way out west

Tears for Levi Stubbs

Levi Stubbs, original lead singer of the 4 Tops has passed away aged 72 in Detroit... Motown, of course. One of the greatest Soul voices - up there with the likes of Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Stevie Wonder...RIP Levi.

 

Technorati Tags: Music

talking of Music... and God...

... Paul Weller, a kind of hero of mine... well, I've always had a thing for the Mod subculture... the music (Jazz, Blues, Soul, R&B, British bands like the Small Faces, Acid Jazz etc), the Scooters, the style etc... has a track on 22 Dreams, his very diverse and creative number one Album, called "God" which I've mentioned before... He was interviewed back in May by the New Statesman, about the time Boris Johnson was getting elected Mayor of London.  Davie Cameron; Tory Boy extraordinaire, current leader and ex-etonian (like Johnson) said he loved the Jam track "Eton Rifles" as he used to listen to it whilst at Eton!  Talk about irony!  Weller's response to the comment was simply ""Which part of it didn't he get?"

... anyway in the interview Weller talks about how God was more of an influence on his song writing now than Politics, the interviewer seems surprised...

While the younger Weller bemoaned the 1970s Tory resurgence in song ("The braying sheep on my TV screen/Make this boys shout, make this boy scream!"), the middle-aged version draws inspiration from his five children and from God. "Yes, I'm a believer," he says, "not in a structured Christian sense, but you can either be open to all possibilities beyond physical existence, or you can shut it out. And how on earth can denial be a positive way to advance or enhance your life? So, yes, I sort of pray. I have a quiet word now and then." 22 Dreams is underpinned by this tentative spirituality.

I find it unsettling that the words "Christian" and "Structure" seem to go hand in hand for Weller (and others), that someone like him would feel that he has to make a distinction between a searching spirituality, a sense of a God who inspires and surpasses human living and the religious structure... it's almost as if Christianity has become something which for some sums up everything which is the antithesis of a spiritual openness!  A 15 year old once said to me that, "The Church has denied me the right to seek God"!  I think sometimes we assume people want certainty, they want a simple solution... I'm sure some do... but some want to explore, to delve into the mysteries... I wonder how we can accompany them... I was going to say include/make space for them... but as I typed it I thought, no that doesn't feel right, perhaps I'd rather we step away from the idol we have made of "certainty" even Christianity and actually attempt to make our own spirituality a questing/pilgrim one?  but maybe that's the Medicine man in me talking ;)

FYI below are the lyrics of Weller's "God"

And I looked up
And I spoke to God
And God said
Look at you, don't look at me
You only call on me when you need me
And when you don't, you hardly think of me at all
I don't enter your head for weeks at a time
And the times I do
They're in your despair
That you created, not I
And still, you look up to me
In such pleading terms
Thats how I know you
But don't look at me, look at you
Don't look at me, look at you
And every night I pray to God
Please save the lives of those I love
Take me instead
If you really need someone
To keep you company
On a golden chair in the air
Bring your Gods to the table
And recite your prayer
Lose all your hatred
If you are to pray in there
The temple you're seeking
Is in front of your nose
Because the message you're giving
Is doing nothing for those
(Seek, you shall find - repeat)

The oldest is the young
The youngest the oldest (repeat)

Technorati Tags: Art: Culture: Emerging Church: Music: Spirituality: theology

Grooves

Three very, very different new releases are dominating my "recently played" iPod playlist...

Pure Rock and Roll... The Clash live at Shea Stadium

Rootsy, Gutsy, Bluesy, Spiritual  Ani Difranco "Red Letter Year"

Chilled, Soulful, Deep Bass and Beats Belleruche "The Express"

Technorati Tags: Music

Meditation EP

Along with our Book and Videos we now have an EP of meditations available to buy/download direct from Proost

Technorati Tags: Celtic: Media: Music: Poetry: Prayer: Proost: Spirituality: St Brendan: Worship

YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!

I thought the good folk at Greenbelt had surpassed themselves last year, in securing the services of Coldcut... but no, they have really made my year now!

1 Giant Leap are playing this year! I can't believe it!  But Jonny blogged it, so it must be! and it is here  - what with them, Michael Franti & Spearhead and Fightstar (Charlie from Busteds Hardcore band) it promises to be another excellent festival... I can't wait!

