In Memoriam: Armond Morales (1932-2022)

 I only found out yesterday that Armond Morales of the Imperials passed away on the 5th at age ninety.

Armond Morales' deep bass is a thread that has run through my entire life. I am by no means an Imperials aficionado, but my dad is. One of my earliest childhood memories is of my dad playing the Imperials' Big God (the only song I'm aware of in which Morales actually sang more than one solo line) so loudly that the dust literally fell from the ceiling.

My dad loved that song and he loved the band that made it. Albums like Let The Wind Blow (1985), Sail On (1980), Stir It Up (1992), One More Song For You (1979), ...This Year's Model (1987), and of course Big God (1991), were all in heavy rotation on my dad's hi-fi system when I was a child. ...This Year's Model comes up often on this blog as it has become one of my favourite albums too (the opening track is absolutely killer). My mother once told me a story from their dating years when Dad took her to an Imperials concert and during a medley proceeded to predict every song before it started. My mom thought he was psychic. She later learned that the exact same medley had been released on their 1990 album Love's Still Changing Hearts and my dad had it memorised word-for-word.

The Imperials have been a large part of the soundtrack of our family's life. For Armond Morales to be gone is truly the end of an era, both for the Christian music industry and for our family. The great tragedy is that nobody who listens to Christian music today realises what they have lost.

Morales managed the Imperials from the 1950s until 2017. Most bands don't even last a quarter of that time, let alone with the same manager. Even Bob Hartman's rock giant Petra is several decades behind such a milestone. The Imperials put out one solid, catchy album after another, year after year after year, from the Elvis era till the years of Hillsong's radio dominance. They shifted with the musical styles enough to sound current, but not enough to sound dated today. They navigated lead vocal changes with ease and grace and always managed to bring four-part harmonies about simple faith into whatever era they found themselves in. They were always, unfailingly, the Imperials, but they never sounded 'old,' like many gospel quartets do today. They gently guided old fundamental Christians into the current sound by staying unflinchingly true to their faith roots and as a result are a big part of why there even is such a thing as 'Christian radio' today.

Armond Morales was a quiet giant in the history of Christian music. We would do well to reflect on what he achieved and what mantle he has left behind for us, the faith-based artists of today.

What is Good?

The last two days have been full of despair and fear. I have exactly $20 cash to my name. One of my most promising opportunities for the summer may not even happen -- leaving me very much in the lurch and forcing me to make long-term decisions sooner than I anticipated. And overall I've been feeling very alone. I just want to spend time with someone, but it seems everyone's busy. And this makes me frustrated because I feel guilty for needing so much people-time.

I was reading over the last few posts on this blog the other day and I realised that it's been pretty depressing here as of late. I want to do a 'good' post, a sort of hopeful post, but I didn't know how or what about. So I'm just going to bullet-point it.

- This past week I've finally started work on Kyrie again. I'm truly loving writing this story right now. I'm trying not to think too much about how many plot holes and loose ends there still are and how many characters are severely underdeveloped.

- Peanut butter banana smoothies. Some days this is literally the only thing that makes me happy.

- I recently obtained a copy of Crumbächer's incredible album Escape From The Fallen Planet on vinyl. This is one of my top five favourite albums of all time, and I've wanted it on vinyl for several years. I finally got a chance to listen to it today, while reading the lyric sheet.
I've known and loved this album (on CD) for years now. It was one of only three albums that I could stand to hear for about six months following my cousin's sudden death, so I played it a LOT. But there were always a few lyrics that eluded me, and now, reading them in full, soaking in the rich, full sound of the vinyl, I discovered (as I had rather hoped) another layer of conceptual and sonic depth to this album. This is what I love in good music. This is what I look for -- I look for the music that will give me new things for years and years to come, no matter how many times I play it.

- My mom and my brother came to visit for a few days. It was nice to walk around campus actually talking to someone rather than wandering about all by myself.

- On Friday one of my friends came up and gave me a hug.

- Michael W. Smith's '80s output. (i 2 (EYE) and The Big Picture.) Also the Imperials' ...This Year's Model.

