Two articles: 1) Eddie Vedder, 2) Reformed Pastor on Super-heros

Two articles I enjoyed today...

1. Here's an NPR article on the new Eddie Vedder ukulele album coming out.
   http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/05/26/136625347/eddie-vedder-giving-a-modest-instrument-a-turn-in-the-spotlight
   
   
2. And, here's another one from a pastor in the Grand Cayman Islands about why the recent comic book movies are no good. I think he's on to something:
   http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabitianyabwile/2011/05/31/fallen-super-heroes
   
   "...honestly, I’d have to say they’ve all thus far been colossal flops (I haven’t seen Captain America yet).
   
   There’s one reason really. All the heroes are essentially adolescent, irresponsible, and immoral. There’s no “hero” in them. They barely manage to be courageous, and out of costume most are essentially over-sexed mysogynists.
   
   I realize that good literature refuses to keep everything nice and tidy, good kept to one side and evil to the other. In great literature, tragic realities and horrific pasts give sometimes dark motivations to the noble hero. And occasionally, even the villain has a streak of good running through them.
   
   But to a one, these films have all disappointed me in their failure to depict any significant virtue."
   

Best albums of 2011 - so far

I offer you a break from the surprisingly consistent 'favorite song of the week' posts. This week I'm imposing on you - 'favorite albums of the year - so far'. (Somehow this blog has turned into a 'favorites' blog...the music-only blog...and, the sell-out/overly-linked-to-Amazon blog. Things could be worse.)

Tier One of Favorites

1. The Decemberists: The King is Dead - Easily my favorite album of the year. "Easily" means you might want to spend your hard earned money on it.


2. The Head and the Heart: The Head and the Heart - This album came out last year. I'm breaking the 2011-only rules. I'm ready for the chaos. This has been the most highly played album in the our home over the last month (of course, it's hard to say how much Muse my wife listens to when I'm gone, ignorance is bliss).


3. Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What - I've listened to this one 5 or 6 times and have highly enjoyed it each time. He's clever. He's telling nerdy, Paul Simon, lyrical jokes...and, he's processing life through stories. That's a hard combination to beat. ($5 is added bonus - 5/28)


4. Wanda Jackson: The Party Ain't Over - This is a honky-tonk, rockabilly, horn-filled house-party in the Caribbean. I think Loretta Lynn is jealous (Jack White produced an album for both of them...this one is better, in my opinion).

Tier Two


5. Brett Dennen: Loverboy - I can't stop listening to Sydney (I'll Come Running)...it has a catchy melody and a cougar reference. What else do you need? It's one of many good songs, though.


6. Shawn Mullins: Light You Up - The Ghost of Johnny Cash...you can't beat this creepy, awesome song about Shawn and the man in black. For what it's worth, I think Shawn Mullins is a great song writer...his down-side is that his albums can feel more like a bunch of songs thrown together than a cohesive album. This album feels that way.


7. Peter Bjorn and John: Gimme Some - It's a good album, and yet...missing something. I would give it one thumbs up, instead of the three that it arrogantly gives to itself.


8. Bob Dylan: Brandeis University 1963 - Masters of War is the stand out song to me. I like the show as Dylan history...it's 'interesting'. ...Not my favorite assembly of 7 Dylan songs, though. ($5 - 5/28)

Eight albums is all you get...let me know what I should add to the list...

Favorite Song of the Week 4: "Dust Bowl Dance" by Mumford and Sons

Favorite Song of the Week = Dust Bowl Dance

Apparently I hadn't listened to Mumford's lyrics close enough on this one. Inspired by the Currently Prophetic podcast, I gave it a closer listen. This time it came through my earphones as a song about the repercussions of misplaced trust...which rejuvenated its lifespan on my MP3 player.

"I placed all my trust at the foot of...this hill." When your trust ends up in the wrong spot, you end up feeling alienated, hateful, spiteful, angry at whatever let you down. I guess it's good to make sure your trust is at the foot of something stable.

(I thought this make-shift way of sharing the song would be preferable to making you watch a YouTube video.)

- For those interested, the runner-up this week was Everybody Needs Love by The Drive-By Truckers. A nice little ditty about how everybody needs love.

Seeking Discomfort?

This blog post is good.

http://sashadichter.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/tune-in-for-mindless-affirmation/

Favorite Song of the Week 3: "Lost In My Mind" by The Head and the Heart

Favorite Song of the Week - Lost In My Mind.



Other stuff:
- The Head and the Heart. In my mind, they are good...good like Mumford & Sons - 2010. You can download two of their songs for free on their website. The price is likely cheaper than anything at the Mumford & Sons website.
- If I ever need a music video made I will find Christian Sorensen Hansen and ask him to do it. Here is his website: http://www.internationalfilingsystems.com/
- 50% of the music I listen to was discovered at http://www.fuelfriendsblog.com/. This is no exception.
- Runner up for Favorite Song = My Maria by B.W. Stevenson. A long-lost love song from the 70s.

Favorite Song of the Week - "June Hymn" by The Decemberists

Favorite song of the week = "June Hymn" by The Decemberists

It's a good song for Spring & (bonus) it uses the word panoply. If you like the Spring and panoplies, you are in for a real treat this week.

Other items of interest:

- Runner up favorite of the week "Devil's In The Jukebox" - Ray LeMontagne.

- All time favorite song with a bonnet reference - Return Of The Grievous Angel's "calico bonnet" (June Hymn references yellow bonnets)

- Number of words in favorite song of the week I needed to look up in the dictionary: 5-10

Favorite Song of the Week: The Tallest Man on Earth - King of Spain

New feature on my blog. You get my favorite song of the week.

