Well, since there's a lull in DA and White Heart stuff, I am now featuring stuff from The Choir. Observe.
From the list linked above, I've only heard four songs -- Beautiful Scandalous Night (and that was only in part), Between Bare Trees, Midnight Sun, and That Melancholy Ghost. They're all lovely; however, those of you who know me as a rocker will be surprised -- these tracks (at least those four) are slow and the instrumentation is sparse. If it wasn't for the writing, I probably wouldn't listen to them at all.
The link is included on the page linked above, but if you're too lazy to read through it, here's the link directly to their Kickstarter campaign to make a new studio album and a live album. They've already met their funding goal, but you have until the end of the month to join in.
Metalheads, take note: Bloodgood and Stryper have both got new albums going out in a few weeks (November first and fifth, respectively). Word on the street (that is, Facebook and random album reviews) says the Stryper one is worthy of the Stryper banner... haven't heard too much about the Bloodgood one yet.
Watch the official video for Stryper's No Hell To Pay here. Watch the official video for Bloodgood's Lamb Of God here.
Also, after announcing a Kickstarter campaign that was supposed to launch last week, PFR is unexpectedly calling it quits. For good? Who knows -- this is PFR. They've quit and reappeared at least twice. But it's safe to say they're out of commission for a few more years at least. They have asked for prayer for the guys -- no more information has been given.
Lecrae's dropping a mixtape, Church Clothes 2, on 7 November. The last one was released on Datpiff, so I assume CC2 will be the same. (For those of you keeping score, that's three new albums in the first week of NaNoWriMo. Can you say 'jackpot?')
Also, this. This is awesome on so many levels. I love the DA/Choir/TST/etc. fanbase so, so much, and this is a great example of why. Name me another fanbase that will even think of something like this, never mind actually give it a shot.
Showing posts with label PFR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PFR. Show all posts
25 October 2013
06 June 2013
A Farther Edge...
I've been putting off writing this. There's a part of me that's excited, but right now the bigger part of me is the part that wants to pretend time doesn't move.
I'll try to condense the story a little... otherwise, you'll be here reading forever.
In February, I found out Briercrest college in Saskatchewan has a dance team. Several years ago I had considered going to Briercrest, but didn't really pursue it. After all, what was the point of blowing four of the best years of my life in some classroom just for some dumb piece of paper that doesn't even guarantee you a job unless it says 'M.D.' on it?
But when I found out they have a dance team... I don't exactly know what happened. It was like an explosion over my life. It was like God was poking me, telling me to go to Briercrest. At first I was willing enough... probably because I didn't think it was ever going to actually happen. I sent the application, and asked God that if He didn't want me there that the application wouldn't even be accepted in the first place. At this point, I didn't care if I was accepted or not.
Then the email came. I had been accepted.
And reality set in.
Did I seriously just apply to blow two years of my life at college because of a dance team? And a hip hop team to boot? Aside from modern/contemporary, that's the one dance discipline I don't do. Plus there's this little matter of my, um... varied (yeah, let's say that) sleep schedule. I'm actually going to have to carve out time to fix myself more substantial food than nachos and salsa (I can cook more complex stuff than that, I just hate all the time wasted on preparing it). And my family -- I wouldn't see them for months at a time...
And then the gut punch. Ballet class.
A hip hop dance team suddenly becomes little comfort when you realise you may never wear your pointe shoes again. I'm a rare bird who actually enjoys dancing on pointe, and it's not something I want to let slide after so many years of working toward it. It doesn't take long for muscle strength to fade, and if I go without for two years, I'll likely have to start from the bottom up again.
As I write this, it's very early in the morning (very early) on Sunday, the second of June. Later today is what I now know is very likely my final stage performance with my ballet school. My sister is also in it -- last Tuesday was possibly the last time we drove together to the dance school for our classes, one right after the other. My mother will have to take her next year. I don't want to leave this. I thought God had called me to dance -- right?
But then, God also allowed me to be accepted to Briercrest. And He ordained that I get a high enough SAT score to confirm my acceptance to the college. Everything is coming together so quickly, almost too quickly... there's so much evidence that God wants me there, for whatever reason. All that's missing is the money, but if God wants me there so much, apparently it's on its way.
I feel like Jamie -- the slippers or the Bible? Is clinging to dance going to be worth sacrificing whatever God has out in the unknown for me? Whatever He has must be good, because He is good. I just can't see it right now. So do I trust Him enough to actually go see? It must be something better than ballet, because God is good. Maybe not more enjoyable right now, but better in the long run...
I keep coming back to the words PFR wrote in the liner notes to their farewell album, The Late Great PFR, in 1997: "God was good when He called us to the road. God was good when He called us home."
It's still the edge of the dream... the plan God laid out for me. It's with different people, in a different place, in a different style of dance than I expected, but it's still His plan. However, at the moment all I can see are the faces of my dear friends who I may not ever dance with again, at least not on this earth.
But if Christ, and following where He leads, is the treasure in the field... how can I not go and 'sell everything,' even dance, for the greatest treasure? (For those who are puzzled by this: it's the concept laid out in Matthew 13:44 in the Bible -- '...the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.')
As I type this, I can barely see the screen due to brokenhearted sobbing. Ballet, and the people it connected me to, were such a huge, huge part of my life. How can giving this up possibly bring me anything better? I don't know, but whether I like it or not, I have to say God is good. His plan must therefore be good.
Changeless breaks the tide to shore
Changeless are the times and seasons
You are the same forevermore
I will keep these changeless reasons...
No shadow of turning falls
No promise is broken
No, nothing can turn my heart
From the words You have spoken
Changeless Your love
Deep as an ocean
-- Terry Scott Taylor, 1987
And should you come into the promised land
Remember
Remember
From where you came
And if your greatest fears are realised
Remember
Remember
Your sanctuary
-- Daniel Amos, 1984
I'll try to condense the story a little... otherwise, you'll be here reading forever.
In February, I found out Briercrest college in Saskatchewan has a dance team. Several years ago I had considered going to Briercrest, but didn't really pursue it. After all, what was the point of blowing four of the best years of my life in some classroom just for some dumb piece of paper that doesn't even guarantee you a job unless it says 'M.D.' on it?
