

Perhaps blog entries should have ratings, like the rating system for video games. For example the rating for the following entry might look something like this:

In all seriousness, though, I really appreciated the movie Lars and the Real Girllargely because I could resonate with it on several levels. I could resonate with a movie about a dysfunctional man who buys a sex doll, you ask? Well, first of all, you should know that the role the sex part of the sex doll plays in the movie is very minimal and inconsequential. It is, indeed, a sex doll, but the setup is not generally exploited for cheap laughs, which would have only served to undermine the point and power of the parable of the movie. And, it is indeed a parable, an implausible, exaggerated story told to make a point, a sweet and moving point.

I did a recent Facebook status update saying that I have a cardigan very similar to Lars', which I do, but which I also meant metaphorically. In some ways, though thank the Lord not in such extreme ways, I can relate to the concept that deep wounding and pain can have long lasting effects that stretch into the future or ambush us when least expected. In fact, I believe we all can relate to this, on one level or another. For some the wounds seem deeper, though, and their (our) ability to bounce back seems to be not as robust as that of others, for whatever reasons, which may or may not be ever understood.

In the beautiful little movie The Spitfire Grill, Percy Talbot says, "“You suppose if a wound goes real deep, the healing of it can hurt almost as bad as what caused it?” When I first heard that quote, I thought "Wow." And, again, I think we can all relate, whether it be the healing of our emotional hurts or even the healing of our souls in discipleship as we recover from the self-inflicted wounds of sin. The cure may, indeed, need to be as painful as the wound caused by the sin, even if we do not bear the penalty for that sin ourselves if we are believers, as Eustace could well attest to as a result of his dedragoning.

Without giving out too many details, which would make the hypothetical rating I gave this blog post an accurate description, I also resonated with Lars and the Real Girl because Lars' past did involve the death of a parent, the extreme sorrow of the remaining parent, and subsequent stunting of his ability to deal with life and relationships well, a stunting characterized sometimes by paralyzing fear.

Another thing that I really appreciated about the movie was that though the reactions and altruism of the townspeople toward Lars are implausible, the love of Lars' sister-in-law for Lars and Lars deep concern for her, which he is unable to express, are not implausible. People can and do love one another like this. I loved how his sister-in-law deeply cared for him and loved him. I have received great care, too, from lovely sisters acquired through the marriage of my brothers :)

Nor is his relationship with his brother unrealistic. Perhaps the resolution that occurs, a confession of abandonment which is followed in very short order by forgiveness, is rather foreshortened compared to how the process generally works in real life, but brothers do talk with one another, come to understand one another, forgive one another, and learn to love one another better. And it is amazing to watch Lars' brother grow as a man before our very eyes. That is another characteristic of many movies that I am drawn toward; they make me want to be a better man.

Needless to say, I highly recommend the movie. I apologize for the slight spoilers. I do not think they spoiled too, too much, however. Finally, finally a brief note on one of the endorsement on the cover of the DVD. Maxim magazine writes "A whimsical, funny, moving film!" First, though the latter two adjectives do apply and especially the last one, I do not think I would call the movie "whimsical" exactly. OK, maybe a scene or two, but that is it. On a broader level, I do not think that Maxim magazine should be allowed to use the word "whimsical," in any case. It does not seem to be a word that fits well with the purposes and mindset of the magazine at large, a mindset which, sadly, I too fall into from time to time, a mindset which has nothing at all to do with the delightful, almost holy, quality of whimsy.

Oh, dang it! That last line might just have earned the rating.

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April 26, 2008

Reepicheep is on His Way

It might not really be Prince Caspian ;) but it looks pretty cool. Reeicheep here. The Prince is here (a rather silly accent, I'm afraid). Creatures, sets, more Reepicheep, more Caspian, and a Narnian raid on Miraz His Castle? Sigh. And in all this footage, at first hearing, I have not heard one piece of dialog which I recognized from the book :(

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March 13, 2008

Vampire Weekend

Well, posting this note about this band is probably scratching the same itch as did my posts about Lily Allen and the Arctic Monkeys, as they are another band whose music I really like, whose lyrics are clever, and yet still rather sketchy at times. I don't know why exactly, but the music just makes me happy, almost enough to dance; almost, but not quite ;)

Evidently Vampire Weekend has some connection with African pop music that they evidently gleaned from listening to African records, but they do not have much connection with Africa other than that. In an email exhange, Kirk, asked some interesting questions of what it means for artists to lift musical styles from a culture without having any connection to that culture. A great thing to discuss. I suppose cross-pollination of music across cultures has been going on for a long, long time, and while I do not have much use for fusion cooking, though I love to experience diverse cuisines on their own terms, I do often like the fusions of styles in music. And, I have figured out that I really like chimey guitars. Again, I think they make me happy. And I really like the percussion on this album, too. Oh, yeah and VW members wear preppy nineties clothing and sing largely about the priviliged life of wealthy east coast college students. It all is a bit of a weird combo.

Without further ado, here are some samples from Vampire Weekend, here is their web page which has lyrics, here are some rave reviews they have been getting, and here is one and two videos of them singing their songs in the streets of paris; pretty creative. Also, the creator of the last two videos, Blogotheque, produces some pretty cool videos of artists which can be found on youtube, such as Sufjan singing "Lakes of Canada" by the Innocence Mission. Other artists receiving the blogotheque treatment:
More Sufjan
Arcade Fire ("Neon Bible" in an elevator)
Arcade Fire "Wake Up"
David Bazan
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird too
My Brightest Diamond (this one is for Jesse)
More MBD

Enjoy.

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January 22, 2008

Take Two on Jesus and the Eschaton

As good an artistic counterpoint as any to the view of Jesus and the last days expressed in the Bright Eyes song of yesterday's posting might be found in the quirky, lovely music of Page France.

*Click here for "Chariot" and "Jesus" and two others
*The lyrics to "Chariot" and "Jesus"
*An excellent article on Page France and other artists by Jeremy Huggins
*Mr. Peach's excellent blog where I read of Jeremy's article.

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January 21, 2008

Juno: Quick Hit Review

This review is a quick hit review because I did not get out of the theatre more than 20 minutes ago, and because I really don't want to say too much. Here goes:
*Enjoyed it immensely.
*Great, quirky soundtrack.
*There are scenes that ambushed me.
*I have feelings that are too personal to blog.
*The movie is too good for me to lay my polemical mitts upon.
* :)

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Intimations of Immortality - Arc of Time by Bright Eyes

Courtesy of Pandora, whist listening to a Postal Service station, I heard "Arc of Time" by Bright Eyes. Fascinating. Here are the lyrics, followed by a couple of thoughts below. You can listen to the song here, but I recommend skipping the video portion, just listening, and following along with the lyrics.

You can make a plan
Carve it into stone
Like a feather falling
It is still unknown
Until the clock speaks up
Says it's time to go
You could choose the high
Or the lower road
You might clinch your fist
You might fork your tongue
As you curse or praise
All the things you've done
And the faders move
And the music dies
As we pass over
On the arc of time

So you nurse your love
Like a wounded dove
In the covered cage of night
Every star is crossed
By phrenetic thoughts
That seperate and then collide
And they twist like sheets
Till you fall asleep
And they finally unwind
It's a black balloon
It's a dream you'll soon deny

I hear if you make friends
With Jesus Christ
You will get right up
From that chalk outline
And then you'll get dolled up
And you'll dress in white
All to take your place
In his chorus line

And then in you'll come
With those marching drums
In a saintly compromise
No more whiskey slurs
No more blonde haired girls
For your whole eternal life
And you'll do the dance
That was choreographed
At the very dawn of time
Saying, I told you son
The day would come
You would die, you'd die, you'd die, you'd die
You would die, you'd die, you'd die, you'd die
You would die, you'd die, you'd die, you'd die
You would die, you'd die, you'd die

To the deepest part
Of the human heart
The fear of death expands
Till we crack the code
We have always known
But could never understand
On a circuit board
We will soon be born
Again, again, again, again
And again, again, again, again
And again, again, again, again
And again, again, again

This song has all sorts of interesting things going on in it and I am sure I will not allude to them all. The first verse manags to present two competing views of destiny, the preordained one and the one best captured by the opening sequence of Forrest Gump (presented here with a different score). Conor Oberst also reflects on the choice one makes vis a vis God concerning "All the things you've done," repentance or fist clenching. Verse two is less straightforward, but seems to be talking about the process of dying.

Verse three is what really got me to write this post. Oberst presents a fairly disdainful view of Christianity, it seems. Some such reactions occur, I think, because of poor presentations of the truth of Christianity by Christians; some, though, are simply the choice that is at the core of all of our sin, the choice to not submit to God. Unfortunately, Oberst seems to see such submission as bland conformity. And there is a degree to which this is true; we are all clothed in white, the colorings of our sinfulness (which seem so multi-hued and interesting but eventually just blend to black black) must be covered in the white which symbolizes holiness.

Even as I type that, I feel the need to defend it. Well, I am not going to. It is simply one image, an important one, that describes what Christ does for us vis a vis clothing our sin, and if he chooses seemingly uniform white robes to symbolize that, so be it. The story does not end there, though, the problem comes because we, as Christians, have not fully articulated the truth that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, perhaps because we are not told much about how the new earth and our new bodies will exist.

