Ten for Tuesday: 90’s Music February 27, 2007
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized.Tags: 90's Music, top ten
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Originally posted 2/27/07
I’m sure that every generation has similar thoughts (except for maybe the 80’s…blech), but, from early on, I really felt that those of us coming of age in the 1990’s (I turned 13 in 1990) were able to experience something truly special musically – not just toe-tapping, feel-good fluff, but something deeper, a conglomeration of generation-defining sounds that melded together in a cacophany of smashing guitars and screaming, angst-ridden vocals that still resonates loudly today. I just can’t hide my affection for the grunge sounds of Seattle or the sonic boom of shoegazing, of trip-hop or the chaotic sounds of industrial noise, of early alt-country or the melding of any and all styles that had come before.
Top Ten Alt-Rock Artists of the 1990’s
10. (Tie) Portishead and My Bloody Valentine
Yeah, I realize it’s cheating to have a tie in a top ten list (virtually making it a top 11), but, since each of these groups only had one notable album, I thought we could let it slide this time. Listening to trip-hop siren Beth Gibbons’ voice filled with anguish singing Portishead’s Sour Times (“Nobody loves me, it’s true. Not like you do) is something everyone should experience. My Bloody Valentine became the masters of the shoegazing movement, mixing layer upon layer of crashing guitars with ethereal vocals to create and unbelievably dense and beautiful sonic landscape – their album Loveless is one of the best of the entire decade.
9. Elliott Smith
His catalogue is rather thine, but the depressingly beautiful tunes contained therein can wrench a person’s gut in a way that few others can. His Either/Or album is such an incredible piece of work that I’ve gone through times in my life where I have listened to little else besides Smith’s sparse acoustic arrangements and sad little voice.
8. R.E.M.
While I tend to prefer their 80’s work, especially Fables of the Reconstruction, they released some astoundingly good songs (and some incredibly whiny ones) during their robust run through the decade. If I could cut out the annoying “Everybody Hurts,” Automatic For the People would rank as a top five album of the entire decade.
7. Dave Matthews Band
While other jam bands, such as Phish, amassed huge followings through their constant touring, Dave and the boys condensed their meandering live jams into some of the best, most concise, tunes released by a band of their ilk since the American Beauty-era Grateful Dead.
6. Smashing Pumpkins
I had the privilege of seeing Billy Corgan and his crew back on the Siamese Dream tour (I also saw them on the Mellon Collie tour) in a little place in Little Rock, Arkansas, and they completely blew my 16 year old mind.
5. Uncle Tupelo
Few other bands before or since have melded country, bluegrass, rock and punk on a par with these guys. Jay Farrar, singing with such conviction and longing, has the best country music voice since the outlaws in their prime. While the members may have gone on to better things – Wilco and Son Volt – the original group is still one of my favorites.
4. Nirvana
Their was just someting about Kurt Cobain’s agonzing screams that could grip you like no one else. The MTV Unplugged recorded shortly before his suicide should be a textbook in putting all that you’ve got, heart and soul, into the song for all upcoming vocalists.
3. Beck
When Beck first emerged with his goofy white-boy rap, “Loser,” it would have been easy to dismiss him as a flash-in-the-pan novelty act, but little did we realize that he would become the closest thing to Bob Dylan for my generation. Odelay is an absolute masterwork, an album that has stood the test of time for the last ten years like few others, and Mr. Beck Hansen has continued on, proving to still put out some of the best, most relevant music, out there today.
2. Radiohead
Though they started out by seemingly riding the coattails of the grunge movement with their hit, “Creep,” Thom Yorke’s band came into it’s own with 1995’s The Bends and they have consistently challenged and bewildered listeners ever since. 1997’s OK Computer may be the greatest album of the entire decade and one of the best ever recorded.
1. Pearl Jam
By the mid-90’s, the Seattle Grunge scene had all but died out – Nirvana was no more and Alice in Chains and Soundgarden had disbanded for good – but one group kept slogging along, despite the twists and turns of the music industry, and Eddie Vedder’s band continues to add to their impressive rock collection today. Pearl Jam is one of the greatest rock bands in the world today and quite possibly one of the best ever.
So, what do you think of my list? Do you like the music of the 90’s or do you prefer something else?
I have created a series of playlists on finetune.com showing my love of the decade. Here is the link to one of them.