But when I found out they have a dance team... I don't exactly know what happened. It was like an explosion over my life. It was like God was poking me, telling me to go to Briercrest. At first I was willing enough... probably because I didn't think it was ever going to actually happen. I sent the application, and asked God that if He didn't want me there that the application wouldn't even be accepted in the first place. At this point, I didn't care if I was accepted or not.
Then the email came. I had been accepted.
And reality set in.
Did I seriously just apply to blow two years of my life at college because of a dance team? And a hip hop team to boot? Aside from modern/contemporary, that's the one dance discipline I don't do. Plus there's this little matter of my, um... varied (yeah, let's say that) sleep schedule. I'm actually going to have to carve out time to fix myself more substantial food than nachos and salsa (I can cook more complex stuff than that, I just hate all the time wasted on preparing it). And my family -- I wouldn't see them for months at a time...
And then the gut punch. Ballet class.
A hip hop dance team suddenly becomes little comfort when you realise you may never wear your pointe shoes again. I'm a rare bird who actually enjoys dancing on pointe, and it's not something I want to let slide after so many years of working toward it. It doesn't take long for muscle strength to fade, and if I go without for two years, I'll likely have to start from the bottom up again.
As I write this, it's very early in the morning (very early) on Sunday, the second of June. Later today is what I now know is very likely my final stage performance with my ballet school. My sister is also in it -- last Tuesday was possibly the last time we drove together to the dance school for our classes, one right after the other. My mother will have to take her next year. I don't want to leave this. I thought God had called me to dance -- right?
But then, God also allowed me to be accepted to Briercrest. And He ordained that I get a high enough SAT score to confirm my acceptance to the college. Everything is coming together so quickly, almost too quickly... there's so much evidence that God wants me there, for whatever reason. All that's missing is the money, but if God wants me there so much, apparently it's on its way.
I feel like Jamie -- the slippers or the Bible? Is clinging to dance going to be worth sacrificing whatever God has out in the unknown for me? Whatever He has must be good, because He is good. I just can't see it right now. So do I trust Him enough to actually go see? It must be something better than ballet, because God is good. Maybe not more enjoyable right now, but better in the long run...
I keep coming back to the words PFR wrote in the liner notes to their farewell album, The Late Great PFR, in 1997: "God was good when He called us to the road. God was good when He called us home."
It's still the edge of the dream... the plan God laid out for me. It's with different people, in a different place, in a different style of dance than I expected, but it's still His plan. However, at the moment all I can see are the faces of my dear friends who I may not ever dance with again, at least not on this earth.
But if Christ, and following where He leads, is the treasure in the field... how can I not go and 'sell everything,' even dance, for the greatest treasure? (For those who are puzzled by this: it's the concept laid out in Matthew 13:44 in the Bible -- '...the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.')
As I type this, I can barely see the screen due to brokenhearted sobbing. Ballet, and the people it connected me to, were such a huge, huge part of my life. How can giving this up possibly bring me anything better? I don't know, but whether I like it or not, I have to say God is good. His plan must therefore be good.
Changeless breaks the tide to shore
Changeless are the times and seasons
You are the same forevermore
I will keep these changeless reasons...
No shadow of turning falls
No promise is broken
No, nothing can turn my heart
From the words You have spoken
Changeless Your love
Deep as an ocean
-- Terry Scott Taylor, 1987
And should you come into the promised land
Remember
Remember
From where you came
And if your greatest fears are realised
Remember
Remember
Your sanctuary
-- Daniel Amos, 1984
12 September 2012
Tap Shoes
Today I bought my first ever-pair of tap shoes.
Let me say that again -- TAP SHOES! :-D
Ninety-four dollars (ninety-eight with sales tax) (for comparison, my pointe shoes are $80 per pair), but they're TAP SHOES!
And now, all that choreography; all those brilliant ideas I've had -- dances to songs like His Heart Was Always In It, Invitation, Let The Children Play, Bye Bye Babylon, More Sold Out (and that's just the White Heart)... Save Your Life, Ready Or Not, Somebody's Gonna Praise His Name, Walk Away From Love, Don't Waste Your Life, the 2010 remake of Angel Of Light, I Want To Be A Clone, New Earth, everything -- all that is now within my reach!
The ultimate goal? Independence Day by White Heart. That will take SO much work and practice, but it will be SO worth it.
Classes start on Monday...
TAP SHOES! *squeals*
(I am such a dance nerd.)
Let me say that again -- TAP SHOES! :-D
Ninety-four dollars (ninety-eight with sales tax) (for comparison, my pointe shoes are $80 per pair), but they're TAP SHOES!
And now, all that choreography; all those brilliant ideas I've had -- dances to songs like His Heart Was Always In It, Invitation, Let The Children Play, Bye Bye Babylon, More Sold Out (and that's just the White Heart)... Save Your Life, Ready Or Not, Somebody's Gonna Praise His Name, Walk Away From Love, Don't Waste Your Life, the 2010 remake of Angel Of Light, I Want To Be A Clone, New Earth, everything -- all that is now within my reach!
The ultimate goal? Independence Day by White Heart. That will take SO much work and practice, but it will be SO worth it.
Classes start on Monday...
TAP SHOES! *squeals*
(I am such a dance nerd.)
16 June 2012
Music News...
PFR IS EMBARKING ON A REUNION TOUR!
So far there doesn't appear to be a Canada date, but hopefully, hopefully there's a booking agent in Alberta who'll bring it about because it would be a total dream come true... right up there with seeing a White Heart concert and a Classic Petra concert.
Come on, tell me you don't want to hear Walk Away From Love live...
PFR website/blog here.
Source (as posted by the classicchristian247.com Facebook page).
So far there doesn't appear to be a Canada date, but hopefully, hopefully there's a booking agent in Alberta who'll bring it about because it would be a total dream come true... right up there with seeing a White Heart concert and a Classic Petra concert.
Come on, tell me you don't want to hear Walk Away From Love live...
PFR website/blog here.
Source (as posted by the classicchristian247.com Facebook page).
