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It’s Only March…

March 4, 2008 //
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… so it’s not too late to add to my favorite things of 2007 list, right? Well, even if it is, here are some things that I missed the boat on last year but am totally on board with now!

Let’s Stay Friends, by Les Savy Fav

Let’s Stay Friends should have been on everyone’s “best of 2007” lists and is everything a great punk album should be [h/t: J. Evans for pointing me in this direction]. I’ll let Pitchfork break down the play-by-play but I will say that LSF is an incredible album, diverse in all the right ways (and not just because Fred Armisen plays drums on a couple of tracks). Apparently, their live show is legendary (maybe you’ll get to ride horsey with them or listen to them lecture sometime soon).

Mirrored, by Battles

Battles features former members of Helmet and Don Caballero, although they sound more like the King of All Cosmos getting all mathy with Slint and a cryogenically unfrozen James Brown in the distant future. Although I might describe their vocals as if Simon ran off to join Hoover (he’s already got the glasses) and convinced them to merge into Q and Not U, Battles is quickly becoming one of my new favorite bands. Thanks again, J!

Once, the film and soundtrack

At another friend’s recommendation, my wife and I rented Once. In this age of big budget blockbusters, lengthy epic trilogies and overwrought period pieces, Once is a refreshingly quiet, small film. There is something so lovely about the film; it’s hard to quite put my finger on it. The soundtrack is soaring and still, genuinely heartfelt in our time of manufactured emo angst — my wife bought it for me as a Valentine’s gift. One day I’ll learn to play Falling Slowly properly.

Categories films, hooray!, indie, music, reviews

Thank You, Al Gore

February 7, 2008 //
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…for inventing the internets all those years ago. Without your help, I wouldn’t have been able to place the music of Anathallo in this Vick’s advert (or, at least, not as quickly):

While I do like the idea that this one, mentholated commercial singlehandedly financed the upcoming Anathallo album, it kind of offends my indie sensibilities to have massive corporations co-opt songs that have personal resonance with me solely for the purpose of trying to sell me more stuff. I did end up purchasing this box of Vicks flavored tissues at Target the other day, but only because they were on sale (or, maybe, these ads are working subconsciously).

Reminds me of other ads I’ve seen featuring music that I like. For example, nothing says, “I need more ink for my printer” than a slow jam from some mopey Brits (alright, so the song is called “Pictures of You” and the ad is for photo paper but what possible connection can we make between “How Soon Is Now?” by The Smiths and a Nissan Maxima or “Stars” by Hum and a Cadillac CTS?).

I can’t get “doing things is what I like to do” out of my head. But there’s not a Dunkin Donuts anywhere even remotely near here.

EDIT: This particular Super Bowl ad from E-trade was kind of clever (“You know, me and the boys were talking about what to do with all this extra coin and I was like, ‘I’m renting a clown.'”) but creepy X2  [clown + superimposed-mouth talking babies = creepazoid robots].

Categories advertising, indie, music

From Monuments To Movements

January 24, 2008 //
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Ten years ago, I was looking for some Bible study material at a Christian bookstore on the East Coast when I came across a cassette tape (!) for “Passion ’98: Live Worship from the 268 Generation.” Although I had no idea what a 268 Generation was, I liked the design on the cover so I picked it up that day. Like many others, my first connection with the Passion movement was through their music.

My wife and I, along with two friends, road tripped it over 20 hours from New Jersey out to Tennessee for the first OneDay event in 2000 (if you watch closely, you can spot us on the DVD). Since then, we have been to several Passion events — Thirsty, campus tours, various concerts & conferences, etc. We are bringing a group of college students from our church out to Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday for the Passion ’08 west coast regional event.

I really admire Louie Giglio, the founder and catalyst behind Passion. For being an extremely influential person, Louie is down-to-earth and very approachable. Once, when my wife and I were down in Atlanta as part of the ramp-up to OneDay ’03, Louie asked if we needed a ride back from dinner and we had a nice, albeit brief, conversation together in his car. Almost two years later, towards the end of ’04, we were in Manhattan for the last of the Passion events being held around the city and we saw Louie briefly before the event began. He actually remembered us, and greeted us warmly. I don’t mean to imply that I am “friends” with Louie at all; rather, I think these little stories show the heart and humility behind the Passion movement.

Louie often shares that there is no new theme for the Passion events — it’s always the same: the glory of God. While I love the music of Passion, it is the message that resonates deeply with me: that there is no higher calling, no bigger story, no more worthy cause than to live completely for God’s glory.

I don’t believe that events should be the primary catalyst for growing as followers of Christ. More and more, I am convinced that it is the living out of what we believe in the everyday and in between that causes our love for God and others to deepen. That being said, part of what draws me to Passion is that they’re not just about the events (which, by the way, are always creative and inspiring). In Louie’s own words:

Jesus is a movement. He’s not into monuments, systems or external structures. He is a river of life. “And everywhere the river flows, everything lives.” Movements are fluid. Movements move. Movements are not always predictable.

