We all fall short of glory...

The 7 Link Challenge

1. Your first post - Seeing a No Entry sign and chain right across the entrance to a local church cracks me up (and saddens me) everytime I drive past. Managing to finally have photographic evidence was the incentive to start blogging! Next post showed how the pub approached it
2. A post you enjoyed writing the most - Having listened to the Podcast called GodPod #53 I saw an opportunity to respond and release my thoughts about art, music and have another pop at modern worship music.
3. A post which had a great discussion - My heartfelt post about struggling to understand Anglican obsessions Let me Through I'm an Anglican provoked comments with concern and resonance. The picture is not about voting with feet and more about our when offering resource(s) is turned away by attitudes of the 'shouty loudest' minorities.
4. A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written - This has to be an articulate outburst by musician Steve Lawson taking the greedy record companies apart as a result of the threat of the Digital Economy Bill. Steve's post also includes his favourite post of 2009.
5. Your most helpful post - Slightly tricky to determine so probably embedding the very clever World Cup Planner I tracked down, lots of return visits to check updates and results.
6. A post with a title that you are proud of - It's got to be Spinal Tap meets Chequebook Worship.
7. A post that you wish more people had read - It was one of those Memes that I pondered over muchly: I need(ed) some Time to Think...!

From: ProBlogger h/t The Church Mouse

Where two or three are gathered...

Have been musing on this picture that did the rounds shortly after the recent soccer World Cup final. Of course it is most likely a mock up, some clever image manipulation to convey a message that is still true. However, this picture can convey additional messages...

Have you also been told that in the same way you can't be a true football / soccer fan unless you actually attend matches you have to attend church to receive fullness as a Christian? I have always found that analogy uncomfortable (despite loving going to football matches!), so I am grateful this picture helped unfold an extra layer of interpretation...

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Jeff Buckley - BBC Soul Music Take 2

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BBC Soul Music - Dido's Lament

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Sadly music mega-corp Sony has removed the YouTube video of Jeff Buckley I had included on my earlier post about the BBC Radio 4 series Soul Music. Checking the visitor stats for this Blog it is clear the post that featured anecdotes about Dido's Lament, including the legendary performance by Jeff Buckley, still has plenty of visits.

However, the really great news is the BBC has increased the duration of the archived pieces from Soul Music and have included this edition along with many others, link above.

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The Voice Project with Peter Gabriel

Using music as a tool for social change is one description of this brilliant video of Peter Gabriel covering Tom Waits song 'In the Neigbourhood' for The Voice Project, a strategic alliance with Oxfam America:

The Voice Project is a song-driven movement inspired by the women of Uganda who are using their voices as vehicles for change in the war-ravaged region of Northern Uganda, Southern Sudan, and Eastern Congo, an area that has been marred by violence for the last 24 years. The Voice Project is an attempt to support these incredible women and the peace movement in the region, and an effort to see how far a voice can carry.

It transpires, on reading more about this project on the Gabriel website, that one of the The Voice Project's founders is Peter's daughter Anna:

"Music has always been a part of my life and I believe it's one of the most powerful and effective tools to bring about change. My father has inspired me with his humanitarian work and has always been supportive of my work as a film maker so shooting this video bought together all aspects of my life in an amazing way."

P h/t @martinwroe

Redemptive Rock and Spiritual Songs...

The announcement that this band, 30 Seconds To Mars, are going to be visiting these shores again this Autumn I thought I would post some thoughts I have been mulling over for a wee while. Part of this is a reaction to the support I've had when I've stuck my head above the parapet and slagged off the dreadful Worship Music scene and genre. I hope this post gives some supporting evidence to explain why my views are more about substance than just taste driven opinions...

I have a relatively broad taste in music ranging from not too high brow classical, through ethnic / indigenous music to pop and stadium rock. I like pieces which have spirit, integrity, passion and believability regardless of whether it is technically impressive or flawed. I love hearing a song that makes you want to learn more about it, glean what's behind the lyrics and the artist.