Grace

'God, why the hell am I doing this? Why am I trying so hard and failing every. single. time? Did You or did You not give me an aptitude, a gift? And if not, say it to my face. But if so, give me some indication, some encouragement. Because I am --ing DONE trying and failing. I am DONE seeing absolutely zero improvement. And I am DONE screaming for You, somebody, anybody to hear me and hearing only crickets. I am tired of being the outcast among Your so-called 'loving and welcoming' people. I am tired of being ignored and being on the --ing outside. And I am tired of having my frustration minimised and 'fixed' by everyone who is supposed to care about me. Why am I here? And why should I stay?'
-- Excerpt from my journal, one year ago today.

I wrote that following a dance practice during which my skills seemed to dissolve before my eyes -- the same as my dance practices had been going for weeks. I had already had a difficult voice practice earlier that day, I had been doubting my calling and abilities for months, and after years of dancing alone on the razor's edge around it, I finally hit the breaking point. In a fury, I sat down and wrote those words... and those words were very nearly my suicide note, the final record of my thoughts before my last breath. My church had given up on me, my friends had abandoned me, my family was too wrapped up in their own drama, and I was tired of fighting for nothing.  I had used all my energy, poured out so much of myself, and nothing had come of it.

'Today is grace. ...There was a hug. There was completely unexpected and lavish encouragement. There was Faith, and Mel, and me, being blown away.'
-- Excerpt from my journal, today.

That memory of last year weighed heavily on me this morning as I ate breakfast. It seemed heavier as I walked to school and warmed up my voice. In chapel today, they had us gather in groups of three and pray together, and I confessed that today was hard -- how I don't want to leave the darkness that I remember from last year because that's all I know and I don't trust God to take my hand and lead me to anything good beyond it. I confessed that I didn't even want to pray that.

After that I had a voice lesson. It went quite well -- my teacher grew more excited as the lesson went on. "This is what I've been hearing from you in my head for a year, but I've never heard it in real life," she said. And I had to admit that it did feel nice. Normally when I sing it feels awful. It certainly did a year ago... in my practice journal that day, I wrote, 'Why do I keep doing this when I'm so mediocre at it?' And that question haunted me for the rest of that day, through my dance practice that night, and exploded into that first journal entry.

As I walked to school this morning, a song that I had listened to over breakfast seemed to haunt me instead...
Through the tired eyes of faith
You'll see your resurrection day
Resurrection day will come
As surely as the rising sun
Death will fight a holy war
It will live no more
Love will even the score
Resurrection day...
-- With The Tired Eyes Of Faith, Swirling Eddies, 1995.

The phrase thrummed through my head as I approached the school, and all that it would hold today. Resurrection day will come / As surely as the rising sun... Resurrection day will come...

The skills I thought I had lost or would never attain are not as far gone as I feared they would be. My dream has not yet died, as I feared it would if I lived. There is still hope that maybe I won't be mediocre forever, that maybe my life will mean something to someone.

The best thing I can do
Is to clearly say
I'm thankful for today...
-- Today, Imperials, 1985.

Let's Get Upset -- A Playlist (AKA Belated Music Day)

Over the past few weeks I've put together a little 'Rally for Parental Rights/General Freedom In This Country' pump-up playlist. For your enjoyment, I've posted the details below.

(Note that it's not really in any kind of order because the list got kind of big kind of fast and I didn't want to mess around with that much copying and pasting right now. Also, all links go to YouTube.)


Let's Get Upset
DeGarmo & Key, 1989 Power Discs (The Pledge)
Let's get upset
And turn this country upside down
Let's get upset
With Jesus' help we'll turn this land around...

Get On Your Knees And Fight Like A Man
Petra, 1987 Star Song Records (This Means War!)
Get on your knees
And fight like a man
He'll put up strongholds if you just believe He can
Your enemy
Will tuck his tail and flee
Get on your knees
And fight
Like a man

This Means War!
Petra, 1987 Star Song Records (This Means War!)
This means war
And the battle's still raging
War
And now both sides are waiting
The Victor is sure
And the victory's secure

Apathy Alert
DeGarmo & Key, 1985 Power Discs (Commander Sozo & The Charge Of The Light Brigade)
My heart goes searching for a place to hide
I hear a voice of warning down inside
Apathy alert
I hear the voice inside shouting to my heart
Apathy alert
It's time to do what's right
It's time for me to do my part

Stand In The Gap
Petra, 1988 Star Song Records (On Fire!)
Stand in the gap
Coming boldly to His throne of grace
Stand in the gap
He will hear you when you seek His face
Put your weapon to its use
And believe it will produce
Stand in the gap
Until all hell
Until all hell breaks loose

Angel Of Light
Petra, 1981 Star Song Records (Never Say Die)
Angel of light
You're telling me wrong is right
But you only bring darkness to my soul

Don't Let Your Heart Be Hardened
Petra, 1987 Star Song Records (This Means War!)
Don't let your heart be hardened
Don't let your love grow cold

Pray For Rain
PFR, 1992 Vireo Records (Pray For Rain)
I pray for rain to come
And wash away what has made me numb...

