Description:
Metaphors, Symbolism, Euphemisms, Oh My!.. A Few Bands.. Lifehouse (Everything Skit).. Brooke Waggoner - My 20 fav (and bonus download!)..
Contents:
Metaphors, Symbolism, Euphemisms, Oh My!
Chariot- Page France
Swing, like a chariot
At the trumpet call
When we’re all unsaved,
Swing like a wrecking ball
Like the heart of god
What a mystery
Filled with the wedding feast
For the snakes and bees
With the angel teeth, swing
Come and carry us
Come and marry us
To the blushing circus king
And dance like elephants as he comes to us
Through a fiery golden ring
With a violin and a song to sing
As he brings for us our wings
Now he’s one of us
Plays the tambourine
Breaks the bread for us
And sings
Will you wait for us
Will you stay for us
Will you grace us everything
You’re a wrecking ball
With a heart of gold
People wait for it, swing
Like a chariot
Swing it low for us
Come and carry us away
So we will become a happy ending
So we will become a happy ending
Fire come and carry us
Make us shine or make us rust
Tell us that you care for us
We need to hear a word for us
Let your body stand with us
Or let our rags be turned to dust
Chariot you swing for us
We think that you can carry all of us
So we will become a happy ending
So we will become a happy ending
So we will become a happy ending
So we will become a happy ending
Metaphors, symbolism, euphemisms, oh my! There is no mention of a Dorothy in these lyrics, but boy are they are pair of Ruby Red Slippers. Ruby, sapphire, or whatever stone you want to call them, they are packed with radiance and reflection.
There is something about these lyrics that seem to catch me off guard. First of all, if you listen to the song, it’s not necessarily typical. Certainly a different style than most are used to, but I’ve come to love it. Actually, I didn’t give it a second chance after I heard it at first, but it’s grown on me. The lyrics can be hard to decipher, but once you get the hang of it, they are pretty packed.
The first mention of “Chariot” makes me think of Elijah and his whole story. While that resonates with me through the song, the lyrics become more of a prayer than a story.
If I had to paraphrase these lyrics into a prayer it’d would kinda go like this:
__________________
Lord, come right here, stay with me.
Come with fury and passion even when we don’t care to acknowledge you.
You come with gifts and bounty, but still you are mysterious.
Use your creation to come and take us by force or stillness.
You provide us with bread and love.
Will you stay with us? Will you wait for us to change?
You destroy and tear down, but you do it with a pure and graceful heart.
Come with passion, swing low and take us away.
Do these things in us so we will become the happy ending.
Despair and pain come and move us.
Give us comfort or bring us pain.
Just tell us that you are here, that you care for us.
We need you to be with us, else we are no more than dust.
We trust you will take us further.
Do these things in us so we will become the happy ending.
Do these things in us so we will become the happy ending.
____________________________
I’ll leave the rest of the interpretation up to you.
       
A Few Bands
Lifehouse (Everything Skit)
Brooke Waggoner - My 20 fav (and bonus download!)
Fresh Pair of Eyes
Brooke Waggoner stands out (If that is supposed to be her on the cover, then she certainly stands out with an old record player for a head). Her music has captured something within me besides the regular and mundane that come with the many guitar driven rock ballads. Besides from being an excellent pianist, her lyrics can be clever and reassuring. A nice combo if you ask me.
Strengths:
The piano in this album is no doubt the best and most intriguing part. I’m not saying that this album would be bad without the piano, or that the piano is the only thing holding it together, but that the piano exemplifies all the great stuff going on in the front and back lines. It’s the icing to the cake (since I don’t like frosting, maybe this analogy doesn’t work all that well).
The piano that takes over in “Hush if You Must” (one of the best songs in my opinion) in the middle of the song is one of the highlights of the album for me. Not only being a literal center of the piece, I think it’s a central part of the album. The character it adds in conjunction with the vocals and strings makes “Hush if You Must” a stylistically brilliant piece.
Strings and the background instruments add fifty different colors to the songs on this album. Another huge plus.