Go and Do the Same February 26, 2007
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized.Tags: good Samaritan, Jesus, parables
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Originally posted 2/26/07
Previous Entries in the Life of Jesus Series:
His Birth
His Baptism
His Temptations
The Sermon on the Mount
Choosing His Disciples
Healing Miracles
Dealings With the Pharisees
His Humanity
Scripture: Luke 10:25-37
Jesus was not generally an authoritarian taskmaster who taught in absolute “Thou shalt” and “Thou shalt nots.” He did not espouse grandiose theological concepts using the lofty language of the educated elite. Rather, Christ spoke in stories, or parables, using terms and situations that the common man could grasp with ease, through which He imparted wisdom to average (and below-average) Joes – His homespun morality tales were probably more in line with Andy Griffith than with an impressively high-minded theologian. Whether He was conversing about vineyards or sheep or sowing crops or fishing, these ingenious anecdotes appealed and inspired the uneducated masses.
One of my favorite of His many parables, and one that has become synonymous with doing the right thing, is that of the Good Samaritan.
One day, while in the midst of enlightening the gathering multitudes around Him, an expert in Mosaic Law comes before Jesus with a purpose, not to learn from the great Master, rather he came to put the Savior to the test. It is with this seemingly insolent attitude, that he then poses the question, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus, no doubt knowing what was in the man’s mind, answers with a question that in my words reads, “Well, you’re the expert. What do you think?”
The man replies with two statements, two commands that Jesus Himself stated were the greatest of all the Law (Matt 22:37-40). The first comes from what is known as the Shema, “Love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.” The second states, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus then gives a reply equivalent to saying, “Yep, that’s right.”
The lawyer follows that with a rather haughtily worded, “Who is my neighbor?”
So, Christ then launches into another of His easily accessible morality tales, beginning with a man who, while wayfaring down the road, takes a virtual beatdown from some waiting robbers, leaving him bruised and battered on the side of the road calling out for someone, anyone, to give him a helping hand. Two men, a priest and a Levite – perhaps a symbol of the religious establishment – , saw the incapacitated fellow lying alongside the road, but, perhaps under the illusion that someone else would correct the problem, crossed to the other side.
Finally, with the bloody and bruised man facing an impending death, a Samaritan of lowly stature and despised by the Jews was moved with compassion and halted his own journey to care for the man – going the extra mile to ensure that he was provided for.
Jesus then, in the fashion of His narrarations, ends the discourse with a question for lawyer, “Which of these three proved to be a neighbor?”
The lawyer then, starting to realize his folly, answers, “The one who showed mercy,” to which Jesus quips, “Go and do the same.”
How often are we in the shoes of the passerbys – seeing someone in help and many times turning our heads to avoid them? Maybe we don’t like the way they look or we suffer from the illusion of not having enough time or maybe we just don’t know what we could do to help anyway. I know I’m guilty of acting like the priest and the Levite at times.
So, then, our neighbors are not just our friends or our family or those individuals that grace our church building on Sunday mornings, it’s everyone – the poor, the rich, the despised, the loved, the black, the white, the Christian, the Muslim, the atheist, the straight, the gay, and everyone else in between.
Theological Tag February 22, 2007
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized.Tags: church, evil, Holy Spirit, Jesus, sin, theology
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Originally posted 2/22/07
Mac tagged me some time ago regarding a few questions from his Systematic Theology class and I figured that now is as good a time as any to answer them. The key is to answer these six questions in seven sentences or less.
1. What is the central message of the gospel?
The word “gospel” is an English translation of the Greek word ευαγγέλιον, which literally means “good message,” and that message is undoubtedly the immeasurable love of God. When God descended from His lofty home in the plane of eternal goodness that we know as heaven to serve us, mere mortals full of corruption and evil in our grimy little world caked thick with the muck of sin, it embodied that selfless love above all love. That’s it – love is what it’s all about.
2. What are the one or two most important questions for theologians to study?
Our world is one of sin and evil and darkness, where families are torn apart and children are murdered and thousands die beneath falling bombs for a supposed “greater good,” and it is within this context, one of darkness and destruction, that people look to the heavens and ask, “Why?” In a world slipping farther and farther into degradation, people want to know how a “good God” could allow such evil to happen. Canned answers won’t work any longer – people are looking for a good, thoughtful explanation (hint: the virtual dualism of modern Christianity just doesn’t jive any more).