This is where I think the role of the Christian artist can be very useful, indeed the role of any artist who wittingly or unwittingly captures a glimpse of truth, as so often happens in movies, sometimes without the director even realizing the implications of what he or she has made. I think art which points out the real blackness and horridness of sin is useful in this way. Art which points out the beauty of goodness is a much harder thing to achieve, but it also happens everywhere too. The Holy Spirit is a sneaky one. One of these places where I have appreciated both of these tasks being done well is in C. S. Lewis book Perelandra. It may may not be as artfully subtle as contemporary tastes would like, but it paints an amazing picture of the beauty and diversity and freedom that flows out of obedience. His chapter on "the Great Dance" puts to bed mocking notions such as that of Oberst's in which obedience equals the bland conformity of a chorus line. Admittedly, unfortunately many Christians are often guilty of presenting just such a view of the implications of obedience.

The final verse of "Arc of Time" is also fascinating because Oberst seems to be positing an alternate form of eternity in a digital media. Judging from the tone of the verse, though, I am not sure if he is excited about that prospect either. The concept of digital immortality was the theme of this short story I wrote, and two others which are somewhere down the pipeline, which I hope to one day make into sort of a trilogy. This song seems to jive well with the theme of Oberst's album name Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. I might have to check out the rest of it.

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December 16, 2007

The Strong Hand of Love

From the poetic heart of Mark Heard, covered by Bruce Cockburn. I never get tired of this song.

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December 5, 2007

Caspian

Not sure I'm exactly liking the look of things. Still, will have to wait and see.

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November 20, 2007

The Golden Compass - A Trustworthy Guide

Well, the major movie filling the holiday fantasy slot this holiday season will be The Golden Compass, the first movie to be made from a trilogy of books by Philip Pullman, which he partially wrote to discredit his understanding of Christianity and its God as oppressive, worthy to be overthrown.

If you want to prepare yourself for the upcoming controversy concerning the movie or would just like a discerning guide to help navigate the trilogy, I can think of no one better to be that guide than Jeffrey Overstreet, flim critic and author. Here is a very thoughtful post as to how Christians might think about and respond sensitively to Philip Pullman's books and the upcoming motion picture. Below is a short excerpt, but I highly recommend reading the entire post if you are at all interested in this matter. Oh, and Jeffrey has also recently written a fantasy novel himself, which I hope to be digging into over the holidays. And here is another of his books on the movies.

The best way to make Phillip Pullman’s stories look like gospel truth is to respond by acting like the villainous Christians in his stories.

The best way to expose Pullman’s lie is to respond like Christ himself: With grace and truth, not hysteria and condemnation.

If we respond with wrath, condemnation, and protest, we play right into Pullman’s naive caricature of Christianity. I’m not saying we shouldn’t point out where he is wrong. His story is deeply flawed, and his religious bigotry is shameful. We should not ignore that. But we also should not ignore the excellence of his artistry. And should speak the truth in love, as Christ commands us. We should respond with truth and grace.

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November 12, 2007

One Great Song: Three Versions

The original (brilliant music; brilliant video; a single touch makes it all worthwhile). A cover on Prozac. A cover that's off it's meds (really clever and gets more amazing as it goes along, until, that is, its crazy ending).

As a bonus, here is one of my favorite videos ever from the man who brought you the Prozac version above. I doubt that it is a single take or anything like, but it's beautiful and bears a fuller discussion than I can begin on my own just now. Oh, and pay attention or just watch it thrice.

Who said this was only a photoblog. But if it's photos you want and are in the St. Louis area this Saturday evening, you might consider this (the details under Art @ the Institute about a third of the way down the page). I will have several pieces on exhibit, and will also be giving a five minute talk as well.

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September 25, 2007

Two From Rich. No, Make That Three

You really must hear these on Rich's album Brother's Keeper, but the lyrics work pretty well alone, too.

Cry the Name

I cannot hide this longing that grows
In this temple of silence and stars
But a thief in the night stole in and broke
Every chain that had bound up my heart
I cannot cling to shadows again
So here on this altar tonight
I lay every dream I've ever dreamt
To burn in the fire He lights

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
'Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
'Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

Every breath I've ever breathed
Was sent as a gift from on high
And with all that is left of all that is me
Up to the Heavens I cry

The Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
'Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
'Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

The Breaks

Here is my heart take what you want
'Cause I have no use for it anyway
Well of all the stupid things I've ever said
This could be the worst may be the best
But those are the breaks
These are the bruises
And if I can't give myself away I'm the only one who loses
And I don't want to lose this

It is the sea that makes the sailor
And the land that shapes the sea
And I do not know yet what I am made of
Or all I may someday be
And it is the wood that makes a carpenter
It's the very tools of his trade
And it is love that makes a lover
And a cross that makes a saint

Here is my song, listen if you will
But I have no heart for it anymore
I just have half a mind to cut it loose
And if it sails off into the blue
Then I'll just let it soar
And the sky is better keeping
And I won't be any poorer
For giving it its freedom
And here's one for freedom

It is the sea that makes the sailor
And the land that shapes the sea
And I do not know yet what I am made of
Or all I may someday be
It is the wood that makes a carpenter
It's the very tools of his trade
And it is love that makes a lover
And a cross that makes a saint

And a brilliant, but difficult, bonus from The Jesus Record

Hard to Get

You who live in heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Who are afraid of being left by those we love
And who get hardened by the hurt

Do you remember when You lived down here where we all scrape
To find the faith to ask for daily bread
Did You forget about us after You had flown away
Well I memorized every word You said

Still I'm so scared, I'm holding my breath
While You're up there just playing hard to get

You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
We have a love that's not as patient as Yours was
Still we do love now and then

Did You ever know loneliness
Did You ever know need
Do You remember just how long a night can get?
When You were barely holding on
And Your friends fall asleep
And don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat

Will those who mourn be left uncomforted
While You're up there just playing hard to get?

And I know you bore our sorrows
And I know you feel our pain
And I know it would not hurt any less
Even if it could be explained

And I know that I am only lashing out
At the One who loves me most
And after I figured this, somehow
All I really need to know

Is if You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time
We can't see what's ahead
And we can not get free of what we've left behind
I'm reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret

I can't see how You're leading me unless You've led me here
Where I'm lost enough to let myself be led
And so You've been here all along I guess
It's just Your ways and You are just plain hard to get

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September 10, 2007

La Vita Est "Bella"

I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to this film. I have not properly seen the trailer as I am at work nor have I read all of this article, but I have read enough to be very excited.

Addendum
Here is the trailer. I could not readily find on the movie site.

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September 2, 2007

Quotable

I think the following quote is pretty good in describing part of the relationship between art and life and some of thepotentially unpredictable aspects of depression, or at the very least it is very well written. It is taken from this good article on the recent suicide attempt by Owen Wilson, that I saw via Jeffrey Overstreet's movie and arts blog.

"Art is always informed by life, but one doesn't automatically predict the other. Depression is a implacably private thing, a fog comprised of biography, present-tense experience and body chemistry. It's as unpredictable as the elements and as unknowable as God. It's an abyss that you fall into, and you either die there or climb out. "

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August 14, 2007

Waiting for Caspian

Rather impatiently I might add, not because I am certain that they are going to do a good job, but because I want to see if they do well enough to get to some of the other books which are far more film friendly in my mind.

At any rate, whilst vainly searching for a trailer, I found this fan trailer on Youtube. Now the quality of the visuals, of course, is not extraordinary, but I think most of ideas for the shots and sequencing are pretty good. Best of all the lines are delivered with such strength that they make the piece. Plus, the acting is pretty good too. Here it is. Enjoy. It all seems to me like some thing that young Wachsmuths and Badenochs (if you know them, I'm sure you're smiling) might put together, and that is a compliment in both directions.

It looks like PrinceCaspian is having fun learning to work with a camera and developing ideas in his head. I am not a film person, but it seems like there is potential here, if for no other reason than the effort these took to make, though I think there is more than that. See particularly "Love Thy Neighbor," "Freedom From Me," and "Wood and Lizards." The age on the profile says 37, so I am not sure if a father is shooting these or the principle actor, and that that is just a fake age.

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August 1, 2007

Bravia Advert II

I don't know if I ever posted a link to the second advertisement for Sony's Bravia television. This one is called "Paint" and involves carefully choreographed explosions of paint on and around a vacant apartment building in Glasgow. I still think I like the first advertisement, "Balls," better, I believe because of the wistful/melancholy song which serves as its soundtrack and because of the more random bouncing of balls, which is often captured in slow motion, but the second ad is truly amazing in its complexity and scale. Be sure to watch the "Behind the scenes" video. The new video can be accessed by clicking on the image above. Oh, be sure to and turn your sound up at the end of "Paint" for a lovely ending. To see the first video again you really must see the extended edition here.

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June 29, 2007

Can't Wait. Dish Me Up Some Ratatouille

Here is an extended clip (gasp). Here is a review from Jeffrey.

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June 28, 2007

Amazing. Truly.

I became aware of this story by reading the blog of an efriend, Joy. It made her cry. It deeply moved me, both because of the power of the performance and the refreshment of truly seeing substance triumph over style, when so often the opposite is the case these days. This audtion is an amazing video, because while watching it you really get the sense that it is like the documenting of a bolt out of the blue.

Paul, it turns out, has had some training and performance experience, but only stictly amateur stuff. Here is his website with more videos.

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June 11, 2007

Once

This past Friday night, several friends and I began a lovely evening by going to see the movie Once, and I highly recommend that you do the same, at least once, and maybe twice as I plan to do when I get the chance. It is a musical for folk who don't like musicals (though you have to be able to at least tolerate a contemporary style of sort of singer-songwriter music). It is a celebration of creativity and friendship. It is a serious look at making a good choice, which more often than not is the harder choice of the two, when you desperately want to do the opposite. It is a beautiful, small film about beauty in the difficulties of life. It makes me want to go to Ireland (though I will more likely go to Scotland to get that fix).

