new tunes

I have an album recommendation. The other day,  my friend Ryan handed me the Cd case for Beck's album Sea Change and told me that he thought I would like it. Well, I just about fell in love with it. I listened to it off and on for 24 hours and then handed it back to him so I could get my own copy.  This album is old news.  It was recorded and produced in 2002 (#5 on critics choice in 2002).  It was produced by the famous Nigel Godrich (Radiohead,  Paul McCartney, etc.) Still, I had never given it a listen.

Anybody that knows anything about Beck knows that he has many different styles.  This album is really laid back.  It is primarily an acoustic album with a certain degree of ambiance.  It is kind of a heavy album, deeply emotive and melodic. I'm convinced that one of the reasons it so deeply clicked with me is because of the last couple of overcast days and the rainy atmosphere. 

I'm recommending the album, but I want everyone who buys it on my recommendation to buy it and listen to it for the first time when it is either rainy, overcast, or at night.  It will strike a beautiful chord within you, I guarantee.  I don't know if an album has ever influenced me so much in only 3 days.

Worship music should be good, but not too good

A post over at Semper Reformanda has got me thinking about the quality of worship music again. I have always been of the opinion that part of what glorifies God in worship is not only the words being sung, but also the skill with which the songs are played (ie David's exhortation to "play skillfully before the Lord").  God is glorified when we know how to make good music, no question.  But how good can worship music really be?

The fact is that worship music has limitations, and these limitations are a blessing.  For instance, good worship songs are singable and easy for people to learn quickly. The songs are both immediate and universal so that the singer can take what is being sung and use it to edify themselves and build up the Church. This leaves little room for performance because the worship leader must automatically ask introspective questions like "is this helpful"  "is it distracting" "why exactly are we doing this."  These questions need not be asked for non-church musicians because the easy answer is that they are trying to make the most impressive sounds possible...and for that we are thankful, because we all like good sounds.

When it comes to the church though, people are looking for edification, solidarity with believers, and something different. No church that I know of can provide entertainment like going to a Decemberists concert.  Most people/churches that try to mix really good, entertaining music with church music usually end up on the CCM charts and ruin both genres.  But the point is that people increasingly are not looking for that kind of entertainment in churches.  There is a general disenchantment with churches that have faux worship that is trying to appeal to the masses.

Even if its less good, or hardly good at all, people will appreciate a genuine attempt at meaty worship music.  We should produce music that is relevant and regional.  We should spend time on the best chord progressions, interludes, key changes and even solos.  But, overall, we should try to produce good music insofar as it helps people open their mouths, engage their minds and incline their hearts. 

Have you walked the Roman Road...

Today marks the second time that I have come across a "Roman Road" pamphlet in the bathrooms on Campus.  The first time was in the CBA building, the second time was in a bathroom in Nebraska Hall which is all the way across campus.  Who is putting these evangelistic pamphlets in the bathrooms everywhere???

This kind of evangelism reminds me of those types who are always pushing for conversion and a subsequent testimony.  My thought: These people are shooting themselves in the foot.  I mean, who wants a testimony that involves a toilet.

I propose a new kind of pamphlet that should be used specifically for bathrooms everywhere. We could call it "The Call of Nature and the Call of Christ." 

A real cure for the hiccups

I had an almost violent attack of hiccups this evening.  After about 20 minutes, I decided to take action.  So I googled "how to get rid of hiccups" and clicked on the first link.  It was a short video on 5 things that you can do  to get rid of your hiccups.  

The very first suggestion on the list worked for me.  All you have to do is swallow a teaspoon of dry sugar (don't drink anything).  A study showed that this technique worked for 19 out of 20 people.  I have always been skeptical of this treatment so I made sure that I still had the hiccups before I took the sugar.  After a very large hiccup, I downed the sugar and my hiccups went away. Amazing!

I now have a slight stomach ache from the spoonful of sugar, but no hiccups.

Hermeneutics Quiz

I just took the hermeneutics quiz created by Scot McNight. It was an interesting assessment and I actually appreciated the way that it was set up. Like any 20 question quiz that is intended to define who you are, there were limitations. But I cringed far less during this quiz than I usually do when I mark answers.

The quiz is scaled from 1 - 100. Interestingly, I scored a 53 which is the very first number in the "moderate" category. I'm really quite surprised that I didn't fall into a conservative category, but I guess that it was a close call.

Mostly the quiz asks questions about the relationship between the old and new testaments (covenants) and whether we understand the Bible more systematically or communally. There were also some questions about how we interpret some "hard" biblical passages like women's roles and homosexuality. Take the quiz HERE

I felt like I was in an Indie film

Our department at the Lincoln Journal Star handles the obituaries among other things. I had a really interesting moment the other day with a middle-aged lady who writes obituaries for us. I was standing beside the fax machine waiting for a copy and she came up beside me.

Obit Lady: "I am a horrible person"


Me: " Why?"


OL: "Because I get these obituary requests, and I just laugh at them. I mean, I laugh at these dead people."

Me: "oh"

OL: "I mean, just the other day. I got an obit for a lady with the last name "Coffin" and I just couldn't stop laughing. I just kept laughin' and laughin' "


Me: "Oh...really" (seriously, what do you say?)


OL: "And then there is this" (she shows me a picture of a lady, recently deceased. It was an obit that I had just handed her from the fax machine.) "Look at this lady, she has this ridiculous red lipstick on....(she trails off) I mean she looks like my Grandma."


Then she sat back down at her desk.

Life as a tragicomedy. This lady works full time with us, so she is writing about dead people, seeing their pictures, and talking to their families for 40 hours every week. Her situation is understandable, she must find humor in her everyday life just like the rest of us. In general, though, its strange how the things that hurt us the most also have the ability to make us laugh the hardest. Some people say that we have to laugh to shield ourselves from the reality of completely harsh world. Obviously, I don't think that our situation is that hopeless. But the reality is that we live in a broken world, so I can certainly relate.

For those of us who love hymns

I have added some links to some great worship resources.  Check them out under my new "Worship Resources" category on the side.  Here are some brief explanations.

Cardiphonia: This is the worship site of modern hymn writer/re-writer Nathan Partain. Nathan is the Pastor of Worship and the Arts (an awesome job title if you ask me) at Redeemer Church in Indianapolis.  This site has lots of new hymns written by Nathan and others and has a lot of audio, lyrics, and lead sheets.  

Cyber hymnal: This is really cool (albeit nerdy).  This site has over 6,000 hymn titles.  On most of the songs they have the melody playing when you click on the title and info on the author as well as the composer of the melody.  Its kind of an outdated site...but its huge.

Semper Reformanda Records: This is the site of Brian Thomas, a worship leader at Kaleo Church in Seattle.  I like reading his blog about worship music and the site has some good links and audio.

Isn't worship music cool?  Enjoy.