Great Expectations
Steven Curtis Chapman, 1999 Sparrow Records (Speechless)
Lord we come
With great expectations

Who Owns You
White Heart, 1992 Star Song Records (Tales Of Wonder)
Tell me you owns you baby
Tell me you owns you now
Tell me who owns the key
To your captive heart
Tell me who owns you baby
Tell me do you even know...

Armed And Dangerous
Petra, 1991 Star Song Records (Beyond Belief)
Armed and dangerous
God's enemies will scatter
Armed and dangerous
We'll see the darkness shatter...

Underground
Petra, 1991 Star Song Records (Beyond Belief)
Persecution only makes us grow
They've got my number it's no surprise
I'm here and wearing no disguise
...
I won't go underground
I won't turn and flee
I won't bow the knee
And I'm not ashamed of the cross I claim

I Am On The Rock
Petra, 1991 Star Song Records (Beyond Belief)
I shall not be moved
Cause I am on the Rock

Greater Is He
Peter Furler (feat. Phil Joel and Bill Furler), 2011 Sparrow Records (On Fire)
Greater is He that is in us
Then he that's in this world

Lost The Plot
Newsboys, 1996 Star Song Records (Take Me To Your Leader)

I'm Not Ashamed
Newsboys, 1992 Star Song Records (Not Ashamed)
I'm not ashamed to speak the name
Of Jesus Christ

Stay Strong
Newsboys, 2003 Sparrow Records (Greatest Hits)
Stay strong you are not lost
Come on fix your eyes ahead
Our Father's dawn will light our day

God Is Not A Secret
Newsboys, 1996 Star Song Records (Take Me To Your Leader)

Freedom Battle
Michael W. Smith, 2000 Reunion Records (Freedom)

How Long?
Michael Card, 1990 Sparrow Records (The Way Of Wisdom)

Wake The Dead
John Schlitt, 1995 Word Records (Shake)
There's too much to do to just walk away...

Free The Fire In Me
The Imperials, 1988 Myrrh Records (Free The Fire)
Like a torch that's passed for eternity...

Causin' A Commotion
Greg Sczebel, 2009 Soultone Records (Love & The Lack Thereof)

Activate
DeGarmo & Key, 1985 Power Discs (Commander Sozo & The Charge Of The Light Brigade)
Who's gonna show the world that more excellent way
Who'll be black and white
When everyone wants to be grey
Who's gonna go and tell them that Jesus still lives
Who's gonna go and tell them that He will forgive
Fill my heart
With strength from above
Lord take away all of my apathy
And give me the courage to love

If God Is For Us (Who Can Be Against Us?)
DeGarmo & Key, 1989 Power Discs (The Pledge)

D.O.A.
Connie Scott, 1985 Image 7 Records (Spirit Mover)
Satan may be strong
But our Lord is stronger still
So put His armour on
And take up His sword and shield...

Slow Fade
Casting Crowns, 2007 (The Altar And The Door)
It's a slow fade
When black and white have turned to grey
And thoughts invade
Choices are made
A price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade

Bye Bye Babylon
White Heart, 1989 Sparrow Records (Freedom)
Now people study me
I'm a part of history
Oh did we leave them another Babylon...
If God is not your strength and song
It's goodbye
Babylon

Revival In The Land
Carman, 1989 Benson Records (Revival In The Land)

Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Avalon, 1997 Sparrow Records (A Maze Of Grace)

If My People Pray
Avalon, 1999 Sparrow Records (In A Different Light)
If My people pray
Reach for Me with hearts
That are broken
I will not forget what I've spoken
Come and seek My face...

