‘Art’ Archives
Worship Songs
Great post over on the First Things blog by Jeremy Pierce, in which he examines the elements of a bad worship song. It's tongue-in-cheek, of course, as his point relates to how these songs are often biblically based. For my part, I loathe just about every single praise and worship tune I hear. It's all saccharine: sweet and tasty, but the [...]
Recommended Reading: “The High Cost of Ignoring Beauty”
Roger Scruton has composed a wonderful article, relating primarily to the aesthetic collapse of architecture. Applicable to every other art form, Scruton targets the Modernist ideal regarding beauty (or is it a non-ideal?), which has corroded art for nearly a century.
Why Christmas in the Heart Works
Add my name to the list of those initially skeptical about a Bob Dylan Christmas album. Dylan's work over the past decade is masterful because of how it showcases his skill for lyricism in such a way that his trademark sandpaper-and-glue voice becomes an asset rather than a hindrance. The listener can identify with the aging bard as he looks back [...]
The Problem with Susan Boyle’s New Cover (and “Singers” in General)
Susan Boyle has released a new cover of the Rolling Stones classic "Wild Horses." See this link for the audio. Boyle certainly brings her beautiful voice to the song, and there is no denying her innate talent. She has one of the best voices I've ever heard, in terms of overall quality. That having been said, however, this song fails Susan [...]
Posting More Soon…
...but to hold you over in the meantime, I bring you my favorite track off the new Dylan album, Together Through Life. Something about the accordion line on "If You Ever Go to Houston" that I can't get enough of. It was my constant inner-theme song last week. Enjoy. (And be sure to click on the "HQ" button.)
TTL: The First Major Review
A perfect 4 of 4. I've long considered Britain's Mojo to be the authoratative source for music reviews, and it's encouraging to see the experts give Together Through Life a thumbs-up. Read the review here. As for me, this only makes waiting for the 28th more difficult. In the meantime, be sure to head on over to bobdylan.com and listen to [...]
St. Patrick’s Day Spirit!
My favorite of all the Irish protest songs, "Come Out Ye Black and Tans": And then there's the brilliant "Arthur McBride" (1840), which I like to bring up in conversation when people get their panties in a bunch about how violent modern music is. The point is a valid one, but it's not like all ballads of old were about unicorns [...]
Coolest T-Shirt Ever? Indeed. Mad I Never Wear T-Shirts Anymore? You Bet.
Dylan riding next to Hendrix, as the wildcat did growl... For a biblical/spiritual explanation of "All Along the Watchtower" (posted previously), from one of our many great teachers around here:
IT’S CONFIRMED!
New Dylan album drops in April! Oh man. I haven't been this excited over something entertainment wise in a long, long while.
More Thoughts on the Kindle 2
In my last post on Amazon's newest book reading device, Greg and Ellyn raised a good point: using the Kindle eliminates the "feel" of reading a book. The experience just isn't the same, and you're left with something else. Appropriately (and somewhat ironically), Stephen King adds his two cents on this in his short novella UR (only available on [...]
A Question Answered: Why Rice?
As I think about taking up the art and craft of homebrewing in the future, I've been doing some research. One of the biggest questions I had: Why does Budweiser contain rice? An answer, from Yahoo! Answers. I trust this site about as much as I'd trust my pomeranian around white carpet, but the answer seems reasonable: All Adjunct lagers are [...]
A Film Recommendation: TNT’s Gifted Hands
Just a quick note encouraging all with a little time to catch TNT's Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. You can read about the real Dr. Carson here. It's an excellent story, and two themes really shine: faith and vocation. The film also trumpets the importance of education, to which Dr. Carson has dedicated a lot of personal resources. A good [...]
Two Judeo-Christian Songs Actually Entitled “Hallelujah,” Without Becoming Trite Pieces of Garbage
The first is a Jeff Buckley cover of the Leonard Cohen classic. Do forgive the scenes from The OC: this was the best I could do, and the song is too good not to post. Push play, open a new tab, and browse: The second selection is a cover of a Ryan Adams tune. Ryan is one of the best songwriters alive today, and just about [...]