08 June 2012
Music Lately (Brought To You By Music Day)
Some music I've discovered recently (you know, aside from the new John Schlitt album):
New Earth (Single)
Never heard of this guy until the other Sunday night. I was almost home and the PFR CD had reached the end of the song. There wasn't time enough for the next song, so I switched to radio and hoped the station wasn't playing Mandisa, tobyMac, or Phillips Craig and Dean's disgustingly-overplayed Revelation Song.
And it wasn't. It was playing this song.
It made me think of the Kimberlites, though not as heavy in the style (the Kimberlites are good, but you can only take so much). It was happy (come on, there's whistling!), the bass was perfect, and it was a fast beat... so not typical for the local 'Christian' music station. I was hooked right away. One day there will be a tap dance to this.
(Also, apparently he's Canadian -- in fact, it sounds as if he's from the same area I am.)
(Also, apparently he's Canadian -- in fact, it sounds as if he's from the same area I am.)
Your Great Name
I'd heard this before on the radio, but kind of ignored it. After all, if you weren't paying attention (and I usually wasn't), it sounded like standard 'inspirational' radio fare. Everyone who listens to these stations knows Natalie Grant without realising that they know Natalie Grant -- she's played constantly, but somehow slips beneath our consciousness.
A few Sundays ago, though, our pastor played this song -- the full six minutes of it -- before communion. I dimmed the lights (for I was on lights/PowerPoint), the sound guy cranked it, and we all sat and soaked in the song for six minutes. It had been a pretty slow service, and this really brought it back around. Even the slightly compromised YouTube quality added to the experience.
This song is totally different to me now. I recommend blasting this at top volume. Connect high quality speakers to your computer if you have some, and close your eyes as you listen. It will make all the difference.
Liquidity
Kerry Livgren
Odyssey Into The Mind's Eye (1996 Kerygmatic Music)
iTunes here.
I heard this one on classicchristian247.com. Normally I don't get into instrumental stuff, but this one got my attention. (Probably the synth -- I'm a total sucker for a synthesizer.) The song seems to go on for quite a long time, yet as it starts to wrap up one starts to feel sad that it's over already -- it's so beautiful. And Liquidity is the perfect name for it -- it all flows and sinks and blends and eddies and drapes itself nonchalantly over everything and yet the underlying beat keeps the silky quality from slowing it to a stall. It's fantastic.
I listened to this the other day at about 2 am and accidentally choreographed most of the ending before I realised it. So then, of course, I stayed up till 3 am writing down the choreography so I wouldn't forget it. (I think it was even a dance night too -- meaning I had to be up at 7.30 the next morning for dance class.)
Sometimes this song almost makes me think of White Heart -- something Mark Gersmehl might have come up with (and come on, can you not see Billy Smiley rocking that guitar interlude?).
Liquidity
Kerry Livgren
Odyssey Into The Mind's Eye (1996 Kerygmatic Music)
iTunes here.
I heard this one on classicchristian247.com. Normally I don't get into instrumental stuff, but this one got my attention. (Probably the synth -- I'm a total sucker for a synthesizer.) The song seems to go on for quite a long time, yet as it starts to wrap up one starts to feel sad that it's over already -- it's so beautiful. And Liquidity is the perfect name for it -- it all flows and sinks and blends and eddies and drapes itself nonchalantly over everything and yet the underlying beat keeps the silky quality from slowing it to a stall. It's fantastic.
I listened to this the other day at about 2 am and accidentally choreographed most of the ending before I realised it. So then, of course, I stayed up till 3 am writing down the choreography so I wouldn't forget it. (I think it was even a dance night too -- meaning I had to be up at 7.30 the next morning for dance class.)
Sometimes this song almost makes me think of White Heart -- something Mark Gersmehl might have come up with (and come on, can you not see Billy Smiley rocking that guitar interlude?).
30 May 2012
National Choreography Month - Day 30
Finished The Gift!
It's definitely my best work so far. I wish I could see it on the stage right now.
Also, not only do I have the dance complete, I also have backdrops and lighting figured out (I may or may not have been procrastinating at the time...)
So, with all three of my planned NaChoreoMo dances done, I'm now in the process of picking my next project. I don't expect to finish it by tomorrow at 11.59 of course, but now that I've found my way back in the groove again after basically going artistically MIA for two weeks, I'd like to milk the momentum The Gift has given me for all I can. I feel like I kind of cheated myself out of NaChoreoMo during those two weeks and now I'm trying to make it up to myself. Because really, I could have accomplished so much more than just three dances but I didn't because I let Apathy Alert pysch me out for two and a half weeks.
It's kind of weird having free time, actually. I hadn't realised how much I'd been holding NaChoreoMo over my head until I finished The Gift and sat back and thought, 'so what do I do now?' So for the past two days I've been importing cassettes (White Heart's Redemption and Petra's Captured In Time & Space -- and oh, is a live album ever a nightmare to split into tracks).
I intend to start work on another dance tomorrow (or possibly later tonight). I'm a bit undecided as to which one, though. Usually I have one that jumps to the forefront of my mind and won't let go, but this time I had to scroll through my iTunes library a bit and compile a list.
It's about five songs long, but the two that really attract my attention are PFR's Them and Farrell & Farrell's Hosanna Gloria. As of this moment I think I might go with Them.
Also, for those who care about statistics...
Seven minutes forty-five seconds of music. Seven pages of notes. Fifty-four pages of choreography, at a minimum of sixty frames per page. This equals approximately 3,240 frames, since I know for a fact that there are a few pages which had more than sixty frames on them.
Note that those are the numbers for just the three dances I had originally planned on doing at the beginning of May (King Of Kings, Apathy Alert, The Gift). This does not count the rather sizeable chunk I composed for part of Kerry Livgren's Liquidity, the intro to White Heart's The Cry, or the ending sequence to Petra's Counsel Of The Holy. Take that all together and you could probably add a good minute and a half onto that first number.
It's definitely my best work so far. I wish I could see it on the stage right now.
Also, not only do I have the dance complete, I also have backdrops and lighting figured out (I may or may not have been procrastinating at the time...)
So, with all three of my planned NaChoreoMo dances done, I'm now in the process of picking my next project. I don't expect to finish it by tomorrow at 11.59 of course, but now that I've found my way back in the groove again after basically going artistically MIA for two weeks, I'd like to milk the momentum The Gift has given me for all I can. I feel like I kind of cheated myself out of NaChoreoMo during those two weeks and now I'm trying to make it up to myself. Because really, I could have accomplished so much more than just three dances but I didn't because I let Apathy Alert pysch me out for two and a half weeks.