Here is the review that hooked me into seeing this movie, but beware it has major spoilers. Here is the official movie site, which has the trailer and, I believe, loops the entire amazing soundtrack to the film (plus, there are loads of extra video clips lower on the page). And here is the Metacritic site, where it has received an amazing aggregate score. There is more music from the principle actors in the film here and here.

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May 25, 2007

Songs for a Grey Day

They're Scottish. Their music has a melancholy bent to match their homeland. They're Travis, and their videos, which generally have high production values and concepts, are available on Youtube.

Driftwood
-this is the first Travis song I heard and probably is my favorite. The video is pretty cool too, imagining the taking of a school picture at a girls school and the lads as the school teachers. Cool slow motion when it rains.

Turn 1 / Turn 2
-I like this song an awful lot too. "Turn 1" is my favorite Travis video, I think. "Don't doubt my Chi." And the lass is nice.

Why Does it Always Rain On Me
-A little strange, but it is set on the Scottish moors, Fran Healy's wearing a kilt (contemporary though it be), and there is a cool stunt. What's not to like?

Flowers in the Window-An even stranger video, though it does rather celebrate pregnancy nicely. In an interview I read or heard, Fran is a feminist. The single image of a non-Travis male in this video is a bit unsettling. I don't know exactly what to make of it and whether that was Travis' choice or the director's, whom I think they tend to generally give a free hand.

Closer / Click here to loop the audio of Closer...it bears repeated listens.
-This is their latest. Quirky. Ben Stiller. The melody is oh so lovely.

There are other nice Travis songs and videos. This will have to do for now though. Enjoy.

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May 3, 2007

Interesting Linkin Park Video

I did not know much about the music of Linkin Park until I went to a Francis Schaeffer lecture about their music presented by Travis Scott. I did not subsequently go out and buy a bunch of their albums as they are a touch heavy for my tastes for me to listen to them on a consistent basis. Yet, having borrowed some CD's for a while and having watched some videos at Travis' talk, I certainly appreciated both the music and searching lyrics and images they present in some of their songs.

Travis has a link to their most recent video here and invites discussion. I have put in my two cents there and so will not do so here. I think the video is well worth watching, and be sure to jump in to the discussion if you are inclined. If you are a Linkin Park fan, make sure to check the article version of Travis' talk as well.

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May 2, 2007

Spiderman 3 Gets 3.5 Stars Out of 4...

...from Jeffrey Overstreet, a favorite film reviewer of mine. Here is his review and discussion questions. I thought of including a gratuitous picture of "the radiant Kirsten Dunst," as Overstreet describes her, but decided on this cool, bad Spidey picture instead.

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April 30, 2007

Elizabeth I in Elizabeth 2

So are you still bummed, as I am, that in 1998 the fluffy Shakespeare in Love won best picture over Elizabeth and, more criminally, Mrs. Chris Martin won best actress over Cate Blanchett. The final moments of Elizabeth are powerful and chilling.

Well, if you are still bummed, then perhaps The Golden Age will help soothe the sting. Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, and Samantha Morton...it should be good. Here's the trailer. Here's the official site.

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April 27, 2007

If these old walls, If these old walls could speak...

If you follow the links and have read some of the articles which I have written in catapult magazine, you may know that my relationship with Christian music is somewhat conflicted and distant. It once meant a great deal to me, though, and some albums truly rise above the simple and restrictive moniker of Christian music. Last weekend, as I was cleaning my room (an activity which itself can be both melancholy and invigorating, with each of these emotions competing for preeminence), I listened to Amy Grant's Lead Me On (1988) and remembered just how much I love that album and how good some of the songs on it are. And evidently CCM magazine agreed, listing it their top Christian album ever. Here is Lead me On on Rhapsody (sign up and get 25 free listens).

I confess that I do not claim to be an expert on Amy Grant's music as a whole. I checked out somewhere after Heart in Motion, when she headed down a somewhat more pop direction. It was not that I minded, the songs were decent, but in some ways were a step down from what I had heard on Lead Me On. And when she and Gary Chapman divorced and she shortly thereafter remarried Vince Gill, well, I pretty much, angrily, dismissed her altogether. (Whether that anger was jutified or useful or righteous or not will have to wait for another post. My thoughts on divorce are complex, full of emotion, and perhaps evolving). Since then, though, my attitude to her has settled more into disappointment and resignation, not at her so much as to the the prevalence of these sorrows in the world itself, in my life even. What made the failure of her marriage particularly so painful, though, partly was due to what I thought then was the tough idealism of Lead Me On, which evidently was neither tough or idealistic enough.

Here are some quick takes on some tracks that stand out.

Continue reading "If these old walls, If these old walls could speak..."

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April 19, 2007

As You Like It ::: Branagh ::: Ninjas ::: Romola Garai

Indeed. This new adaptation from Branagh has them all and Kevin Kline and Alfred Molina and Dallas Bryce Howard. I must confess, I have not read As You Like It, so am a bit in the dark.

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April 9, 2007

Another Myspace Success Story-Kate Walsh

Kate is nothing like the Arctic Monkeys, but like them has leveraged Myspace to achieve some notereity. Nice voice, nice mellow music. Here is an article. Here is her Myspace page (a very nice Myspace page, I might add-white space, no clutter). She does have some weird background vocals on "Don't Break My Heart Again," though not as bizarre as the 50s-ish ones on K.T. Tunstall's song "Stoppin the Love." Strange.

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March 14, 2007

Name Dropping

Despite my comments on my recent article on music, on rare occassions I actually get ahead of the musical curve or at least track with it. Sometimes this occurs because I have been listening to Virgin Radio, which being a pop station located across the pond occassionally provides me with either new music finds or finds that are new to me. I think the station is responsible for introducing me to at least Travis, Keane, and K. T. Tunstall. I can't remember if there are anymore just now.

More often than not, though, I am am introduced to a new artist through a friend. One of the bands I was turned on to last year was the Arctic Monkeys (click here for their favorite song of mine featuring Hermione Granger, even though the version is not great, and here for a clever video involving Paddy Considine, the lead, male actor from In America).

I was introduced to Lilly Allen, by flatmate Sweet Chicken (yeah, I tossed "flatmate" in there just for the Brit-ish vibe). I am not sure I am going to go out and buy her CD, but her music is fun and her lyrics witty, even if rather saucy at times. On her album cover she seems to be cultivating the image of a chav (a British social group I find fascinating for some reason), which the Monkeys also do a bit. Their album Whatever People Say That I Am, That's What I'm Not was almost a chav concept album.

Lilly, though, grew up in a rather privileged upbringing. In this NPR article, which links to a number of her songs, she is described thusly, "Allen says most people in her life are fair game, and she likens her music to a diary of her life." Musically, "Her musical influences draw from the many albums she listens to, and include ska, hip-hop, New Orleans jazz and polkas." And here is NPR audio review by Ken Tucker with audio clips and, well, an NPR-ish critique, "she presents a cheerful, even vehement, positivism that gives her demands for respect, her contempt for authority, a wallop." And here is her Myspace (MY-Severly, Pathetically, Aesthecially-Challenged Expression) page.

Namedropping over. For now at least ;)

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February 23, 2007

Twas Grace That Taught My Heart to Fear

I would encourage you all to catch Amazing Grace this weekend and help give it a good opening box office. And it is getting pretty good reviews. Joe Williams from the post did not like it because it did not focus on the perspective of slaves much at all. This may be a fair criticism, and perhaps a better, fuller movie could have been made, but Wilberforce is still well worth celebrating. Here is Joe's review and St. Louis movie times and locations. Here is a more positive review. And here is the trailer.

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January 31, 2007

Heartbreakingly Beautiful

I am not a huge Wizard of Oz fan, by any means. I find the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" sung by Judy Garland and others as dreamy, somewhat wistful, and somewhat sappy all at once. I find the medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World" sung by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole heartbreakingly beautiful. It weighs my heart with sad joy and makes it soar all at once. It has been used with several movies and commercials, and I can completely understand why, as it would lend its qualities to whatever it is coupled with. I first heard it during the credits of the film Finding Forrester, which I enjoyed quite a bit on its own, and stood in the half-lit theater while the credits rolled, soaking it in.

You can hear it on Youtube here over a montage of images of Iz's life and the spreading of his ashes at sea. Sadly, unchecked obesity led to a short life of 38, though from afar they seem like a happy 38. If you want to hear a cleaner copy of the song, click here. Rhapsody will give you something like 25 free listens when you sign up. While your there, check out Iz's Hawaiian version of John Denver's "Country Roads." Nice.

I have done a Melancholdy/Beautiful post before about songs that make me ache. Do you know the feeling? Do you have a song?

And how nice is the ukulele.

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September 26, 2006

Side of the Road

One of my happiest thrift store music finds turned out to be a tape of Lucinda Williams' self-titled release from 1988. It cannot really be purchased any more as a CD and only a few places as a download, though MSN music has it for a good price (you can hear a sample of "Side of the Road" here). Almost every song on here is brilliant in a country-blues sort of way, with many describing life in depressed rural Louisiana. "Passionate Kisses," which was later, and rather more successfully, recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter is on here too, and is the peppiest song on the album.