3. What is the relationship of Jesus to the Father and to us?
Jesus is the human embodiment of the all-powerful Being, the ultimate reality that we know as God. Out of God’s boundless love, He came to earth in a human form – a form in which He lived, loved, worked, taught, and ultimately died at the hands of those He came to save. In His death, Jesus took the role of the sacrificial lamb – giving Himself, His body and His blood, for us, so that we might all have an eternal life with Him.
4. How does the Holy Spirit work today?
When man was created “in the image of God,” I believe that God endowed each of us with a small piece of His divine nature – a self awareness and an ability to choose our fate that other animals do not have. Humans, though, are terribly conceited and self-absorbed, and, because of that, we many times look past this great gift that has been bestowed on us by our Creator. The imbuing of the Holy Spirit on someone is the realization that God is the great Giver of this most wonderful gift.
5. How can we identify the “one true Church?”
The one true church is a state of mind and heart, identified by people who, through their love of God, love everyone unconditionally. Just as you know a tree by it’s fruit, you will know the “true church” by their radical love – for the poor, the sick, the enemies of America – and by their willingness to serve others, all others, regardless of the consequences.
6. What happens at Eschaton?
Everybody will find out that Tim LaHaye is full of it. (and not just a really, really bad writer)
Poetry at Work February 19, 2007
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized.Tags: bologna, poetry
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Originally posted 2/19/07
Today, during a short respite in the constant hustle and bustle at work, I took a few moments to write a some words of verse, but, alas, because of the accursed filter I was unable to post it this afternoon. So, here it is, a bit of balladry from my hand for your enjoyment and maybe, just maybe, my words will inspire you to greatness. Without further ado…..
Ode to the Bologna Sandwich I Made For Lunch Today
What will I have for lunch?
Leftovers? Macaroni?
Aha! There it is!
A sandwich of bologna
This small circle of meat
A delicacy most divine
Though it comes from the
Unmentionable parts of swine
But not just pieces of pig
That a dog wouldn’t eat
Add some chicken scraps
And beef for this treat
Tho’ it’s origin may not
Evoke a pleasant yearning
With it’s peculiar odor
My gut starts a-churning
With these facts in order
There’s not much more to say
I think I’ll go out
For my lunchtime today
Sad and Lonely February 15, 2007
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized.Tags: death, humanity, Jesus, sadness
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Originally posted 2/15/07
So far in this series, we’ve looked at:
Jesus’ Birth
Jesus’ Baptism
Jesus’ Temptation
The Sermon on the Mount
Choosing His disciples
His healing miracles
His dealings with the Pharisees
Jesus attracted a rather motley crew of followers about Him – tax collectors and protistutes, the poor and the sick, sinners and those that hurt – following his every footfall and hanging on His every word looking for meaning to their seemingly hopeless existance. Among the accumulation of adherants was a woman, earlier denoted by the Pharisees as a sinner, named Mary, who, along with her sister Martha and her brother Lazarus, were among those pursuing the Son of God with a fervor that must seem strange to us in today’s postmodern world. Christ’s love is an amazing thing, encompassing those that dedicate their lives to Him as well as those that revile any minute mention of His existence, but the Bible makes a point to say that Jesus especially loved and adored this little group of siblings.
One day, the sisters came to Jesus and I can see them collapsing at His feet in a fit of tears, begging Him to help their ailing brother, whom Jesus greatly loved. Inexplicably, Jesus proclaimed that the sickness gripping Lazarus is surely not life threatening and made the decision to wait around for a couple of days before beginning the trek back to Jerusalem. While biding His time, Lazarus’ condition took a turn for the worst and before the conglomeration of Jesus and His disciples could arrive, he was dead.
When they finally reached Jerusalem, the sisters, Mary and Martha, are both quick to come to Him, deep in sorrow and pain, looking for somwhere and someone to lash out at, they point fingers at Him saying, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
We seem to sometimes forget that God came to this earth as a man, just like you or me – He laughed and cried, He felt joy and pain, at times He was nearly overcome with hopelessness and deep, abiding sorrow. Life was not easy for the Son of God. While I’m sure the pain of loss was great, the words of the sisters must have been painful like a knife to the heart – their heartbreak and accusations must have torn at His insides like nothing else.