Now this song is not particularly original and could be criticised for being derivative of other bands' earlier work. However, there is a certain comfort in a bit of familiarity when hearing something for the first time. This song, combined with the video, is such a great piece of art that issues challenges and hope! If anything it is the optimism musically and lyrically that I find so enthralling... and the depth of what the storyline covers is not lost on the band's followers, check out some of the comments on Youtube:

Can we all get the message? Eternal inspiration (song). No stupid fashion or trends (clothing). No damn pollution (bikes). No hate (car accident). Continuous miracles (white horse and resurrection). The good and true path (all going in the same direction because they know thats The way). True life (no death and no impossibilities).

unfortunatelly i don´t know if will have learned our lesson either, with all these things hapenning a lot of people are still destroying the nature, only thinking about money.

This song would be best suited to the part where someone makes a massive life-changing decision or turning point in their life.

We are born into a world at war for our hearts, and we are desperate for God. He wants us to become the "Kings and Queens" we were mean't to be. This can only be done by not making ourselves the focus of everything, and becomeing the "lesser god" that the song says.

and prompted this joined-up response:

This really does make me think of the oil spill in the Gulf. If honestly makes me what to cry. How much more are we going to punish the earth? I ask myself when will it be enough, to satisfy us selfish humans. It makes me so angry, but also at myself because I can't really do anything about it.

Here's one that suggests corporate singing still moves peeps:

i love this entire song, but especially the chanting "oh oh ohhhh" part! there's something about chants that always makes me go wow. it just sounds so cool when there's hundreds of voices blending together. =)

I love the shots in the video of the basic band, the flight cases, backs of guitar amps, it depicts the tools of the trade of a rockin' band, that's what it really looks like! That moves into images of redemption, the shining cross in the cityscape, the white horse...

Some will also be cynical of this band's rise to fame as singer Jared Leto was already a successful actor. Yet they have cemented relationships with their fanbase by inviting them to be part of the video as above and to take part in the recordings. Wikipedia quotes the band:

'How great would it be to invite the world to come and be a part of the next 30 Seconds to Mars album? There were some things [we tried] that were left-field sound experiments — using the group, the collective, as a musical instrument. We did everything from percussive expression to whispering to things that were a little bit more familiar, like inviting the 1,000 people that were there to sing the chorus of a song. And those people who were a part of it all will be a part of the next 30 Seconds to Mars album. It was quite simply one of the best things we've done as a band.'

So the chants are already congregational and not simply multi-tracked backing vocals!

This aptly demonstrates Seth Godin's notion of Tribes, where there are leaders but collaboration and inspiration are key. Obviously this band has a totally commercial purpose but their passionate and committed approach is definitely working... real music, heartfelt lyrics that listeners relate too, wonderful!

For the connoisseurs of amazing recording detail, check out the vocals only version here (starts 30s).

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A year in the Sphere...

I started this blog in June last year (2009) and included code to record statistics 6 months ago. It has been an interesting journey, have learnt a great deal and would have chosen my categories differently if I knew then what I know now! I have found it immensely cathartic to record my thoughts before recursive brain whirr destroys my grey matter, that has been a personal and tangible benefit. I have to confess writing does not come easy to me so the discipline has been good. It is clear that the posts where I have been as original as possible and made the effort to knuckle down and get on with writing without letting 'it' take over have yielded the most response.

So here goes, a double statistic celebration, my first year on Blogspot:

1 Why modern worship songs are crap - my most read post ever!

2 BBC Radio 4's 'Soul Music' on Dido's Lament featuring Jeff Buckley

3 The 'Sunday's Coming' video depicting consumer style worship stuff

4 My review of Peter Gabriel's 'Scratch my Back' concert at the 02 London

5 Let me through I'm an Anglican... not!

6 One of After The Fire's youngest fans comes up with a brilliant CD design

7 Back to Pub Sunday - how the pub gets it right whilst the church gets it wrong

8 Ashamed Anglican? Bravo Father Tim and shame on you Archdeacon of York - should have stood by your man

9 Art and music discussed 'There's got to be a better song than this'

10 Art and Christianity - Antony Gormley's 'Field for the British Isles'

11 Angels from the realms of... er, Norway! Breathtaking and truly wonderful music

12 After The Fire becomes International Rescue as ATF ring tone finds mobile in snow drift

13 Mumford & Sons, music to mend and inspire!

14 Great tidings of joy in the Brit film Nativity!

15 Whilst we allow poverty through inequality we are culpable for disasters like Haiti - Thank God for cancellation of Haiti's debt since

