Flying in the face of science...or crashing...

"Like you, I know exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard Amanda Palmer had been killed. Like you, I know no more than that...It became a national obsession. "Who killed Amanda Palmer?" bubblegum cards were traded and traded again in schoolyards across America."

To put into words the phenomenon that is the music of Amanda Palmer (shown in the image to the right) is truly difficult. As one of the most complex artists I have ever stumbled upon, the music of Amanda Palmer is truly an art. Amanda Palmer, of the Dresden Dolls and of whom I have never heard of before a couple days ago, released a solo CD, Who Killed Amanda Palmer, in late 2008.

To begin, Amanda Palmer writes phenomenal lyrics. The opening track, "Astronaut: A Short History of Nearly Nothing," deals with the difficulty of a person to hold on to their distant lover. As she sings with her extremely powerful voice (think of Tori Amos plus Regina Spektor plus a small portion of Rufus Wainwright come together), she sings "is it enough to have some love / small enough to slip inside a book / small enough to cover with your hand." At the same time, the song deals with the significant others of those who died in the Challenger crash.

The first couple times the chorus is sung, it reads:

but you are, my love, the astronaut
flying in the face of science
i will gladly stay an afterthought
just bring back some nice reminders

until it changes to...

YES you are, my love, the astronaut
crashing in the name of science
just my luck they found your upper half
it’s a very nice reminder

Another ear-catching song, Leeds United deals with the necessity of love in a culture so driven by cheap-thrills and glitzy entertainment. As the title of the CD would suggest, an overarching theme of the album is the triviality of death in American culture. On the hauntingly powerful Guitar Hero, Amanda Palmer contrasts video games with the war in Iraq. In the eyes of a video gamer now at the front, Amanda eerily sings "how do you get them to turn this thing off? / this isn't at all like the ones back at home / just shut your eyes and flip the cassette." To truly understand the complexity of the lyrics, I recommend checking out Amanda's website as it includes videos and pictures pertaining to each song. Be warned: Amanda is a bit eccentric, you could say a bit...gothic.

In addition to incredible, though bone-chilling lyrics, the musical production amazing. The CD was produced by Ben Folds and he plays simply tremendous piano on many of the songs (Thank goodness for this CD, it's been a long time since he's done anything good in the music world). While Leeds United jumps out at you for its powerful horn section and the guitar mastery of East Bay Ray smashes Guitar Hero home, the true power of Amanda's voice comes on slower, piano-driven songs such as Ampersand and the Point of it all.

I could go on and on about the artistic incredibleness of this album and the website associated with it. At the same time, you should go listen to it. And, of course, I would love to sit down and talk with Amanda as a Christian perspective of the world shatters the fatalistic resignation so much of her lyrics express.

What is a revolutionary without love?

Perhaps one of the most unnoticed actors, but also easily one of my favorites, Benicio del Toro (21 Grams, Snatch, the Usual Suspects) stars in a movie about the life and work of Che Guevara. The 4 plus hour movie will air in the United States in two parts (as none of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films made it to that length). One can watch the trailer here.

Admittedly, I fall in the category of "not knowing very much about Che Guevara" aside from seeing people (many of whom probably fall in the same category) wear t-shirts bearing his image religiously across the United States. And from an article in The Washington Times that one can access here (I think if you're on the facebook-imported version of my blog, the links may not work), it appears that the movie softens the image of Che in various places. Thus, I would encourage all to see the movie (I haven't yet, but really really want to) and then to do a bit of research on their own.

Final word: Benicio del Toro is the man.

Things that I really like right now....

Take a look if you want--this is kind of random.

TV on the Radio. They are an incredibly fresh band and write amazing lyrics. The song that really grabs me is DLZ, especially the first two stanzas. They read:

Congratulations on the mess you made of things;
On trying to reconstruct the air and all that brings.
And oxidation is the compromise you own
But this is beginning to feel like the dog wants her bones
saved

You force your fire then you falsify your deeds
Your methods dot the disconnect from all your creeds
And fortune strives to fill the vacuum that it feeds
But this is beginning to feel like the dog's lost her lead

Super harsh, but super raw. The song is obviously about hypocrisy, specifically in America, but I think they leave the lyrics the way they are for open interpretation.

Charles H. Spurgeon. I just started reading his devotional book, Morning & Evening, last night. Typically I do not like the short devotionals on one verse of scripture, but I really like what I've been reading--maybe it's just Spurgeon or more likely God (highly more likely).

The Watson Twins blog. Also fresh. And outright hilarious.

Finally, the Blind Boys of Alabama concert was incredible. Gospel concerts always are, but especially with such legends.

Brandon Flowers, Elton John.

Well my friends, I never expected to be using Brandon Flowers' name right along side that of Elton John--much less with respect to Christmas. Nonetheless, Brandon Flowers (the lead singer of the uber fun band, the Killers) released a Christmas single in which he sings with Elton John and Neil Tennant. I don't know why it took me so long to discover this--the killers for three years running have released a Christmas single, but I am super glad I did discover this.

So y'all better go check out the song "Joseph, better you than me" by the Killers, Elton John, and Neil Tennant.

Please excuse my musical nerdiness, sir

So, first things first, the Watson Twins are hilarious. I'm sorry, but I died of laughter reading their most recent blog (found at http://thewatsontwins.blogspot.com/). You should all check it out.

