FREE Rocket Summer (His Instruments and Your Voices)

Attention all Bryce Avary fans: The Rocket Summer is giving away his(their?) new acoustic live album for free. You can download it here. This reminds me of the first time I heard of The Rocket Summer.

I think it was Kaitlyn Baldwin's dance group at camp dancing to "Around the Clock" on the chapel pews. Changed my life forever.

The Rocket Summer is made up of one guy: Bryce Avary. He sings, writes, and plays every instrument you hear on the recordings. I remember when I first heard his music, I wondered how he did it all live. I've seen him twice (maybe three times?) and he's played with a band each time.

BOTH times, the best part of the show was when he played the acoustic guitar (once in the midst of the crowd) by himself.

In the days of overproduced music, acoustic music performed by the main artist alone is an incredible experience. It's something that harkens back to the original days of vocal recitals.

There is a purity inside of the crowd knowing every lyric, every meaning, and hearing nothing but the artist's own musings. Rock concerts have brought something to the purity of classical vocal recitals: audience participation.

On the new TRS album, you can hear the crowd just as much as Bryce. So much so that he named it, "Bryce Avary, His Instruments and Your Voices"

It's really, really good.

-B

Also interesting, is this whole "giving away albums" common trend happening these days. If you can produce an album relatively cheaply and distribute it digitally, why not give it away? Artists don't make money from album sales anyway. IF you give it away, you can drum up enough of a following to make more money at live shows. Seems like eliminating the middle man of the record company may be closer and closer than ever.

The Gospel of GaGa

This morning, I watched Lady GaGa's Monster Ball Tour on HBO. I missed it the first time around and thought quickly enough to TiVo it for the second time.  Thank God HBO shows specials like MTV shows reality shows. If you are a fan of creative use of costumes, lighting, dancing, video, and curse words...you'll enjoy the show.  It is well done.

I feel like my feelings toward her "Judas," however, are more real than I might have expected.

As far as I can tell, GaGa exists for one purpose: to let everyone know that they should be who they are (and be proud of it) because God made them who they are and it's ok to be who you are because people told her she was nothing and then she went and became a star, and Superstardom should be the key to all good things so people should want to be like her and follow her.

Throughout the show (in which she constantly encourages the audience in regards to the aforementioned point of her existence), other than GaGa, one figure remains constant on stage.  It's a shirtless, long-haired electric guitar player who she readily refers to as Jesus, Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christo. To be fair, he kind of looks like what we typically think Jesus looked like (throwing away the notion that Jesus might have looked a lot like Osama bin Laden). In fact, at first I thought that that was why she called him Jesus.

But...it seemed to move from being a joke to being real.

I've heard many people discuss whether or not GaGa's message of "love all" is really the message of the Gospel or not.  I've heard people advocate that GaGa is spreading her own Gospel. I've expressed before how much I think the sexuality of her performances and videos depletes the value of her message.

I think one thing is clear: I think GaGa senses a sense of calling to be the voice for those who have been afraid to be themselves in this world.  I think she feels a need to speak up for those who have felt "oppressed." I think she thinks she is spreading the Gospel (however we are to define that word).

The problem for me, though, still lies in her follow through.

Everyone should appreciate who they are and who God made them to be: awesome.  People who feel attracted to members of the same sex should be able to live lives that aren't based in hiding those feelings: great. People should want to make something of themselves, especially when they've been told over and over that they will never be anything: fantastic.

But, why the crotch grabs? Why the F words? Why the suggestive nudity?  Why the mocking of religious attire and practice?

There's no doubt in my mind that Lady GaGa is extremely talented.  If it's not in her singing, then her dancing, If not in her dancing, then in her writing.  If not in her writing, then in her work ethic.  If not in her work ethic, then in her creativity.  If not in her creativity, then in her sense of "call."

She's got what it takes to make it.

But she's one of those rare artists that come along and gains rare stardom...and tries to use that fame and voice to speak a message. So her potential is not just for fame, her potential is for change. Imagine a world in which this potential is used in a proper way!

If her message were based in love and life, she'd have something. But it isn't.

She wants to be a voice for those disrespected by culture...but she cares more about those people following her than the purpose of the message. It's a fake-out, to the highest degree.

She has a voice that many in the church wish they had.  She even speaks some of the same language that they'd like to. But she's doing it in the wrong way. The potential for change is lost, ruined, and destroyed. Instead...she doesn't influence culture in the way that the Gospel is supposed to. She influences culture in the way that she wants to.

And because of that, I'd ask her to stop calling that guitar player, "Jesus."

