VIDEO - What Matters More? - Derek Webb

Derek Webb, a singer-songwriter connected with the Contemporary Christian band Caedmon's Call has had to resort to distributing his new album, Stockholm Syndrome, directly from his website because his record label found the song "What Matters More?" to be too controversial.

I haven't yet been a listener of Webb's music (or Caedmon's Call). Below is a video and lyrics to the "controversial" song. I don't know enough to comment on the music in the song, but the lyrics (which is where the controversy resides) deserve to be flooding the so-called "Christian music" market. I suspect they will not.

What Matters More?

Derek Webb

from The Stockholm Syndrome

You say you always treat people like you'd like to be
I guess you love being hated for your sexuality
You love when people put words in your mouth
About what you believe, make you sound like a freak'

Cause if you really believe what you say you believe
You wouldn't be so damn reckless with the words you speak
Wouldn't silently consent when the liars speak
Denying all the dying or the remedy

Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

If I can tell what's in your heart by what comes out of your mouth
Then it sure looks to me like being straights is all it's about
Yeah, it looks like being hated for all the wrong things
And chasing the wind while the pendulum swings

We can talk and debate it till we're blue in the face
About the language and tradition that He's coming to save
Meanwhile we sit just like we don't give a shit
About fifty-thousand people who are dying today

Tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

The First Great Hymn of 2009 - U2's Magnificent

Below is a video and lyrics to the next U2 single...and first great hymn of 2009...enjoy!


"Magnificent"

Magnificent
Oh, magnificent

I was born
I was born to be with you
In this space and time
After that and ever after
I haven't had a clue

Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart
Black and blue

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
But only love
Only love can heal such a scar

I was born
I was born to sing for you
I didn’t have a choice
But to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry
It was a joyful noise

Oh, oh
Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
But only love
Only love can heal such a scar

Justified
till we die
You and I
will magnify
Oh, the magnificent

Magnificent

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark
But only love
Only love unites our hearts

Justified
till we die
You and I
will magnify
Oh, the magnificent
Magnificent
Magnificent

MUSIC REVIEW: U2 - No Line On The Horizon

I’ve listened to the new U2 record “No Line on the Horizon” (in stores March 3rd) and am beginning to put some thoughts together on it. As I listen to it, I’m mindful that my relationships with U2 records are always long-term committed affairs. At this point, I think we’ll get along fine…but we’ll need to get to know each other.

The adjective that kept coming to mind the first time through was “brooding”. While repeated listens seem to be suggesting something other than "brooding", I’d have to say that “Get On Your Boots” does not offer a very accurate peek in the window as the lead single for the record.

Bono's voice sounds great throughout the record. The Edge's guitars are in place. Adam & Larry drive the songs as I'd expect and hope from them. I suspect that Brian Eno probably ought to be credited as the “the fifth Beatle” on this project, which seems, at nearly every turn, to reflect his penchant for ambience and electronic noises kicking around in the background. Most of the time it comes alongside some undeniably “Edge-y” guitar sonics.

I also keep finding myself thinking at times that this record wants to carry the markings of “late masterpieces” like Sergeant Pepper’s or Pet Sounds or the White Album (for good and for ill).

This record is just about the opposite of a collection of hit singles (thankfully, U2 has never tried that approach). The potential singles (after the already released “Boots”) are probably "Magnificent”, “Breathe”, "No Line on the Horizon" and “I Know I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” (which I would predict will find a spot at or near the beginning of the upcoming tour’s nightly setlists). “Stand Up Comedy” might make it to radio, too.

The record starts off strong, soaring and anthemic with the title track and "Magnificent". Guitars up front with electronic noises in the back that sort of switch places at times during "Magnificent". The title track has a bit of an Arcade Fire feel to it.

The song most likely to be remembered in 10 or 20 years is “Moment of Surrender”.

The emphasis in “Stand Up Comedy” is on “Stand Up”. Along with “Boots”, it resurrects the cheekiness that was ever present in the Zoo TV and Popmart concerts.

“FEZ – Being Born” is the opposite of a radio-ready hit single. Starts out sounding like a remix, with looping samples of “Get on Your Boots”. Sort of Radiohead-esque at times. It might just be brilliant.

