Jan 25
For at least the last decade or so, I’ve been fairly sour on the contemporary Christian music thing. The reasons for this are many and varied (and likely very predictable as well), but probably not worth getting into here. Whether it is merited or not, I tend to view the whole American evangelical empire and all of the products it spawns with suspicion if not outright cynicism. Read more
One of the blogs I have come to deeply appreciate over the last little while is that of Winnipeg singer/songwriter Steve Bell. Steve is an enormously talented human being whose music I have admired for some time and who I have gone to see in concert whenever and wherever the opportunity presents itself (most recently, I saw him perform at Regent College last September). I began following Steve’s blog last year and have discovered that his talents are many and diverse! Not surprisingly—he is, after all, a songwriter—Steve has a way with words and his posts often leave me with much to ponder. Read more
Oct 29
Oct 26
Jun 29
Thanks to Mike for highlighting Regina Spektor’s performance of “Laughing With” last Friday on The Late Show. Great song, fascinating lyrics. Amazing, the places where questions of theodicy will make an appearance… Read more
Last weekend I preached on Isaiah 2 and focused on the theme of exile—what it means, what it looks like in (post)modern life, and the shape of the hope that emerges out of it. Today, a friend directed my attention to a song called “The Maker” (written by Daniel Lanois, performed by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds) that he felt reflected some of the themes of the sermon. I’d never heard the song before, but I was blown away (you can have a listen here, with a bit of navigation—just select the “Live at Radio City” album and click on the song). I think it beautifully expresses the great hope for all the estranged, alienated, lost and lonely inhabitants of postmodernity—we are not strangers in the hands of the Maker. Read more
Apr 25
This one’s been making the rounds but if you haven’t yet seen it, it’s a well-spent five and a half minutes.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
I’m rather loathe to hop on two horses that have been ridden as promiscuously and enthusiastically within some Christian circles as U2 and C.S. Lewis, but coming across both in the same week is bound to be at least somewhat thought-provoking, right? I’ve been a U2 fan for quite a while now—at least since The Joshua Tree was immortalized as my first “secular” music purchase in 1987 (by “secular music purchase” I mean the first cassette tape (!) that was not selected from among the six meager offerings at the local Christian bookstore). While I’m not one of these rabid fans who think that life as we know it began with U2, or that Bono is going to save the world, I do enjoy their music immensely (and I’m not quite as cynical as some re: the perceived endless moralizing of Bono). Read more
For any and all who have sat (suffered) through a church service saturated with theologically impoverished songs encouraging us to declare that we are “in love” with Jesus, John Stackhouse’s thoughts on the matter might be of interest.
I don’t have anything particularly insightful to add to this excellent post other than, to quote a pastor from my childhood, “a hearty ‘Amen.'”
Throughout the last week or so I have been making incremental additions to my sad excuse for a music library. One of the occupational hazards of being a student is, obviously, a lack of extra funds to explore and purchase new music. I usually get new music twice a year—July and December, when I get a bit of birthday and Christmas money. And as much as I consider Def Leppard’s greatest hits to be a greatly under-appreciated work here at the dawn of the 21st century, I can only listen to the same songs as I bang away on my keyboard for so long until something gives. Read more
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Rumblings 