I recently received the book 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die as a gift from my wife. The book is written by music critic Tom Moon. Moon's musical selections span genres, from rock to classical and opera to folk.
I enjoy reading it because even though I'm familiar with alot of music, there are still many albums that I have no clue about. For that matter there are many genres that I'm less than familiar with. I look forward to digging into some of the classical recordings.
Anytime you look at lists like this you notice albums they missed. Sure they had Elvis Costello represented, but not my favorite "King of America." I think I have three different versions of that CD. I also think not including Peter Case is an oversight, especially his album "Blue Guitar." I would have also included something from T Bone Burnett, Vigilantes of Love's "Audible Sigh," Over the Rhine's "Good Dog Bad Dog," and Kings X's "Gretchen Goes to Nebraska."
But I'm impressed by how many he included that I thought would be missed. It was great to see Sam Phillip's "Fan Dance," and Arrested Development's "Three Years, Five Months and Two Days in the Life of..." That album is a must have for fan's of thoughtful hip hop. As I got ready to write this I flipped through again and noticed Graham Parker's CD "Squeezing Out Sparks/Live Sparks," another favorite of mine.
This book is well worth checking out. Even though it was released this year it is very recent in scope and includes the most recent CD from The Mars Volta, which was released in early 2008.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Lyrical Poetry of Hymns
Today at Church we sang the song In Christ Alone. We've sang this modern hymn many times but for some reason part of the lyrics caught my attention.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
The song is written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend. I think I was especially struck by the poetic beauty of the line "Light of the world by darkness slain." It is funny how you can sing a song many times but not notice the line. We've sung this song at Easter, Funerals and in weekly services. I've even seen it on a Christmas CD by Christopher Williams.
I was reminded of the Charles Wesley hymn, And Can it Be. I've loved this song for years and we even used it as part of our wedding ceremony. Wesley wrote 6,500 hymns over his lifetime and this one was written near his conversion. I'm especially struck by verse four.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night,
Thine eyes diffused a quickening ray
I awoke; the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee
There are a few modern hymn writers that reach the depth of classic hymns. I think of Twila Paris, Melody Green, and the previous song by Getty and Townsend. But there is something rich that we can't miss in the classic hymns of the faith. That is the sad part of the modern churches move away from hymns. Singing the same chorus over and over again might create a momentary high, but the theological depth is lost.
Writers like Wesley were packing theology into their songs as a way of teaching important truths to people that didn't read. Charles' brother John was instrumental in starting the Sunday School movement and these songs were an important teaching tool for them. Even though we read today, we can still benefit from the great truths these songs have to share.
The next time you sing a hymn take time to reflect on what you're singing. I think you'll come away challenged. I can't wait until we sing And Can It Be again in church.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
The song is written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend. I think I was especially struck by the poetic beauty of the line "Light of the world by darkness slain." It is funny how you can sing a song many times but not notice the line. We've sung this song at Easter, Funerals and in weekly services. I've even seen it on a Christmas CD by Christopher Williams.
I was reminded of the Charles Wesley hymn, And Can it Be. I've loved this song for years and we even used it as part of our wedding ceremony. Wesley wrote 6,500 hymns over his lifetime and this one was written near his conversion. I'm especially struck by verse four.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night,
Thine eyes diffused a quickening ray
I awoke; the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee
There are a few modern hymn writers that reach the depth of classic hymns. I think of Twila Paris, Melody Green, and the previous song by Getty and Townsend. But there is something rich that we can't miss in the classic hymns of the faith. That is the sad part of the modern churches move away from hymns. Singing the same chorus over and over again might create a momentary high, but the theological depth is lost.
Writers like Wesley were packing theology into their songs as a way of teaching important truths to people that didn't read. Charles' brother John was instrumental in starting the Sunday School movement and these songs were an important teaching tool for them. Even though we read today, we can still benefit from the great truths these songs have to share.
The next time you sing a hymn take time to reflect on what you're singing. I think you'll come away challenged. I can't wait until we sing And Can It Be again in church.
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