Perhaps my favorite song on the album, though, is "Side of the Road." There was a time when I would have reacted strongly, in fear, against this sentiment if I were in a relationship and my partner had expressed it. I would understand it pretty well now I think. Indeed, I believe I would own it for myself at times, understanding the need for separation...reflection...creation...recreation...reconnection. The words are brilliant, but your really have to hear the song to get the full effect. Favorite stanza? 2.

Side of the Road

You wait in the car on the side of the road
Lemme go and stand awhile, I wanna know you're there but I wanna be alone
If only for a minute or two
I wanna see what it feels like to be without you
I wanna know the touch of my own skin
Against the sun, against the wind

I walked out in a field, the grass was high, it brushed against my legs
I just stood and looked out at the open space and a farmhouse out a ways
And I wondered about the people who lived in it
And I wondered if they were happy and content
Were there children and a man and a wife?
Did she love him and take her hair down at night?

If I stray away too far from you, don't go and try to find me
It doesn't mean I don't love you, it doesn't mean I won't come back and
stay beside you
It only means I need a little time
To follow that unbroken line
To a place where the wild things grow
To a place where I used to always go

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la
La la la la, la la la, la la la, la la la
If only for a minute or two
I wanna see what it feels like to be without you
I wanna know the touch of my own skin
Against the sun, against the wind

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August 18, 2006

My Comments on Comments by Gimli, or is it Treebeard

Here is a link to some remarkable comments by John Rhys-Davies relating the war against Islamic extremism and the Lord of the Rings. I am particularly pleased with my comment on this post, so I thought I would post a link to post and comments. Jump in if you like.

Or perhaps this is just a sneaky way to get you to check out my favorite film reviewer. No, I eschew sneakiness! Or am trying to more and more anyway.

Here is his movie review blog (Updated frequently).
Here is his main reviews page, which includes books and music. Jeffrey is a huge Sam Phillips and Over the Rhine fan.
And an article about him.

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August 7, 2006

"The frost, sometimes it makes the blade stick"

That is a line from a movie I forgot I rather like a lot and just got done watching. Sure it is largely just Braveheart (which I like to say that I will watch at the drop of a head) in sandals and togas and true it does have a rather disturbing brother/sister relationship plotline (though thankfully this is seen as abhorrent and not dwelt upon) and it does have a fair bit of blood, but I like it nonetheless. And even though it portrays a pagan conception of heaven, without any notion of going to see God almighty first and foremost, I like its focus on seeing loved ones again. And the cinematography and soundtrack really help in accentuating this, the soundtrack particularly. With these and its notions of honor and valor, it rather gets all my emotions going.

Also immediately after watching this in the cinema and even now I think Connie Nielsen would have made a wonderful Jadis, aka the White Witch, for the Narnia movie. I think she would have been better than Tilda Swinton. Connie is rather lovely in this movie, but she is also tall and imperious and I think she could pull off the severe/beautiful evil look that Jadis is meant to have.

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August 2, 2006

Movie Tag

I am sure there are many variations of these questions out there on the web, but here are some I came up with based on our recent questionaire on books that made the rounds. Enjoy! Plus, if you have more than one film in each category, no worries, list 'em.

1) What is a movie that changed the way you think and act? Or just got you thinking, if the first question is too intimidating.

This is a tough one. Who wrote these questions? The Mission.

2) It's a late autumn evening and rainy and cold? What do you have for dinner/snack? What movie do you pop in the DVD player?

I make some clam chowder with garlic and butter. Perhaps have some smoked oysters on toast. Some sweet milky tea and something sweet. Or just have some popcorny butter instead. Or pizza and coke. OK, Neil, enough with the food! For the movie, I think I have to pick one of the Austen movies. Pride and Prejudice (BBC), Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, or Emma.

3) You are off to wee Himalayan hamlet for a year, your laptop hard drive can hold one film. What will it be?

Pride and Prejudice

4) What movie made you laugh the hardest? What movie made you cry?

*Not huge on comedies. The Princess Bride.
*Shadowlands made me cry. The Return of the King, I think. Well, at least the book does.

5) Favorite actor (female, male)?

*Emily Watson, Emma Thompson, Kirsten Dunst, Franka Potente
*Russel Crowe-Yeah he's a bad boy, but so cool in movies--"The frost, it makes the blade stick." Ethan Hawke.

6) What book or story would you like to see made into a film or what book do you love that could never be made into a film?

Perelandra by C. S. Lewis could never be made into film, not the least reason being because the main characters are naked for most of the novel, but also because I cannot imagine a filmmaker could portray goodness and innocence well. Evil is easy to portray. Pure goodness, I think, we have lost are ability to imagine, almost. Lewis does a pretty good job at it.

7) What is a movie that immediately after you watched it, you wish you hadn't?

*Ransom-bloody and vengeful
*Howard's End-the depressing conclusion of lives lived outside of moral strictures.

8) Do you read movie reviews? Before, after, never? Whose reviews do you find the best? Are you an analyzer?

Yes, and generally before seeing the movie. Sometimes this is to my detriment; often though it heightens and feeds my enjoyment. Jeffrey Overstreet. And, yup, I'm one of those.

9) What movie do you think is a must see, but that you can only recommend with caveats? What movie do you really like, but can only recommend with caveats?

*Magnolia
*The Boxer-Daniel Day Lewis, Emily Watson, bleak Irish weather, boxing--Alas, it features a lot of the Irish national word (hint it begins with an "f") and is really about adultery.

10) What movie do you most wish to share with your friends?

About a Boy

Now tag at least 5 people.

Heather
Claire newbie!
Heidi V.
Heidi H.
Tanya
Angela
Laura

No gentlemen? My boys don't blog no mo!

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July 31, 2006

An Illiterate Librarian Plays Tag

Well, I have been tagged by Heather over at Street Acrobatics, in a game which will illustrate just how much of an illterate librarian/almost-english-major I actually am.

Here we go. If you are tagged at the end, please join the chain and play along, if you like that is:

1. One book that changed your life:
*The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass It made it OK to breathe, amidst spastic fits of laughter. A great book to read out loud.
*Perelandra which made me pay attention to Lewis. It makes the holiness and innocence of Pre-Fall life seem not boring, but Life itself.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
*Lewis' books.
*Tolkien's books.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
The Lord of the Rings

4. One book that made you laugh:
The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass

5. One book that made you cry:
Only one?
*The Lord of the Rings
*Anne of Green Gables
*A Severe Mercy,
*The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass
These all made me cry from being overwhelmed by Goodness, in some cases by Mercy too.

6. One book that you wish had been written:
The Perfect Love that Casts Out Fear or just Perfect Love

7. One book that you wish had never been written:
*The Da Vinci Code
*The Left Behind series

8. One book you’re currently reading:
The Children of Men by mystery writer P.D. James, though it is not a mystery per se. I am re-reading this to remember why I liked it in the first place, though I know it is life affirming in a very Christian sense. Movie, which may or may not be good, in the Autumn.

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
The Silence of Adam I need to re-read it and this time actually read the kick-your-butt final chapters.

10. Now tag five people:
*Jesse-this is a sneaky way to get another blog entry from Bacon's Great
*Lloyd- Ditto
*Kirk
*Sarah
*Meg

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July 21, 2006

The Strong Hand of Love-The Music of Mark Heard.

In the mid-1990's my brother Virgil and I got into an artist named Mark Heard. His story is somewhat sad in that he was an incredibly gifted, complex, and subtle artist working in the CCM industry, which at the time had little room for either complexity or subtlety. He passed away after a series of heart attacks, the first occurring during a show at the Cornerstone Festival. He left behind a wife and daughter.

He provides an interesting place in my music listening journey, because he was one of the first artists I listened to who honestly reflected on the difficulty of life, even from a Christian perspective. I can remember talking to Virgil about whether listening to his music was quite healthy for the emotions and one's spiritual life. It was a completely valid question for me at the time, but seems somewhat quaint now.

Sadly, Mark Heard really lived at the wrong time. In today's environment when Christian music has become more open and less restrictive and after the alt-country boom of the 1990's, Mark Heard would have had no problem thriving.

Mark Heard is not always the easiest person to listen to, as his vocals are not his strongest suit. My friend Tim Garrett was saying last night that Mark Heard is like Bob Dylan for him, in that he likes his songwriting and lyricism but much perfers it when he hears someone else singing his work. There are some tribute albums where you can do just that and hear other people interpret his work, though the covers are by no means always better.

The best album to get into the music of Mark Heard itself is High Noon (which you will likely have to buy used),

as it collects the past songs off of his last three albums or so. Here are the lyrics to two of my favorites songs, with a link to listen to the latter provided a the end of this post.