“White as Snow” is like no U2 song I can recall. Again, slow and brooding with a sort of spaghetti western guitar sound. For some reason, the melody brought to mind the Advent Hymn “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. On some level, the two songs might be connected by more than their music. Made me think of Johnny Cash working with Rick Rubin.

“Breathe” would probably be a more appropriate (and probably better) single than “Get on Your Boots”. Here's a video of the band premiering the song on French TV:


“Cedars of Lebanon” ends the record in a way familiar to U2: instead of a climactic grand finale they offer an understated, reflective, and even melancholy final scene. The song ends with such stark suddenness that it almost stings as much as “Wake Up Dead Man” did on 1997’s POP.

Lyrics to the songs are available here (I'll also mention that @U2.com is a great and reputable fansite).

I'm starting to feel a connection to the songs after 2-3 listens. This was the longest hiatus between records in U2's entire career. I hope the wait is not as long for the next one.

I Wish You A Hopeful Christmas...

Below is a "video Christmas card" from my family to yours this blessed season. Our prayer is that you know peace and joy in ways that inspire you to be courageous and imaginative in the way you love others.



The video was shot on our digital camera while in center city Philadelphia. It features Amber as "the Cherub". The song is called "I Believe in Father Christmas" and was written by Greg Lake (of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer fame). The lyrics I use come from the version that U2 recorded this year for (RED)Wire. Here they are:

They said there’d be snow at christmas
They said there’d be peace on earth
But instead it just keeps on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin birth

I remember on Christmas morning
A winter’s light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell; that Christmas tree smell
eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a silent night
They sold me a fairy story
But I believe in the Israelite

I believed in father Christmas
I looked at the sky with excited eyes
'Till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish, pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear

They said there’d be snow at Christmas
They said there’d be peace on earth
Hallelujah, noel, be it heaven or hell
Christmas we get what we deserve

I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish, pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear

May peace be yours this Christmas....

EVERCLEAR - Jesus Was A Democrat

I'm glad to admit that I enjoyed the music of Everclear during the 90s. Songs like Santa Monica, Herion Girl and Heartspark Dollarsign were favorites. And, although it lacked the irony and jaded nature of the so-called "x" generation, Father of Mine always hits close to home for me.

Anyway...fast-forward to 2008 (and well beyond Everclear's arc of flight). The band has posted the song Jesus Was A Democrat on their website for free download. I could do without some of the overtly partisan claims (and the shelf-life of the McCain reference will expire in less than 3 weeks). If you take those for what they are (and ignore them as such), there are a few things to consider about Jesus.



Jesus Christ didn't have blue eyes or blond hair
He looked just like all those people that you want to kill
Spin your hell into a heaven you can sell
Make it look like California with a bible belt

Jesus didn't look like the boy next door
Unless you live in Palestine
I wonder what you mean by the golden rule
I think it is a scary play on words
I wonder what they taught you back in Sunday school
I bet you think of him
As a nice clean long haired Republican, nah

He would be all locked up in Guantanamo Bay
If he were alive today
He would have been a revolutionary
Wanted by the CIA

I picture him in all the wrong places
Finding diamonds in the dirt
A star of David tattoo
And a Che t-shirt
Jesus Christ was a left wing radical Jew
Murdered by people like you

If Jesus was a Democrat like the bible says he was
I don't think he's going to want to take the blame
For all the awful things you say and do in his name
If Jesus was alive he would be sad to see
That it is no different than it used to be
Someday he's going to call you out
I am pretty god damned sure ......He is going to be angry
He is going to be angry

You want to know what I think?.......I think Jesus would have been a card carrying liberal
If he was a young man born in the USA
He would not be "fiscally conservative"
And he wouldn't vote for John McCain

All those so called Christians that you see on TV
Maybe they scare Jesus like they scare me
Kick you the hell out of my temple too
Too many elephants in the room

If Jesus was a Democrat like the bible says he was
I don't think he's going to want to take the blame
For all the awful things you people do and say in his name
If Jesus was alive today he would be sad to see
That it is no different than it used to be

Someday he's going to call you out
I am pretty god damned sure......He is going to be....mad
He is going to be angry
He is going to be....mad
He is going to be....mad

You say Jesus loves the little children
And I say I know that's true
I say he loves all the Muslims and the Jews
All the addicts and the porn stars too

You say Jesus died to save us all from a fiery hell
I say Jesus died to save us
Save us from ourselves
Will you save me from myself?