Technorati Tags: Art: Greenbelt: Music

God!

A completely different track from Paul Weller... even if you don't like his stuff give this a listen, it is very very different - its basically a  "poem" spoken by Aziz Ibraham set to a chilled beat with ethereal vocals from Hannah Andrews.

God from the album "22 Dreams" - iTunes

Incidentally the Album, which arrived on my doormat this morning has been getting rave reviews all over the place... 

The Observer said "The trad rocker's ninth solo album embraces everything from Krautrock to jazz. Miraculously, it's brilliant"... 

The Times said "It’s as if one of modern music’s great control freaks has decided to take his hand off the rudder and just let the music out. Imagine his excitement when the music that does come out is as fresh and creative as the stuff he wrote 30 years ago. Actually, you don’t have to imagine: the excitement is infectious." 

Uncut said "This is not an album by the Modfather, or the high priest of dadrock. This is an album by the Paul Weller who has spent much of the last 30 years straying outside his comfort zone, and this is his White Album, a sprawling, epic and compelling song-cycle that channels a century of influences into one exhausting 21-track album."

The Guardian said "What is going on is a fairly dramatic rethink that suggests the maverick spirit behind the Style Council has once more been unleashed. No one gets their ears fondled - at least not literally - but 22 Dreams is eclectic, deeply strange and cheeringly unlike anything Weller has done before.Perhaps the horror of having David Cameron announce his love for the Jam's The Eton Rifles has alerted Weller to the possibility of being too conventional for your own good. Or perhaps, after boring everyone else with album after album of grimacing man-rock plod, Weller finally succeeded in boring himself. Whatever the reason, 22 Dreams is a triumph of the most unexpected kind."

Technorati Tags: Music: Poetry: Spirituality

1 Giant Leap

Just watched the first of the new 1 Giant Leap series "What about me?"... it kind of starts up where the previous movie left off... and I'm happy with that!  Great music, a variety of voices, thoughts and philosophies to reflect on... Michael Stipe, Maxi Jazz and Will Young... looking forward to the next "episode"!

If you missed it... watch it here!

Technorati Tags: Culture: Music: Television

Jazz for the Soul!

I'm partial to a smidgen of Jazz from time to time... especially Acid Jazz and modern/bebop (Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley etc.)... so I really like the sound of this from Jazz/funk/latin band Dave LeMieux and The House of Soul - At The Table - A mix of Music, Video and conversation, described thus...

Dr. King had an encounter at his kitchen table that shaped the Civil Rights Movement as we know it today.  Beyond his fears, doubts, and moment of crisis, he made the commitment to serve his community in the struggle for the equal rights each American citizen now enjoys . . . a commitment made at his kitchen table years ago that still reverberates throughout the world today.  At the Table is a tribute to Dr. King, his life, and the ongoing invitation his legacy extendsto all of us to join him at the table of brotherhood in the Beloved Community.

...unfortunately it seems I'm on the wrong side of "The Pond"... again!  :(

Technorati Tags: Culture: Music: News

Bassist extraordinaire

Steve Lawson... makes my amateur thumping look very, well... amateur!

www.stevelawson.net

Technorati Tags: Music

Me... listening to "praise and worship"... surely not!?

I know, I'd never have believed it... but I've just fallen in love with a song which I guess could be filed under that heading... well, it comes under "inspirational" on iTunes... and the track?

Surely We Can Change from the album "Remedy" by David Crowder Band - Amazon - iTunes

It has a kind of Sufjan Stevens/Adem vibe going on so I don't feel quite so bad ;-)

And the problem is this
We were bought with a kiss
But the cheek still turned
Even when it wasn’t hit

And I don’t know
What to do with a love like that
And I don’t know
How to be a love like that

When all the love in the world
Is right here among us
And hatred too
And so we must choose
What our hands will do

Where there is pain
Let there be grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Help them be brave
Where there is misery
Bring expectancy
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Something

And the problem it seems
Is with you and me
Not the Love who came
To repair everything

Where there is pain
Let us bring grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Oh surely we can change
Something

Oh, the world’s about to change
The whole world’s about to change

and for a PS... I've just discovered that if you are listening to a track on iTunes and click  the  "iTunes" button in ecto it automatically inserts the details and a link for that track!

Technorati Tags: Emerging Church: Music: Religion: Spirituality: Worship