Sad and Lonely – originally posted 2/15/07
You could write a multitude of voluminous tomes describing the sadness of an infinite being, but John sums it all up in two words, “Jesus wept.” It’s the shortest verse in the Bible but the punch packed by this minuscule declaration can bring the most stalwart of men to their knees. Jesus, the human manifestation of the ultimate good, the God of all creation, reduced to tears by the passing of a loved one.
Jesus, both out of compassion and a desire to again show Himself to be the great Messiah, speaks three short words to the dead, probably decomposing body of His trusted friend, “Lazarus, come forth.”
I imagine that the people gathered about watched with guarded expectations – sure, they’d seen Him heal debilitating illnesses, but to reach down and grasp the hand of a man, pulling him from the icy grip of death, seemed much to farfetched – even for this Man claiming to be the Son of God.
Then, they saw a movement in the dark recesses of the tomb. I can visualize them looking at each other, agape with wonder and perhaps a bit of disbelief at the seemingly impossible task. But then Lazarus himself traipsed out of the cave, sending the multitude of gawkers into a frenzy of bewilderment.
As astounding as the miracle is, I’m still enraptured with the idea of the humanity of Christ. He was one of us – beset with the same feelings and hopes and disappointments that plague us every solitary day of our lives. But His burden causes the insignificant quandaries of our lives to pale in comparison. The weight of responsibility heaped upon His human shoulders is beyond my comprehension, and He took the burden upon Himself, with noone else to share the load. With the immensity of His upcoming task and the utter loneliness shrouding His every move, the work of Christ becomes unimaginable, but I praise God for it.
Tradition, Hypocrisy, and the Damage Done February 9, 2007
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized.Tags: hypocrisy, Jesus, Pharisees, tradition
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Originally posted 2/9/07
Jesus had dealings with all kinds of people during His short ministry – from those on the bottom rung of the social ladder to exalted dignitaries and leaders – but there is one group in particular whose obtuse reaction to Christ is still of utmost relevance to us today, the Pharisees.
The Jewish sect known as the Pharisees was a rather stringent one – holding fast to the laws and regulations set forth by God with no sway to the right or left. Their rigid interpretations left little room for dissent and those not of their order were viewed with contempt in an arrogant display of self-admiration. They were learned men, but their vast knowledge of scriptures was not always used for the glorification of God, rather they held their heads high over the other, “lesser” men.
Then along came Jesus.
A Pharisee would never dwell with the sinners or those viewed as lesser in the eyes of man and they watched as Jesus went about proclaiming what He claimed was the Word of God while seated with the repugnant tax collectors and despicable protistutes and those tarnished and despondent with sickness. Christ went to the poor and downtrodden, he sat and talked with them and ate with them and spent time with them, while the Pharisees stared agape with horror that this Man would dare soil Himself with the filth of society.
Another time Jesus virtually assaults them for holding so strong to the Law and their traditions at the expense of caring for others. Our Lord was not one to dance around issues or mince words with hypocrites in charge, no, I envision Him l0oking them straight in the eye and letting them have it. Think about that when you read the following passage from Luke 11:39-44
“Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. You foolish ones, did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God, but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. Woe to you! For you are like concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”
I don’t know about you, but this hits me hard. How often do we look at someone for their station in life and think, “Thank God I’m not like them.”? Or how easily is it for us to brand someone with the scarlet letter of sin when they screw up? How often to we gaze down from our lofty pedestals at the teeming masses with little direction and scoff?
We are guilty. All of us. When you take a few moments to really ponder the position of the Pharisees you realize that they most likely were not bad people, they assumed that they were the ones in the right, the only ones truly doing the will of God, but they were wrong. In the same way, when I sneer at those who are different than me – whether they don’t look like me or act like me or love like me or believe like me – I am guilty.
So again, let’s try and look past our petty differences or, heck, even our major ones, and let’s learn to love each other. Let’s not abhor others for their station in life or their lack of riches or their skin color or their sexual orientation, even when others in our churches do. Instead, let’s show them the same love and care that Jesus showed the reviled and weak.