WAR
John Piper, 2007 Desiring God Ministries (1031sermonjams.com)

Make War
Tedashii (feat. Flame), 2010 Reach Records (Identity Crisis)

Truth
Lecrae, 2008 Reach Records (Rebel)
If what's true for you is true for you and what's true for me is true for me, what if my truth says yours is a lie?
Is it still true?

Rebel
Lecrae, 2008 Reach Records (Rebel)

Whole World
Petra, 1986 Star Song Records (Back To The Street)
And He's still got the whole world in His hands
Tonight
And only He knows where the sparrow lands
Tonight
And nothing in this world can stop His plans
Tonight...

Shakin The House
Petra, 1986 Star Song Records (Back To The Street)
Everything that can be shaken will be shaken from within
Better have your house in order when the shaking begins...

No Weapon Formed Against Us
Petra, 1989 Word Records (Petra Praise... The Rock Cries Out)
No weapon formed against us shall prosper
All those who rise up against us shall fall
I will not fear what the devil may bring me
I am a servant of God
Yeah
I am a servant of God

Bema Seat
Petra, 1983 Star Song Records (Not Of This World)

Pied Piper
Petra, 1983 Star Song Records (Not Of This World)
Pied piper
Wanting them all to follow you
Knowing not where you lead them to
But all the time you're leading them astray...
(This one's for you, Minister Lukaszuk.)

Them
PFR, 1996 Vireo Records (Them)
And the band marches on and on and on without slowing
And the leader leads them on and on and on without knowing
Never looking back to see the mess that they have left behind
...
It's all too clear the wealths of violence and sexual perversion
Offer more than just some innocent psychological diversion...

Tumblin' Down
David Meece, 1985 Myrrh Records (7)

Over You
David Meece, 1993 Star Song Records (Once In A Lifetime)
There's nothing there's no one there's no other lord over You

Run
David Meece, 2002 Aluminum Records (There I Go Again)
Run
Oh run
Through the mouth of death to the Risen One
Oh run

Dancing With The Enemy
David Meece, 2002 Aluminum Records (There I Go Again)

Raise These Arms
David Meece, 2002 Aluminum Records (There I Go Again)
Now it's time we stop pretending
Time we get up on our feet and say
Hey hey...
I will raise these arms
In the field and in the vineyard
With the servants of the Lord

How Long Will Be Too Long?
Michael W. Smith, 1990 Word Records (Go West Young Man)
How long
Will we drink from the chalice of indifference?

Raging Of The Moon
White Heart, 1992 Star Song Records (Tales Of Wonder)
Thank God the world's been saved
Marx is in his grave
The hammer and sickle lay broken on the ground
If we're through with history
Then why this misery
...
Oh we must awaken...

Vendetta
White Heart, 1992 Star Song Records (Tales Of Wonder)
Vendetta against
The raging world
Vendetta against
The lies we've heard
Vendetta led by love not hate
It's the only way
The pattern breaks

More Sold Out
White Heart, 1987 Sparrow Records (Emergency Broadcast)
Are they working harder at what we think is wrong
Than we are at what we know is right
Sold out
They might be sold out to sin
Sold out
Better take a look inside, what do you see
Are you and me
More sold out to Him?

Excuse Me, Forgive Me
White Heart, 1993 Star Song Records (Highlands)
Excuse me forgive me
I'm certain that you do see
...
It's one or the other
No they're not together

Power Tools
White Heart, 1989 Sparrow Records (Freedom)
You gotta open your eyes
You better know who's making all the rules
Is he a man of God
Or just a baby with some power tools?

Go Down Nineveh
White Heart, 1982 Home Sweet Home Records (White Heart)

Heroes
White Heart, 1985 Home Sweet Home Records (Hotline)
Who's gonna stand up

Keep Fighting The Fight
White Heart, 1985 Home Sweet Home Records (Hotline)

Counsel Of The Holy
Petra, 1988 Star Song Records (On Fire!)