__________________________________

I Just Wanna Get Warm

The mouths of the best poets
Speak but a few words
And then lay down
Stone cold in forgotten fields
Life goes on in this ant farm town
Cold to the lifeblood underfoot
All talk and no touch
And I just wanna be real
I just wanna be real

The colors here are monochrome
Studies in one shade of grey
The good times and the hard times
Cut from the same grey cloth
And all the fires that crackle here
Consume but do not burn
All light and no heat
And I just wanna get warm
I just wanna get warm

The days they rattle past me
Like a tunnel round a train
Landscapes and heartaches
I don't know what I feel
All I know is my condition
Is worse than I can tell
The small talk and the slow burn
And I just wanna be healed
I just wanna get well

There are things I should remember
But I have forgotten how
I'm all tied up with no time
Trying do too much
And the thoughts that I've avoided
Are the ones I need right now
Like a warm wind and love's hand
And I just wanna be touched
And I just wanna be real
And I just wanna be well
And I just wanna be healed
And I just wanna be warm

__________________________________

Strong Hand Of Love

Down peppers the rain from a clear blue sky
Down trickles a tear on a youthful face
Feeling in haste and wondering why
Up struggles the sun from a wounded night
Out venture our hearts from their silent shrouds
Trying to ignite but wondering how

We can laugh and we can cry
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows
We can dance and we can sigh
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows

Young dreamers explode like popped balloons
Some kind of emotional rodeo
Learning too slow and acting too soon
Time marches away like a lost platoon
We gracefully age as we feel the weight
Of loving too late and leaving too soon

We can laugh and we can cry
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows
We can dance and we can sigh
And never see the strong hand of love hidden in the shadows

Click here to listen to "Strong Hand of Love" sung by Bruce Cockburn.

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May 30, 2006

Get a Charge-The Current

Just a quick post from work to let you all know about a cool online radio station I am listening to just now. My friend Annette recommended it as a good source to find new "Finds" in Indie music and to hear what's new from old favorites. And, in my brief listening, I have already found this to be true. Good stuff.

The Current comes to you from Minnesota Public Radio. I would recommend keeping their page open also as you listen as it lets you know who is "Now Playing," always a nice feature.

Also, make sure check out the free track, The Henney Buggy Band, from Sufjan Steven's upcoming album The Avalanche which consists of extra tracks from the Illinois recording sessions.

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May 6, 2006

Eclecticism-In the CD player, on the radio, on the Net

Well, over the past few months I have given serious listening to the following eclectic artists and albums, in chronological order.

Genre: Folk

Several months ago my friend Claire loaned me this CD, which spent several weeks in my car's CD player. Redbird is a sort of folk supergroup, if that is not an oxymoron, consisting of Kris Delmhorst (who, at times, has a voice like smoke), Peter Mulvey, Jeffrey Foucault and David Goodrich. On this album the artists sing each other songs and do covers of artists such as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Tom Waits and REM as well as singing traditional folk songs. The results are brilliant. I like almost every track on this album, and many tracks I like a lot, including "Ships," "Buckets of Rain," "Moonshiner," "You are the Everything." Favoriter track: "Ithaca," which has some killer lines,

It took this much to make me see
Still I barely understand
Love will always, always be larger and different than our plans

Love will never listen to us
And why should it?
Love knows the score
It builds better songs than we do
It sings in better metaphors.

Genre Guess: Quirky, pop rock

I first heard about Andrew Bird on Jeffrey Overstreet's site. Then a student worker at the library loaned me her copy, which also spent several weeks in the car stereo player. You can listen to the entire album online for free here. The lyrics are often bizarre, sometimes insightful; the music is often quirky, always catchy, sometimes beautiful. Favorite tracks: "Fake Palindromes" and "Masterfade." Favorite lyric, from "Measuring Cups:"

Get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game
Come to the front of the class and we'll measure your brain
We'll give you a complex and we'll give it a name

Get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game
Can't have the cream when the crop and the cream are the same
Liquid or gas no more than the glass will contain

When you talk about the hand of glory
A tale that's rather grim and gory
Is it just another children's story that's been de-clawed?
When the tales of brothers Grimm and Gorey have been outlawed

Genre guess: Melodic Punk

My friend Anna loaned me the Arctic Monkey's CD Whatever People Say That I am, That's What I'm Not a few weeks ago, and despite intial revulsion because it is generally quite hard, it has been in the CD player for two weeks. Do you see a patter developing here? I really have no business liking this CD so much, as this excellent review of it in the Gaurdian points out, "For the most part, however, anyone over 30 who finds themselves reflected in Turner's stories of alcopop-fuelled punch-ups and drunken romantic lunges in indie clubs should consider turning the album off and having a long, quiet think about where their life is heading." My life is not nearly that desperate, but I am rather surprised at how much I enjoy the music. Perhaps it is a delayed adolesence. I do like the mellow tracks the best, though. Favorite tracks: "Mardy Bum," "A Certain Romance," "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor." Three songs can be heard and seen in videos here.

The writing is clever, and it is fun to hear the singer sing in an English accent with a heavy dialect. As Anna and Morgan point out, even the swear words sound cool. It is also somewhat of a concept album, with the songs chronicling the night life of a rather depressed English city and its youth, and the album art chronicle, more or less, the day of the character (not a band member) pictured on the album cover. While researching the album I also came a cross a new definition: a chav.

Favorite lyrics:

From "Mardy Bum:" Def. of "mardy" here.

Now then Mardy Bum
I see your frown
And it's like looking down the barrel of a gun
And it goes off
And out come all these words
Oh there's a very pleasant side to you
A side I much prefer

It's one that laughs and jokes around
Remember cuddles in the kitchen
Yeah, to get things off the ground
And it was up, up and away
Oh, but it's right hard to remember
That on a day like today when you're all argumentative
And you've got the face on

From "A Certain Romance," a song describing chavs:

Over there there's broken bones
There's only music, so that there's new ringtones
And it doesn’t take no Sherlock Holmes
To see it's a little different around here

Genre Guess: Folk/Blues/Country

I have not heard all of the album Where the People Eat by Willy Mason, but heard a good interview with him on NPR's On Point:

Singer songwriter Willy Mason is twenty-one years old, a slightly-known post-grunge American roots singer in his native USA, and a full-blown platinum-selling celebrity abroad.

He grew up, just, on Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine and his parents folk music. He was discovered plunking away on Martha's Vineyard by Nebraska rock iconoclast Conor Oberst, "Bright Eyes."

Now young Willy Mason is being compared to Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. He's opening for Radiohead. And he's been pushed out front as the voice of a new generation looking for the real, the true, in a time of spin and sell.

Several videos are available on his web site. Several songs are available on his Myspace page. I would recommend listening to his UK hit "Oxygen" before seeing the video. Its idealistic and hopeful lyrics are reproduced below. This guy is twenty-one. Wow.

I wanna be better than oxygen
So you can breathe when you're drowning and weak in the knees
I wanna speak louder than Ritalin
For all the children who think that they've got a disease
I wanna be cooler than t.v.
For all the kids that are wondering what they are going to be
We can be stronger than bombs
If you're singing along and you know that you really believe
We can be richer than industry
As long as we know that there's things that we don't really need
We can speak louder than ignorance
Cause we speak in silence every time our eyes meet.

On and on, and on it goes
The world it just keeps spinning
Until i'm dizzy, time to breathe
So close my eyes and start again anew.

I wanna see through all the lies of society
To the reality, happiness is at stake
I wanna hold up my head with dignity
Proud of a life where to give means more than to take
I wan't to live beyond the modern mentality
Where paper is all that you're really taught to create
Do you remember the forgotten America?
Justice, equality, freedom to every race?
Just need to get past all the lies and hypocrisy
Make up and hair to the truth behind every face
That look around to all the people you see,
How many of them are happy and free?
I know it sounds like a dream
But it's the only thing that can get me to sleep at night
I know it's hard to believe
But it's easy to see that something here isn't right
I know the future looks dark
But it's there that the kids of today must carry the light.

If i'm afraid to catch a dream
I weave your baskets and i'll float them down the river stream
Each one i weave with words i speak to carry love to your relief.

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March 28, 2006

Hankering for Another People Flying, Lovely Scenery Chinese Epic?

Did you like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (and I think the camps are pretty polarized on that one) and Hero? Well, courtesy of Jeffrey Overstreet's blog, here is a trailer for a new movie in the genre which looks stunning. Some of the visuals in these movies make my heart ache with their beauty. Here's the trailer.

While we are in the genre, here is a question. Is the ending of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon happy or sad? When I saw it, the friend who I was with and I were enjoying it tremendously until Li Mu Bai dies, and then, to seal the deal, Jen jumps off the cliff! Now there is another school of thought on this based on dialog earlier in the film, but I am am not buying. Thoughts?

Finally, here is a cool shot of the actual aforementioned cliff.

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March 13, 2006

Brokeback Mountain Redux-An Important Voice in the Conversation

Disclosure: I have not watched Brokeback Mountain. Hence, I don't really have a lot to say about the movie itself that is not second hand. In fact, I try not to say too much about the movie at all. I have been very interested in the cultural conversation that has arisen as a result of the movie, though.

Here is a piece of that conversation between a movie reviewer who I respect a great deal, who broadens the parameters of my intellect, and who I agree with most of the time (he should have given a Crash some more props, though) and a reader of his who describes himself as follows:

I went to see Brokeback Mountain with a dear friend [of many years] yesterday. I am a proud father and the grateful husband of my best friend. [Personal details deleted.] At age 18, I embraced Christ and with much difficulty rejected homosexuality. I had actively and exclusively identified as such since age 11. To my disappointment, the struggle with homosexual desire has been constant, with varying degrees of intensity, since my conversion and I have come to accept that it is something I will have to contend with the rest of my life. With God's help, I have never been nor, never will be, unfaithful to my wife or to my Lord.

He goes on to have a thoughtful engagement with the movie, Jeffrey's thought's on the movie, and how those each intersect Christianity.

The comments of this reader are the last in this post. The other letters are also worth reading as they are from non-Christians who agree with Jeffrey. Sadly, you also get a sample of some the vicious mail that Jeffrey, who is a thoughtful and sensitive Christian, receives at times.

Here is Jeffrey's review of Brokeback Mountain.