It's kind of weird having free time, actually. I hadn't realised how much I'd been holding NaChoreoMo over my head until I finished The Gift and sat back and thought, 'so what do I do now?' So for the past two days I've been importing cassettes (White Heart's Redemption and Petra's Captured In Time & Space -- and oh, is a live album ever a nightmare to split into tracks).
I intend to start work on another dance tomorrow (or possibly later tonight). I'm a bit undecided as to which one, though. Usually I have one that jumps to the forefront of my mind and won't let go, but this time I had to scroll through my iTunes library a bit and compile a list.
It's about five songs long, but the two that really attract my attention are PFR's Them and Farrell & Farrell's Hosanna Gloria. As of this moment I think I might go with Them.
Also, for those who care about statistics...
Seven minutes forty-five seconds of music. Seven pages of notes. Fifty-four pages of choreography, at a minimum of sixty frames per page. This equals approximately 3,240 frames, since I know for a fact that there are a few pages which had more than sixty frames on them.
Note that those are the numbers for just the three dances I had originally planned on doing at the beginning of May (King Of Kings, Apathy Alert, The Gift). This does not count the rather sizeable chunk I composed for part of Kerry Livgren's Liquidity, the intro to White Heart's The Cry, or the ending sequence to Petra's Counsel Of The Holy. Take that all together and you could probably add a good minute and a half onto that first number.
18 March 2012
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.
(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.
22 February 2012
Today's Commute (As Chronicled By The iPod)
Today's two-hour commute to and from dance went as follows:
(Backstory: A friend from church ended up with a second iPod car adapter he didn't need and gave it to me. I decided to put my 2 GB nano back to work (it had been kind of forgotten since my library outgrew it). I loaded it with a bunch of random songs and took it for a spin today.)
I started it off myself with The Devil Is Bad by the W's. It was the first song that caught my attention as I was scrolling through the song list and I thought, 'Hey, why not?' (It was also peppy enough to get me through the first few minutes of the drive when I'm still tired and not really alert.)
Then I set it to shuffle.
I didn't recognise the second song at first... but when I did I started laughing. The only Christmas song on the iPod (and, I had noticed after syncing, the *gasp!* only White Heart song). It seemed quite fitting as the clouds hung thick and white in the sky, heavy with glorious snow so rare.
We were off to a very good start.
Next up, the analogue recording of PFR's Name (even though the dragging is awful, I couldn't part with the analogue tracks even after getting the CD).
After that, Petra's More Power To Ya, followed immediately by Adonai.
That right there, my friends, is a good commute song. Actually it's good for pretty much anything. (Have I ever mentioned that I love this song?)
It was kind of a downer when the best rock praise song ever recorded (says me) was followed by Switchfoot's More Than Fine. Not a lot of tracks can easily follow Adonai, and that wasn't one of them.
Then came Frontlynaz's Addicted (a random hip hop song I heard once and kind of liked so I downloaded it. You know, back when I had money for that kind of frivolous stuff).
Then the iPod abruptly changed gears and put out two early Amy Grant tracks in a row -- Love Can Do and Angels (eerily appropriate for driving that highway at times).
Then it apparently tired of the '80s and moved on to R&B/Soul-type stuff (Nicole C Mullen's Witness and Mary Mary's Shackles (Praise You)).
Midway through that last track we arrived at the studio and the iPod was put on hold for several hours in favour of piano music.
Upon returning to the rattletrap and finishing the Mary Mary song, it pulled out Owl City's Fireflies, much to my sister's delight, then, as we came off the overpass onto the main highway, one of my favourite Newsboys tracks, Praises.
Following that, Fisherman Song by Boxtree -- a sweet little flashback to my childhood. Such a cute cheerful song. Stylistically it's like PFR's Great Lengths, only nobody's ever heard of it.
Then came the ultimate in modern pop (as modern pop as one gets on my iPod, anyway), the remixed version of ZOEgirl's Even If. This is definitely a song you blast from the speakers as you rock down the highway. (At least that's what I did.)
And the ultimate in BeeGee-esque late '70s rock (as far as that goes on my iPod -- see previous paragraph) Petra's Angel Of Light. It was a bit of a jump, but hey, Petra is always fitting. Always.
We pulled into Tim Horton's just as Angel Of Light finished and paused it while I went in and ordered our weekly pair of small iced capps. (Yes, non-Canadian readers, that's 'capps' with two p's. It takes less time for the weather to change around here than it does for us to say 'iced cappuccino' and we just don't have that kind of time to mess with because the hockey game starts in ten minutes and we have to hurry up and get back to home sweet igloo before the face-off.)
Anyway, the trip from Tim Horton's to the next lights followed the soundtrack to Phil Joel's Strangely Normal, and the trip from those lights to the next were underscored by PFR's Goldie's Last Day. (Is it just me or did I drive really really slowly through town? Wow. Two songs seems a bit excessive. Apologies to the people stuck behind me.)
The Newsboys' Joy carried us out of town and back onto the highway, followed by Steven Curtis Chapman's This Day and Jasmin Gibb's Come To Jesus.
As I made the left onto the gravel road to our house, the final leg of the journey, and the last note ofCome To Jesus faded into a mere echo in the short-term memory, I began to seriously hope the next song wouldn't be a dud. Years of living in the same house, taking the same road over and over and over again has taught me that from the turn onto the gravel to our house is four and a half minutes -- just enough for one more song.
What would it be? Which should I hope for?
Come on, don't pick a lame one, don't pick a lame one...
Drum beat. Drum beat. Three more, successive.
Yes. (*insert mental fist pump here* I couldn't do a real one because if I took my hand off the wheel the wind would have swept us neatly into the ditch.)
People In A Box.
Just a little bit of eighties to stick in my head for the rest of the afternoon. (Okay okay, maybe a lot of eighties to stick in my head for the rest of the afternoon.)
And then once I got in the house it was too quiet so I put on some DeGarmo & Key. So much for that other plan.
(Yes, I know I need a life.)
