Ken Freeman's Cowpants

I used to listen to a lot of Contemporary Christian Music. The size of my cd shelves has grown a lot over the years, but there was a time when almost all of it was discs from bands like 4Him and Steven Curtis Chapman. I had autographed posters of Clay Crosse and Bryan Duncan on my wall. I saw Geoff Moore and the Distance more times than I can count on both hands. I had a huge crush on Rebecca St. James. Heck, I even married the cousin of Dean of Phillips, Craig, and Dean just so I could hopefully have them come to my wedding and sing "The Concert of the Age" or at least "Turn Up the Radio." <--The previous sentence except for the cousin part is all a lie and way out of the time frame.

Youth group Christian music took a turn for the slightly better with the release of albums like Jesus Freak. I can still pull that out and almost listen to it these days which is more than I can say for most of the other bands. Around that time, I also was introduced to bands like The Choir. They took things to a bit more abstract of a level than anything else I was listening to. The songs weren't just about loving Jesus and/or loving a girl. It was ok to have songs about Jesus only, but love songs were mostly limited to vague "am I singing about Jesus or a girl" songs (exceptions were allowed for married artists who wrote songs for their wives). Songs from bands like The Choir had some depth to them. In a time I was learning about symbolism and themes in 9th grade English, I was pondering what a circle slide was. This was good because this was also around the time that I got rid of every "secular" cd I owned. Out went U2 and R.E.M. and Live and The Offspring. I couldn't have that devil music polluting my young Christian mind. I even broke the discs and through them in the trash. I wouldn't want to sell them and contribute to the pollution of other minds.

As a fun side note, I heard the sermon that convinced me I needed to do that preached again by that same guy about 8 years later. I had trouble not laughing. I couldn't exactly relate to my D-Now guys who were somewhat convinced that he was telling them a good idea. I don't think many were on board anyway. Over the years, I think I have picked up just about every disc I chunked that day. Hopefully my replacement copies were originally owned by some Christian kid who got a little cash for ridding themselves of "ungodly" things.

It is funny for me to look back on my musical odyssey. The CCM only phase didn't last too awful long thank God. I would have missed out on a lot of great art. I don't listen to a whole lot of CCM at all any more. I get in trouble quite a bit for making fun of the very music that I subsisted on for a good bit of my younger days. I still listen to a lot of music with Christian influences. A lot of my favorites have spent a lot of time on the fringe of Christian culture. Bill Mallonee, David Eugene Edwards, Sufjan Stevens, Over the Rhine, Daniel Smith, the list goes on. I guess it is because I can relate to their worldview of these folks. They look at life through a similar lens, but seem to have the lens a little closer to clear than I find most CCM. That's not to say there isn't a place for it, and that isn't to say I have completely shunned overtly Christian music. Andrew Osenga and Don Chaffer still write songs that kick my butt and can bring me to tears. Rich Mullins is still a life that inspired me. Some of the current worship songs sung at my church, especially a couple written by Aaron Shust and Matt Redman, are beautiful prayers that put a lot of what I would like to say to and about God to words much more eloquent than I can say on my own. I still have a crush on Rebecca St. James <--another lie.

I got to thinking about how great it is that God can use The End is Near by The New Year as much as He can the random worship songs we sang tonight to remind me of who He is. Art is from Him. It isn't all of Him, but that doesn't mean He can't use any of it however He sees fit. I'm glad that He give us the freedom to explore that and be blessed. I don't care what Ken Freeman says.

Recent Playlist (An Album for Every Letter of the Alphabet):
Anathallo - Floating World
Blonde Redhead - 23
Copeland - Beneath Medicine Tree
The Delgados - Universal Audio
Efterklang - Parades
Feist - The Reminder
Green River Ordinance - The Beauty of Letting Go
Hum - Downward is Heavenward
Isis - Oceanic
Joanna Newsom - Ys
I skipped K for the moment
LSU - Shaded Pain
Magnolia Electric Company - Magnolia Electric Company
The New Year - The End is Near
Old Canes - Early Morning Hymns

Musical Rut

Life has been going pretty good lately, but one big part of me hasn't been doing so hot. I've been in a bit of a musical rut again. I'll never understand why it is that even with an ipod full of music at my disposal; I get to the point where nothing sounds remotely interesting. When it comes to that, I hit up some old standbys and eventually something new will come along and pique my interest enough that I will get out of the rut. Hopefully it will happen soon.

Through this latest rut, I have found myself listening to a lot more podcasts. The one that has gotten the most listening out of me has been This American Life. Not being a big NPR listener, I am pretty late to the game, but it has quickly become a favorite of mine. Every week it is a couple of stories based on some theme. I have always loved this sort of stuff. It is pretty much the podcast version of a favorite pastime of mine, people watching. You never quite know what you are going to get from week to week. Sometimes the story is sad, sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are really politically loaded. They are almost always interesting though.

