There will always be tons of buzz generated whenever U2 does anything, let alone release their first album since 2004 (It has been five years already?!). When I saw that the whole album was streaming up on Myspace, I was tempted to see if all the hype was real. I am glad I waited to actually drive to the store, buy the CD and wrestle with the packaging. The first single, "Get On Your Boots" was already starting to get a bit tiring, but CD quality blew away anything I heard previously streamed online, revealing lots of nuance.
Starting in 2000 with All That You Can't Leave Behind, through How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, up to No Line on the Horizon, it's amazing how each album sounds different, yet remain unmistakably U2. Off the bat, No Line on the Horizon has more in common with All That You Can't Leave Behind with its slower pace. After trying to fit as many "U2-ish" arena songs into the last album, No Line on the Horizon is much more roomy, but don't take that as simple. There is lots of nuance in this album, most from the drumming of the band's rock Larry Mullen Jr. Though the tempo has slowed on this album, it doesn't mean the music is softer. Melodies and rythyms are allowed to expand, fill up space an envelope the room. Just when you think they are going to build up into a huge anthemic chorus, U2 tempers the pace before returning. It's an album that requires one to stop, sit down and just listen.
No Line on the Horizon might not be as good as U2's most recent albums, but it's guaranteed to be another hit. It's apparent they are pacing themselves so they don't jump the shark (yet again) on their latest resurgance. I'm sure as they tour, they will pour new life into these songs and have people wishing that what they just heard live was what on the album.
03 March, 2009
22 February, 2009
Chinese and Philosphical Buffet
You know when you step into a Chinese buffet that you will be overwhelmed with a sampling of culinary delights, but less expected is experiencing a wave of talk about religion, culture and society. On the table next to me were four guys trying to squeeze their heaped plates of fried rice and sesame chicken between stacks of several thick books covering a generous sampling of archeology, religion, astronomy, philosophy and Christianity. I couldn't help but try to listen in on what these seemingly inquisitive minds were conversing about. Soon, it became apparent that half of that group were questioning Christianity's place within the intellectual realms of truth, while the other two were attempting to answer and defend the veracity of the Bible and Christ's teachings.
The one thing that really stood out about the two guys defending that their "un-religion" that gives them as much inspiration and spiritual fortitude to handle life is how important science is in informing them about truth. Obviously, to them, scientific inquiry was truth that left no room in questioning its own hallowed halls. I think they hit the nail on the head. Science has become its own religion. The questions and criticisms of blindly followed religions that they were railing against Christianity could easily be leveled against science itself.
What realy got me thinking critically about science was when I started learning more and more about theoretical world of quantum physics that went beyond Newtonian physics. As one dives beyond the sub-atomic level, all the known rules of how matter behaves can be thrown out the window. In this seemingly chaotic world, it becomes apparent how much we don't know about the world. In fact, it may question much of what we do know of how the world works. What this shows me is that once we as humans start thinking we know so much about the universe, it gets all broken apart. It becomes quite clear that science isn't truth itself, but a lens with which we can observe what is around us and make some understanding of it all.
The more and more science is broken down and you get into the minute facets of physics and the material universe, the more you inevitable start talking about philosophy. The more one tries to accumilate fact upon fact against one skeptical of Christianity, the more the dicussion breaks down because it's like using the same stones to build opposing fortresses against each other. When the dicussion takes these facts and applies the mortar of philosophical questions of what these facts really mean to our daily lives, these stones or facts become construction, building a bridge between opposing sides.
The one thing that really stood out about the two guys defending that their "un-religion" that gives them as much inspiration and spiritual fortitude to handle life is how important science is in informing them about truth. Obviously, to them, scientific inquiry was truth that left no room in questioning its own hallowed halls. I think they hit the nail on the head. Science has become its own religion. The questions and criticisms of blindly followed religions that they were railing against Christianity could easily be leveled against science itself.
What realy got me thinking critically about science was when I started learning more and more about theoretical world of quantum physics that went beyond Newtonian physics. As one dives beyond the sub-atomic level, all the known rules of how matter behaves can be thrown out the window. In this seemingly chaotic world, it becomes apparent how much we don't know about the world. In fact, it may question much of what we do know of how the world works. What this shows me is that once we as humans start thinking we know so much about the universe, it gets all broken apart. It becomes quite clear that science isn't truth itself, but a lens with which we can observe what is around us and make some understanding of it all.
