Archive for October, 2004
10.25.04
Posted in Song of the Week at 9:57 am by Adriene
This week’s song of the week is:
“Trouble” - Coldplay
I’ll have to admit, my first exposure to Coldplay (the much-overplayed “Yellow”) left me underwhelmed. It was alright, but it didn’t really do anything for me. Then I heard “Trouble” a couple of months later and my ears perked up.
So, yeah, this is the song that turned me on to Coldplay. It’s a great tune about a guy who knows he’s screwed up and his attempt to apologize to the one he’s hurt.
“I never meant to cause you trouble
And I never meant to do you wrong
And I, well if I ever caused you trouble
Oh, no, I never meant to do you harm.”
I think this is a good one to listen to if you’re trying to get the “feel” of what Coldplay sounds like - it showcases Chris Martin’s vocals and Coldplay’s ethereal guitars, as well as the emotion this band is excellent at evoking through their songwriting.
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10.20.04
Posted in Rants at 10:22 am by Adriene
So, it may seem that I’ve been on a ranting spree about Christian subculture lately, and perhaps I have. But today I saw something on TV that made me cringe.
There’s a Christian radio station in town, 104.7 “The Fish.” When they first debuted a few years ago, I was pretty excited, considering that we didn’t really have much of a Christian music station here in Atlanta, save the one station that played Southern Gospel all the time.
But that excitement faded quickly when I realized that their definition of Christian music basically meant anything ever written by Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, and that the only song Jars of Clay ever released was “Flood.” (Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ll admit that MWS and SCC probably speak to some people. In fact, we own some of MWS’s Christmas CDs and enjoy them). But their lack of variety in music was stunning. Plus their DJ’s were sickeningly sweet. So, I quit listening.
Today, while I was getting ready for work, a commercial for The Fish came on TV. It was filled with smiling parents, children, and babies and had Amy Grant blaring in the background. Given the target audience they go after (mom, dad, 2.5 kids), I wasn’t surprised by that.
But then their tagline almost floored me.
“104.7 The Fish. Safe for the whole family.”
Nowhere in that entire commercial was glorifying God or spreading the message of Christianity mentioned. Shouldn’t THAT be the primary aim of a Christian radio station? So, basically, their whole marketing premise is based upon not having crude DJ’s and not playing offensive music? Heck, by that definition, there are about 5 lite-rock stations here in Atlanta that I would qualify as “safe for the family.” Way to stand out, guys. 
Perhaps I’m overreacting. But I don’t know. I just think this is probably a by-product of my increasing frustration over mainstream Christianity in the US trying to make itself more palateable to the general public. But that’s another post.
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10.18.04
Posted in Song of the Week at 8:27 am by Adriene
Yes, Geof, I’m that predictable. This week’s Song of the Week is:
“Wings of the Morning” - Caedmon’s Call
This is off of CC’s latest release that I’ve been gushing over for the past week or so entitled Share the Well. As I mentioned before, Caedmon’s recorded portions of this CD while touring around the world, visiting various third-world countries and exploring how God has given hope to those seemingly without it worldwide.
This probably my favorite track on the CD, and that fact probably isn’t a big surprise to some of you. It was penned by Andy Osenga, new CC guitarist and former Normals front man. Ask anyone who knows me and you’ll know that I’m a huge Andy fan. I love his voice, songwriting style, and, well, the man can play a guitar. 
This is very eastern-influenced and has an awesome guitar riff that sounds very sitar-like. I couldn’t get it out of my head after I heard it at first. Sung by CC’s Danielle Young, it’s a very hopeful tune and I like it because she sings in my range and I can sing along with it in the car. Add a very cool percussion track and I’m a happy person.
I had the pleasure of first hearing this song live at a CC show in Auburn last weekend. It absolutely blew me away. So yeah, I like it, and you should listen to it if you get the chance.
(Subliminal Message: Go buy Share the Well now!)
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10.15.04
Posted in Ponderings at 2:38 pm by Adriene
God slapped me around a little today during lunch.
I was sitting at a stop light, blaring “Share the Well” by Caedmon’s Call on my CD player (seriously, this CD hasn’t left my player since I got my grubby little hands on it on Tuesday). The sun was shining, the air’s finally turned a little chilly here, and things were pretty much going great for me today. I was grooving out to the catchy “Je ra ji ra ji ra ji ra je je je” in the chorus portion and pretty much feeling awesome about myself.
Then I see him walking toward me. He’s wearing a ratty-looking coat and a battered Yankees cap over his graying dreadlocks. His jeans have holes in them and he’s clutching a used McDonald’s orange juice container full of change as he leans on a battered metal crutch. He hobbles up to the car in front of me who, as usual, waves him off.
I had a chance here. I really had a chance here to show this guy some love. But what do I do?
I adopt the usual Atlanta suburban countenance when it comes to the homeless and the poor. I stare stonily ahead while muttering “Just walk by, just walk by and leave me alone” in my head. And he passes and hobbles on to the next car.
This is where God smacked me hard. What the heck is the song I’m listening to at this precise moment telling me?
“Share the well
Share with your brother
Share the well my friend
It takes a deeper well
to love one another
Share the well my friend”
Here I am gushing about how important this album is and how it speaks to a portion of Christianity that we rarely enjoy talking about but must do anyway, and what am I doing? The same thing that I railed against in an earlier post.
I was not showing this guy the love of Christ. I judged him, assumed that if I gave him any money the first thing he would go do is run off to the nearest liquor store and blow it on some Boone’s Farm. But who am I to do that? What if he really is hungry? What if he really does need some money to buy a blanket to keep warm at night?
It boils down to this. I have, and this guy obviously does not have. The only thing I am responsible for is doing my best as a Christian to help those in need and not to judge them as to what they may do with any gifts I give them. That is between them and God, not me.
He hobbles back by my window and I hastily roll it down.
“Excuse me, sir?”
He turns his weary eyes toward me and stares for a moment.
“I’m really sorry I ignored you at first. Would this help you out?”
I pass him a couple of dollars that had been sitting in my cupholder for the past few days.
He smiles, and says “God bless you, ma’am. I was praying he would provide for me today, and he surely has.”
I got a lump in my throat. Here I sit day after day complaining about what I don’t have, and here this guy is who is happy as can be by getting two dollars that may buy him a hot meal, perhaps the first one he’s had in a couple of days.
“No,” I say, “God bless YOU.”
And then I drove off in tears.
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10.14.04
Posted in Tee Hee at 9:07 am by Adriene
The left headlight on my car has been out for about a week now. And it’s bugging the crap out of me. I feel like everyone’s looking at me when I drive by, and a cringe every time I pass a cop, wondering if he’s going to give me the stare-down or pull me over or something.
But I have noticed a rather interestingly pleasant side-effect. Other drivers missing headlights are strangely friendly to me. I get an occasional smile or wave as I pass by. It’s like we’re some sort of exclusive club. I’ve noticed more cars letting me change lanes in front of them, less finger-waving if I cut people off, and generally a more enjoyable driving experience has been had.
Maybe I’ll keep it like this. That is, until that bastard cop finally pulls me over.
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