Here is a masterlist of Jeffrey's reviews.

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March 3, 2006

Un-Pimp my ride

Satire Week continues on the Dassler Effect. First, it was "Stupid Girls." Next, the foibles of the faithful, or not so faithful (to the Gospel) as the case may be. Now it is bit of a double dip. The videos below somewhat scratch the itch for more Sprockets, which was featured on SNL around the time the Berlin Wall was coming down.

By the way, if you are old enough, do ever miss the Cold War? You know the Evil Empire, spy movies that had a point, more interesting fundamentalist speculations about the Antichrist. And is that ache especially poignant around the time of the Olympics? Remember those big yellow CCCP's across red, on chests bulging from steroids. You can get those now at Target, I think, the CCCP-wear, that is, not the steroids.

But, I digress. These videos also provide the satisfaction of putting a pin in the whole "pimp my ride" phenomena. Enjoy.

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March 2, 2006

A song I'm diggin

...this song is Really Something

I'm working on my forward thinking
Working on my self control
Process this ugly mess
And figure out how to make it whole

Choke down a bus ride to the city
Chase it with a trip to the East Side
It seems like over time
I'll get so numb that I won't mind

Chorus:
Some days I actually forget
That this is really something
One look from you and that is it
This is really something
Being hard is hard so sick of it
This is really something good
This is really something good now

Go change the oil go get the tailight fixed
Go buy some groceries in the dark
Earth shakes get rearranged
and I realize I've missed the mark

Chorus 2x:
Some days I actually forget
That this is really something
One smile from you and that is it
This is really something
Being hard is hard so sick of it
This is really something good

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February 28, 2006

Pink tells it like it is

I am not a huge Pink fan, but I think she can write some pretty catchy tunes, some with a fair amount of self reflection and substance. I don't think this is one of her best songs musically nor is it a subtle piece of cultural criticism, but it is nonetheless a prescient piece of cultural criticism.

Pink is aware of the potential hypocrisy in being a pop, albeit a punk sort of of pop, diva and criticising other pop divas for immodest dress, pursuing unhealthy fashion extremes, and seductress behavior, but says she really is more interested that we "get the conversation started," to paraphrase one of her songs.

This video is interests me because it touches on some of the themes that Richard Winter covered in his lecture on perfectionism at last week's L'Abri Conference, and in his book on the same topic.

The video focuses specifically on the challenges young women face. As I said earlier, it is not subtle. I do not think it presents the only choices available. And, in the process of critiquing some of these issues, the video, itself, features a fair amount of skin. So, viewer beware. That may be the nature of satire, though, to get somewhat sullied in order to point out fallacy and error.

Thoughts?

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February 13, 2006

Seeing Dawn Through Tears, Soaring Joyfully the Sun, Spirit Light and Clean

The haiku title of this post was written in an attempt to describe some of the feelings I feel upon listening to Sufjan Stevens "Chicago," though a haiku is rather too quiet a form to express the sheer jubilance of this song. Click here to give it a listen.

This song, which has a very slight narrative thread, is about a road trip from Chicago to New York with a friend. There are quixotic details such as "we sold out clothes to the state" and a line about sleeping in parking lots, which help create the picture of road trip on little means. The rest is left to the imagination.

I do not know if it is New York or simply the transition between places or the reflection that often accompanies travel, at least for me, that leads to a catharsis of sorts, a coming to terms with and leaving behind of the past, and a glorious embrace of the future. Stevens is subtle but clear about what, or rather who, it is that allows him to experience such ecstatic release.

if I was crying
in the van, with my friend
it was for freedom
from myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go

I can certainly resonate with the repeated, "I made a lot of mistakes." Talking with a friend last night, though, we both reflected how we loved the song and how it so captured the feelings accompanying repentance and renewal.

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January 26, 2006

Copycat-But Beauty Wants Sharing

This screen shot is from a whimiscal/beautiful advertisement, or "advert" as the Brits call it, that I became of aware through the auspices of Junkmail for Blankets via Karagraphy, two blogs which I highly recommend to you.

Click here to see the advertisement. Have patience and view a high definition version, perferably the long one. You will be rewarded.

Click here to view the making of video. It takes a bit of the magic away, but is fascinating. A man on the video notes how easy it would have been just to do this digitally, but that there is an "extra bit of soul in doing something real." Amen to that, though I still want a digital camera.

No definitive word on whether the frog was planted, but I have my suspicions...

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January 1, 2006

Prince Caspian? Dawn Treader? Silver Chair? Horse and His Boy? Magician's Nephew? Last Battle?-Discuss the Future of the Narnia Franchise

          

I suggested a discussion on the blog of a film critic whom I like to read who reviews films from a Christian worldview. He posted my discussion starter as an entry on his blog. Join in here if you like.

Posted by jackdas at 3:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 9, 2005

Fanboys of Narnia Unite!

Actually, not all of these are fanboys but most write movie reviews as a vocation. The discussion here validates the tenor I took in my review and mirrors many of the points I made. Click here for the clash or swords, with perhaps a little more polemicism at times than was called for.

Posted by jackdas at 10:38 PM | TrackBack

December 8, 2005

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrove-A Review

Below is my review of the new movie The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which contains MAJOR SPOILERS. In fact, I reccomend that if you really are interested in the movie, that you not read this piece until after seeing it. No, really, I mean it, because really it is more of an analysis than a review. Click here for a view at what the expert's are saying and here for the take of a Christian reviewer whom I read and respect.

New Another Christian reviewer, Steven D. Greydanus, turns in a review that echoes many of my sentiments and more, and conveys them with considerably more skill as a reviewer.
_______________________________________________________________

Continue reading "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrove-A Review"

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November 22, 2005

Melancholy/Beautiful

Here is a list of songs that at various times have made me long, ache. For what? I am not sure. Maybe beauty. Maybe love. Maybe eternity.

“Pure” by The Lightning Seeds from Cloudcuckooland
“Sit Down” by James from James
“The River Will Flow” Whiteheart from Freedom
“The Dance” by Servant from Swimming in a Human Ocean
“Sar Kiye Ye Pahar” by Strings from Strings II
“Such Great Heights” by the Postal Service from Give Up
“If I Stand” by Rich Mullins from Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth
“Calling Out Your Name” by Rich Mullins from The World as Best As I Remember it Volume I
“Here in America” by Rich Mullins from A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band
“Turn” by Travis from The Man Who. Two video versions, British and American, here (song #4)
“Driftwood” by Travis from The Man Who. Video here (song #2)
“Don’t Panic” by Coldplay from Parachutes. Video here
“Speed of Sound” by Coldplay from X & Y. Video here
“Yellow” by Coldplay from Parachutes. Video here . Love it as much as the song, and first saw it in college across the cafeteria. I wandered over transfixed.
“Dreams” The Cranberries from Everybody’s Doing It, So Why Can’t We
“Gorgeous” by The Violet Burning from Demonstrates Plastic and Elastic
“With or Without You” by U2 from The Joshua Tree. Video here
“Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 from The Joshua Tree. Video here

It is a pretty eclectic mix of Christian and regular pop, and I may have left some out. Is there a common thread? They all have lovely melodies (aside from the caterwauling at the end of “Dreams”). And I think in most of them either the vocals or the music soar at some point in the song. In some, such as “If I stand,” the lyrics are deeply meaningful.

Ultimate top five?

“Dreams”
“Yellow”
“Gorgeous”
“If I Stand”
“Where the Streets Have No Name”

If you get the concept and are inclined to play along, list your melancholy/beautiful favorites in a comment or add your “Amen” to one/some of these.

Click here for the continuation of the Melancholy/Beautiful discussion...

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November 21, 2005

Overcoming "Prejudice"

Almost four months ago, I wrote this highly prejudicial piece about the new remake of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Alas, I should have taken the theme of the book to heart and not been so pre-judging.

I did not plan to see this movie so readily, but last Friday night when my friend Rachel was offering a meal and movie as thanks for a favor, I was trying to decide between either this or Harry or Johnny. I have not finished reading The Goblet of Fire and Johnny's reviews weren't as glowing. And, being the review reader that I am, I had read several good reviews of this movie on Metacritic (a fantastic site by the way) and so it was off to see if Keira could pull off Elizabeth. And she can. As an aside, I do not require payment for favors asa matter of course. Rachel is very generous.

One is either a review reader or not, I'm afraid. My co-worker Debra avoids them and clucks at me on the occassions (and I try to have them occur less frequently) when I read too many reviews for a film and spoil my viewing of it. Most often, though, a judicial review will heighten my anticipation and pleasure, just as post-movie discussion will--yeah, I'm one of those people. This review from Dave Edelstein of Slate is what really sold me on going to see this movie, and I highly recommend it as he gets it exactly right.

Many of the comments I was going to make I realized as I re-read Edelstein's article would have met the standard for plagiarism. I wonder how often that happens, that we write phrases that we think are our own, and so brilliant, but which really somehow just bubble up from our sub-conscious because we have read them before and stored them there. Really though, much our of lives are plagiaristic as a matter of course, from our DNA to our language acquistion on up. No man is an island.

So briefly, in comparison to the miniseries, this adaptation, by necessity, goes much faster. It is both grittier and more beautiful than its predecessor. The setting is more gritty; the people more beautiful. There are some wonderful shots that meander or float through a room or a dance. Don't sit too close, as did we. It is not good on the stomach. And there is some really, lovely cinematography. Though, as Rachel pointed out, one scene was more Wuthering Heights than Pride and Prejudice. I want to go to England now as well.