-B

She's good, but she used to be better. Just watch:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM51qOpwcIM]

Still In Love With Judas

Gaga released her Judas Video (or at least the first one). It won't embed, but you can watch it here.

I've now watched it four times. Admittedly, I still don't really get it. Some of the online sources claim that she is playing Mary Magdalene. If she is, I'm not quite sure which Gospel she is reading.

I now think that her purpose in the video/song is to have an honest approach to being involved/in love with sin and evil while trying to follow the proper way. I get that, although I don't really.

Most interesting, the end of the video. I'm interpreting it as a statement about what society does to someone who is in love with evil. Strange representation of it, but I do think it is a strong statement.

I think, maybe, that if I saw Judas as the root of all evil, I'd understand the whole world and their stance on this song and the history of Jesus in a different way. But, I don't. I see Judas as a human being who made a mistake (but a mistake they may not have been in his control, because of it's foretelling in the prophets).

I think the world has equated Judas with evil, and GaGa is continuing this effort. In fact, she begins from this premise.

The problem for me is that the history of Christianity's relationship to Judaism (and especially events like the Holocaust) is sometimes attributed to Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. That outlook does nothing but tear down our world and the relations that people of other faiths have with each other.

For that reason, I choose not view Judas as the source of evil within the Passion narrative...and I think that adds to my inability to fully understand GaGa's "message." Stay tuned, this could get interesting.

-B

The Best American Idol

I got an email advertising this clip from YouTube tonight. Let's clear up a few things first: she sings the heck out of this. While she may be criticized for where she chooses to take breaths, it is beautifully and masterfully sung.

Watch the clip (it really is very good):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLLMzr3PFgk&]

However, along with this clip, within the email...was this proposition:

"PLEASE watch and listen to the attachment of Carrie Underwood singing her heart out on "How Great Thou Art", I first saw it on T.V. last Friday night and she brought tears to my eye's and the audience to there feet, and I'll bettcha God heard her in Heaven cause if you watch her closely as she sings, she was singing to Him........."

The thing is, the song is great. Carrie is great. It is well done by both her and Vince.

But I wonder if this song, in this context, is being performed as a hymn or simply as a spiritual song. Is there a difference?

I don't doubt that she was singing to "Him" but I wonder if the applause from that crowd was for God, or Carrie, or both.

An honest question, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

No matter who the applause and praise was for..."I bettcha God heard her in Heaven." I'm pretty sure God hears everything. Especially words sung in praise to God.

-B

Can The Church Be Innovative?

One of the best shows on TV, in my opinion, is Modern Family. But that's not the one I want to talk about. That is, also on ABC, Shark Tank.

For those who aren't familiar with the show, it goes a little something like this: An inventor or someone with a "good" idea or product needs financial help. They may need financial help to be bailed out of the debt they've incurred upon themselves, they may need it to grow the business. Whatever the case, they need financial help for their business and so they seek an investor to invest in them and their product in exchange for a percentage of equity in the company or product.

Think of it like this: Joe Schmo makes really cool socks. And his sock business has been booming. It's been selling so well that he cannot meet the orders that he is getting, and so he is forced to make customers wait for the product (weeks, maybe months...sound familiar Apple?). So, in order to meet demand and not turn customers away, he comes and asks the group of investors (referred to as "Sharks" on the show) for, let's say, $50,000 in exchange for 20% of his business. The idea is that the idea and product are so good that with the Sharks' help, the business will grow and both people will make lots of money.

In fact, that's the goal...make money. One shark in particular, Kevin O'Leary, makes that point very clear. He isn't interested in stories of heartache and suffering. If he can't make money, he isn't interested at all, no matter whose feelings he hurts.

I've struggled with why I like this show so much.

I think it is exciting. I think it is a neat idea, and to be honest...when a really good idea comes along, the show is breathtaking.

Then, last night I was reminded of one of Jesus' message while putting away laundry watching Godspell. You know the one, about not serving two masters...God and money in Matthew 6. The Greek word used is "μαμωνα" which I think is borrowed from Aramaic and is most often translated "money" or "wealth."

If we agree to work off of that translation (and not the one of the personified Mammona), we can see the rationale for people in ministry attempting to live a life of non-wealth (I personally think that describing American pastors as living a life of "poverty" is unfair and untrue). We can understand why many pastors and Christians get upset at pastors like Joel Osteen. We can also see why many pastors feel comforted when they hear of Rick Warren serving his church for free (although let's be real, Warren is making plenty with his book...it's just that by most accounts he tries to tithe most of it back to the church).