16 Brilliant article in blokes mag Esquire by Greenbelt Festival speaker Shane Claiborne

17 The Carbon Calculator revealing issues with Tory and Labour Green attitudes

18 Pete Rollins in full flow on camera - Insurrectionist Theology

19 YouTube video explaining the total idiocy of the Digital Economy Bill passed in the wash-up in the last Parliament

20 On maintaining the tradition of saying grace at mealtimes

And some of my sub top 20 favourites:

24 Art and Christianity - The transcendental music of Bach's St matthew Passion

27 The BBC's drama 'All the Small Things' really matters - Choirs and stuff

28 Explanatory chart and definition of Progressive Rock

51 My Memorable Musical Moments Meme - pieces that knock you sideways

59 Video interview 'Redeeming Culture' covering After The Fire's Bradwell church service

84 Baptism - When best laid plans fail, mystery can take over

91 Rob Bell's incredible talk about maturity at Greenbelt 2009

98 5 deeply de-Christian doctrines meme

107 Nova Scotia's incredible 'Ice Cream Church' near Halifax and also here (#118)

110 The Devil Inside - The unbelievable Christian Rock equivalent of Guitar Hero

Top referring blogs excluding Google, Facebook and Twitter

1 theartistandthetartist.blogspot.com (James & Maggie)

2 elizaphanian.blogspot.com (Revd Sam)

3 philipstreehouse.blogspot.com (Phil Ritchie)

4 evangelistchanging.blogspot.com (Joe Haward)

5 cyber-coenobites.blogspot.com (Archdruid Eileen)

6 diggingalot.org (Graham Peacock)

7 davidkeen.blogspot.com (David Keen)

8 theconnexion.net (Richard Hall)

9 churchmousepublishing.blogspot.com (The Mouse!)

10 joinbetween.blogspot.com (Jonathan Evens)

Back to Pub Sunday...

 

I have to confess to a bit of shyness when it comes to walking into places I am not already familiar with. It is always a joy to be made welcome and last Sunday, visiting a new Parish, I noticed I wasn't the only one who was warmly welcomed. The small team of 'Welcomers' made sure everyone was comfortable, understood what was going to happen, where the facilities were and where to get refreshments.

Throughout the evening the joy of all the key people involved in this new 'Outreach' venture was impressive and reassuring at every level even from the top. During the collection, as the bucket went round, it was made absolutely clear that donations were an extra voluntary contribution which would all go to Christian Aid along with an extra contribution from those taking part.

I was uncomfortable, though. I had a knawing sense of guilt and discomfort that actually this is exactly how churches should 'feel'? However, this wasn't even a church initiative put on in the very splendid new music venue 'The Farncombe Cavern' but one run by the Freeholder's Pub team in Surrey who chose to make their opening night a flag to indicate the start of Christian Aid Week...

The Lord be with you... and make mine a pint

Peter Gabriel Scratch My Back with New Blood

An artist of the stature of Peter Gabriel is often caught between a rock and a hard place. Even his post Genesis solo repetoire extends back to the 70s with so many massively popular songs it is inevitable that when you try something new your stalwart fans may initially be a bit puzzled. Equally, just rolling out the back catalogue you run the risk being criticised for not offering something new! His latest venture combines the two in an inspired way and manages to deflect either opinion.

His latest 'Scratch my Back' project takes other artists songs (who will, in return, record their version of a PG song) arranged for a full 54 piece orchestra (no drums and guitars!) delivered in a format that is far more akin to a classical music recital than your usual stadium rock approach. The first half comprised ALL the tracks from the CD album in the same track running order whilst the post interval 2nd half saw the orchestra playing arrangements of PG's own songs.

The songs, or pieces, were all supported by simple yet stunning 'arty' graphics which included some video elements (on an array of LEDs rather than projection screens) the focus was clearly the music, with conductor  Ben Foster at the helm, supporting vocals from Peter's daughter Melanie with a charismatic Norwegian lass, Ane Brun and a brilliant pianist Tom Cawley. The opening was David Bowies 'Heroes' which started with one of the LED screens obscuring the orchestra displaying very sparse graphics totally synchronised to the music which eventually raised to reveal the orchestra and PG himself stepping onto the front part of the stage.