 Weaknesses:
Brooke has some great vocals in the album, but at times it isn’t necessarily all that awe provoking. This is not supposed to be a detraction from the album, just an observation. The vocals are in no way sub-par if you ask me. Stylistically they are wonderful. The blend and quality of her voice adds a unique and jazzy spin to her music.
The only other thing I’ve noticed is that this isn’t a full album! There’s only six songs. So, that’s a “weakness” I guess. I think the only thing you can do there is wait for her full one to come out.
Aesthetic appeal:
Hands down the tone and style of the album are some of my favorites. The album is is musically fresh — not something too often these days.
If you like piano, strings, acoustics, expressive, lyrics, and drums in an almost jazzy classical-infused-with-alternative-indie-pop sound, then this might just be your lucky day. The lyrics and creativity in “So-So” are also a good way to express the aesthetic appeal of this album; almost all of the lines rhyme. This might not sound so impressive, but to come up with so many words that end in “o” seems pretty creative.
I just think the musical talent in this album stands out.
Spirituality:
Much more subtle than many of the bands today, the spirituality is infused within the musical expressions and meaning of the songs. The music is beautiful, and that in itself has an ability to provoke realization of God and His creations.
The more typical expression of the spirituality in this album comes in a song like “My Legionnaire”. Open to interpretation, the “Legionnaire” referenced in the songs can easily be understood as God or His manifestations. That’s how it took me, and it seems to hold some credibility.
Standout Tracks:
“Hush if You Must”, “So-So”, and “Fresh Pair of Eyes.” (So, that’s half of the album…)
____________________
Brooke Waggoner’s Website: linky
Brooke Waggoner’s myspace: linky
This is an album under “My 20 Favorite albums” as well. I’ve decided to post is here for the free download, but you will still see it under that section too.
(Bonus!)
Fresh Pair of Eyes
This time it’s the whole album. Brooke Waggoner is offering a free download of her album, Fresh Pair of eyes, is you simply provide your email so that they may send you the link. I’m not going to get into the specifics of the album here becasue I just did that up there…
Link for free download of Fresh Pair of Eyes
       
Amongst the Sand
 I’m sitting here in the computer lab pretty much by myself. About four computers over, there are two girls working on Chemistry homework. The windows to my left lend a cool breeze every so often, and I’m still tired (It’s only 7:57 AM). So far, my day has been desolate. All my friends have left on a trip and won’t be back for two days. I’m not looking forward to what lies ahead today because of the loneliness that might make itself known more so than normal.
Although the duration of this process of going to classes by myself (only to show up with barely anyone there), walking the halls myself, and spending a Friday evening without much to do is short in duration, there have certainly been other times in my life where the blankness of life has brought me down.
But since loneliness is right at my door step today, I’ve begun to process its characteristics and wonder about what God is doing in these kinds of circumstances. Loneliness is usually considered to be a bad thing, but can it ever a good thing? Is there ever a time that God purposefully puts us into a desert without anyone to talk to? What kinds of things can we learn from being by ourselves? What kind of opportunities can it present us with?
Well, first of all, the act of being alone is a huge opportunity in itself. If you really think about it, how often do you remove yourself from the bustle and noise of life to just sit and think? Although some of us have that opportunity, many of us have a hard time finding time away from the routines and sounds that fill our everyday lives. It can get tough to sit and listen.
Being alone presents an opportunity to be alone with God. It also presents a time removed from the normalcy of life where listening for God may have a different ring. I find that being alone can be very depressing. But then there are times that being alone is very comforting and reassuring. There are times in my life when being alone has brought me closest to God. It has been those times (where I feel like an epigone of ancient monks) that really touch me in a way that listening for God in the middle of a normal day does not. Although it still may be hard to hear what He is saying to you, you have an opportunity to listen without many external distractions. You have an opportunity to hear God though a different set of speakers. You have an opportunity to see God in yourself.