If Jesus was a liberal like the red letters say he was
I know he would have big love for all the killers and the racists
And the bullies in this world
If Jesus was alive today
And you had a chance to meet him face to face
I'm pretty God-damned sure that you and your friends
Would find some way to kill him all over again

You would kill him all over again
Again and again and again
Just like you always do
You do just what you always do

Crying Out A Broken Hallelujah

Every now and then a song just haunts me and won't let me go.



Such is the case with the song "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. It started when a favorite songwriter, Michael Knott, recorded a sparse arrangement of the song and put it on his myspace page. Then author/pastor/teacher/theologian/cool-guy-I'd-like-to-know Christian Scharen announced that his next book would carry the title "Broken Hallelujahs" as it explores faith messages in popular culture (his previous book, One Step Closer, is an awesome theology book based on the music of U2). Here is Scharen's description of why he picked the title "Broken Hallelujahs":

In this life, all we are capable of is a broken hallelujah. We’re only even able to raise a broken hallelujah because of what God has done for us. Knowing that keeps us from trying to please God with our shiny “holy hallelujahs” and allows us to be honest about ourselves, our need for God’s mercy, and our call to join in the God’s mission of mercy in the midst of a broken world. (full article)

Back to the song...

The video with this post is my attempt to reflect the way that this song has kept me up late the last few night playing the guitar and singing. Here's the lyrics:

I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew that Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above,
But all I ever learned from love
Is how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.

The final verse (in my arrangement) is my favorite. I'd be quite happy to have it be the words I use to sum up my existence if I have the opportunity to do so when my time comes:

I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my lips but...Hallelujah

Thank you Leonard Cohen.

I Can Ride My Bike With No Handlebars

I've listened to the radio more this past year than I have in a long time thanks to the addition of Philly's Radio 104.5. Among getting to hear new music from Social Distortion or Weezer along with pre-Nickleback alt-rock, they also play exciting new music from bands like Vampire Weekend. It's surprisingly refreshing (although it comes from the evil of Clear Channels). OK, end of commercial.

They've started playing this hypnotic song that begins with plucked violin strings and the words "I can ride my bike with no handlebars...no handlebars...no handlebars". If you've heard this song, I know you're with me. Turns out the song is performed by Denver natives FLOBOTS.

I found their new CD at Borders for a low price tonight and I was in the mood to hear something new. I was interested by the fact that this band--a multiracial hip-hop group with a viola, trumpet and generally live instruments throughout--had started a non-profit organization committed to organizing people around social change through the arts. But honestly speaking: I was itching for some new music, the CD was cheap, the band was interesting, and there was at least one song I knew I would enjoy.

At the cash register, there was a young guy who told me that he had just bought the CD himself and informed me that it was full of "sick beats". As I walked to the car, I was a little bit worried. I'm just old and white enough to know what "sick beats" are, but generally steer clear of any rhythms that might be ill. I'm a guitar guy.

What an interesting CD. I wanted to drive around all night and see how it sounded different after the sun went down. Early in the CD, they describe themselves as "somewhere between prayer and revolution, between Jesus and Huey P. Newton". Sometimes there's a little bit of sloganeering going on...but just a little bit.

The first tune that really got me was "Stand Up", a lament and call to action written in the shadows of Katrina, 9/11, and current wars:

Under God...but we kill like the son of Sam
but if you fell like I feel about the son of Man
we will overcome...we shall not be moved
except by a child with no socks and shoes
except by a woman dying from a loss of food
except by a freedom fighter bleeding on a cross for you

A few tracks later, there's "Anne Braden", a tribute to the white Episcopalian woman who raised holy hell in the segregated south. It begins by describing how she came to realize the evil around her as a child:

She knew there was something wrong
because the song said "yellow, red, black, white"
everyone precious in the path of Christ
but what about the daughter of the woman cleaning their house?
Wasn't she a child they were singing about?
And if Jesus loves us black or white skin
Why didn't her white mother invite them in?
When did it become a room for no blacks to step in?
How did she already know not to ask the question?