Finally, Keira Knightly does a fine job here. She does not have quite the depth of Jennifer Ehle's protrayal, but she is fiesty and witty and minorly melancholy as she should be. And she is fine, too, I might add.

In an interesting side note, this BBC story details how the American version is longer than the British version. They say 8 minutes longer, but it was not that much. Why the additional minutes? Because most of us Americans are saps evidently. In this case, I think the Brits have got it right; often less is more.

For more pictures and info, here's the official link.

Finally, finally my allegiance to the 1995 miniseries is not diminished, it still moves my emotions in ways this adaptation does not, delightful though it was.

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November 7, 2005

Tension is to be Loved

I do not like tension. In fact, I carefully structure my interpersonal interactions to try to avoid it, to a fault. I know, though, that when tension is there it is no good to simply ignore it. Ignore it and it will just come back again at a more inopportune time, and then likely with a weight and ferocity that the original cause for tension did not even merit. I think the chic term for this is "passive aggression."

I swear one of my brother and sister in law combos, yeah they're a two pack, intentionally bark at one another over trivialities when I am over just so I will learn this valuble lesson, of how to be honest and "bark," that is, and not get all worked up about it. I don't like it, mind you, but it is a good lesson. They together laugh at my discomfort and tell me they are training me for marriage.

I digress, however. This post is not about that sort of tension. It is about a sort that I dislike perhaps just as much, though, the tension of waiting. Of waiting for big things and little things in life, of being content with the tautness of a situation, the unease of it, of waiting in that tension for the Lord to resolve it in his good way. So often I just do not wait, resolve the tension by letting go, making my own way, and I miss out on the beautiful thing God might have brought my way or miss the thing that he might have taught me.

Here is a song from Sixpence None the Richer whose lyrics express this need to love the tension and wait in it, to live in it. The music to this song is also brilliant, prominently featuring an acousitic guitar, which, in addition to the beautiful melody it helps produce adds to the theme. We hear the scraches and slides of the strings being pressed and plucked, and feel the tension resolving into beauty.

Tension (Is A Passing Note)

do I murder
when I forget you from afar
too drunk on the poison of endless roads
and the countless smokey bars

but tension is to be loved
when it is like a passing note
to a beautiful, beautiful chord

do I murder us
putting pavement through my veins
shooting in that special heroin
for the seeking and displaced

but tension is to be loved
when it is like a passing note
to a beautiful, beautiful chord

This entire CD, which has other lovely melodies sung by the divine voice of Leigh Nash and thoughtful lyrics from the pen of Matt Slocumb, can be had for the low price of $3.99 at this site. While you are there, throw a couple of Waterdeeps in your cart for $0.99. Groovy and moving.

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October 24, 2005

Tracks in the Player-Two That Speak Straight to Me, One That Could Start Speaking Anytime the Good Lord Is Willing

I was a big fan of Eden Burning's first CD, Vinegar and Brown Paper, with its jigs and reels and meaningful reflections on human frailty, God's faithfulness, poverty, community. I then got Mirth and Matter, which did not seem to do too much for me. Last year I downloaded a best of CD for a small, voluntarydonation..

...which you should do right now if you like Celtic-inflected, thoughtful, Christian folk-pop. Could I have had any more adjectives. Here is the link.

At any rate the CD languished in my car until the last two weeks, since when it has been in almost constant rotation. The two songs speaking most powerfully to me just now have their lyrics reprinted below. The one I am waiting on the good Lord for is here. Brilliant.

Continue reading "Tracks in the Player-Two That Speak Straight to Me, One That Could Start Speaking Anytime the Good Lord Is Willing"

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September 29, 2005

New Look, New Narnia Featurette, and Pauline Baynes

Well, over the past few days I have been exploring some of the features of Moveable Type. It is like monkey working on a BMW engine. But I have gotten results to my liking, though I am uncertain how the page looks in different resolutions, and Firefox doesn't like it much. Thanks to my boss Dennis for the Dassler sphere and other technical and creative consulting. Thanks to Ron at Stlblogs for patience with my queries.

Another Narnia featurette is available. It has a lot of technical info regarding the visual effects which are pretty amazing. Also, there are glimpses of Aslan. The director, Andrew Adamson, who by all I have seen so far, seems to be doing a good job of this says that he wanted people to be terrified as they would be if they saw a real lion when they first see Aslan and also at the same time want to pet him. It looks like Aslan is going to be well done as well as the Mr. and Mrs. Beaver.

In talking about the desired effect he wants Aslan to have, Andrew Adamson seems to be on the right track to capturing the meekness and majesty which are rolled into the descriptions of Aslan in the Chronicles, "People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan's face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn't look at him and went all trembly."

I am taking this quote out of Zondervan's The Complete Chronicles of Narnia, which is ordered in chronological order with The Magician's Nephew first, which makes sense for a one volume tome. This is not my preferred order of reading, though, largely I suppose because I was first read them in their publication order, but also because the serendipity of discovering in The Magician's Nephew, orginally volume 6, where the lampost in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe came from is delightful. Alas, in a letter to a young reader, Lewis settled an argument between him (it may have been a girl) and his mother that he agreed with the boy that they should be read in chronological order.

This edition is lovely, with all of Pauline Baynes orignal drawings and in color too. Lewis liked Pauline Baynes illustrations the best and they helped constitute a good chunk of the imaginative framework of my childhood. Click here to have a brief peek inside.

When I was young, I used to worry because I loved Aslan more than I loved Jesus (I used to also worry because I loved my parents even more strongly than both of them). However, as I have grown I have come to know and love Jesus. And hope to even more, for it is still a poor and feeble love. Reading about Aslan, though, puts into words for me what I imagine the emotions will be like to see the Lord Jesus face to face. The imagining of Goodness, and Glory, and Heaven is perhaps the strongest and most unique features of Lewis' writings.

Before the children even meet Aslan, at the mere mention of his name, they have have this reaction:

"And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do, but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream if feels as if it has some enourmous meaning--either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer."

Posted by jackdas at 8:45 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

September 23, 2005

When the subversion brings life-Sufjan Stevens

if I was crying
in the van, with my friend
it was for freedom
from myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go

-from "Chicago" from the album Illinois
_________________________

In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window

In the morning in the winter shade
On the first of March on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing

Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications when I see his face
In the morning in the window

Oh the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes

-from "Casimir Pulaski Day" from the album Illinois
__________________________

The live show of one Mr. Sufjan Stevens is surreal enough, but to hear these lyrics reverberating through the smoky, sweaty air of the Mississippi Nights club on the landing in St. Louis adds to the effect. And if it is subversion, it is the happiest, most playful subversion you have ever heard, though sincerely serious at its heart. Talking to a fellow concert goer in line for tickets, I said I heard that Sufjan's second major album Seven Swans had some pretty spiritual themes. "Yeah, it was a little weird at first," he agreed, before professing how much he liked it, despite, I think, and not because of its spiritual content, mentioning something about "14 years of Catholic school" as he walked up to get his ticket.

In truth, Sufjan is not subversive, in effect perhaps he may be, but not in his art. He simply makes intelligent, quirky folk music with lyrics that reflect his life, and in as much as his life is touched by Christian spirituality, no touched by God and his Christ, this seeps through. He is not akin to the youth pastor who gets the tattoo so he can relate. At least this is the sense I get. Nor is his art a type of Christian propaganda. Instead it is the best sort, excellent artistry flowing organically from his soul and spirit.

As for last night's concert itself, I must be honest, I would have enjoyed it far more if I had more listens to his latest CD and any listens to his previous efforts. Also, his music is complicated and sometimes can seem cacophonous to these untrained and unintiated ears. I intend to correct this ear problem sometimes soon. One gets the idea, though,even if one is untrained like me, that Sufjan is pretty much able do whatever he wants with music and employs a plethora of insturments to effect just the purposes and affects he intends. It seems like play, whimsical and full of energy, but still with that aforementioned seriousness, both in reflecting the joy and the brokenness of life. In a song about the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, Jr., an example of the classic folk murder song tradition, which I don't believe he performed last night, he compares himself to Gacy:

And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floorboards
For the secrets I have hid

Last night the six or so band members, "the Illinoisemakers," dressed for most of the concert in old school Illinois cheerleader outfits, performed a series of faux cheers for various cities as they introduced the songs, and even constructed the human pyramid. And they and Sufjan played an assortment of instruments. In addition to the usual suspects, there were the triangle and the chimes and what looked like a keyboard operated by blowing into it and, yes, the banjo.

Ah, the banjo, one of the first things that attracted me to Sufjan's music, which I first heard on some Christmas music I got from links on a blog, and which I hope and pray is legal for me to have, because I would be loathe to give it up if I found out otherwise. It is lovely. He sings Christmas folk songs of his own penning which alternately rejoice in the season or sadly reflect on its propensity to accentuate loneliness and pain, all the while looking to Christ amidst it all. He also sings and plays some hymns that you are more likely to hear in England (or Pakistan, in my case): "Once in Royal David's City" and "The Friendly Beasts," which I can still remember practicing and singing with my brother and mother at about age 12. And I desperately want to make, direct, inspire, storyboard, whatever, a video for his take on "Bring a Torch Jeannette Isabella."

Last winter, on long nighttime drives, I smiled, I wept, and, yes, worshiped as I travelled through the darkness.

