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So Be Afraid, For He Is Coming
"OK, music man, so what's the latest big thing in music today?"
Don't worry, I have your answer. If you're a podcaster, don't worry, they're not on the big labels ...yet.
The band used to be the independent sensation called The Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus. And they were amazing in their own right, flourishing in the world of independent rock music. They traveled all over the world of rock 'n' roll, from Radiohead to The Beatles, all in one album. Plus, it was some of the best worship music around, and I'm sure it got some youngsters into worship that were looking for a professional rock sound that they weren't getting from their church band. They were on a mainstream label for a couple years, but it seemed that it was not meant to be.
But with their new disc, which released independently last week, is of an entirely new genre. It's 100% experimental Brit-rock, reminding the listener of Radiohead or Pink Floyd. And although the music is still God-centered, it's not about the worship anymore, it's about hearing the Word proclaimed. The band is now officially called The Listening, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the album. The question is: How long will it take for a label to scoop it up? Or are they going to stay independent? (Oh yeah, check 'em out on Myspace too.)
Just 'Cause We All Do Doesn't Mean We Have To Act Like We're In High School
Last night I got to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was an enjoyable time. It remained true to the books and was, as always, a great visual treat. Of course, though, it was all about high school. There was a dance, guys asking them out, etc. The best part was the Quidditch World Cup, because they had a cool Olympic-style stadium for Quidditch and all, although it was a ibt short.
...While I’m Flying Han Solo
After work today I'm gonna stop by my mailbox and pick up my Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith DVD. It's gonna be sweet. I probably won't get a chance to watch any of it until Thanksgiving, but oh well.
I have all the Star Wars movies now! Yes, that makes me a real geek, I think. But somebody found something fun to do: watch all of the movies at the same time! Here's the start of what he found - some very cool stuff.
Deepspace5 - "I hope you appreciate your purchase."
I Know How To Break A Man
Yeah, she surely did that. And now Gotee Records wants to take that papercut and pour lemon juice on it ...again.
In June of 2002, Jennfer Knapp played a June 1st show in St. Paul, MN with Jars of Clay and Shaun Groves and, since then, has not been seen (to my knowledge). The official word is that she's taking an undetermined-length sabbatical. In other words, like dc Talk, she might be back ...someday.
But, in order to make sure we remember her after all those years, they decided they might as well release a live album. And so, later this year, they're gonna do just that. Now, I'm sure it's gonna be pretty cool, but is that entirely necessary? I mean, she only had three albums, she already had a greatest hits album, and now she needs a live show? How about we just save up our pennies until the day she comes back instead of spending hard-earned cash on another repackaging of 10 songs I already have twice?
It just pisses me off that labels can get away with this crap. It ruins the artistry, in my opinion.
1997! (Oh Wait, It's 2005)
"Just let it go..." Some say I'm stuck in the 90s.
I've been listening to Take Me To Your Leader and I thought it would be fun to listen to music from 1996 and 1997 only today. There's a lot of quality stuff in there from Rebecca St. James, Jars of Clay, the first Switchfoot album, the breakout of delirious?, etc.
I'll tell you how it was later. Maybe tomorrow I'll do a day full of music from the 80s...
'Cause I'm A Travelin' Man
Dang, I forgot about how much your muscles like to hurt after working out. (Well, at least the first couple weeks after not working out for a long time.)
Today a new runway opened at the airport. I checked it out during lunch... the planes weren't that loud outside and our building is soundproofed.
An hour later, a bunch of large planes came by that sounded fairly loud inside my building. Those were the ones I was trying to see on lunch break! Just now, about two came overhead in two minutes.
You Know What To Do, Hey You Just...
So, today I did it. I got up and did the PT. It was glorious.
Alright, I got it! For inspiration to keep workin' on PT, I offer the music video for "Move". It's truly inspirational. I love that M. Night-style twist towards the end there too.
Sky Falls Down, It Tumbles Into The Sea
Is this the begnning of the end for me?
In a couple weeks, the world will see the latest release from my all-time favorite band, delirious?, which is titled The MIssion Bell. I'm hoping it's better than World Service and hearkens back to their old stuff a bit more, but we'll see.
However, there's a scary wrinkle in it that I just noticed. One of the songs features a guest appearance by former dc Talk member TobyMac. And noting his recent track record with albums and over-saturation on Christian music compilations, I'm not sure I'm looking forward to rap on a delirious? album. It's too bad their USA label got to the band that easily. For more info, check out the official unofficial delirious? site.
What Are Good Boys Doin' In A Rock 'n' Roll Band?
This is amazing. Rolling Stone has an great, very in-depth interview with Bono. He talks about his roots, his faith, and much more. It explains those many reasons that I love U2, even if my weird roomates think they're crap.
One of my roommates was saying that the band is "too political". Well, sure, they're political, but I wouldn't say they're too political. They're at least social justice minded, but it's not like they take their politics to an extreme. Besides, it takes some guts to have somewhat political views, and most seem to refuse to do it. In other words, I respect political opinons.
Little Drops of Water, Little Grains of Sand
This post is all about L.A. Last night I've watched Crash, and it got me thinking about what I know about the City of Angels. Of course, most of what I know is from movies, fom last night's movie to Collateral and many other crappier movies like Pretty Woman and A Cinderella Story. So it's a very Hollywood view.
I guess the biggest thing is that SoCal folks just wait in traffic too much. Apparently half of life takes place on the freeway. And that's not cool. I wonder if there's much of a public transportation system, because the movies don't talk about anything but taxis.
Secondly, besides that one house up on the hill where John Reuben shot the press photos for Hindsight, it's al flat. And there's no cool trees or nothin - it looks almost as inviting as Nebraska.
The biggest one is that everybody seems to be a self-conceited jerk. Now I know where Tom Cruise gets his attitude from. Life in L.A. seems to be all about how life sucks. And, well, that's not something I can really identify with.
So what did I think of the movie half my friends claimed was the best movie of the year? Frankly, I thought Crash sucked. The music was just high-pitched whining. It was supposed to feel like real life, but when the same five characters get in more problems that all the summer's action movies combined, you know it's not real life. It's just the most pessimistic view of real life that anyone could make up. Plus, it had more characters and plot twists than Mission: Impossible and it was pretty darn hard to figure out what was going on.
If you want to make a movie about L.A., I'd reccomend just doing a highly stylized version of L.A., something like Pulp Fiction. At least that wasn't completely depressing.
In other movie news, check out new trailers for The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and Underworld: Evolution. That movie was a bit weird, but I liked it. The sad part is that Kevin Grevioux, who came up with the first movie and is a Christian, isn't listed on IMDB for the new one. I hope he's still involved and it just doesn't become a mindless action movie.