The Flame Passes On
White Heart, 1993 Star Song Records (Highlands)

No Other Hope
David Meece, 2002 Aluminum Records (There I Go Again)
There is no other hope but You
(No one else to cry to now)
No other thing that we can do but turn to You
There is no other trust and truth
(No one else can help us now)
There is
No other hope but You

To The Glory Of God
David Meece, 1989 Star Song Records (Learning To Trust)
To the glory of God
Next time I fly it will be
To the glory of God
I want my whole life to be
To the glory of God

The Unknown Soldier
David Meece, 1985 Myrrh Records (7)

The Battle Belongs To The Lord
Petra, 1989 Word Records (Petra Praise... The Rock Cries Out)

Salvation Belongs To Our God
Petra, 1989 Word Records (Petra Praise... The Rock Cries Out)

Godpleaser
Petra, 1983 Star Song Records (Not Of This World)
Don't want to be a man-pleaser
I want to be a Godpleaser
I just want to do the things that please the Father's heart...


People of Canada, we are not yet living in a censored country. Make the most of that freedom while you still can so that it stays that way.

Music Day

This is exactly the type of song I would love to perform in a church -- either as a vocalist or as a dancer. Lately I've become increasingly aware of how bored people seem to be when they sing in church -- I mean, come on, people, this is the God who gives you breath that you're singing about here. Get excited! Don't just mumble the words on the screen, sing! Be joyful! At least try to smile. This would be a great church song if people were more excited about God and less so about judging genres.
But that's a rant for a different day, methinks... As for me, I don't think this song ever fails to bring a smile to my face.
Recommended: turn this up. (Also recommended: buy all the albums iTunes recommends at the bottom of the page (I'm pretty sure they show the same list of albums each time). That right there is (some of) the best of Newsboys, Michael W Smith, The Imperials, and David Meece.)

Title: Adonai
Artist: Petra
Album: Beat The System
Year: 1985
Label: Star Song
iTunes here; YouTube here.

Why Wikipedia Should Be Blocked After 9.30pm

I have come to a conclusion.
There should be a plugin built into every web browser on the market that blocks all access to Wikipedia after 9.30pm local time.
It's not that I'm addicted to Wikipedia. If I have a question about something, I usually go to the library and borrow a half-dozen books on the topic. If I need something right this minute I'll ask a friend who I think is likely to know the answer. Rarely do I turn to Google and by extension, Wikipedia.
However, on the rare occasion I do Google something, I tend to end up on Wikipedia, because it's the first link on the page and it generally doesn't have viruses that screw up people's computers (I'm a bit paranoid that way about Google searching).
And let's face it, it is informative... too informative. I looked up Rich Mullins once and I learned everything I could possibly have ever wanted to know and then some about microcassettes, analog generation loss, and Space Cadet Pinball for Windows 98 (plus, of course, Rich Mullins).
And that's the whole problem. If they didn't link to other interesting and informative Wikipedia pages, I wouldn't be writing this post. It wouldn't eat five irretrievable hours of my life at a time.
And I wouldn't end up terrifying the living daylights out of myself for a few days.

Have you ever looked up the Wikipedia page for Elvis Presley?
I swear you could print it out on regular paper 8.5 inches wide and lay it across Canada and it would reach from Vancouver at least to Winnipeg. It's insanely long. I'm a fast reader (the fastest I know), and it took me and hour and a half to read it. An hour and a half! And I didn't even read it all... I skimmed quite a bit (mostly the bits about his, ahem, very private life).
A quick subpoint here -- there should seriously be an adult content warning label on that page. Mostly it talked about his songs and movies and maybe a bit about his family life (especially in the earlier years), but I saw -- even though I started skimming -- far more about his, er... intimate life than anybody needs to know. I know the Internet is kind of a free-for-all, but seriously, what if it was your eight-year-old doing a report on Elvis and decided to look at the Wikipedia page? Have a little consideration here, people. No, a warning label is not going to prevent you (or your child) from continuing to read it anyway, but at least then you have a heads-up and if you've trained your kid well they'll at least come ask you if they should continue reading.