Being in a desert with no one to talk to isn’t that much fun (not to mention the heat and lack of water). But is this okay? Should we always be asking God to deliver us from it? I’m not so sure. Deliverance has the connotation of being held captive somewhere. Well, we aren’t really “captives” in a desert (although figuratively it does work) – we are more like wandering lost souls. But can God ever put us in the middle of a desert on purpose? (No… he will never put us in a bowl of ice cream, not that kind of dessert).
I think God is willing and does put us in situations that are void; situations where we do feel like we are in the middle of a desert. Although we may feel like we are the ones suffering, maybe we are being protected. Maybe there is an army in the city we are supposed to travel through and God sticks us in the desert for protection. Maybe there are influences God thinks you would benefit from not being exposed to, so He sticks you in the middle of nowhere to get you away. There are many more possibilities, but being in a desert, being in desolation, being in a place that is lonely, is not always a bad thing. God may be training you, he may be teaching you how to survive. He may be giving you the skills to help others find their way if you ever encounter someone in the same position.
Jesus was alone in the desert for forty days and I’d think He felt pretty lonely. We know that He felt the full range of human emotion, so I don’t think that thinking Jesus felt lonely (even having His Father) is wrong thinking. This trial period tested Him; it taught him how to rely on God and how to resist temptation when confronted by the evil one.
I think Jesus was a very lonely person; one of the loneliest on earth. Think of how much knowledge and understanding he possessed and yet He had no one that understood like he did. Jesus was able to commune and be with his disciples often, but that does not necessarily mean he was well understood.
This also plays a role during the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus goes to pray asking God to spare him, but only returns to find his disciples sleeping:
And he comes to the disciples, and finds them asleep, and said to Peter, What, could you not watch with me one hour?
Mathew 26:40
Jesus realizes the importance of this moment. He realizes what is at stake… and he is scared to death (figuratively). The loneliness Jesus must have felt at this point must have been unbearable. Even his closest disciples fell asleep the night the world changed. I don’t know about you, but that would bring me down. That would make me feel alone.
I think there is something else that we can learn from understanding that God can feel lonely too. We are created in His image, right? So it would be understandable to say loneliness is in some way a reflection of His image. I think we can learn a lot from Martha, how she poured expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus. She ministered to him in that moment, and is still being remembered today. The Lord obviously thought it was important enough to include in the scriptures, its significance should not be overlooked.
Empathy is something I feel we can feel for God. The loneliness He experiences is something we are fond of, and I think empathy is an important way to feel. This may not sit well with all of you, but in my experiences, I feel like this has held some truth. I can feel empathy for God because he can feel lonely. He can feel ignored, He can feel like no one is listening. Of course, we know the opposite range of these emotions well too, but I’m not so sure we think about God in this way very often. I think it’s something to consider and ponder. Loneliness can be more complex than we think.
       
Sapling - White Winter Hymnal
When The Wild Animals Become Too Numerous
 Traveling up to the Adirondacks every summer has led me to encounter my fair share of wild animals. Bears, loons, raccoons, cardinals, etc. It’s one of the few places left on earth that is still wild, let alone, protected from development. It’s pretty intriguing to think about how the stunning smooth mountains and carpeting deciduous forests were once even wilder than we’ve ever experienced. It is a place filled with life, untarnished by acid rain or deforestation.
But imagine the opposite of that. Imagine a land filled with people and a bustling harbor. A land that’s been called home for quite some time, kinda like the Middle East. Wouldn’t it makes sense to say that if those people just got up and left (or got displaced for some reason), that the wild that once tamed the land would retake its previous position? Well, that’s kinda what I’m trying to get at.
I’ve delved into Exodus over the past few months and it’s become very interesting to see what kind of things God has been pointing out to me (through my reading or others). My good friend pointed out one of the things in Exodus that really intrigued him. When I thought about it too, it also became increasingly reassuring and interesting to think about. The verses are as follows:
27 “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. 28 I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.