The more and more science is broken down and you get into the minute facets of physics and the material universe, the more you inevitable start talking about philosophy. The more one tries to accumilate fact upon fact against one skeptical of Christianity, the more the dicussion breaks down because it's like using the same stones to build opposing fortresses against each other. When the dicussion takes these facts and applies the mortar of philosophical questions of what these facts really mean to our daily lives, these stones or facts become construction, building a bridge between opposing sides.
04 February, 2009
An Out-of-Body Reading Experience
The other day I was sitting in Starbucks and glimpsed a copy of newspaper out of the corner of my eye. The two people sitting at the table next to me were speaking way too loud and I couldn't concentrate on the book I had brought to read. (That's a topic for another day . . .) Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a newspaper and start leafing through the pages. Let me just say that newspapers are rather awkward to read when you don't have a nice, big table to lay the thing and you must hold it up at a comfortable level to read an article from top to bottom, or I am just a bit clumsy with the most mundane things.
As I started to read this newspaper in my usual way, something odd leaped out at me--I was extremely aware of how I was reading. I didn't just read articles on each successive page I turned. I found myself quickly flipping through the whole thing, glancing at each page and taking in each headline. I might have read a paragraph or two of an article, but didn't read the entire thing. Then, I went back and read the articles that really caught my attention. All this time, I'm thinking, 'Gee, I must look so weird flipping back and forth through this newspaper as if I have ADD or something'. Now, I was wondering if I'm just plain eccentric, or if there is a reason why I read this way.
Oddly, this whole experience made me realize that reading this way let me pay more attention to articles that I really want to read since I kind of 'previewed' the rest of the paper. I think this is a reason why I like to read reviews--whether its music, movies, etc. There is just so much information and stimuli that hits us from all over our society and culture that we need some kind of way to filter through everything and just focus on what is meaningful to us. At the same time, this kind of 'previewing' also allows someone to expose himself to a variety of different viewpoints and experiences without going crazy trying to find out everything about so many different subjects.
As I started to read this newspaper in my usual way, something odd leaped out at me--I was extremely aware of how I was reading. I didn't just read articles on each successive page I turned. I found myself quickly flipping through the whole thing, glancing at each page and taking in each headline. I might have read a paragraph or two of an article, but didn't read the entire thing. Then, I went back and read the articles that really caught my attention. All this time, I'm thinking, 'Gee, I must look so weird flipping back and forth through this newspaper as if I have ADD or something'. Now, I was wondering if I'm just plain eccentric, or if there is a reason why I read this way.
Oddly, this whole experience made me realize that reading this way let me pay more attention to articles that I really want to read since I kind of 'previewed' the rest of the paper. I think this is a reason why I like to read reviews--whether its music, movies, etc. There is just so much information and stimuli that hits us from all over our society and culture that we need some kind of way to filter through everything and just focus on what is meaningful to us. At the same time, this kind of 'previewing' also allows someone to expose himself to a variety of different viewpoints and experiences without going crazy trying to find out everything about so many different subjects.
31 December, 2008
. . . and God saw that it was good
Even though it was almost a full year ago, you may remember that we got an extra day in February since it's a Leap Year, but did you know before the end of 2008 we will get a "Leap Second"? When I first saw this article, I thought this is a bit ridiculous. I can understand that the calendar we use day to day isn't the most precise that we need to add a day to February every four years, but we seriously that off that we need to correct our time by one second?!? Apparently, even though we have extremely accurate atomic clocks, the earth's rotation is just so ever imprecise that every so often, we need to adjust how we measure time to remain in sync with our position in the universe.
What I think is amazing is how we look to science to measure everything in the universe and can see how God has designed everything so well. I find it even more amazing when I read articles like this that mess with our concept of how we have everything so figured out. Having all these studies, archeological findings, experiments and hard evidence to prove that everything in the Bible is true is not crucial to my belief in Jesus. Yet the more concrete facts I learn , I can feel my faith decrease ever so slightly. If someone is given libraries upon libraries of irrefutable information about something that isn't tangible (for a silly example, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster), the less faith it takes to believe in something. With tons of evidence, one is left with absolutely no choice but to concede belief--the free will to believe is taken away by force.
Things, like this "Leap Second" just remind me how awesome and great God really is. Like it says in Isaiah 55:9, God's ways and thoughts are much higher than ours. Whenever we think we have God all figured out and are ready to put Him on our shelf because we think we have contained to what we can understand, He throws us for a loop and we have to wrestle with facts and events that baffle our brains. To me, it doesn't matter what kind of new research comes out that may discredit how God perfectly created the universe, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the biggest evidence to my faith. So what if that according to our understanding the world isn't as perfect mathematically as we think it should be, God's math is far more perfect than our math!