Keeping that in mind, back to Shark Tank. As someone who admittedly has issues with the wealth of the world and collecting products (I should really count how many Apple products I own sometime), my first reaction to this realization that these two worlds might possibly be incompatible was to come down on myself as being a gluttonous pig. While I'm not saying that isn't true, it still didn't feel like the right answer to me.

So I thought, what is it that I like about Shark Tank? Why am I so intrigued by Apple and the tech industry?

I realized: innovation.

I like the idea of progress. I like the idea of humans using their minds to be creative. I like the idea of humans truly pursuing their callings by inventing things. And I'm not saying all innovation is good, but I do think it has helped all of our lives (even those who think that things were always more authentic and better way back when). Some forget that the very Scriptures we read were written down on a paper like material...and copied over and over, all a form of technological progress.

And that's why I like Shark Tank. The people that come and bring in companies and products are innovating, for the most part.

But it occurred to me, the world and life-centering ideology of money and the inspiration for innovation go hand in hand. In our capitalistic American society, people innovate because they want to find a way to sell their invention and make money...lots of it (and save me the arguments about people like Jonas Salk, who are obviously the exception to the rule).

And if we function off of the rationale that these two function together, my question becomes: where is the Church? Are people inspired to innovate for the Church?

There was a time when the Church influenced the culture. Sometimes, that was paired with the Church ruling over others' lives without their sayso or freedom. Today, the Church doesn't seem to have much influence on the culture.

It seems to me, in these days, that the Church has also lost its interest in innovation. We study tradition (for good reason) and then sometimes we sit by the tradition and have it speak for itself. But we have forgotten that the Gospel is what needs to speak for itself. While the tradition of the Church has brought quite a bit of positive influence of the Church, it has also destroyed many many many people's faith in God. Our tradition is good, but it is also bad.

The churches that ARE innovating these days are drawing large crowds. And they get looked down on for that. Unfortunately, because often these churches have innovated in new forms of worship with the intention of drawing more people in, to collect more money. They sell their products outside the services. (I can't remember so well, but I seem to remember Jesus not liking that idea.) So these churches aren't truly innovating for the church, they're innovating like Americans innovate...for money and money alone (and probably to "save souls").

Maybe, then, the question is less about the Church innovating...and more about letting the Gospel innovate through the Church. At least, I sure hope that's what it is.

-B

Two Worlds Clashing

I preach to the music team at the church I work at all the time about the change that has occurred in how music is written over the past 50-100 years. I have a classical music education but typically lead worship in the contemporary tradition (ha! right?) on a weekly basis. I've seen the crossover from voice-written pieces to organ-written pieces to piano-written pieces to guitar-written pieces.  There is both quality material and crap in ALL categories.

I have often expressed before, here, how much I care about the progressive church. At our church we try to find a nice balance between all of these worlds.  It's a new experience for me and something I am not always successful with.

When we do hymns at church (you know, out of those little books that sit in the pew in front of you) I typically rely on my figured bass (I mean, it's not figured bass but that training comes to my rescue in a huge way) reading skills to play along to the hymns on the guitar.  I am, at times, more successful at some than others.

I HAD to share this.

This song moves quickly, has a lot of running parts and the chords don't transfer to the guitar well.  So, of course I went on CCLI and looked up a chord chart to see if they had one.

I was blown away.

I'm a fan of simplicity (welcome, Apple) and so this type of visual organization drives me crazy anyway, but this was crazy.  I'm all about trying to take the good out of the old and moving it forward (we all do this in some way or another) but often times it ends up like this:

How is ANYONE who knows how to read music or, especially...doesn't, going to be able to follow that? Unbelievable work.  Unbelievable.

I'll probably get in trouble (with CCLI) for posting this, but it was too good to pass up.

-B

Goodbye Music Industry?

About a year ago, Mashable posted the Infographic below.  I'll explain what it is, then you can have a look at it. It outlines how digital music has affected the music industry's profit models. With the advent of streaming services becoming more and more prevalent in our worlds and lives, you can quickly see how many times an artist has to have their song aired on a streaming service to make minimum wage ($1160 a month).

However, it is a bit of a loaded graphic because EVERYONE knows that artists don't make their money from album sales, they make it from touring and getting other artists to sing their songs (royalties is where the money is).

Another point to throw out as well: is the invention of home recording software making it easier and easier for artists to create their own work and sell it? Are independent artists able to market themselves like record companies can market? Can streaming music services like Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, and Mog help do some of marketing for an independent artist?  You can probably answer all of these yourself. You will probably notice that these answers don't really correspond or get along with each other.