As mentioned, the set list followed the running order of the Scratch my Back album, check out the player on my blog here. Highlights were the whole drama of the opening with 'Heroes', the starkness of 'Boy in the Bubble', 'The Power of the Heart' and 'Book of Love' which had a witty and self deprecating sequence on the displays killing off any thoughts of sentimentality! PG found his stride in 'The Power of the Heart' with a passionate and committed vocal performance that drew the most applause in part one. Gabriel fans are very respectful so although the response could not be called rapturous, it was polite even if sometimes puzzled.

For me personally I found it immensely stimulating and inspiring yet very much with the classical music concert similarity to the fore. Often attending classical recitals you are not as familiar with the material, so it is an adventure which may not always be delightful and can sometimes be quite arduous. The lack of familiarity, at times, didn't make for easy listening, not a bad thing in my book, regardless John Metcalfe's arrangements and orchestration throughout were brilliant! I would say the 'high brow' factor placed it somewhere twixt Classic FM and Radio 3 with PG's grace and gifts building an accessibility bridge to the essentially Radio 2 audience.

The genius was saving the familiar material, albeit with the previously unheard orchestral versions, as the whole of the second half. Again the arrangements were stunning and gave new textures to the Gabriel catalogue, with the extensive suite of texture and dynamics an orchestra can deliver new facets of PG's songs appeared. This time it was the audience who found their stride, clapping along, cheering, mimicking PG's gestures and even standing in appreciation!

'Solsbury Hill' was the clear 'clapometer' favourite and along with 'In your Eyes' plus the pre-encore set closer 'Don't Give Up' being my own personal 2nd half highlights. Selecting 'Don't Give Up' felt significant, whether by design or default I don't know. The whole of the 'Scratch My Back' CD is very much a Lament for the world (more on Steve Stockman's Blog here), where we have screwed up environmentally, ecologically, tribal / civic wars, corruption, terroism, ethnic cleansing, shock and awe etc. Therefore including 'Don't Give Up' so brilliantly gave hope and encouragement for the future.

To be nitpicky I cannot say it was all perfect. The orchestra was not tight, it did not groove and or have the feel that PG's band excels at, the sound was a bit harsh and sometimes some cues were missed. Equally these points are much more noticable in an orchestral format so overall it did not tarnish or diminish my enjoyment. I am so glad I was able to go and experience this firsthand, a very special and memorable eve. If you get the chance, there are not many dates left and only in North America, don't miss it!

Coldplay and re-imagining Culture Clash

Coldplay-Life In Technicolor ii HD
Uploaded by crytek2. - See the latest featured music videos.

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Art, Music and falling short on Godpod

So goes the quote from Rita's mother in the wonderful film 'Educating Rita' which formed part of the discussion on the latest 'GodPod #53' which I stumbled across the other day. The main topic was principally on the subject of art by guest artist Charlie Mackesy. The quotation above, which Charlie drew attention to, was actually directed to church music, particularly so called modern worship music. Interestingly the conversation did not draw conclusions other than the rather easy cop-out about personal taste and preference despite promptings by host theologian Graham Tomlin asking whether their should be 'rules' to govern scope.

The consensus was very much that there shouldn't be such rules yet this is where I think things fail bigtime although I would prefer to use the term 'Absolutes' , I do have sympathy with the negative sense of rules! I certainly think this issue is worth a good listen as Charlie's contributions are excellent and, despite, generally, clergy being weak on the subject of music, Graham, as clearly a man of good taste (liking one of my fave bands 'Mumford and Sons'!) and author of the excellent book 'Provocative Church', would, if pushed, have had more to contribute on this subject.