What I think is amazing is how we look to science to measure everything in the universe and can see how God has designed everything so well. I find it even more amazing when I read articles like this that mess with our concept of how we have everything so figured out. Having all these studies, archeological findings, experiments and hard evidence to prove that everything in the Bible is true is not crucial to my belief in Jesus. Yet the more concrete facts I learn , I can feel my faith decrease ever so slightly. If someone is given libraries upon libraries of irrefutable information about something that isn't tangible (for a silly example, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster), the less faith it takes to believe in something. With tons of evidence, one is left with absolutely no choice but to concede belief--the free will to believe is taken away by force.
Things, like this "Leap Second" just remind me how awesome and great God really is. Like it says in Isaiah 55:9, God's ways and thoughts are much higher than ours. Whenever we think we have God all figured out and are ready to put Him on our shelf because we think we have contained to what we can understand, He throws us for a loop and we have to wrestle with facts and events that baffle our brains. To me, it doesn't matter what kind of new research comes out that may discredit how God perfectly created the universe, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the biggest evidence to my faith. So what if that according to our understanding the world isn't as perfect mathematically as we think it should be, God's math is far more perfect than our math!
17 December, 2008
Mourning the Soul of Music
Here's my chance to sound like an old grumpy man-despite my real age. Right now, I'm going to complain that the 'scene' wasn't what it used to be when I was younger. I am going to complain about how the music I grew up on has now vanished, replaced with mostly garbage and that nobody cares about the music anymore. But, more than that, I'm really heartsick that the simple art of listening to music is lost. I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to turning on some music to fill the silence when working on something else, yet, I relish the times I get to sit down, put on a pair of headphones and just close my eyes and do nothing else but listen to music. Better yet, I love listening to music live. I don't really need alot of lights, video and spectacle when a musician I really enjoy is performing.
Music is that important to me. It is something that can be consumed on its own--it is that rich. It is more than a condiment for daily life. It really is what gives me hope, and as Tim Robbins' character in "The Shawshank Redemption" puts it, music is something that can't be taken away since it resides within the human soul. So, when I see the absolute lack of respect for a musician pouring his guts performing, I get upset. When I see people give away something that can't be forcibly taken by others, I get depressed--dejected that some have no problem wasting such a valuable part of being a human.
Perhaps it is just the consequence of living in the age of the iPod, where music is available anything a battery is fully charged. There is no need to listen intently, savoring every moment because it is so fleeting, so hard to retrieve later on. I love to live as though music can be retained. The best part of listening to something I truly love is afterwards, when the music is so fresh in my mind it lasts for hours. This is really raw, concentrated emotion, the very framework of our souls that is left over after listening to music. Being able to listen to music anywhere and anytime is an untold curse. We can no longer enjoy an entire meal because the individual ingrediants have been left out. Yet, this is what we devour--empty representations of something valuable--hollow pieces of food, gaining no satisfaction, but getting all the taste. Missing the substance of what we are consuming, we go back for more. More taste, more sensation, yet never having our fill. The gluttony of sensuality--obese on what we can experience, but we are too distracted by the next thing to realize how truly emaciated and cadaverous we really are.
Music is that important to me. It is something that can be consumed on its own--it is that rich. It is more than a condiment for daily life. It really is what gives me hope, and as Tim Robbins' character in "The Shawshank Redemption" puts it, music is something that can't be taken away since it resides within the human soul. So, when I see the absolute lack of respect for a musician pouring his guts performing, I get upset. When I see people give away something that can't be forcibly taken by others, I get depressed--dejected that some have no problem wasting such a valuable part of being a human.
Perhaps it is just the consequence of living in the age of the iPod, where music is available anything a battery is fully charged. There is no need to listen intently, savoring every moment because it is so fleeting, so hard to retrieve later on. I love to live as though music can be retained. The best part of listening to something I truly love is afterwards, when the music is so fresh in my mind it lasts for hours. This is really raw, concentrated emotion, the very framework of our souls that is left over after listening to music. Being able to listen to music anywhere and anytime is an untold curse. We can no longer enjoy an entire meal because the individual ingrediants have been left out. Yet, this is what we devour--empty representations of something valuable--hollow pieces of food, gaining no satisfaction, but getting all the taste. Missing the substance of what we are consuming, we go back for more. More taste, more sensation, yet never having our fill. The gluttony of sensuality--obese on what we can experience, but we are too distracted by the next thing to realize how truly emaciated and cadaverous we really are.