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September 21, 2005

Sappy Music Confessional-Ms. Armstrong-Codependency-"Mary's in India"

Over the past 5 years my musical palette has broadened and taken on room for more colors. In many ways this music buying spree (and it has been a buying spree) is part of a larger renaissance, actually it is really more like an adolescence, an adolescence which is either a sequel or has just shown up properly for the first time. More interesting than which of these two types of adolescence it is, are the reasons (not all of which I am sure I am aware) that it is occurring at all at this point in my life. But that is not the point of this post. Even so, at this rate, I will be having my mid-life crisis in my sixties.

Continue reading "Sappy Music Confessional-Ms. Armstrong-Codependency-"Mary's in India""

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September 2, 2005

New Narnia Featurette

Here is the latest featurette. It looks like it is going to be good and that the makers of the movie have at least a basic grasp of the religious symbolism of the book. I heard somewhere that they are not going to diminish or accentuate such symbolism. That will be fine with me. I will take even some diminishing/deletion as long as they don't change it around. Many when they read the story as children (or I suppose as adults) are not aware that there are Christian undertones to it. Many who do realize it, hate the story for them. Many who do realize it, love the story for them.

Georgie Henley is very sweet looking as Lucy, my favorite character in Narnia, but I think Lucy is meant to be fair haired. It does not really matter, though, because Lucy's beauty is all about her heart anyway, even though she does grow up in Narnia to be a beautiful queen.

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July 28, 2005

Prejudice, and a Bit of Pride

An excellent site to catch upcoming movie trailers is the Apple Quicktime Trailers page. Browsing there today I found the trailer for the upcoming version of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira "Try Wearing a Corset" Knightly, Donald Sutherland, and Dame Judi Dench.

Now the last name on that makes me sit up and pay attention. You might be thinking, "Now, Neil, be honest. Are your sure it isn't the first name on that list that does that?" Actually, no. I have come to an understanding, largely as a result of this trailer perhaps, that I am not a huge Ms. Knightly fan. No cardiac flutters or sighing. Nor, I hasten to add, do I have cardiac flutters and sighs in response to Dame Dench. But even if do not end up liking a particular movie she is in, her acting and mere presence are always splendid.

Even the presence of Dame Dench, though, is not likely to go far in erasing the Prejudice I feel toward this new movie. I realize that Austen will forever be updated, but what could improve on the 1995 miniseries by BBC. I leave it to the opposite sex to flutter and sigh over Colin Firth's Darcy, but, speaking as a man, "He's the man!" My brother Virgil's and my favorite part is when Darcy comes home, brooding and despondent over being rejected by Elizabeth, and stops by the lake, strips down to his pants and shirt and plunges into the lake. Brilliant. Then he goes into his home, only to find Elizabeth unexpectedly present. And then he is all courtesy. Hopeful. Earnestly eager to connect with her. Genuinely gracious. Completely secure in the surrondings of his home.

And prior to this scene we see Elizabeth, played by Jennifer Ehle, lose the last vestiges of her Prejudice, as she sees Darcy's beautiful grounds, not simply for the wealth they represent, but for the sheer asthetic marvel they are, the perfect marriage artifice and nature. Then the character of Mr. Darcy is further revealed as she talks to his housekeeper. And, as she does throughout the movie, Ms. Ehle portrays Elizabeth inner thoughts so splendidly through her eyes. And what a pair of eyes, full of mischief, fire, and delight.

And so, I suspect I will end up having a certain bit of Pride at being a BBC P&P groupie. A pride which I happen to think only proper.

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May 28, 2005

a good read 

a good read 

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April 27, 2005

Intros-Strings 2

Several times a semester a student will approach me and ask to interview me. Impressive? Well, not really. It simply means that the student is taking Non-Western music and they have not been able to find a nonwesterner to interview about their country's music and culture. And so, either at the suggestion of their instructor or friend who was in the same predicament before, they will come knocking on my door, ready or not for an interview with a somewhat schizophrenic nonwesterner.

It is perhaps appropriate that I am bit like a remainder in the nonwestern pile. I do have some nonwestern cred. My father and half of my extended family are Pakistani. Moreover, I spent about 13 of the first 17 years of my life in Pakistan. I can speak both Urdu and Punjabi, though my tongue seems like a retired gymnast when I try them now, as it bends itself around half-forgotten syllables or tries to scrape out a gutteral "R."

On the other hand, my mother, though she wondrously communicated with a gumbo of Urdu, English, and Punjabi with those she cared for as a nurse, was a straight-as-a-cornstalk midwesterner, as evidenced every time she got on the phone with my grandmother. And even while in Pakistan, what truly became my heart's home was Murree Christian School, where students from America, Britain, Europe, Australia, and Pakistan all spoke with a pretty much American accent, with islands of British vocabulary.

And since coming to America in 1987, with every progressing year, I feel more a Midwesterner, slowly making the "non" of nonwestern less emphatic. Some of that progression has been a choice. I often remark to friends that I think that one does have to more or less choose between cultures, at least in as much as to make one primary. In my case, this has been both an organic and an intentional choice. There are times when I think that perhaps, I have copped out, that it is simply because I do not want to do the emotional work that I have made this choice. And I think there is truth to this, as I have confessed elswhere on this blog. And yet I also do feel pretty naturally American. I understand, but feel puzzled and a bit misunderstood when a friend, and sometimes a good friend even, introduces me to someone else as their Pakistani friend, Neil.

And so, my student interlocutors get a rather an odd interview when they come knocking. I answer all their biographical questions, plotting out the foundations of my personhood. Yes, I am a Christian even though Pakistan is 98% Muslims. No, I really didn't listen to much Pakistani music per se. My earliest memory of pop music is listening to ABBA on a little mono tape recorder my father bought. The opening piano notes of "S.O.S" still evoke monsoon fog, dampness, hot tea, mother. Favorite Music? U2, Coldplay, Rich Mullins.... I do try my best to do right by them, though, describing how music is an important part of Pakistani culture, how it is used in weddings, movies, how there are classical genres and ones that blend Pakistani sounds with contemporary pop or dance music.

And so, at long last, we come to the object that this post intended to introduce. In 1992, the children of my cousin Ansel, introduced me to the band Strings and their album Strings 2. It in essence is an eighties album, and that is probably why I like it so much. There are drum machine and synthesizers, all layered in sweet pop, the lyrics doing little to add weight to the confection. I like this album for those reasons, and because I like its melodies. I am a sucker for when a singer progresses from mostly low notes to the high ones, almost requiring falsetto. I think it is the transition I like. I also like background vocals of either harmony or, better still, a sung echo. This album has each of these.

There are additional albums that can also be listened to and downloaded, in addition to videos, but this is the one that I like, probably also because it speaks to me of a specific time and place. Favorite tracks? "Sar Kiyae" with its wistful, aching melody. "Jab Bhi Kisi Mausum Mein," which is a rap of sorts complete with a repetitive exclamation of "Oh, yeah!" It also has a totally Eastern touch, though, with an elongated "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" in the middle which is like a Muslim cleric at prayer or a Qawwali, which are songs of devotion to God. Another similar one, with a 80's rap sound (one part of which sounds a little like mellow Linkin Park) is "Aaj Mein." It is the mellow achingly, hauting ones that I really like, though.

Enjoy.

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March 10, 2005

New Narnia Featurette and Wallace and Gromit on the Big Screen!!!

This looks pretty good. There are still a lot of monsters, but some of the location shots look very good.

And I don't know how well Wallace and Gromit will work in an extended big screen movie, but I am there. Gromit is my favorite, and, hopefully, the name of a future pooch when I get to the point where I can willingly commit to the responsibilities of dog care. Ah, there's that "c" word and the "r" one too.

Posted by jackdas at 7:05 PM

February 25, 2005

Hello, Rachel!!!

Well, in the silly manner that one has fascination with movie stars, one of those for me is Rachel Weisz. She was fine in The Mummys, and a librarian too, but I think it was Enemy at the Gates and About a Boy that made say hmmm! The latter is on my list of favorite movies. What inspired this post, though, was some of her comments in an interview about the movie Constantine, which I am probably not going to see unless a roommate brings it home on DVD one day. Regarding evil she says:

ItÕs about the capacity that we as human beings have to do good or to do evil. Good and evil occur on the earth, and we have freewill. We can choose. But there is also a question of predestinationÑGodÕs will. ThereÕs a tension between these two things, and itÕs in a state of flux. ItÕs one of the biggest questions you can ask. For me itÕs a question that is unanswerable. We canÕt say to what degree weÕre in charge. We donÕt know these things. ItÕs a mystery.

I know a five point Calvinist would not be pleased with some of the wording, but, hey, its really quite a knowledgeable statement. Any other Christian would be quite happy with such a framing.

On a question about humanity's alienation from God and each other, Weisz replies:

The breakdown of the relationship between man and God, and the breakdown of nuclear families É society is moving more and more toward very alienated individuals. Individuals are on computers all day, and [theyÕre] not interacting with other human beings, not being part of a church, not being part of a community. TheyÕre [interacting] less and less. People are alone and alienated. Playing computer gamesÑfor me, thatÕs a very alienating thing to do. Anything where youÕre not in relation to family, friends, community, God É thatÕs alienating.

So yes, I think the movie is holding up a light to something thatÕs happening in the world, even though itÕs a completely supernatural kind of [story]. But it is the world, isnÕt it? ItÕs a world with supernatural edges that take over. I would say [the movieÕs] a comment on that.

Again, pretty good. Also, if you like this type of analysis, there is spades more at Jeffrey Overstreet's Looking Closer site.

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Posted by jackdas at 4:47 PM