Join with us in praying that God would raise up a collegiate generation — a movement — who lives for something more than wealth, power or fame, whose life and breath would be spent to proclaim the beauty, wonder and glory of our God everyday.

Categories church, college, community, design, faith, ministry, music, worship

New Friends (And They’re Not Imaginary!)

January 5, 2008 //
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Like Eugene Cho, 2007 was my first year of really engaging the blogosphere (however, unlike Eugene, I do not regularly generate 200+ comments. Dat mange iz populerz like da kittyz!). In many ways, blogging has been a kind of spiritual discipline for me — though not nearly as awesome as Bruce Reyes-Chow’s take on blogging as spiritual discipline (Reyes-Chow in 2008!) and a way to get my head around different things, not to mention a forum for my inner music-nerd’s need to make lists.

One of the best, and most surprising, parts of this bloggy year has been making friends — actual friends with whom I have shared an inner resonance about life, ministry, music and community. Although I still worry that it sounds totally wrong when I say it, I am glad to have met several friends this past year through the internet. I have also been very glad to re-connect with several old friends via Facebook, potential scourge of humanity and harbinger of the apocalypse but wonderful host to online Scrabble and Tetris competitions. I missed the whole MySpace thing (most pages leave me feeling on the verge of a seizure) but FB has been a great way to catch up with friends from all over the country I haven’t heard from in years.

Yesterday, I met up with Jason Evans for lunch at Sipz (vegetarian food even a total meat-eater like myself can enjoy). While it was his impeccable taste in music (Battles! Old school San Diego noise punk bands! Hooray!!) that initially set off our email communications, I really enjoyed hearing about Jason’s intentional community and how God might be leading him & his family in the future. I find great encouragement listening to the stories of those for whom the Gospel encompasses all of life — for me, that’s what missional living is all about.

My wife was teasing me because I was all excited to have a friend with whom to attend concerts now!

Categories communication, community, family, health, missional, music

The Songs We’re Singing

December 28, 2007 //
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In honor of the end of 2007, I thought I’d share some of my favorite music-related moments of the past year. While it is not a top 40 list or a comprehensive hipster guide, here are some of the artists and moments that have made me sing this year.

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The Take Away Show performance of Neon Bible/Wake Up by Arcade Fire

From the moment the Arcade Fire ensemble crams en masse into a freight elevator, it is clear that Vincent Moon is onto something different. Their performance of Neon Bible is immediate, real and surprising (the sound of magazine pages being torn as a snare drum). And when the strings come in, I am left on the verge of tears. And, when they work their way through the roaring audience to perform Wake Up it is a triumphant and joyful coda to a groundbreaking performance.

* * * * *

Architecture in Helsinki live at House of Blues

Our whole family loves AIH! Our four year old daughter was a total trooper, staying awake as far into the night as she could for the show (her first!). AIH’s enthusiasm and love for performing is contagious.

* * * * *

Jonah Matranga live at The Casbah

Jonah is one of my favorite musicians. From the days when the ache in his voice paired in perfect incongruity with the downtuned heaviness of the riffs of Far, to his various permutations in onelinedrawing, New End Original and Gratitude, Jonah has released honest and heartfelt music on his own terms.

His performance at The Casbah was an intimate affair, feeling more like a house show than a rock club — the crowd of twenty of so leaning into the songs Jonah chose from his vast back catalogue and performed on his acoustic guitar. I had been corresponding with Jonah via email in the weeks leading up to the show and was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from him the day before the concert. He is a humble, genuinely likable person who actually cares the people with whom his music connects. A breath of fresh air in this age of prefab, preteen arena rock scalping madness.

* * * * *

Discovering Grace by Jeff Buckley

I had always heard Jeff Buckley’s name tossed around as a standard by which other male vocalists were measured, but until I never really listened to his music until I found Grace over in the lovely used bin over at M-Theory Records. Now that I’ve heard his music, I can appreciate what all of the acclaim is about, even if it’s ten years too late.

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Trading Mixtapes With Friends

mixtape.jpg

On the left is original artwork for the mix the cowboy and the punk rock girl my friend Josh made for me. The “cowboy” we know; the “punk rock girl” is a nod to our little indie rock fan at home. Now I can name-drop Akron/Family, Girl Talk, Grizzly Bear and Devendra Banhart! I am also enjoying the fantastic mix jadanzzy made for me, also overflowing with indie hipster goodness. Your mixtapes are on their way (soon and very soon, I promise)!

Actually, although I love the music, what I really love about trading mixtapes is the friendship behind it all. This year has been quite a struggle in many ways, especially in terms of calling and clear direction, but I am very thankful for friends old and new with whom I have been able to connect.

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And, because it wouldn’t be the end of a year without a list of some kind, here are some of my favorite albums of the year. In alphabetical order:

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Categories hooray!, music
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