29 November, 2008
Jesus and Black Metal
I'm going to put myself right out in the open here, I love metal and I LOVE Jesus! To some, these two passions don't belong together--I can see why. On one hand you have baby Jesus, meek and mild, in swaddling clothes, sleeping in a manger, with cows and sheep in the background singing 'O, Holy Night' softly and on the hand, you have a bunch of long-haired guys, usually growling, banging away on drums, playing chaotic music that sounds like random noise. People in church have kind of accepted having generic rock bands play Christian music, but metal still needs to stay far away--with all those un-Godly people who still need to be saved by watching 'Facing the Giants'. Call me crazy, but I have feeling that Jesus loves all people, regardless of what kind of music they like. There has always been a pull in my heart to use metal centered around Jesus and excellent music to reach those who don't want anything to do with Christians or Jesus. I've had countless conversations with metal-heads who are blown away that I like metal, don't compromise my faith in Christ, but still love them and don't shove a cookie-cutter version of Christianity down there throats. To me, this is showing them who Christ is all about.
I came across this story about a Christian metal band in Ecuador that has been experiencing alot of abuse for being Christ-followers. Take some time, read it, understand that Jesus used the language, customs and the experiences of the people He was ministering to so that He could bring them Good News. Also, take some time and pray for all those who are still lost and need Jesus in their lives and those willing to take risks to be ambassadors for Christ.
Good day folks,
There have been a few incidents this year concerning threats and assaults toward a few black metal evangelistic bands in South America, happening in Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador. My friend Abraham who is playing in Golgotha just told me that recently, the band played at a 400 person show in Quito. Apparently, for some time, Golgotha had been receiving threats from a group of black metallers who are part of a quasi-militant self-professed satanic cult group that actively speaks against Christian metal of all styles and has been doing so for a long time. When Golgotha took to the stage, the antagonists began to blaspheme. Golgotha played an excellent set and some of the crowd began to headbang and enjoy the music. A few people in the crowd became aggravated at the fact that others were enjoying Golgotha's music (both Christians and non-Christians at the concert.) and tried to persuade them to stop. Their inability to do so caused a few to pick up bottles and rocks and throw them at the stage. A couple of the band members were hit but not badly. The band did end up speaking to the crowd and some became very angry at the message, and didn't let the band finish the set successfully. Nobody was seriously hurt.
http://forums.firestream.net/showthread.php?t=27099
In Christ, Josh
I came across this story about a Christian metal band in Ecuador that has been experiencing alot of abuse for being Christ-followers. Take some time, read it, understand that Jesus used the language, customs and the experiences of the people He was ministering to so that He could bring them Good News. Also, take some time and pray for all those who are still lost and need Jesus in their lives and those willing to take risks to be ambassadors for Christ.
Good day folks,
There have been a few incidents this year concerning threats and assaults toward a few black metal evangelistic bands in South America, happening in Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador. My friend Abraham who is playing in Golgotha just told me that recently, the band played at a 400 person show in Quito. Apparently, for some time, Golgotha had been receiving threats from a group of black metallers who are part of a quasi-militant self-professed satanic cult group that actively speaks against Christian metal of all styles and has been doing so for a long time. When Golgotha took to the stage, the antagonists began to blaspheme. Golgotha played an excellent set and some of the crowd began to headbang and enjoy the music. A few people in the crowd became aggravated at the fact that others were enjoying Golgotha's music (both Christians and non-Christians at the concert.) and tried to persuade them to stop. Their inability to do so caused a few to pick up bottles and rocks and throw them at the stage. A couple of the band members were hit but not badly. The band did end up speaking to the crowd and some became very angry at the message, and didn't let the band finish the set successfully. Nobody was seriously hurt.
http://forums.firestream.net/showthread.php?t=27099
In Christ, Josh
25 October, 2008
String Theory--Jason Truby
Better late than never . . .
I was ecstatic to finally find this 2004 album on Ebay! This instrumental-acoustic guitar album by ex-Living Sacrfice and ex-POD guitarist Jason Truby is a must get. These 24 songs, ranging in length from under 30-seconds to about 4 minutes, truly reveal a sincerely heartfelt, gifted and skilled guitarist. The liner notes of the CD give little insights to the creation or message of each song (including what kind of guitar he uses in the song itself-he uses over 14 different ones!). This is an absolutely beautiful and rich album that allows a musical glimpse into the soul of an extremely sincere artist.
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