I think the bottom line is this: while record companies have been getting rich off of artists' talent for years because they were willing to risk the capital up front, they have been unable to continue on that profit path because the original Napster and other P2P networks came through and made it incredibly easy to steal (I have argued before that this might be because the record companies failed to innovate). Trying to find a way to fix this, companies that didn't care about the profitability of the record companies (like iTunes by Apple) came through and figured out a way to do this digital download stuff legally.

Record companies lost out. Because of that, artists lost out. And because those responsible for the content creation have let others innovate for them, they've lost even more.

Friends, it is time for the music industry to innovate with new models THAT THEY CONTROL of profit gain so that they can be sustainable.  If this doesn't happen soon, the whole industry might close up shop.

See graphic below.-B

I Had To Jump...

...off of the GaGa train. First, it was this.

Then her new single, "Judas" came out. I don't know exactly how I define "antichrist" but I'm starting to believe that GaGa is getting scary close.

I've  sifted through these lyrics over and over trying to find a different way to interpret it. Can't. Do. It.

She mixes all kinds of stories centering around Jesus to point to (I think) the fact that she is in love with some sort of sin. I get that. But I think it was poorly timed with Holy Week (I'm sure that's exactly why they did that) but I think she has mixed a few too many things with a story I'm not positive she has complete understanding of.

Proof point: "In the most Biblical sense, I am beyond repentance."

Hopefully someone can enlighten my interpretation of the song. I'd like to a hear a non-biased interpretation that finds her point among the trash mixed in.

I choose not to post the lyrics.  Find them yourself.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAWpkZSCMXU]

-B

How Hard Is It To Get Into PS22?

PS22 choir singing at the Lincoln Center for an Eric Whitacre event. Singing the arrangement of "Daniel" from one of the last videos I posted. Personally, I think this soloist is much better.

Interesting to see their teacher playing on what looks like at least a 9 foot Steinway grand piano standing up trying to play/direct.

If you get to the end of the song, you'll see Eric Whitacre's visit to the green room. Seems like a cool guy.

If you didn't already know, Whitacre is a big fan of YouTube and different ways for choirs to interact with each other. I think it is particularly interesting that PS22, who have a different approach to choral singing (specifically in younger children), and Eric Whitacre, who has a different approach to choral arranging and is becoming fairly progressive with the use of technology to move the art form forward, are together here. I'd love to see Eric work with these kids and the fruits that would come from this work. As far as I'm concerned, there are big talents here.

Still love the arrangement.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECa1ITTG_as&]

And oh yeah, how hard is it to get into PS22? Evidently...pretty hard.

-B

Stop The Bullying

When P!nk's song "Perfect" released, I knew it'd be huge. In P!nk's music video, she tells the story of a cutter, someone who is depressed about who they are and where they are. The idea of the song is that whoever you are, you are beautiful and perfect. The video tells the story in a graphical way. I really enjoy following Ahmir on YouTube. They are an R&B group that does a lot of covers and posts them on YouTube. Phenomenal singers.

This video, a cover of "Perfect" uses the words of the songs to speak out not about a woman who isn't good enough, but rather about children who are being bullied in our communities. It stretches out and includes racial and ethnic backgrounds.

It's well done and pleads with the emotions of the viewer.

What I love so much is the phrase that came up at the credits, "Bullying is a learned behavior." Because of that, I believe bullying to be entirely preventable.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gliHyklHr6c&]

Those bullied must be taught to speak up. Both for themselves or others. Those who bully must be taught that their self worth does not come from their humiliation of a classmate.

Once our culture learns to treat each other with respect, dignity, and love, we will find that our true sense of self worth comes from a higher source and not from any comparison here on earth.

People deserve to be treated like people.

That's true in oppressive countries. That's true in countries without basic amenities. That's true in areas with hate crimes. That's true in our churches.

And it is definitely true in our nation's schools.

If our children learn this behavior, they might never unlearn it.

I've been bullied. And I've bullied. If one thing is true, it's that this isn't just a problem with our children. It's a problem with our culture. And it's our problem. And we've got to own that. Immediately.

Stop the bullying. Now. StopBullying.gov

-B

The New Music Business

20110408-105413.jpg

Mashable posted the above graph earlier today outlining what would have happened if peer-to-peer file sharing services such as Napster, Morpheus, LimeWire, Vuze, etc had never existed. Given the above chart, the support seems to be in the music industry's favor.