As she grew older and became an activist for equality (even mentioned by name in MLK's letter from Birmingham Jail), she struggled with not meeting hatred with hatred:

she faced it every day
people she saw on a regular basis
people she loved in several cases
people she knew were incredibly racist
It was painful but she never stopped loving them
Never stopped calling their name
And she never stopped being a southern woman
And she never stopped calling for change

The CD ends with the song "Rise". The final words of the song (and therefore the whole disc) are:

The answer's obvious
we switch the consanants
Change the Sword to wordS
and lift continents

And then the refrain repeats off into the sunset "We rise together...we rise together...we rise together" In the end, they add the words "If you believe in redemption coming to you from another dimension".

I believe in redemption coming from another dimension. Let's rise together! God is at work in this world trying to move us to action: to love and serve. It falls somewhere between prayer and revolution...or maybe it's both?

In the end, I'm still hypnotized by "No Handlebars".

Some of these songs can be heard at the FLOBOTS myspace page.

And for the record...the kid was right: the beats are sick!

Music for the Journey: Bill Mallonee

I'll take this opportunity to invite everyone (if there's anyone) reading this to explore the music of an artist that best describes the spirit of "Beyond Capernaum". Bill Mallonee from Athens, GA, has been writing and recording songs for nearly 20 years now at a rate that is exhausting even to keep up with as a listener. These songs are well worth it. They truly take the life of faith beyond familiar and safe confines and place it where it belongs: in the middle of life as we know it. Failure, regret, pain, doubt, mixed seamlessly with love, forgiveness, and hope.

Here's lyrics his most recent song, When All The Tellin' Gets Told

when you hope that life wins out over death
sure it is your last prayer, but you ain’t holding your breath
and you hope that goodness gets a chance to shine
and you're hoping that justice gets a word in edgewise

through all of the storms, and all the bad weather
And all of the “I love you”s...they’re all gone forever
(be)fore it all fades to black...and they turn off the sound
forgive all that I gave up...and all that I let down

‘til the curtain falls...and the credits all roll
the tears they’re all dried...and the wounds are made whole
And all of the tellin’...gets told

Before recording as solo troubadour and touring coffeehouses and living rooms, he was the singer/songwriter for the critically acclaimed band Vigilantes of Love. Paste Magazine has named him one of the 100 greatest living songwriters. If you are new to his music, there's a lot to explore. I would suggest you begin simply by visiting http://www.myspace.com/billmallonee .

Buddy Holly on the road to Emmaus

Sermon - Easter 3A - April 6, 2008
Luke 24:13-25 (Jesus appears on the road to Emmaus)
First Communion Sunday at Temple Lutheran Church

Last week, Monica & I were invited by friends down to the Media Theatre to watch a live performance of The Buddy Holly Story. It was a wonderful and fun retelling of the life of a man whose place in music history is equal to anyone across the ages, even though he played an electric guitar and died at age 22.

About halfway through the story there is a scene depicting the chance meeting of Buddy Holly & Maria Elena Santiago. The scene takes places in the lobby of a Manhattan music publisher’s office. Buddy Holly and his bandmates, The Crickets, enter the lobby where Maria Elena Santiago is working as a receptionist. Buddy is immediately taken with Maria and begins flirting with her. Even though Buddy Holly’s star was rising at the time, Maria Elena did not recognize him when he entered her lobby in person. In a comical exchange, Buddy Holly chats her up, asking her about music, and even what she thinks of Buddy Holly. Even as she goes on about how much she loves his music and how her company publishes his songs, he still doesn’t identify himself. He finally lets her off the hook by asking to see the boss without an appointment
And when she asks him what his name is. He says, “Tell him Buddy Holly is here to see him.” At first she doesn’t believe him, but is then amazed to learn it’s true.

Suddenly, everything about that conversation changed. She was no longer talking about Buddy Holly, she was talking with Buddy Holly. The encounter worked out well: they were married two weeks later. Maria Elena Holly, now in her 70s, remembers it like it was yesterday.

I can’t help but think of that scene as I hear a similar story taking place seven miles outside of Jerusalem as two people walked along toward Emmaus. They were talking about the things that had happened : the crucifixion of Jesus, the burial, and how two women named Mary had astounded them that morning with the claim that the tomb was empty. As they were walking along, Jesus himself comes near, and even hops right into their conversation.