Exodus 23:27-29
In Exodus, God seems to make a lot of statements to the Jewish people that either have to do with what God has in store for them, or how He will prosper/protect them. This verse is no exception. Just think about it, wouldn’t it be cool to realize that God sends His terror out ahead of us and throws all out enemies into confusion? Well, I don’t think that’s too far out of the realm of understanding or truth (He even can send out giant hornets! Just tell that to your bee-allergic friends [I'm really not this mean]).
But the section of this passage that really makes me think has to do with the “wild animals”. Now, I don’t think this passage needs to be taken solely literally. The references to the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites can also represent many of the enemies and troubles we are facing today. These groups of people were in opposition to the Jewish people during the time Exodus was written, and it makes sense that they can also symbolize the enemies we face today in our own time period. The passage is clear to mention that God will not drive your enemies out in a single year, and I think this is very important.
A lot of people can become frustrated with God when He does not seem to answer their prayers, or if His responses come too slowly (in our eyes). But in the passage above, it says that He will not “drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you”. So, God may take some time to drive out our enemies, remove us from a desert, or answer our prayers becasue the desolate area left behind may be too much for us to handle; too much to think about and handle all at once, too difficult a situation that we may need to mature some more first.
God responses to this though with the following: “Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” Once God has started to drive out your enemies, He may do it in a fashion that allows you to grow. He needs you to mature and grow before he can give you full reign over the land. This strikes me as being very profound. God is not always going to instantly make things better, He takes time. He is going to drive your enemies out “little by little”, which is a response many of us can become frustrated with.
We can see that if God removes the enemies form the land all at once, it will be overrun by wild animals “too numerous for you to handle”. Maybe a horde of bears, or a flock of loons, I don’t know, but I do know that I do not want to wake up with a giant brown bear over my head.
I want to trust God on this one that we will drive out our enemies; that He will send His terror out ahead of us; that He will take time. It’s clear that things may not get better fast enough for us, but we have to realize that God is working on our behalf. He loves us that much. He’s going to take the approach that He has planned for us, and that might not be the one we’d like, let alone comprehend.
Next time you are confronted with an enemy, a battle, a struggle, or anything else that might be a Canaanite, and He does not remove it immediately, remember that God is protecting you from the bears. From a horde of raccoons or a community of lions. He may take some time, and that might be hard, but I assure you, it’s worth it.
       
Expelled
 Creation and Evolution have been topics in my life that have created some (humble) conflict and controversy.
I’m glad that things have never escalated to a point that has hurt my relationships, but I am glad that there is finally a documentary out there addressing how our freedom is being taken away; that has certainly been my experience. Ben Stein points out that any questioning of Darwinian theory with even a mention of Intelligent Design is a big no-no in the scientific community.
I went to see Expelled on a Saturday night around 10:00 (late, I know). I was really excited to see this film becasue I love to learn about science and the connections to God that can be found. However, I guess a few of my friends did not share my enthusiasm. Not mentioning any names, I could see a few of their eyes shut when I looked over. You have to give them some credit though — it was 11:30 at night watching a documentary (by the monotonous Ben Stein).
I stayed awake for the whole thing though. I thought it turned out to present some real thought provoking concepts, and it proved to be quite funny at points. For example, I don’t remember the name of the interviewee, but apparently life could have arrived on earth on the “back of crystals”. You can see in the film how the man goes in circles not really answering the question… I just thought it was funny.
Stein meets with very well established scientists and intellectuals who have lost their jobs due to even a mention of Intelligent design based on scientific evidence. Scientists have lost their jobs, journalists have lost their credibility, and now some of them won’t even be hired again. Stein does a fine job of pointing these things out without being a “religious freak” or someone who apparently wants to impose their religion on everyone else. This view described just in the last sentence is one that many are facing today. Stein shows that there is an automatic assumption and bias that any mention of Intelligent Design means you are a creationist and want to advance some religious agenda. With some interesting people, Stein shows this is not the case in many situations.