(Backstory: A friend from church ended up with a second iPod car adapter he didn't need and gave it to me. I decided to put my 2 GB nano back to work (it had been kind of forgotten since my library outgrew it). I loaded it with a bunch of random songs and took it for a spin today.)
I started it off myself with The Devil Is Bad by the W's. It was the first song that caught my attention as I was scrolling through the song list and I thought, 'Hey, why not?' (It was also peppy enough to get me through the first few minutes of the drive when I'm still tired and not really alert.)
Then I set it to shuffle.
I didn't recognise the second song at first... but when I did I started laughing. The only Christmas song on the iPod (and, I had noticed after syncing, the *gasp!* only White Heart song). It seemed quite fitting as the clouds hung thick and white in the sky, heavy with glorious snow so rare.
We were off to a very good start.
Next up, the analogue recording of PFR's Name (even though the dragging is awful, I couldn't part with the analogue tracks even after getting the CD).
After that, Petra's More Power To Ya, followed immediately by Adonai.
That right there, my friends, is a good commute song. Actually it's good for pretty much anything. (Have I ever mentioned that I love this song?)
It was kind of a downer when the best rock praise song ever recorded (says me) was followed by Switchfoot's More Than Fine. Not a lot of tracks can easily follow Adonai, and that wasn't one of them.
Then came Frontlynaz's Addicted (a random hip hop song I heard once and kind of liked so I downloaded it. You know, back when I had money for that kind of frivolous stuff).
Then the iPod abruptly changed gears and put out two early Amy Grant tracks in a row -- Love Can Do and Angels (eerily appropriate for driving that highway at times).
Then it apparently tired of the '80s and moved on to R&B/Soul-type stuff (Nicole C Mullen's Witness and Mary Mary's Shackles (Praise You)).
Midway through that last track we arrived at the studio and the iPod was put on hold for several hours in favour of piano music.
Upon returning to the rattletrap and finishing the Mary Mary song, it pulled out Owl City's Fireflies, much to my sister's delight, then, as we came off the overpass onto the main highway, one of my favourite Newsboys tracks, Praises.
Following that, Fisherman Song by Boxtree -- a sweet little flashback to my childhood. Such a cute cheerful song. Stylistically it's like PFR's Great Lengths, only nobody's ever heard of it.
Then came the ultimate in modern pop (as modern pop as one gets on my iPod, anyway), the remixed version of ZOEgirl's Even If. This is definitely a song you blast from the speakers as you rock down the highway. (At least that's what I did.)
And the ultimate in BeeGee-esque late '70s rock (as far as that goes on my iPod -- see previous paragraph) Petra's Angel Of Light. It was a bit of a jump, but hey, Petra is always fitting. Always.
We pulled into Tim Horton's just as Angel Of Light finished and paused it while I went in and ordered our weekly pair of small iced capps. (Yes, non-Canadian readers, that's 'capps' with two p's. It takes less time for the weather to change around here than it does for us to say 'iced cappuccino' and we just don't have that kind of time to mess with because the hockey game starts in ten minutes and we have to hurry up and get back to home sweet igloo before the face-off.)
Anyway, the trip from Tim Horton's to the next lights followed the soundtrack to Phil Joel's Strangely Normal, and the trip from those lights to the next were underscored by PFR's Goldie's Last Day. (Is it just me or did I drive really really slowly through town? Wow. Two songs seems a bit excessive. Apologies to the people stuck behind me.)
The Newsboys' Joy carried us out of town and back onto the highway, followed by Steven Curtis Chapman's This Day and Jasmin Gibb's Come To Jesus.
As I made the left onto the gravel road to our house, the final leg of the journey, and the last note ofCome To Jesus faded into a mere echo in the short-term memory, I began to seriously hope the next song wouldn't be a dud. Years of living in the same house, taking the same road over and over and over again has taught me that from the turn onto the gravel to our house is four and a half minutes -- just enough for one more song.
What would it be? Which should I hope for?
Come on, don't pick a lame one, don't pick a lame one...
Drum beat. Drum beat. Three more, successive.
Yes. (*insert mental fist pump here* I couldn't do a real one because if I took my hand off the wheel the wind would have swept us neatly into the ditch.)
People In A Box.
Just a little bit of eighties to stick in my head for the rest of the afternoon. (Okay okay, maybe a lot of eighties to stick in my head for the rest of the afternoon.)
And then once I got in the house it was too quiet so I put on some DeGarmo & Key. So much for that other plan.
(Yes, I know I need a life.)
15 November 2011
Attention Music Nerds!
If your taste in music is anything like mine (look through the 'Music Day' tab above if you're not sure), you need to check this out:
classicchristian247.com
They have PFR, and David Meece, and DeGarmo & Key, and old Michael W Smith, and Michael Card, and Newsboys, and Petra, and Kim Boyce, and Amy Grant, and Silverwind, and Stryper, and White Heart, and...
This is my noveling music for the rest of the month. (Big thanks to the Petra fan page on Facebook for posting the link to this.)
The problem now is that I'm too excited to write and I have an hour to write 2,000 more words...
classicchristian247.com
They have PFR, and David Meece, and DeGarmo & Key, and old Michael W Smith, and Michael Card, and Newsboys, and Petra, and Kim Boyce, and Amy Grant, and Silverwind, and Stryper, and White Heart, and...
This is my noveling music for the rest of the month. (Big thanks to the Petra fan page on Facebook for posting the link to this.)
The problem now is that I'm too excited to write and I have an hour to write 2,000 more words...
28 October 2011
Music Day
Another song from my childhood. (It was either this or more White Heart.)
This band has exactly two major hits (that I'm aware of, anyway). One from a VeggieTales episode (The Rumour Weed Song, from Larry-Boy And The Rumour Weed), the other, featured today, was catapulted to fame when Christian radio started advertising it as 'from the band who performed The Rumour Weed Song on the new Larry-Boy video.' The immense popularity of Larry-Boy at the time (strengthened by the newly-launched website -- a big deal in 1999) and the catchiness of both songs combined so strongly that most people who listened to Christian radio and/or knew VeggieTales in that era can hear either song now, more than ten years later (has it really been that long?) and still name the band. Not a lot of Christian hits from 1999 are that recognisable.
