I'm on a horse…

Writer’s BLOCK

I need something new to blog about. It’s been forever and a day since I last wrote anything, and even that was a short entry. That top 5 favorite songs was a fun one, and I’ve always been a fan of lists – does anyone have any suggestions on what kind of list I can make next?

1 comment July 23rd, 2007

Top 5 Songs: #1

Worlds Apart by Jars of Clay

Well we’re finally here folks. I humbly give to you my number one song, Worlds Apart by Jars of Clay. Most of you should not be surprised that my favorite song is a Christian song.

The wonderful thing is, it’s not just a Christian song. It is the icing on a cake from a band that produces the most meaningful, honest, and lifting music from a band that consistently moves me.

This song made its debut on their first album, which is arguably their best ever. You can listen to every track on this CD and not want to skip one, but its not until you get to “Worlds Apart” that you think Jars of Clay is more than just a great sounding band. Somewhere in the middle of the folky jangle is a message that can really speak to you.

What can I say about this song that hasn’t been said? What can I share about this song to make it a favorite of yours? It’s difficult, if only because the song is already so transparent. But on the other hand, perhaps it is what makes this song so appealing. This is one of those “close your eyes to see” type songs. Sometimes I’m in my room and I just close my eyes let the totality of this song take me over. As a matter of fact, I did that before I started writing this entry.

Why? Because its lyrics are every man’s prayer. It is the cry of a person who knows the inner battles that rage inside of him; to choose righteousness over sin, to choose Christ over the world. The televangelist will stand up on his pulpit and tell you how easy that choice is. The Sunday School teacher will sit down and tell you its the right thing to do. But the sinner will tell you how hard it is to make that choice over and over again, every single day, for the rest of your life. It is the cry of a man who knows he doesn’t have enough strength on his own to make it.

Consider the power and the passion of these lyrics:

All said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me

Only humans can be so cruel. In the face of an infinite love, sometimes we prefer instead to cast it away and turn to a temporary fix in the form of the world. No other species on the planet is this selfish and inconsiderate. Yet He still loves us so. It was C.S. Lewis who said, “Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it.” Occasionally, a few lucky ones will realize this fact, and in turn produce the most beautiful outpouring of confession and faith. I listen to the minute and a half bridge, with its simple guitar riff and drumline accompaniment, and feel that this song was written just for me.

It’s hard for this song to touch you if you don’t know Christ. C.S. Lewis also said that “every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.” But of course, our independance is what we have the most difficult time with. Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it.

Do you want to know God? Because you can. His letter to you is written in the stars and his punctuation the planets. He writes it across the night sky in a language that anyone can decipher if they take the time to look up. It’s printed on leaves and in the pattern of stones on a river bottom. It is written in the blood of his son who would sacrifice Himself to have that message delivered to us. It exists to all who believe that His existance is possible.

But to those who don’t, well, I have no argument.

Just a song.

2 comments August 2nd, 2005

Top 5 Songs: #2

Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

Number two was a long time coming. I knew that there was at least one Beatles song on my list. I was also pretty sure this was the one to make it. I just didn’t realize I liked it enough to be my number two baby. I did, and it was a pleasant surprise indeed.

If you’re a fan of music, you’re a fan of the Beatles. It’s as automatic as being a fan of the ’85 Showtime Lakers if you’re a fan of basketball. You just gotta give credit where credit is due. You out there, you have at least ONE Beatles song in your top 20 list. I bet you do. The Beatles virtually dominated the airwaves during the 60s. They wrote over 200 songs and almost 30 were #1′s (not to mention the others that simply made the charts). I dare you to say you don’t like at least ONE Beatles song. I mean, you can say it, but you’d be a liar.

This is one of the best songs recorded. Ever. I’m not just saying that because it’s on my list. The story goes like this: The Beatles were in the twilight of their heyday, and were attending business meetings one after another to discuss their finances. After one particularly tense morning, George Harisson decided it was a bit too much and decided he needed some sun. While visiting his friend (Eric Clapton), he caught the rays of the sun peeking through the branches of a tree, sat down with a guitar, wrote this song, and renewed his optimism.

When “Here Comes the Sun” starts playing, sit down, do nothing, and listen. Listen for those “doo doo doo doo’s” and “little darlin’s” and know that this song was for you. It’s a simple song, also simple to learn on guitar, but within those few chords is a stunning and warming optimism that doesn’t fade with age. Sure, it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter, but you made it. The ice is melting, the flowers are out again, smiles are returning, and here comes the sun.

George, you were right.

1 comment July 27th, 2005

Top 5 Songs: #3

Hotel California by The Eagles

When The Eagles were big in the 1970s, they were among the very biggest. Hotel California, one of their signature songs, was a #1 hit on the Billboard charts in 1977, and the album of the same name also won the Grammy for Record of the Year the following year in 1978.

When they redid the number for their 1994 Reunion Tour, it was arguably a superior version to the original. That is the version I have included here.

This is one of the songs that made me want to learn the guitar. Don Felder has got to be one of the most underrated guitarists of his time. I have the DVD of their reunion tour, and watching his fingers move up and down the frets of his Classical is like watching a prima donna dance. His solo is THAT masterful, and after all, he did write the music for Hotel California. Lyrically, Don Henley and Glenn Frey produce their best work here. This song has been interpreted, philosophized, postulated, and speculated upon for the last three decades. Some have accused The Eagles of being devil worshipers, and this song is about the occult. Some believe that as they were riding the high life of rock and roll culture in the 70s, and constructed this song as a commentary to the greed and temptation that plagued the industry.

Ultimately, whether you believe it’s a song about the excess of Americanism or a tribute to Satanic Cult worship, one thing that isn’t up for debate is the sheer beauty of this song. Hotel California is to American rock as the Mona Lisa is to fine art. Every time I hear it, I tell everyone to shush and pay attention. Even without the words, the harmony is enough to make you just want to sit down and strum along with a guitar.

2 comments July 23rd, 2005

Top 5 Songs: #4

Make Believe by Freya Lin

Ok… so where #5 was a cheesy love song, #4 is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Almost everyone who has ever been in love knows the sting of a heartache.

A broken heart comes in many flavors. Sure the pain of a breakup is wretching, but equally painful is a love unrequited. This song, however, examines the utter dismal failure of not only a love that has long since expired, but perhaps a love that never actually existed. Ouch.

This one actually came out of nowhere. I was looking through my library of songs, just randomly letting the playlist on Winamp run as I searched, and this song played. It’s not a song I’ve listened to recently, it’s not even a song I’ve listened to very much in the past. But the reason this song belongs on my list is because it was instantly unforgettable. Good songs make you tap your feet, great songs stay in your head after they’re removed from the charts, but amazing songs bring back all the feelings you’ve associated with them long after your head has forgotten.

If expression through song is a way of taking command of our emotions, then this artist must have been set through the wringer. If by simply listening to the words you cringe, you may be able to relate. You know that pain you sometimes get right between your stomach and your heart? No, that’s not it… that one is indigestion. This is a bit higher. Yep, there it is. That’s what this song is all about. And no amount of reading about it will make you understand. All members of this club have been hazed, as it were.

The lyrics are wonderfully tragic. It’s not just the woeful sentiment in this song that makes me shudder, it’s lines like “And try as we may, we know we’ll never be that way. ‘Cause they make love, but we just make believe.” And Freya Lin’s wistful voice is just melancholy enough to make you believe her.

Add comment July 19th, 2005