However, the notion that something should be 'better' is profound, particularly concerning music played in churches. For many this seems a simple issue of old versus new and therefore it is just a matter of preference to 'enjoy' worship in your own comfort zone. Whilst there are clearly issues of old v new which has warranted a good few discussions the situation is much more interwoven than that. I would suggest that a lot of the time it is exactly one of how it could be better, so let's have a quick look at a couple of areas to consider:

Interestingly David Byrne has recently delivered a TED talk on the environment that creates music (styles) and refers directly to how certain church music developed because of the building space it was set in. In fact, BBC4's series Sacred Music highlighted how much of the early chants were an effective sound reinforcement system to project the liturgy to the corners of large churches and cathedrals. David Byrne also stated how music becomes 'auditory mush' when a style is played in a space that simply does not match.

One of the big problems with modern church music in the worship music genre is that it is generally 'not very good' to quote Martyn Joseph. The reasons for this are varied and include the church selling out to singer - songwriters, the development of a revenue earning business model and the fact that most so-called worship leaders (and record companies) lead conferences to train more leaders, thereby perpetuating the same mediocrity. Sadly Holy Trinity Brompton, on which even the edgy GodPods reside, is deeply guilty of this!

As far as more traditional music is concerned many of the same issues apply, however, it is more glaringly obvious when there are errors in tuning and choice of music. Church choirs and organs represent an earlier sell-out by the church when the West gallery musicians, usually blokey blokes who were still a bit tipsy from playing at a Saturday night party, were ousted out to make way for the more solemn and staid sucessors. Many say this was a contributing factor to there being a much lower percentage of men in the church.

To expand the 'not very good' aspect we have to realise so many of the singer/songwriters are not naturally gifted musicans (and/or authors). There are many instrumentalists that are pretty good but often they are playing in a style that is not appropriate and encourage the narcisstic issues surrounding the worship leader. Most great songwriters (in the real world) are teams, usually a double act where one focusses on music whilst the other concentrates on creating lyrics that at least rhyme, have a regular metre and are poetic :-) The latter point, hymn or song lyrics, was certainly discussed on GodPod #53 and, thankfully, on this the contributors were more decisive in their critique.

So I strongly feel we have to consider that there are 'Absolutes' as far as church music is concerned. It seems there is no common sense guidance to get people to think that what they do is to enable congregations to worship rather than be the worship, to serve rather than perform, to be special with a committment to excellence (yet ideally not necessarily perfect!) and try to be distinct rather than presenting a poor copy of world culture. The 'Absolutes' approach helps form strategies so that appropriate styles would be considered, standards of music and lyrics adhered to and that the musicians and singers have a greater understanding of music, basic theology and even why they are there in the first place.

Oh, yes, I have so much more to say on this...!

PB

Jeff Buckley - BBC Soul Music

UPDATE: Newer post includes 2nd half of this BBC Radio's Soul Music broadcast with Sarah Connolly, Jeremy Summerly, Alison Moyet and Philip Sheppard on Jeff Buckley's amazing interpretation here

BBC Radio 4's recent edition of 'Soul Music' which featured Dido's Lament turned out to be really special! It always gives me enormous encouragement (and pleasant surprise!) to hear top notch classical maestros admitting truths that most of their colleagues would consider heresy.

The program moved from a fairly conventional start covering thoughts from the mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly and the view of the conductor of the band at the Cenotaph for Remembrance Day.

Jeremy Summerly, the big boss of the Royal Academy of Music and a renowned conductor, issued the first challenges to conventional thinking about the approach to singing the piece. He asked how would anyone know how 17th Century singers would sound and then introduced Alison Moyet's version, praising her approach, the clarity of her timbre and the fact that every word is intelligible. For someone of Jeremy's stature in the classical world to say this is really something, especially as he stated that Purcell's masterpiece is 'the great tune of the 17th Century'.

The closing section of the programme introduced Philip Sheppard, cellist and now composer. He spoke about how he was invited along to be part of the supporting orchestra for Elvis Costello's Meltdown Festival in 1995. One of the pieces was to be Dido's Lament which would be sung by charismatic rock singer Jeff Buckley. Although Philip had never heard of Jeff Buckley before once he heard him singing it had a most profound effect on him:

He seemed to screw every ounce of meaning out of the words and physically he looked like he was wracked with pain and anguish as he was singing it. But what was coming out was beyond ethereal his voice had this quality where it meant so much more than when I had ever heard it before.