This is probably the only song that reminds me of PFR that isn't actually by PFR.
Title: The Devil Is Bad
Artist: The W's
Album: Fourth From The Last
Year: 1998
Label: Five Minute Walk Records
iTunes here; YouTube here.
Because let's face it, it's way too much fun to say Ski-dee-lee-oo.
This band has exactly two major hits (that I'm aware of, anyway). One from a VeggieTales episode (The Rumour Weed Song, from Larry-Boy And The Rumour Weed), the other, featured today, was catapulted to fame when Christian radio started advertising it as 'from the band who performed The Rumour Weed Song on the new Larry-Boy video.' The immense popularity of Larry-Boy at the time (strengthened by the newly-launched website -- a big deal in 1999) and the catchiness of both songs combined so strongly that most people who listened to Christian radio and/or knew VeggieTales in that era can hear either song now, more than ten years later (has it really been that long?) and still name the band. Not a lot of Christian hits from 1999 are that recognisable.
This is probably the only song that reminds me of PFR that isn't actually by PFR.
Title: The Devil Is Bad
Artist: The W's
Album: Fourth From The Last
Year: 1998
Label: Five Minute Walk Records
iTunes here; YouTube here.
Because let's face it, it's way too much fun to say Ski-dee-lee-oo.
29 July 2011
Music Day
As a teenager, my mother owned tapes from bands like White Heart, Petra, and PFR.
In other words, she was a rocking metalhead.
That hasn't really left her, either. Even now, when a song with a good beat comes on the radio or if there's a Petra/White Heart/PFR CD in the stereo she cranks up the volume.
A while back, she and I were running some errands in her huge twelve-passenger van, and this song came on the radio.
Title: Here In This Moment
Artist: Beckah Shae
Album: Life
Year: 2010
Label: Shae Shoc Records
iTunes here, YouTube here
Title: Here In This Moment
Artist: Beckah Shae
Album: Life
Year: 2010
Label: Shae Shoc Records
iTunes here, YouTube here
So we have a woman with greying hair and a very serious-looking young person in a van the size of Denmark. Odd enough, right?
Now add Here In This Moment cranked up until the doors are literally rattling.
We pulled up to one of the busiest traffic lights in the city, bass thumping, van rattling, and the older woman rocking out in the driver's seat.
It kind of felt good to see the poor man in the car beside us laughing his head off. At least we made his day.
Apologies for not posting something more obscure -- I was going to post this story in itself and thought 'well, I need a music day post anyway...'
Apologies for not posting something more obscure -- I was going to post this story in itself and thought 'well, I need a music day post anyway...'
29 April 2011
Music Day
I loved this CD to death when I first got it only a few months after it was released. I must have listened to it almost every day for two or three straight years. David Meece is a unique artist that way -- no matter how many times you listen to his music it never ever seems to get old. I still love this album.
Title: I'll Be Waiting For You
Artist: David Meece
Album: There I Go Again
Year: 2002
Record Label: Aluminum Records
Here it is on iTunes and here it is on YouTube.
And while we're on the topic of music, it might interest you to know that I have now added YouTube links to the following Music Day posts:
Group 1 Crew -- Transcend
Petra -- I Will Celebrate/When The Spirit Of The Lord
PFR -- Pour Me Out
Rich Mullins -- My Deliverer
Title: I'll Be Waiting For You
Artist: David Meece
Album: There I Go Again
Year: 2002
Record Label: Aluminum Records
Here it is on iTunes and here it is on YouTube.
And while we're on the topic of music, it might interest you to know that I have now added YouTube links to the following Music Day posts:
Group 1 Crew -- Transcend
Petra -- I Will Celebrate/When The Spirit Of The Lord
PFR -- Pour Me Out
Rich Mullins -- My Deliverer
28 March 2011
One Thousand
I started my first iTunes library in July 2007 on a computer that I'm not even sure works anymore. That music library has since been copied to two other computers (including the Zombie) to continue its expansion and (in part) to two iPods. I'm not sure what the first song was that I ever put into iTunes, but I've narrowed it down to one of three Michael W Smith songs (most likely).
However, I can now tell you what the one thousandth song is -- Do You Hear What I Hear? by Connie Scott. I copied it off the cassette tape and added it to iTunes less than ten minutes ago. It's actually quite exciting to reach that little milestone. Now if only I could get the Zombie working so I can sync the iPod touch and its many remaining gigabytes of free space... (the home of 693 songs; last synchronised on 23 August 2010).
In other news, The Late Great PFR on CD came in the mail today! (You know, the one I stupidly paid thirty dollars for.) Finally I was able to listen to the second half of the album. And I must say, aside from Pray For Rain and Merry Go Round, it didn't seem nearly as good as the first half. Perhaps it was because I was expecting more of the hardcore rock that had pretty well dominated Side A. It'll probably grow on me though; after all, I've only listened to it once.
However, I can now tell you what the one thousandth song is -- Do You Hear What I Hear? by Connie Scott. I copied it off the cassette tape and added it to iTunes less than ten minutes ago. It's actually quite exciting to reach that little milestone. Now if only I could get the Zombie working so I can sync the iPod touch and its many remaining gigabytes of free space... (the home of 693 songs; last synchronised on 23 August 2010).
In other news, The Late Great PFR on CD came in the mail today! (You know, the one I stupidly paid thirty dollars for.) Finally I was able to listen to the second half of the album. And I must say, aside from Pray For Rain and Merry Go Round, it didn't seem nearly as good as the first half. Perhaps it was because I was expecting more of the hardcore rock that had pretty well dominated Side A. It'll probably grow on me though; after all, I've only listened to it once.
16 March 2011
Why Canadians Tend To Think The Americans Are Out To Get Them
Last Music Day, I was quite excited about the discovery of a suitcase full of old cassette tapes in my father's workshop. I spent several hours Friday evening importing songs from the PFR tape featured in the Music Day post. Over the course of five or six hours, I had imported exactly two songs.
Yes, two.
It appeared that several years of storage in a cold and not-very-well ventilated (not to mention dusty) building had begun to take its toll on the tape. There were muffled patches and places were it droned a bit. Still, the first two tracks were listenable (not nearly CD quality, but listenable) and I added them to my iTunes library. Then I went to bed.