Mostly Rut Friendly Recent Playlist With Only A Few Disappointments:
Shearwater - Rook
Stavesacre - Speakeasy
Doug Burr - On Promenade
They Might Be Giants - Flood
Woven Hand - Consider the Birds
Lambchop - Aw C'mon
Wye Oak - If Children
Joe Purdy - You Can Tell Georgia
Colin Herring - Past Life Crashing
Bill Mallonee - Permafrost
The Violet Burning - Demonstrates Plastic and Elastic
Justin Rosolino - Wonderlust
The Cure - Faith
The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
Vigilantes of Love - Audible Sigh
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
Elton John - Rocket Man
Justice - Cross
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Struck Last May - 16 Flowers
My Brightest Diamond - A Thousand Shark's Teeth
Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner

A Big Part of Me

Standing in my new apartment on the day I moved to Dallas, I was reminded again of how much my dad means to me. He had helped me move my stuff, and we had just finished. We were pretty tired, but there we stood. It was time for him to head back; leaving me in the first place I had ever lived that he hadn't paid for. I had a tear in my eye, and he had a tear in his. I won't really ever forget that day. I felt that he was proud of me. I stood there not knowing how to thank him not just for that day, but also for the 23 years leading up to it. I asked him if I could buy him dinner, but he needed to get back before it was too late.

My dad was never the kind of dad who took me hunting, fishing, or to play catch. Those weren't really his thing. He wasn't and isn't the outdoorsy type. He has picked up on sports in recent years though, especially Aggie football. I love getting to go to the games with him. He is handy. If there is something that needs fixing, he's the guy to ask. I have never picked up quite as much of that part of him as I would have hoped, but he still helps me any time I need him. He is about as friendly of guy as I have ever known. He'd do anything he could to help someone out.

When it comes down to it, it isn't the surface parts of him that matter most to me and have had the most impact on my life. He is a man of great character that I have learned a lot from already and can keep on learning from. I can't think of a single time in my life when my dad hasn't done what he said he would do. His example of honesty and loyalty give me things to strive for. He has provided for our family at the expense of a lot of things I'm sure he would have liked. He loves my mom and the rest of our family sacrificially and unconditionally. It is a blast to see him playing with my nephew. I remember many a morning where I'd wake up long after my dad to see him sitting in his chair, drinking a cup of coffee, spending some time in the Word before the day began.

He has never been one to talk a lot about himself. There are a lot of things I don't really know about him. These sorts of things aren't our usual displays of love. As I have gotten older, I see a lot of my dad in myself. I may be a head taller. I may talk a little faster. I'll never be as handy. If I can be a man of my word. If I can work as hard. If I can love my wife and family with everything I can give. If I can love and serve God the way he does. If I can be more like dad, I will have accomplished much more than most.

I'm sending this link to my dad today. He probably doesn't even know that I have been writing here for a while. My exploits and complaints that I have documented here aren't the sorts of things I have ever really figured would be much worth reading. I didn't send him a card for Father's day. I didn't buy him a tie. I'm bummed that I am not able to make it down to hang out with him today. I could keep writing about the things I have learned from him. I don't tell him enough how much I appreciate him. I want to be better at telling him how much he means to me, and this is just a start.

Love you dad. Thanks for being a great dad. I'm proud to be your son.

Wild Hair and Black Clothes

My second trip to see The Cure was a little different than my first. First off, I haven't been on a huge The Cure kick like I was the first time I saw them. I was a late arrival to The Cure, but right around the time when I first moved to Dallas, I was listening to them daily. Over the past couple of years, I have still been listening, but not nearly as much. When tickets went on sale about a year ago for a show in October, I snatched up a pair. I would be going with a different level of obsession, but I figured I would enjoy it anyway. That concert got postponed and rescheduled for so June, so over the months I had pretty much forgotten about it. Last Friday night, they reminded me why I was on such a kick of their music.

The AAC was cut in half, and the crowd wasn't exactly high energy, but the band sounded great and as the night went on, the energy picked up. The Cure isn't exactly a high energy band, but they ended up seeming like they were having a lot of fun, and we got treated to song after song for over three hours. There were few songs missing from the setlist. We got everything from dark, brooding songs to every pop hit they ever had. My best way to put it is that they are the most boring live band that I never want to miss when they come to town. The don't play with a whole lot of flash for a band of their stature, but they really nailed the set. When the songs are that great, it doesn't take a whole lot else to make for an amazing show.
Setlist:
Underneath The Stars, Prayers For Rain, A Night Like This, The Walk, The End of the World, Lovesong, To Wish Impossible Things, Pictures of You, Lullaby, Fascination Street, The Perfect Boy, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Sleep When I'm Dead, Push, Friday I'm In Love, Inbetween Days, Just Like Heaven, Primary, Shake Dog Shake, Never Enough, The Only One, Wrong Number, The Baby Screams, One Hundred Years, Baby Rag Dog Book

1st encore: Three Imaginary Boys, Fire In Cairo, Boys Don't Cry, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Grinding Halt, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab
2nd encore: Lovecats, Let's Go To Bed, Freakshow, Close To Me, Why Can't I Be You?
3rd encore: A Forest