Back to Elvis.
I don't even know what possessed me to start reading the Elvis Presley Wikipedia page at eleven pm, knowing the chain reaction Wikipedia lays down for you.
I had been looking for album artwork for my iTunes library and randomly decided to check out the Imperials Wikipedia page that appeared in the list. Why, I don't know -- I could ask my dad about the Imperials and he could tell me more than the Wikipedia page did. And why I opened the link to the Elvis page from there I don't really know either.
I mean, I knew all I really cared about -- singer, started his career in 1950s sometime, acted a bit, served in the US Army, died of some kind of overdose in 1977. Sure there's more than that, but I didn't really care about any of it... except for the question 'what did he actually die of?'
From laypeople (most of them aged four or younger when he died) I'd heard it was drugs, I'd heard alcohol, I'd heard he starved himself to death trying to lose weight but I'd never heard from a slightly more reputable source. And since I apparently have some kind of morbid fascination with how famous people die (especially if they die young), I decided to check it out.
I know, I know, they have that neat little box at the top of the page that links to certain segments of the article, but as the page was loading I suddenly thought, I wonder how he even got started in the first place.
So I read that part. But you know how it is -- as soon as you start reading something, anything, you have to continue; you can't just stop.
So I continued.

Finally, at about 12.30am I reached the part with a heading about the decline of his health.
Now put yourself in my place.
It's 12.30 in the morning.
You're fighting to keep from falling asleep over your keyboard.
It is completely silent save the very, very soft whirring of your laptop (city people may struggle with this one).
Aside from the computer's screen and one fluorescent bulb, it is completely dark.
You've just spent more than an hour with your (very vivid) imagination firmly locked, no distraction, in the world of Elvis or at least his fans.
And you have an irrational terror of music being garbled or messed up.
I'm not kidding about that last point. As far back as I can remember, the drone of a cassette tape in a faulty player would give me nightmares for weeks. I hated that sound -- the slow, painful, mournful death of music. I would hear a song droning like that in the daytime and then in the dead of night I would close my eyes and the song would suddenly be in my head, warped and moaning, almost melting slowly in a flame as the proverbial ghost was wrenched from its being. And I would be too terrified by the awful sound in my head to even consider seeking reassuring company in my parents' room at the other end of the dark house.
I still hate that sound.

And as you sit there in silence, only half-awake and barely aware of your surroundings as the darkness presses against the window just above your head; like the beginning of a horror show -- creepy music in your head and all -- it's as if the light takes on an eerie reddish cast, turning everything that isn't in tar-black shadow into an hazy, choppy scene the colour of blood.
Your eyes become stuck on a paragraph which, coupled with your very focused, very vivid, half-dreaming imagination, becomes a nightmare as your brain invents the sound... like watching a horrific accident that's too terrible to look away from... the account of one of Presley's musicians about a concert on what I gather was his last tour, describing how Elvis had to hold onto the microphone stand for support, how he was so drugged and listless he couldn't even sing the words to his own songs...
And your primed imagination pulls together a shaky, unfocused hand-held video recording of a rock star clinging to a microphone stand with the band thumping and crashing along behind him as if all's right with their world and yet it's so obvious something is very wrong... the singer tries to form the words of his own songs and he can't make them work, he can't keep up with the band, his eyes are half-closed as he channels all his strength into clinging to that microphone stand... the band continues to play along behind him but all that comes through the lead microphone is irregular mumbling... droning and patchy against a much stronger and steadier beat...
You blink and return to your bedroom thirty-five years later but only momentarily as you're suddenly thrown back in time again, a child standing in the doorway to her bedroom, swaying, the sound of a badly dragging music tape looping through her head, echoing through the pitch darkness as she tries to gather enough courage to make the sprint across the house to her parents' room through the sound of the dying cassette tape coming from all around.

Music Day

This is my absolute favourite song right now. I can't get enough of it. It's like a time machine all neatly wrapped up in a package of five minutes and twenty-two seconds, taking me back to my childhood listening to this song (among many, many others) with my dad. He's the one who turned me into a music nerd in the first place. (Now you know who to blame.)
Not only is the song good (or perhaps that's just my nostalgic bias talking), the cover art is fun to look at. I think I can honestly say it's my favourite album cover. Something about that retro sci-fi look fascinates me.
Title: 'Holding On (First Love)'
Artist: The Imperials
Album: ...This Year's Model
Year: 1987

I couldn't find it on YouTube (although I did find that if you type 'The Imperials' into the YouTube search box you get nothing but Star Wars clips, regardless of what song/album titles you type afterwards), but here it is on iTunes (assuming your version of iTunes is working better than mine has been lately).

EDIT (December 2022): YouTube here.
Bonus Song: If you'd really like an eighties' kick, go to this album on the iTunes Store and once you've bought Holding On (First Love), buy the second song, Fallin'. Don't say I didn't warn you.