The next morning I awakened giddy at the prospect of spending the day adding old rock songs to my music collection. I showered, ate breakfast, sat down at the computer, and began importing from where I'd left off the previous night.
Two minutes and forty-five seconds later, I began to have my doubts about how well the day was going to turn out. The tape, which had played all right for the first half of the song, started to drag horribly. Driving guitars and the crashing of drums take on a nightmarish sound when slowed to a quarter of their normal speed.
I let it record until the end of the song, but I knew there was no way I would be able to fix the drag using the software. It was too severe.
My father heard it from the next room as it was recording and came to listen.
"It's dragging that badly?" he asked.
I nodded.
"It wasn't that bad when we listened to it yesterday, was it?"
"No."
He took the tape out of the player and put it in another player we had in the house -- one that had been known to work (but, of course, couldn't connect to the computer or we would have used that one in the first place). We found the exact place in the music where it had been dragging and listened. It came through completely clear and at the proper tempo.
"It must be that player then," my father said. "I have another one in the workshop you can try."
He went out and found two. I connected one of them and re-imported the song. Nearly perfect.
I continued to import that side of the tape, intending to get all the songs and then go back and re-import the first two (to see if I could get better quality copies). It was all going very well. I finished the first side, flipped the tape over, pressed Play, and waited.
And waited... and waited... and waited.
I checked the little window. The spools were turning; all seemed to be normal. Still, this was quite a long wait. I stopped the player and took out the cassette. The tape around the take-up spool was a bit loose and out of habit I gave it a few manual turns with my finger to tighten it. It didn't appear to tighten. I tried turning the other direction although I was certain I had turned it the proper direction the first time. No effect. So I gave it a good half-dozen turns in what I knew to be the proper direction. It still didn't tighten.
How could this be? It had just been in a properly working player. The tension had been fine until now.
Perhaps the tape had caught on something. I looked at the bottom of the cassette.
There was nothing.
No tape, either clear or magnetic.
Oh no...
I rushed out and showed my father. He examined it, but declared the damage permanent. The cassette had no screws that could have been removed to open it; and thanks to my patience letting the broken end wrap around the spool over and over again, the ends of the tape were far inside the cassette -- irretrievable.
I checked my old friend, the iTunes Store. Believe it or not, I had finally found an album that the iTunes Store does not yet carry. I submitted a request, but I was bordering desperate. I had been on a roll; I couldn't just stop.
What more could I do? Where else could I get a copy of the album without having to wait an indefinite amount of time?
Then an idea came to me. Actually, two ideas -- eBay and Amazon.
I went to Amazon.com and quickly found a few copies, the least expensive being a 'used' (but still packaged) CD for $3.98 US. Not bad, I thought. I proceeded to buy it.
Unfortunately, I live in a very rural area. This means I do not have a house number or a P.O. box. The only way our mail carrier can tell our mail from the neighbours' is by the name written above the address. This is perfectly acceptable to any other shipping company you can find. They may think it a bit odd, but they'll still send the material. Lo and behold it always gets here.
But not Amazon.com. You must, must, MUST have a P.O. box to get something shipped to you. Oh, and an actual town -- not the little pinprick thirteen kilometres away that is home to several thousand people, thank you very much. Oh, does that postal code have letters in it?
On any other site you order something from, you select 'Canada' in the list of countries, and everything else adjusts itself accordingly. On Amazon.com, you select 'Canada' in the list of countries, and it's like sirens go off. Their servers overheat and go into error loops. Smoke fills the building. The safe housing billions of dollars is about to explode.
The Canadians are coming! Arm yourselves! Man the cannons! Women and children first!
Frustrated with Amazon.com's stubbornness, I decided to see if there was an Amazon.ca. There was, but there the cheapest copy available was twenty-two dollars. Twenty-two dollars! I could go to the ridiculously overpriced local Christian bookstore and buy the exact same album for fifteen, tops (and I would have except said bookstore only sells albums released in the past two months and even then you're delving into ancient history. Don't even ask about an obscure band's farewell album from 1997).
Unfortunately, my desperation had clouded my sense (yes I have some, stop laughing). I bought it. Once the shipping cost was added to it (because of course it was coming from Oregon or something like that), I had relieved myself of nearly thirty dollars.
I am the queen of cheapskates. Anything more than fifteen dollars is a major purchase. It isn't that I can't afford to pay thirty dollars, it's just that I could have gotten the exact same item for only a bit more than four dollars if Amazon.com hadn't been so flipping stupid (and if I hadn't fallen to their level and bought it anyway).
If you ask me, it's a conspiracy theory to strip the 'polite' Canadians of every dollar they own. But regardless of whether it's true or not, I will never again use Amazon's 'service.' Whether you try Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, it's a ripoff. Pure and simple.
Yes, two.
It appeared that several years of storage in a cold and not-very-well ventilated (not to mention dusty) building had begun to take its toll on the tape. There were muffled patches and places were it droned a bit. Still, the first two tracks were listenable (not nearly CD quality, but listenable) and I added them to my iTunes library. Then I went to bed.
The next morning I awakened giddy at the prospect of spending the day adding old rock songs to my music collection. I showered, ate breakfast, sat down at the computer, and began importing from where I'd left off the previous night.
Two minutes and forty-five seconds later, I began to have my doubts about how well the day was going to turn out. The tape, which had played all right for the first half of the song, started to drag horribly. Driving guitars and the crashing of drums take on a nightmarish sound when slowed to a quarter of their normal speed.
I let it record until the end of the song, but I knew there was no way I would be able to fix the drag using the software. It was too severe.
My father heard it from the next room as it was recording and came to listen.
"It's dragging that badly?" he asked.
I nodded.
"It wasn't that bad when we listened to it yesterday, was it?"
"No."
He took the tape out of the player and put it in another player we had in the house -- one that had been known to work (but, of course, couldn't connect to the computer or we would have used that one in the first place). We found the exact place in the music where it had been dragging and listened. It came through completely clear and at the proper tempo.
"It must be that player then," my father said. "I have another one in the workshop you can try."
He went out and found two. I connected one of them and re-imported the song. Nearly perfect.
