High Schoolers, don’t forget that we are going to go see one of my favorite bands, Everest, next Thursday, July 9. Meet at WPC for dinner at 7 and then we will walk over to the Hammer museum to see the show. We should be back at WPC around 10:30. The best part is that it is all FREE!!!! Bring your friends, your cousins, your grandma, your imaginary pets (okay maybe not grandma). If you have any questions or comments leave them as a comment on this post or e-mail me. Hope to see you all on Sunday as well as Thursday.
hello everyone, sorry for the site being down for a bit. Not a whole lot has happened that we need to catch up on except for my immersion into the wonderful world of Wilco. Last week I went to see them a couple times at the Wiltern theatre and they were nothing short of mind blowing. I am unabashedly a huge Wilco fan and I was really excited to hear songs off of their new album, Wilco (the album) available now. These guys are the heart and soul of classic americana rock and roll. They bridge the genres of country, rock and experimental and blend them all into one of the most amazing and comforting bands out there. I could go on forever about how much I love these guys but I want you to experience them for yourself, enjoy!
Super cool show just announced! One of my favorite bands Everest is going to be playing a free, all ages show at the Hammer museum right across from church at 8pm on July 9th. More details to come but I want us all to go. (and if you haven’t heard Everest I HIGHLY suggest you check them out.)
Yesterday was the last meeting of my theology and culture class and we talked a lot about what it means to be a Christian in our current cultural situation (sorry, no answers here). One of the main issues that kept being brought up as the conversation went on was the role of religion in the new spiritual practices that are starting to emerge. In my experience people will often tell me that they are spiritual but not religious but they have a hard time defining religion aside from the traditional structure of the church. As we were debating what exactly is religion, one of my classmates put it this way: Any action that is repeated is a ritual and any ritual that has a spiritual meaning is religion.
If I define myself by the rituals I practice I am a devout Coffee Bean-ian, Sportscenter-ian, Read in Bed-ian and even a fundamental Facebook-ian. But I would not say that any of these are a spiritual experience even though they are habitual and repeated actions. But as I was thinking about all the repeated actions that DO have a spiritual meaning I am so much more than a chrurch-ian. The most relevant of these repeated actions would be that of buying a new music album at midnight when it is released.
As most of you know, I am a music freak and am always on the look out for great new music (any suggestions?). My introduction into the religion of midnight music came in the fall of 1998 when the Dave Matthews Band released “Before These Crowded Streets” and the local record store in my home town was throwing a midnight release party to celebrate and allow fans to buy it the second it came out. I had been looking toward to this album for weeks and when Monday night came around it felt like a pilgrimage to the promised land where my reward was waiting for me. When I got there I found more than just a line of crazy people (like myself) waiting to buy music but a community of “believers” waiting for the new revelation and experience of the Dave Matthews Band. And at midnight we all gathered around the counter, eager to receive what we had been waiting for.
I remember unwrapping the cd on my way to the car and taking in the entire package… the artwork, the lyrics, the graphics, the liner notes… all of them building the anticipation. Once in my car I put the cd in my car stereo and was greeted by the joyous introduction of “Pantala Naga Pampa” (the first track on the album). I drove home in my own cocoon of music and revelation. As I got back to my house I sat in my driveway and just listened, song after song until the album was over and my moment of musical clarity had run it’s course. After that night I made it a ritual to go to the record store at midnight to get the albums I was really excited for. It became my ritual (and future paradigm) for experiencing the revelatory power of music that was nothing less than spiritual. Thus began my religion of midnight music.
I tried to paint the picture of how influential this practice was for me because I don’t think I will ever have it again. The new Dave Matthews Band album came out today but I wasn’t waiting at a record store with my community of fellow enthusiasts, instead I downloaded it from itunes at 9pm (midnight Eastern Standard Time). It hurt a little to tell the truth. Sure I had the music, same result as going to a store, but I had missed out on everything else. It shows the changing nature of how we do things, not just in consumer practices but in all areas of our lives. As my mind continues struggling with what spiritual rituals we practice it is hard not to draw the connection between my musical religion and my spiritual one. Just as the way we experience and process music has changed I believe there is a re-evaluating of spirituality going on where the rituals are being questioned and re-thought. I’m not saying this is a bad thing but it’s going on all around us. I feel it’s time to begin new rituals, musical and spiritual that will bring about the revelation and community that has been lost. I don’t know what it looks like and I don’t know what it’s done but maybe there are rituals in our lives where God is begging to come in and show us what spirituality in our individual context can be.
The movie “This is Spinal Tap” is one of my all time favorites. Its quick witted sarcastic humor still gets me rolling and its poignant satire of the music industry captures the ridiculous side of a music industry that is changing (failing?) more each day. So to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film, England’s loudest band decided to re-unite for a brief acoustic tour and I was fortunate enough to be there last night at the Wiltern to revel in the glory of three comedic masters.
Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest not only played through the “hits” of Spinal Tap but also played songs from the folk music satire “A Mighty Wind.” The night was a hysterical tribute to the film that included jazz versions of heavy metal songs, interpretive dancers and even a didgeridoo solo (no joke). I laughed till I cried on a couple occasions. Now that I have seen Spinal Tap live, even though it was acoustic, I feel that I have added one of the biggest feathers to my music going cap!
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night, and am not silent. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.
- Psalm 22: 1-3
Reckoner
You can’t take it with you
Dancing for your pleasure
Reckoner, take me with you
Dedicated to all human beings
You are not to blame for
Bittersweet distractors
Dare not speak its name
Dedicated to all human beings
Because we separate
Like ripples on a blank shore
In rainbows
Because we separate
The ripples on a black shore