There are a few things I did not like about the movie. At points the content of the film did not seem all that relevant. The part addressing the Holocaust and Nazi regime did not really make much sense to me. I could see where Stein was going and the point he was trying to make, but it just seems like he was trying to point out that the Darwinian mindset leads to destruction and eugenics. That Darwinians will become bad people. Although I don’t think this was the vibe he was trying to get across, it seems like the film did not need that section. It seems like a side note (that took up too much time for a side note).
Overall, Be Stein’s monotonous tone makes the film unique. Stein uses facts and figures to point out many places in modern American society that are loosing their freedom. Apparently Switzerland has more scientific freedom than America today, and that is something that bothers me. I suspect that there will be a lot of lash back as this (not to mention, Jewish man), but the name calling and automatic assumptions just goes to prove his point even further.
I’d give the film 4 out of 5 canoes (just becasue it’s random).
       
Rue Royale
Parachutes and Lifeboats
Folk music has not always been on my playlist; It has not always been part of my music library or in my CD collection. Recently I stumbled upon this band and was pleasantly surprised by its folkesque ring. More accurately, Rue Royale’s music might considered as “pop-folk”, but any label you put on it won’t make much of a difference. I just like the stuff. The combination of harmonizing vocals, subtle and effective guitar, and soft indie style, give the music a nice feel. Not something you stumble across everyday.
Not all the songs on the album, Parachutes and Lifeboats, are knockouts, (if they were, we’d all be knocked out right?), but many are filled with great lyrics and catchy melodies (such as in “Tell Me When You Go”). The husband and wife duo use mostly acoustic methods and subtle vocals to communicate their hearts. One won’t find a bunch of religious jargon throughout the album, but if you listen closely enough, you can tell that the duo certainly has a spiritual connection. This can be seen in the track titled “These Long Roads”, where in my opinion, lines such as “At the end of these long roads, we will gather there with our hands in there air,” suggest some type of future after death where we will “lift our hands”.If you are familiar with the church atmosphere you will be able to pick up that Rue Royale might be suggesting something more than just everyday life through their music.
Overall, Rue Royale’s first full length album stands out. It has a nice combination of acoustics and vocals that fit the folk and pop genres well. The only downside to the music is that some of the sounds can have much of the same feel. Although there is a pretty clear difference between each song, the style is pretty much consistent and almost predictable. Not a bad thing in my eyes considering the quality of the music. A good buy though. If you like the folk realm of the music industry, then this might fit nicely in one of your playlists.
Link to Rue Royale’s myspace linky
       
Jon Foreman
 Spring EP
It’s clear to see that the San Diego’s frontman has been well seasoned with his release of Spring, one of his three solo projects within a year. His previous works, Fall, and Winter, have been available for a while now, but Spring is a fairly recent addition to the acoustic cluster of Jon Foreman’s work.
The album starts out with a quite “bouncy” feel creating an almost polka type experience. He has added a small horn section that gives the song an almost sophisticatedly comical taste. It’s a light-hearted approach to the beginning of the EP that is pretty effective at generating interest.
Track two, “Love Isn’t Made”, takes a different approach to style that incorporate a few bells in combination with light strings and acoustic guitar. More subtle than his first number, Foreman gives the listener a track that is more suited to describe the rest of the EP. The romantic ballad uses his wife and sister for some of the background vocals, while the subtle vocals and a light-hearted somber tone are more characteristic of what is to come.
The title, Spring, is an accurate and wise choice for the EP title. The songs continue to give the feel that one can come out of sadness despair and have hope of new life. Track five ,”Your Love is Strong”, is a rendition of Matthew 6:9-13, the Lord’s Prayer, which is a beautiful way to connect to many of the listeners.
Overall, Spring is a refreshing warm breeze that follows Winter and Fall. The use of different instruments gives the album a different feel from his previous two works. Certainly Spring is budding with new life and a great find (especially for those of you who are fond of the Folk/acoustic realm.)
Link to Jon Foreman’s website: linky
       
Home
|
I know I haven not posted in some time. I’ve been overwhelmed with work and standardized tests (which don’t seem to be ending). But I wanted to get a post in, so I’m going to provide you with a few bands you may not know about:
“White Winter Hymnal“