But then when he sang it it seemed to be a Lament so much more and it really went beyond what I would consider to be classical music...and to date it's actually probably the greatest musical
experience of my life, in as much as it turned my world inside out.

As a result Philip had to admit:

I know NOTHING about music - at all!

Up to that point I was a musican who played through study rather than a musician who played through feel and now I have to say I seek out people to work with who do not necessarily read music who have their first sense is one of 'ear' rather than of 'technique'...

Philip then goes on to say how this became a pivotal moment in his career which helped him to become a composer, enabling him to move away from being 'a player who just repeated other people's music'.

Jeff Buckley died in a tragic accident just two years later in 1997, sunsequently his version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' reached number one in the US Billboard charts and is considered by many to be the definitive version.

Now Philip thinks of Jeff nearly every day and is ever grateful for the effect of the encounter, even though he only met him for around half an hour...

Listening to this has changed me forever, too, thank you so much...

P

Take me higher... Lent 2

A wonderful short film from which so much can be drawn - especially for the church ;-)

h/t Sam Davidson

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Fundamentalism versus Curiosity...

'curiosity' from Nic Askew on Vimeo.

A beautifully shot black and white film of one of my Blog heroes Seth Godin talking so much more sense than churchy types tend to pontificate on at such length and mediocrity... I have learned so much from this man's thoughts and writings. h/t Mike Todd

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All the small things... really matter

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction... however, the wonderful 2009 BBC drama series 'All The Small Things' represents fiction which so closely matches Mersea truth it's uncanny.

This song is a choral version of American popular teen combo Blink 182, one of many excellent musical pieces on the DVD which should be watched by every church choir, pastor and congregation. The plot covers an comprehensive array of social, religious and family issues that touch the spirit deeply... it is a tragedy that plans for a new series have been dropped... buy this gem on DVD.

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To go or to be... that is the question

 

Whilst the General Synod rolls on... the sense of thinking 'outside the church' gets stronger. Last night in our Home Group we debated the question: "How would you answer someone who said: 'I can be a Christian without being a part of a church'?". My immediate thought was one of enormous sympathy! Overnight I mused that it is actually the question that is wrong, it should be about 'being church' rather than being 'part of', then I would field a completely different and affirming response. Then this morning I was intrigued to read David Keen's blog which had a link to 'Don't Go To Church Sunday', the content with which I obviously concur.

Earlier in my blog I drew attention to Walthamstow's Farmers Market run by a church, they moved their regular Sunday service to a different day to enable them to serve their community better. recently Joe Haward picked up the BBC story about a church buying the local ten pin bowling alley.

Above all this over the last year I have met and shared fellowship with committed Christians who simply don't attend church... the scary thing was that even though I am a regular churchgoer (a Church Warden has little choice!) I am possibly more cynical than they are... shame on me, in a way, but while the C of E and the Anglican Communion seem intent on beating themselves up, what would anyone expect?!

Art and Christianity Part Five - Poem

This my final post on the Art and Christianity meme commenced by Jonathan Evens.

Artwork: Antony Gormley - 'Field for the British Isles'
Drama: Film 'Chariots of Fire' (1981)
Music: J S Bach - St Matthew Passion
Novel: Victoria Hislop - The Island
Poem: Wilfred Owen - The Parable of the Old Man and the Young

I remember hearing this poem for the first time in an English Literature lesson. Although initially I didn't fully understand the depth of the text I could clearly tell the link to Abraham and Isaac from the Bible narrative. Then the teacher went on to explain that Owen's technique was to use both the biblical text as an analogy and also, significantly, as a subversive weapon to get his message across about the massive loss of life in the first world war. Then last year at Greenbelt 2009  Maggi Dawn, during her talk on Lent, quoted the last two lines which triggered the memory banks...

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb, for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretched forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an Angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him, thy son.
Behold! Caught in a thicket by its horns,
A Ram. Offer the Ram of Pride instead.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

I find this deeply moving in both the way Owen adopts the language and meaning of Scripture as well as having the courage to speak out so challengingly in an era when it would have been shunned...

Text copied from here.

Mumford and Sons - Music to mend...