Healing the Sick February 4, 2007
Posted by Matt in Uncategorized.Tags: Healing, Jesus, miracles
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Originally posted 2/4/07
Our journey through the life of Jesus has taken us to:
His birth
His baptism
His temptations
His greatest teaching – The Sermon on the Mount
The choosing of His disciples
The astounding ministry of Jesus was not just characterized by His exceptional discourses, no, rather His extraordinary exploits showed the greatness of the power of God to the people and, through their amazement, Christ was then able to deliver the crucial message that was central to His coming from a perfect ethereal home to our dirty little backwater planet in a nondescript section of the immeasurable vacuity of the cosmos. These actions defy logical thinking on every level in their deviation from those laws of nature that had been in existence since that time, eons ago, when the universe was first set in motion.
Today we will consider those exercises that would raise the resentful envy of most of our modern day experts in the field of medicine who have devoted years, decades, of their short existences to the study of said discipline with the honorable objective of helping and caring for the sick and dying. Without the modern conveniences of antibiotics and anesthesia and complicated invasive surgery and stem cell research, Jesus was able to accomplish impossible tasks of magnanimity with little schooling and few physical actions, rather with just a touch or a word people found the debilitating illnesses or seemingly unconquerable disabilities that had clouded their being for time upon time dissipated into nothingness.
One reviled group that Jesus showed great endearment toward were those infected by the horrible skin disease of leprosy – a loathsome affliction that not only disfigured those tainted with it, but designated them as social pariahs with no home or friends or family any longer. It was a seemingly hopeless scourge that would eventually lead to a physical death, I imagine either from the disease itself or from utter and complete loneliness. More than once Jesus spoke with those ailing oppressed people when no one else in their right minds would do so. He touched them and displayed love and compassion for those unclean people on the bottom rung of the societal ladder. If Jesus were present today in a human existence, I envision Him among the despairing people of Africa who are dying by the thousands of the AIDS virus while the rest of the world stands by, apathetic to anything that does not directly affect their existence. I can see Him surrounded by a cadaverous multitude slowly wasting away as the plague slowly destroys their physical bodies, and I can see the pain and sorrow on His face when looking at the young children, with bodies tormented to the point of certain death. During Jesus’ short three years in this world He did not heal every person suffering in the throes of incurable illness, but through the few He was able to bestow the gift of health on, thousands of others were encouraged and given some small sliver of hope in their despondent existences. If Jesus were here walking our terrestrial home today, I believe He would be walking amidst the dispirited people of Africa and other areas of the world overlooked by the rich and wealthy West, healing out of His tenderhearted love of humanity and with the objective of injecting a sense of purpose and faith.
One of my favorite stories involving Jesus’ power of healing is that of the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years. She was considered unclean by her own people and pushed to the side, marginalizing her existence to near invisibility in society, but, despite her infirmity and the revulsion showed to her by those around her, she had faith, a great and wondrous faith that caused her to seek out the Messiah. But because of her own lowly state she felt herself to be unworthy of the love of Jesus – she knew that she didn’t deserve His regard – but she believed and fought through her own pain and discomfort just for the chance to touch the hem of His garment – just one touch and she was certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that God would show some small bit of mercy on her. Then, when the moment presented itself, she drug her bleeding, reviled body near enough to the Son of God to just brush her fingertips against the edges of his clothing and instantaneously the ailment that had gripped her for all of that time disappeared and, for the first time in years, her body was again whole. Then Jesus, knowing what she had done, turned around and made an example out of the restored woman, showing her to the crowd who had probably walked past her without a second thought for years. And through this act, Christ was again glorified and the people were amazed.
While we do not possess the gift of supernatural instantaneous healing like Jesus and most of us are not trained in the ways of medicine, there are still lessons here for each and every one of us regardless of our standing in this life. We have a calling to show love and compassion to all people – those suffering from debilitating illnesses or the disabled or anybody living in rejection on the outskirts of society. The hemorrhaging woman may be one of the most inspirational stories in the entire Bible – a despised, unclean woman with her life’s blood slowing ebbing away who had hit rock bottom reached for the Savior, the one Person who could save her from this shameful state. She wasn’t wanting Jesus to walk beside her, she wasn’t singing, “Blessed Jesus hold my hand,” no, in her decrepit condition she only wished for the lightest contact with her Savior and, because of her humble situation, she was given a second chance at life. Much like us, when the degradation of this world has beaten us down into an abyss of sin, we reach out and cry for help, longing just to touch Him.
And that’s when the strong arm of God reaches down into the muck and the mire and lifts us out of the darkness and into a new day.