Second, the Watson Twins have an EP coming in February!!!!! They're first EP had its moments, but they were few. Their debut album, however, rocked my socks off. That being said, I'm super stoked for the EP.

oh bed of steel, be my winding wheel

Sometimes you stumble across just the right thing you need to hear for the situation you're in. Today, that happened to me in reading "The Cross of Christ" by John R. W. Stott (who looks extraordinarily similar to Bilbo Baggins). Here's what I read, perhaps it will help you too:

"If our peace-making is to be modeled on our heavenly Father's, however, we will conclude at once that it is quite different from appeasement. For the peace that God secures is never cheap peace, but always costly. He is indeed the world's preeminent peacemaker, but when he determined on reconciliation with us, his "enemies" who had rebelled against him, he "made peace" through the blood of Christ's cross (Col 1:20). To reconcile himself to us, and us to himself, and Jews, Gentiles and other hostile groups to each other, cost him nothing less than the painful shame of the cross. We have no right to expect, therefore, that we will be able to engage in conciliation work at no cost to ourselves, whether our involvement in the dispute is as the offending or offended party, or as a third party anxious to help enemies to become friends again.

What form might the cost take? Often it will begin with sustained, painstaking listening to both sides, the distress of witnessing the mutual bitterness and recriminations, the struggle to sympathize with each position, and the effort to understand the misunderstandings that have caused the communication breakdown. Honest listening may uncover unsuspected faults, which will in their turn necessitate their acknowledgment without resorting to face-saving subterfuges. If we are ourselves to blame, there will be the humiliation of apologizing, the deeper humiliation of making restitution where this is possible, and the deepest humiliation of all, which is to confess that the deep wounds we have caused will take time to heal and cannot light-heartedly be forgotten. If, on the other hand, the wrong has not been done by us, then we may have to bear the embarrassment of reproving or rebuking the other person, and thereby risk forfeiting his or her friendship. Although the followers of Jesus never have the right to refuse forgiveness, let alone to take revenge, we are not permitted to cheapen forgiveness by offering it prematurely when there has been no repentance. "If your brother sins," Jesus said, "rebuke him," and only then "if he repents, forgive him" (Lk 17:3)."

-From "The Cross of Christ" by John Stott (a book I highly recommend reading)

Top 5 Albums of the Year.

I think everyone knows that I really like listening to music. On such a musical quest, certain albums pop out at me more than others and there are some that I simply cannot stop listening to. Thus, in all my musical nerdiness, I present to you my top five albums of 2008.

5. Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie
To be honest, Transatlanticism deserves another chance while Plans never completely sold me. On the other hand, Bixby Canyon Bridge off Narrow Stairs slowly lulls the listener in before I will Possess your Heart captures the full attention of the listener. Death Cab finally shows on this track that they are quite strong instrumentally (an impression I had never gotten from them before) with a four minute instrumental piece before Ben Gibbard comes in vocally.
Songs: Cath..., Long Division, Grapevine Fires (my personal favorite)

4. Volume One - She & Him
Already possessing a strong acting career (see Elf and Yes Man among others), Zooey Deschanel turns to the music scene with the help of indie phenom M. Ward (hence She & Him). Simply put, I cannot get enough of the album these two have pieced together. Deschanel's incredible vocals alongside M. Ward's wonderful instrumentation make for quite the album. And while the album is quite upbeat instrumentally, some of the lyrics are quite the opposite (i.e. Change is Hard). Nowhere is this contrast between an upbeat song with heavy lyrics more evident than in their music video for Why do you let me stay here? As a side note, I recommend trying to leave their website. So informative yet clever.
Songs: Sweet Darlin', Take it Back, Black Hole

3. Seventh Tree - Goldfrapp
A truly good artist will show that their music cannot just fit one label. They will diversify their music as they stretch their musical limits. Goldfrapp has done just that in going from the electronically astounding Supernature to a more stripped down, acoustic album in Seventh Tree. The opening track, Clowns, displays the strange beauty of Allison Goldfrapp's voice among acoustic guitar picking. There is no one single track, such as Supernature's Ooh La La that can carry the whole album, but a medley of wonderful tracks creating a fantastic flow to a new sound from the Goldfrapp duo.
Songs: Clowns, A & E, Eat Yourself

2. This is the Life - Amy MacDonald
Since randomly purchasing This is the Life at the end of the summer, I have been continuously coming back to this album. Amy MacDonald's Scottish voice carries an album of fantastic, fun songs. At the same time, her lyrics are powerful, most of them criticizing a life of power and riches that remains unfulfilled. On the song Footballer's Wife (my personal favorite on the album) Amy sings "oh i don't believe in the selling of your glories before you leave this life there's so much more to see, i don't believe this is how the world should be." While in itself a rather lame music video, go watch This is the Life just to catch the drift of what is Amy MacDonald.
Songs: Mr. Rock & Roll, This is the Life, Footballer's Wife

1. Fire Songs - The Watson Twins
Hands down the best album of the year. Before this album, Chandra and Leigh Watson's main appearance was on Rabbit Fur Coat, the first signs of Jenny Lewis's break with Rilo Kiley. While Rabbit Fur Coat was a strong album, it was truly Jenny Lewis's project. On Fire Songs, The Watson Twins finally get a crack at showing the world what they're made of. And boy do they do that. The harmonies are simply incredible, the instrumentation quite catchy (try getting How am I to be? out of your head), and the lyrics very well-written. Everyone should seriously put this album in and just play it several times through.
Songs: Lady Love Me, Just Like Heaven (a cover of the Cure), Map to Where You are, Bar Woman Blues