Sometimes I hear something that can change me forever:

It seems that all my bridges have been burnt,
But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive with the restart

From the song 'Roll away your stone' 4th track on the amazing album 'Sigh no more' from Mumford & Sons. Passionate songs to restore the spirit - vitally energetic, acoustic, anthemic, imaginative, intelligent, poetic genius...

From the title track 'Sigh no more':

Love that will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you and will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be.
There is a design an alignment to cry,
of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be

Wonderful!

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Some live recordings from songs that former Talking Heads mainman David Byrne and world renown producer and artist Brian Eno worked on together, collaborating across the internet...

David says:

Some time ago Amnesty International asked if I might do "something" for that organization this year- (in previous years I had done one of my tour dates as a benefit for them). Amnesty has such an amazing and consistent track record of speaking out and helping to illuminate courageous people who might otherwise not be heard from so the answer was "yes." It was decided to record some songs from my current tour for them to be sold as a download with the proceeds going to Amnesty. As there are no physical costs with digital distribution this means more of the sales percentage actually goes to where it's supposed to. So, thank you for supporting a great organization and I hope you like these recordings too.

Read more here....

Well groovy!

h/t Martin Wroe

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Art and Christianity Part One - Artwork

I have been troubled that I had not responded to a couple of Meme requests back in 2009 so am now trying to catch up and Epiphany is a good day to give this post.

This Meme was started by Jonathan Evens and his proposal is here:

To list an artwork, drama, piece of music, novel, and poem that you think each express something of the essence of Christianity and for each one explain why. Then tag five other people.

Artwork: Antony Gormley 'Field for the British Isles'

I have actually been working on it for a while, it took a lot longer than I imagined when I first saw I had been tagged. Therefore I have decided to split the sections across five posts in this order:

Artwork: Antony Gormley - 'Field for the British Isles'
Drama: Film 'Chariots of Fire' (1981)
Music: J S Bach - St Matthew Passion
Novel: Victoria Hislop - The Island
Poem: Wilfred Owen - The Parable of the Old Man and the Young

I was privileged to stumble across Antony Gormley's 'Field for the British Isles' installation at The British Museum when my son was in theatre undergoing major surgery at Great Ormond Street hospital 7 years ago in 2002. Was just wandering around in a daze and landed up in the museum... was horrified at the vandalism our imperial nation had casued to many locations in the name of archaeology, what wicked crimes? Then there in the central Great Court was Gormley's 'Fields'... totally amazing!

I will never forget it, the sea of faces that so reflected humanity looking up at me and with the emotion of the day it all caught up with me. It felt like I was God! There I could see 'all people that on earth do dwell' and had abundant compassion and love for all of them, light clay, dark clay, large, small, friendly, angry, happy, sad, quirky, whatever. I had no favourites, in my strange mental state it was as though each were my son and not inamimate objects. Part of this was each piece was unique, individually created by a volunteer from a starting point of simply being given a ball of clay and basic instructions.

I am so grateful this moment happened, I might have steered clear of potential crowds had I known beforehand. It helped to ease the agony of wondering how my boy was at that very time, a spiritual distraction!

Read more about the 'Fields' project here.

Despite the risk he has already been nobbled I tag: Mike Todd

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Nativity! The film exposed...

Thoroughly enjoyed this gem of a British made film directed by Debbie Isitt. Martin Freeman is excellent as the weary primary teacher, Mr Maddens, who gets landed with producing this year's Nativity play for his underachieving school. His regular routines are completely disrupted by the arrival of an over exuberant teaching assistant, Mr Poppy, who unwittingly challenges the staus quo. Meanwhile in the 'posh' school down the road Mr Maddens' former drama school colleague always gets top reviews for his near perfect, yet clinical, productions.

As the story unfolds humour and pathos run hand in hand yielding tears of laughter and heartbreak in equal measure. Despite slipping into some of the ghastly music that Hollywood has shoehorned into Christmas there is an amazing scene towards the end which I felt had deep theological significance alongside the film's overall themes of restoring creativity, self-esteem, inspiration, grace, redemption and forgiveness. How institutions need a Mr Poppy!

Heartily recommended - 4 stars out of 5.