If the new feature would have been in affect last week you would have been graced with "Sydney (I'll Come Running)" - Brett Dennen.

Odds of this lasting more than 3 consecutive weeks 1:8.

Enjoy...



"...an ode to the transformative powers of love..." - Stephen M. Deusner

The Johnny Cash Project

Click on this link, then another link, wait a long time for the video to load - and you will be happy.

http://www.thejohnnycashproject.com/

10 Favorite Albums of 2010

1. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

I'd be very embarrassed if you knew how many times I listened to the first half of this album this year. "Sigh No More" wins the favorite song of the year award. Mumford is getting bigger. Someday they may rule the world.

2. The Black Keys - Brothers

Blues, rock, brotherhood, coolness...all of my favorite things triple-coated through the whole album. It will make you happy while you listen to it.

3. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

I feel as though I was able to enjoy this album more now that my address has Milwaukee in it. I can now credibly pity the poor folks in the 'burbs, so do the Arcade Fire (...I think, I'm still not sure I follow the whole storyline of this album).

4. The National - High Violet

A little dark/depressing...but, repeated listens shot this album way up the list. ("Sorrow found me when I was young / Sorrow waited, Sorrow won". ...It sounds better than it reads.)

5. Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away

Probably the coolest song of the year is "The Curse"...you should listen to it.

6. Neil Young - Le Noise

The whole album has a good dose of awesomeness, but I especially like the first half...it is noisier.

7. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can

Also worth checking out is the EP she did with Mumford & Sons in India.

8. Ray Lamontagne - God Willing' & the Creek Don't Rise

No one does sad and depressing much better than Ray...someday I will figure out how to say his last name.

9. Matt Pond PA - The Dark Leaves

Best song = "Remains".

10. Mavis Staple - You Are Not Alone

Staples Singers...Produced by Jeff Tweedy...it had to be on the list, I even listened to it a couple times.

I like you. Thanks for reading my list.

Snow Globe

Every year I get some sort of strange enjoyment out of this online snow globe. I thought I'd pass it along.

http://www.funflashgames.com/newwin-Holiday-Snow-Globe.html

Tauntaun Sleeping Bag

I break my regularly scheduled lack of blog posts to present you with the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag. Christmas is coming...I know some of you have kids.

The Arts & Faith Top 100 Films

If you are interested in a bunch of slow-moving, art-fartsy, non-commercial movies with spiritual themes, you might not find a better list of 100 movies than this one.

http://artsandfaith.com/t100

(Click here for some background on the list.)

David Masciotra's Top 15 Springsteen Songs of the Decade

Here's a decent list of the 15 best Springsteen songs of the last ten years. Even better...his implications of how much better the young fans are than the old rockers.

http://trueslant.com/davidmasciotra/2010/07/12/not-a-jukebox-springsteens-top-15-of-the-decade-and-the-growth-of-an-artistic-voice

And, for what it's worth, here is my (superior) list of the top 15 Springsteen songs of the last decade:

1. The Rising
2. Devils and Dust
3. Lonesome Day
4. My City of Ruins
5. Jesus Was An Only Son
6. Long Walk Home
7. How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times
8. The Wrestler
9. Into the Fire
10. The Last Carnival
11. Waiting On A Sunny Day
12. You're Missing
13. Terry's Song
14. My Lucky Day
15. American Land

Christopher Hitchens - Article on his cancer

Here's a pretty good article from CNN's Belief Blog called: "Why Christians should pray for Christopher Hitchens".

Also, if you haven't seen this documentary...it's worth adding to your Netflix queue.

www.collisionmovie.com

Christian Romance Part 11

I did a guest post at my Mom's blog. Here is the link, in case you are interested. The topic is sequel-writing in the world of Christian Romance.

http://judyg54.blogspot.com/2010/05/art-of-sequels-in-christian-romance.html

It's my Mom's blog, so be on your best behavior. I know many of you are saying, "Of course it's your Mom's blog, who else would have you?". A valid point, which may be true...post a comment and I'll send you an autographed picture someday when this blog makes me famous.

Happy Earth Day

Be good to the earth - God made it.

This Too Shall Pass - OKGO

Two of the coolest music videos in YouTube history are by OKGO ("Here It Goes Again" and "A Million Ways"). Here are a couple newer videos by OKGO for the song "This Too Shall Pass". The second video you can't embed, but you should watch it anyway.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJKythlXAIY

Once in your life, maybe tonight...?

To my buddy Brett and his new fiancee....

Congratulations.

Maddy Curtis

Here's a good blog post...with a nice little YouTube video about an American Idol contestant.

http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2010/01/maddy-curtis-a-bright-light-in-the-bright-lights

Death-opoly

"I pity satirists who might be tempted to try to tweak these segments of the evangelical world. Theirs is a mission impossible. It can no longer be done. No matter how indelicately they might exaggerate, no matter how much they might embellish to make a point, no matter how many descriptions they might offer of the tasteless things that are happening, it will most likely be met with only a yawn and a bored question: 'So...?' Nothing seems improbable. None of it, in fact, ever seems exaggerated and none of it seems improper. It has now become impossible to insult some evangelicals." (David Wells, The Courage to Be Protestant, p 24)

I know I've posted this quote before...but, it seemed appropriate in response to the mailing (pictured above) that I received from World Vision today. I've never seen the words "all-new, fun-packed Famine game" strung together until this evening...