I continued to import that side of the tape, intending to get all the songs and then go back and re-import the first two (to see if I could get better quality copies). It was all going very well. I finished the first side, flipped the tape over, pressed Play, and waited.
And waited... and waited... and waited.
I checked the little window. The spools were turning; all seemed to be normal. Still, this was quite a long wait. I stopped the player and took out the cassette. The tape around the take-up spool was a bit loose and out of habit I gave it a few manual turns with my finger to tighten it. It didn't appear to tighten. I tried turning the other direction although I was certain I had turned it the proper direction the first time. No effect. So I gave it a good half-dozen turns in what I knew to be the proper direction. It still didn't tighten.
How could this be? It had just been in a properly working player. The tension had been fine until now.
Perhaps the tape had caught on something. I looked at the bottom of the cassette.
There was nothing.
No tape, either clear or magnetic.
Oh no...
I rushed out and showed my father. He examined it, but declared the damage permanent. The cassette had no screws that could have been removed to open it; and thanks to my patience letting the broken end wrap around the spool over and over again, the ends of the tape were far inside the cassette -- irretrievable.
I checked my old friend, the iTunes Store. Believe it or not, I had finally found an album that the iTunes Store does not yet carry. I submitted a request, but I was bordering desperate. I had been on a roll; I couldn't just stop.
What more could I do? Where else could I get a copy of the album without having to wait an indefinite amount of time?
Then an idea came to me. Actually, two ideas -- eBay and Amazon.
I went to Amazon.com and quickly found a few copies, the least expensive being a 'used' (but still packaged) CD for $3.98 US. Not bad, I thought. I proceeded to buy it.
Unfortunately, I live in a very rural area. This means I do not have a house number or a P.O. box. The only way our mail carrier can tell our mail from the neighbours' is by the name written above the address. This is perfectly acceptable to any other shipping company you can find. They may think it a bit odd, but they'll still send the material. Lo and behold it always gets here.
But not Amazon.com. You must, must, MUST have a P.O. box to get something shipped to you. Oh, and an actual town -- not the little pinprick thirteen kilometres away that is home to several thousand people, thank you very much. Oh, does that postal code have letters in it?
On any other site you order something from, you select 'Canada' in the list of countries, and everything else adjusts itself accordingly. On Amazon.com, you select 'Canada' in the list of countries, and it's like sirens go off. Their servers overheat and go into error loops. Smoke fills the building. The safe housing billions of dollars is about to explode.
The Canadians are coming! Arm yourselves! Man the cannons! Women and children first!
Frustrated with Amazon.com's stubbornness, I decided to see if there was an Amazon.ca. There was, but there the cheapest copy available was twenty-two dollars. Twenty-two dollars! I could go to the ridiculously overpriced local Christian bookstore and buy the exact same album for fifteen, tops (and I would have except said bookstore only sells albums released in the past two months and even then you're delving into ancient history. Don't even ask about an obscure band's farewell album from 1997).
Unfortunately, my desperation had clouded my sense (yes I have some, stop laughing). I bought it. Once the shipping cost was added to it (because of course it was coming from Oregon or something like that), I had relieved myself of nearly thirty dollars.
I am the queen of cheapskates. Anything more than fifteen dollars is a major purchase. It isn't that I can't afford to pay thirty dollars, it's just that I could have gotten the exact same item for only a bit more than four dollars if Amazon.com hadn't been so flipping stupid (and if I hadn't fallen to their level and bought it anyway).
If you ask me, it's a conspiracy theory to strip the 'polite' Canadians of every dollar they own. But regardless of whether it's true or not, I will never again use Amazon's 'service.' Whether you try Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, it's a ripoff. Pure and simple.
11 March 2011
Music Day
Today was a very good day in the Asylum's music world. My father found, while cleaning up his workshop, a suitcase full of old cassette tapes. Some I remembered from my childhood, but most were new and amazing discoveries.
Do you remember my music post on the 28th of January? If you listened to the song, you know that it was rather mellow.
Naturally this would lead one to conclude that PFR (the featured band in the aforementioned post) is a similarly mellow band. However, today I discovered that Great Lengths was the exception rather than the norm. This band was apparently a hard-core rock band; screaming guitar riffs, thumping bass, the whole bit. I daresay they rival the Christian-rock great Petra.
I realise I posted a PFR song fairly recently, but this one is definitely becoming a favourite. Don't expect anything remotely resembling Great Lengths though.
Title: Pour Me Out
Artist: PFR
Album: Them and several 'Greatest Hits' compilations
Year: 1996
It's on iTunes here and YouTube here. I hereby give permission to do a full-out air guitar while listening to this.
Do you remember my music post on the 28th of January? If you listened to the song, you know that it was rather mellow.
Naturally this would lead one to conclude that PFR (the featured band in the aforementioned post) is a similarly mellow band. However, today I discovered that Great Lengths was the exception rather than the norm. This band was apparently a hard-core rock band; screaming guitar riffs, thumping bass, the whole bit. I daresay they rival the Christian-rock great Petra.
I realise I posted a PFR song fairly recently, but this one is definitely becoming a favourite. Don't expect anything remotely resembling Great Lengths though.
Title: Pour Me Out
Artist: PFR
Album: Them and several 'Greatest Hits' compilations
Year: 1996
It's on iTunes here and YouTube here. I hereby give permission to do a full-out air guitar while listening to this.
28 January 2011
This Week's Gem From Kate's Music Library
This week we're finding something a little newer. Short and sweet, this one. I remember listening to this on the radio when I was younger -- back when the station actually played material worth listening to. Be forewarned that it's catchy...
Title: 'Great Lengths'
Artist: PFR
Year: 1994, possibly 1993 (that's what I could find through Google... my copy is from a 'Greatest Hits' album marked 2006)
Album: Great Lengths (however, other sources say Goldie's Last Day) and compilations.
You can buy it from iTunes here and listen on YouTube here.
Title: 'Great Lengths'
Artist: PFR
Year: 1994, possibly 1993 (that's what I could find through Google... my copy is from a 'Greatest Hits' album marked 2006)
Album: Great Lengths (however, other sources say Goldie's Last Day) and compilations.
You can buy it from iTunes here and listen on YouTube here.
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