Addendum...

Had a great opportunity to hear Matthew Smith play last night; in light of my post yesterday, I thought the following John Newton lyrics (which Smith has reset to fresh, new music) were appropriate. May this be the Church's attitude throughout the economic crisis and future storms to come:

The Lord Will Provide
Though troubles assail and dangers affright,
Though friends should all fail and foes all unite;
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,
The scripture assures us, the Lord will provide.
The birds without barn or storehouse are fed,
From them let us learn to trust for our bread:
His saints, what is fitting, shall ne’er be denied,
So long as it’s written, the Lord will provide.

We may, like the ships, by tempest be tossed
On perilous deeps, but cannot be lost.
Though Satan enrages the wind and the tide,
The promise engages, the Lord will provide.
His call we obey like Abram of old,
Not knowing our way, but faith makes us bold;
For though we are strangers we have a good Guide,
And trust in all dangers, the Lord will provide.

When Satan appears to stop up our path,
And fill us with fears, we triumph by faith;
He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried,
This heart–cheering promise, the Lord will provide.
He tells us we’re weak, our hope is in vain,
The good that we seek we ne’er shall obtain,
But when such suggestions our spirits have plied,
This answers all questions, the Lord will provide.

No strength of our own, or goodness we claim,
Yet since we have known the Savior’s great name;
In this our strong tower for safety we hide,
The Lord is our power, the Lord will provide.
When life sinks apace and death is in view,
This word of his grace shall comfort us through:
No fearing or doubting with Christ on our side,
We hope to die shouting, the Lord will provide.

Pop Culture Fridays: U2-{Please}

As a massive fan of U2, I would be reticent to rank their album Pop as one of their best. Yet (in my excitement over their impending new album) I've returned to it recently and forgotten how many songs from that record still stand on their own.

Goofing around on YouTube the other day, I came across a great live performance of my favorite song from Pop, "Please." I remember watching this performance on TV as a high school student; though it's marked as being live from Rotterdam...this is actually from the U.S. version of the MTV Video Music Awards. I love the song's slow build/slow burn (best evidenced live) and I love how understated Bono's stage presence is here...standing in place, wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up. That's especially notable because, at the time, they were in their "golden lemon/PopMart" phase, doing shows at the scale of the image above.

Pop Culture Fridays: Only 2 more weeks...

Exactly two weeks from today, I will be in the most glorious haze...

I will just have seen this great performer (in an equally great venue) the night before and will be heading into a weekend where I will get all the documentary fun I can handle...

Until then, I wait in eager anticipation with Adams & The Cardinals' latest to tide me over. Here's an excellent performance from Letterman's show...this song, "Cobwebs," is my favorite off the new record. What gets lost (just ever so slightly) in the live setting here is the beautiful, percussive, bell-like quality that Adams and Neal Casal get from their guitars. Great song.

Aarik Danielsen's 2008 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack or The Audacity of Rock

I commemorate the end of every year with a year-in-review CD, compiling all the music that captivated me most and best expresses the year I had. It took me a bit longer to cull everything I loved from 2008 but here is the final tracklisting (I don't usually make dual-disc mixes, but this was a good year...):

Disc 1:
1. coldplay:: lovers in japan/reign of love
2. death cab for cutie:: cath...
3. yesan damen:: monuments to ambition
4. beck w/cat power:: orphans
5. break and repair method:: calling all electrical prints
6. anna ternheim:: little lies
7. jakob dylan:: will it grow
8. matthew perryman jones:: when it falls apart
9. jenny lewis w/elvis costello:: carpetbaggers
10. my morning jacket:: alumnium park
11. the black keys:: I got mine
12. lucinda williams:: tears of joy
13. the war on drugs:: a needle in your eye #16
14. fleet foxes:: mykonos
15. the decemberists:: valerie plame

Disc 2:
1. snow patrol:: take back the city
2. m83:: kim and jessie
3. r.e.m.:: man-sized wreath
4. tv on the radio:: golden age
5. ryan adams and the cardinals:: cobwebs
6. john mellencamp:: my sweet love
7. ray lamontagne:: you are the best thing
8. the hold steady:: sequestered in memphis
9. old crow medicine show:: highway halo
10. giant sand:: stranded pearl
11. bon iver:: creature fear
12. the national eye:: the farthest shore
13. scouts:: whiskey echo lima lima
14. coldplay:: death and all his friends

Pop Culture Fridays: Springsteen Takes Tampa

Hang around this blog long enough and you will get a sense of my bordering-on-ridiculous admiration for Bruce Springsteen. It's not a huge logical jump, then, from that statement to my excitement that he will be headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl 43. Not every Springsteen fan feels the same, however.

In a Sports Illustrated piece that came out this week, Joe Posnanski discusses the reactions of a few confused Springsteen devotees. Some point to the feelings of discomfort with stadiums The Boss has historically expressed. They wonder why someone who hated playing stadiums because of the inherent disconnect (due to venue scope and size) between audience and performer would play on the biggest stage of all...

I, on the other hand, am unconcerned. For one thing, I am never bothered by the chance for a real artist to display his skill on a platform usually reserved for lowest common denominator-type performers (think of the N'Sync/Spears halftime show of a few years ago or the infamous Timberlake/Janet Jackson experience).

And, while it might be a bit more awkward and histrionic a setting, I'm not worried about Springsteen's ability to connect. On stage, Springsteen is a populist preacher, a true man of the people and I have every confidence that his ability to make disciples won't be hindered by the pyrotechniques or dance squads the NFL is likely to toss into the mix.