Archive for the 'Music' Category

Let Us Know You

Published
by
Dave
on September 18, 2008
in Faith and Music
. 0 Comments

Andy Osenga is quickly becoming one of my favorite musicians. What I’m posting about here is one of the big reasons why.

A year or so ago Andy tried this experiment- he created a short album, completely for his fans and distributed it strictly through his website and iTunes. So, that’s not that ground breaking, right? well, there were two catches- first, he did it for FREE. you could donate if you wanted to, but not required. Secondly, it wasn’t just for the fans, it was in part, BY the fans. They contributed stories, letters, ideas for the songs. Andy in turn made it into poetry…but it didn’t stop there. On the last track he offered the online community the opportunity to be on the record. Just record yourself singing a simple melody and send it to him. He then spliced it all together into something wonderful. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to that album, but I know for sure that it was probably the most played of my entire collection for the past year.

Well… He did it again. Yesterday Andy released “Letters to the Editor Vol 2″. Just like the first one he invited ideas for the album and invited people to contribute vocals as well as their instruments. He provided some backing/click/sample tracks to keep you on track and the rest was up to you. And again Andy turned it into something beautiful. The icing on the cake, so to speak, was the subject of the last track- a song titled “Let Us Know You”. Andy writes, “This song was written in response to the overwhelming number of letters I received from people battling depression, numbness, and a general bleakness which barely conceals anger. I understand it, because I recognize it in myself.”

Wow.

After reading those words and hearing the song, I can’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite sites, Post Secret. Everyone is carrying around something, dealing with something, struggling with something. And for me, this song pulls all of that together in an experience that is breathtaking.

So, without further due, I urge you to hop over to Andy’s site, download the album, give a few bucks if you want, and just listen…

my friends have sent me letters
I’ve read them all and then
I tried to make sense of the stories
but I was overwhelmed

so much anger, so much pain
we’ve had to go numb to survive

[chorus]
so I am closing my eyes
and I’m praying for thos in my life
let us feel, let us love
let us be alive, let us know you

my friends have shared their secrets
and I have given mine
the anarchy of what we think
no one will ever find

in the daylight, to our surprise
our secrets are shades of the same

[chorus]

in the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with You
You parted the seas
held up the flame in the night to guide us through
You drew in the sand
dropped the stones from violent hands
heard the cry of the crow
and set Your eyes on a faithless friend

You are who You are, and You are and You were and will be

random ramblings.

Published
by
Dave
on March 29, 2007
in Faith, General, Life, Music and Politics
. 0 Comments

Lots happening in middle America these days. Headed away this weekend to help out with a youth retreat. for those that don’t know, a youth retreat is a weekend for the teenagers at church & their friends to get away from “normal” life and focus on getting to know God and each other better…or at least that’s what we hope for. At first I was almost dreading the idea, but as time goes by I’m looking forward to it more and more. There are 3 other guys my age going and I’m looking forward to spending some time with them.

Jen has been gone for the past 9 days and I have to be up in about 5 hours to pick her up at the airport. I think she had a good time with her family in Washington, but I’m REALLY looking forward to her return. Besides the normal stuff like cooking…I really get lonely in this house by myself. I can’t imagine living my whole life unmarried.

Politics are on the horizon. I go through phases I think…I got so burnt out from the last Presidential election, it’s taken me almost 3 years to recover. I don’t really like any of the candidates so far. I’m hoping that Fred Thompson (yes, the actor) might consider running. I was a big Bush backer back in the day…but it seems like he is just, without going into details- wore out. My political views are changing some too…I’m starting see the world as a bigger place than I once did. I’m still a conservative for sure, but I see both sides of the coin a bit clearer than I did a few years ago.

I’ve picked up yet another hobby in the past couple months- RC cars. Ever since I was a kid I always loved anything that had a remote control. I got a little cheap RC buggy for my birthday when I was probably 10-11 and I ran that thing to death. This past Christmas I asked Jen for a “real” one, like the type you buy at a hobby shop. For lack of better gift options, she bought it for me. Unfortunately it isn’t much fun to stand outside in the cold to run the thing so I had to wait for warmer days and I just recently started playing with it regularly. It’s really a lot of fun. I told my dad it reminds me of the feeling I get when I ride my dirtbike only there’s no threat of getting hurt.

One last thing. If you haven’t heard the new Jars of Clay album, Good Monsters, stop what you’re doing and go to iTunes, Amazon, or to your local shop and pick it up. It’s just one of the best albums I’ve heard in a while. Well, I’ve been addicted to Andrew Osenga’s album The Morning for a while, but it’s a little more of a specialized taste, whereas I think just about anyone will like Good Monsters.

Anyway, that’s it for this edition. I’ve got to get some sleep so I can get up in a few hours. Leave some comments people!

art [as in music]

Published
by
Dave
on January 18, 2007
in Faith, Music and soapbox
. 0 Comments

This isn’t the first and it won’t be the last rant about contemporary worship music you’ll hear from me.  I’m sick and tired of the burnt out praise and worship choruses.  period.  just as an example, here are two songs…the first is a common song sang at my church:

Let the poor man say I am rich again
Let the lost man said I am found again
Whoa, let the river flow
Let the blind man say I can see again
Let the dead man say I am born again
Whoa, let the river flow
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let the river flow.

Let the river flow
Let the river flow
Holy spirit come
Moving power
Let the river flow.

Let the poor man say I am rich again
Let the lost man said I am found again
Whoa, let the river flow
Let the blind man say I can see again
Let the dead man say I am born again
Whoa, let the river flow
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let the river flow.

Let the river flow
Let the river flow
Holy spirit come
Moving power
Let the river flow

Kind of repetitious don’t you think?  I mean…seriously where is the art in that?  where is the meaning?  And here is an old hymn for comparison.

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Now that is art.  Pure poetry circa 1882

last.fm

Published
by
Dave
on December 19, 2006
in Music and Technology
. 0 Comments

If you haven’t already checked out last.fm you really should. (well, if you’re into music and tech that is)

last.fm is essentially a streaming music service, but it’s oh so much more than that! It’s like myspace in that it’s somewhat social and you have your own profile page, but instead of pictures and comments its mostly about the music. The basic rundown- you type in a few artist you like, hit play and it generates a streaming audio station based on similar artist. If you download an iTunes plugin (which i recommend doing), it will automatically upload a list of what songs you’ve played recently and in turn it will help you find more music you might like. It will even give you HTML code that you can put on your myspace and/or blog to let people know what songs/artist you’ve been listening to (something i plan to do soon). On top of all that, when it plays a song it gives you full disclosure about what you’re listening to…usually a biography of the artist, discography, and links to purchase the music. AND…you can recommend music to your friends with a simple click.

it’s not without it’s downfalls…for instance iTunes or other online music store links would be a nice touch, but since theres no partnership i understand why there’s not. Also there’s no “back” button…so if you’re wondering what the last song was that you heard, you’ll have to dig a bit to find out.

overall though, a great experience and something I would recommend if you’re in the mood to discover new music or would like to share your favorites with others…it’s better than fm or satellite radio that’s for sure…NO commercials, decent quality, and a HUGE selection.

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