“What are you talking about as you walk along out here?”

And just like Maria Elena Santiago in that music publisher’s lobby, they began to talk openly about the one that mattered to them: Jesus. Words filled with reverence, excitement and great hope. They had absolutely no clue that as they talked about Jesus, they were also talking with Jesus.

Jesus continues the conversation without identifying himself. It’s clear that he knows a lot about the topic. The two travelers are so engaged by this unidentified stranger that they invite him to stay with them, and he does. And at the table, as he took the bread, blessed it, broke it & gave it to them, it was as though he leaned in & said, “Tell him Buddy Holly is here to see him.”

The identity of the risen Jesus is made known in the breaking & sharing of bread.

Everything about that entire conversation changed. Suddenly, they weren’t just talking about Jesus, they were talking with Jesus. "Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road?"

...

Is your heart burning today? Does it make your heart burn within you to know that we are not here simply to talk about Jesus, but that Jesus is present…that Jesus is here with you in this world? We make a mistake if we think that we come here so that God can give us some kind of antacid to soothe the heartburn that life gives us. When we encounter Immanuel, God with us, it makes our hearts burn. If that burning doesn’t seem to be ignited within you just yet, it is possible (I would even say probable…I would even say certain) that you are in the same position as the two travelers on the road to Emmaus. You are in the same position as Maria Elena in that Manhattan lobby. You're waiting for God to be revealed, waiting for God to show up. Maybe you're just living your life not even expecting God to show up, and, without any advanced notice,
God has simply shown up and is in the process of letting you realize it.

Jesus shows up in three ways in this story. I think all three of them are equally true of how Jesus comes to us today. Jesus first comes to them through the story and scriptures. Through the things they were already talking about, and as Jesus himself showed as he explained the scriptures to them. Jesus comes to us through the story and the scriptures as we open them up and read together. As one of us stands up here and takes our best shot at pointing to Christ in the witness of scripture. As we gather around the story and the scriptures, we are not simply talking about Jesus, Jesus is here with us.

Jesus is also revealed in the breaking of the bread. Perhaps the single most unifying act of Christians from our very beginnings is the simple meal in which Christ is revealed in the breaking of the bread. This meal that we gather for today as we celebrate the open invitation of Jesus: the open invitation that has been accepted for the first time by seven of our children. I remember receiving Holy Communion for the first time, and what I remember the most all these years later is that it was the first time I ever tasted wine. As I left the table, I could feel this warmth radiating in my chest. It was a good warmth. It was as though I left the table saying “wasn’t my heart burning within me?”

That is my prayer for the children that celebrate coming to the table today. In fact, it is my prayer for every one of us: that we celebrate that open invitation every time we come to the table. That we marvel in the wonderful mystery that this is not simply a meal about Jesus, Jesus is present in this meal.

Finally, on the road to Emmaus, Jesus is revealed in a stranger. As we go about our lives, Christ comes to us every single day in the faces of strangers that we meet along the way. And as we allow ourselves to be opened to others, even the stranger, everything can change as we experience Jesus present in our world.

God finds so many ways to show up in our lives. Perhaps it’s because we’re not always tuned in to God’s presence. Perhaps it’s because God will go to any length to get through to us. It certainly seems that way when you hear the story of Jesus.

As you travel today along the road that your life is journeying, be ready. Be hopeful that God will show up and cause your heart to burn. God is already there. You may not even realize it.
In the story and the scriptures, in the breaking of the bread, in the face of the stranger. God is already there.

I leave you with a piece of sacred poetry
Written by Dan Bollerud, a fellow Lutheran from Anchorage, Alaska
Reflecting on this story of Jesus appearing along the road to Emmaus:

I don’t know if it’s true
I have my doubts like everyone else
I’m a pilgrim
a stranger
searching for that
for which my soul yearns
and when I hear the Word
and sing the songs
something happens within me
and I begin to feel at peace
there are times the words seem written
for me
and when I hear them
my heart burns with a peace
and love
and discomfort
I can’t explain
but it is in the coming forward
and taking that piece of bread
that cup of wine
and hearing the words
This is my body
This is my blood
Given for you for forgiveness
For life
that my heart leaps
and I know Christ

AMEN.