They claim a loss of $55 billion since the inception of Napster. They are suing LimeWire right now for a loss of income (and thus a decline of the business model) and if guilty, LimeWire is going to owe Sony and Warner in the billions of dollars. Billions, with a "B" as Kevin O'Leary says.

This story reminds me of when Bon Jovi blamed Steve Jobs as having single-handedly killed the music industry. If anything (given the chart above), Steve Jobs helped give the industry a fighting chance.

To me, this brings up several questions regarding the role of technological innovation in the production of content.

Are the file sharing companies responsible for the dying business model? Or is the music industry's refusal to move forward, with thoughts and progression technologically, to blame?

I'm not quite sure of the answer here. There is no doubt in my mind that the file sharing services have hurt the industry, but digital music was becoming more relevant with the iPod and all of a sudden carrying your entire CD collection around with you (having to switch cds in and out) seemed impractical. The music companies were against this entire process because it placed music files into places where they could not only be shared (no one has ever borrowed someone else's cd right?) but edited, morphed, and uploaded to sites like YouTube.

It made the music...interactive.

Napster (and those like it) created a sense in America that you didn't have to pay for content. iTunes has successfully changed that. But, they neglected the idea of an album to do it.

So, in a sense, Steve Jobs did ruin the music business (because the entire industry was based upon selling $15 cds that people bought to hear 2 or three songs).

Or, if you are me, you see it as progress of technology blowing open a lucrative business model that was based off selling things to people that they didn't want, and then jacking up the price.

It would be as if the grocery store told you you could only buy the good bananas if you bought a group of them (of which only two were really enticing) and they charged you $15 for the group. If people could find a way to get the bananas one at a time, they would (even if it meant stealing). Either that or the banana business would go downhill.

And, that, is why bananas are sold by what you choose, by the weight. You only pay for what you like.

If the music industry would wake up to this reality, their business model would change and again be able to afford to stay in business and grow. I love the music industry, so I hope they do.

Sometimes things change. You must change with it or it will redefine you. And then you die.

-B

Friday by Rebecca Black

I really enjoy quality art. This is soooooo good, I had to share. True talent only comes along so often, and this is really a great example of this fact.

What an inspirational piece. This song really moved me to the core.

What an artist.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0&]

-B

Can anyone confirm if this is real or not? Like for real.

In case the depth of lyrical interpretation went way over your head like it did me, I've also included the lyrics below. True, true poetry:

(Yeah, Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah-Ark) Oo-ooh-ooh, hoo yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah Yeah-ah-ah Yeah-ah-ah Yeah-ah-ah Yeah-ah-ah Yeah, yeah, yeah

[Verse 1] 7am, waking up in the morning Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal Seein’ everything, the time is goin’ Tickin’ on and on, everybody’s rushin’ Gotta get down to the bus stop Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends)

Kickin’ in the front seat Sittin’ in the back seat Gotta make my mind up Which seat can I take?

It’s Friday, Friday Gotta get down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend Friday, Friday Gettin’ down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Fun, fun, fun, fun Lookin’ forward to the weekend

[ Verse 2] 7:45, we’re drivin’ on the highway Cruisin’ so fast, I want time to fly Fun, fun, think about fun You know what it is I got this, you got this My friend is by my right I got this, you got this Now you know it

Kickin’ in the front seat Sittin’ in the back seat Gotta make my mind up Which seat can I take?

[Chorus] It’s Friday, Friday Gotta get down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend Friday, Friday

Gettin’ down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Fun, fun, fun, fun Lookin’ forward to the weekend

[Bridge] Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin’) We-we-we so excited We so excited We gonna have a ball today

Tomorrow is Saturday And Sunday comes after...wards I don’t want this weekend to end

[Rap Verse] R-B, Rebecca Black So chillin’ in the front seat (In the front seat) In the back seat (In the back seat) I’m drivin’, cruisin’ (Yeah, yeah) Fast lanes, switchin’ lanes Wit’ a car up on my side (Woo!) (C’mon) Passin’ by is a school bus in front of me Makes tick tock, tick tock, wanna scream Check my time, it’s Friday, it’s a weekend We gonna have fun, c’mon, c’mon, y’all

[Chorus]

It’s Friday, Friday Gotta get down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend Friday, Friday Gettin’ down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Fun, fun, fun, fun Lookin’ forward to the weekend

It’s Friday, Friday Gotta get down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend Friday, Friday Gettin’ down on Friday Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah) Fun, fun, fun, fun Lookin’ forward to the weekend