Tuesdays with Morris

Last night, I went to see the David Crowder Band at Emens Auditorium. It was an incredible concert. Well, I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t care much for the opening band. The lead vocalist had one of those growly, rough, “I listen to Creed and Nickleback” voices. And, that was pretty weird, considering his speaking voice gave me the impression that he was a big fan of productions like High School Musical and Rent. Ouch! That was mean…I’m sorry. But, not sorry enough to delete it (so, that probably implies that I’m really not too sorry). Hunter Smith, of the Indianapolis Colts, spoke between the opening band and Crowder. He actually gave a pretty good talk about not aspiring to the worlds wisdom and virtues…but to seek God. He did go on a little rant about politics that clearly showed his conservative Christian, far-right leanings…which at a Christian concert gets a lot of “amens”. Sidenote: I wonder if conservative Christians would denounce talks of political “change” as much if McCain had won…given that he and Palin also talked about the need for “change”??? Back to the concert…

Crowder did the “You are my joy” song. As I was listening, I began to think about what brings me joy. Of course, I can give the appropriate church answer…”God gives me joy…church gives me joy,” and so on. And those are true. But, I also find joy in my wife and daughter! I find joy in my friends. I find joy in well-crafted hop products (last night that happened to be a Leffe Blond). I find joy in reading, writing, music…There are numerous ways I find great joy. Ultimately, God is the source of all joy. He is present in my wife, my daughter, my friends (whether they recognize that or not), in well-crafted goods, and so on.

So, I’ll ask this question: What do you find joy in today?

I saw this the other night on the Colbert report and thought this was absolutely hilarious! Watch the whole thing…the song at the end is amazing! Frankly, I think Colbert’s harmonies are pretty solid (well, he kind of goes off a bit towards the end). Please enjoy!

If you’re a music geek (like me), I have a program for you. Now, let me be clear, to fully qualify as a music geek…you must have a fond appreciation for classical music (no, Poison, Quiet Riot, and Zepplin do not count as classical music). So, if you’re a “music geek” without an appreciation for classical music…well, I hate to burst your bubble…but, you’re not truly a music geek. Instead, you’re a music appreciator, but not a geek. So, if you just listen to indie music and scowl at anything on a label larger than Matador…don’t bother following the link I’ll provide…the fun will be lost on you…And, you probably won’t have a chance.

Every Wednesday night, on my way home from WNL, I turn on my local NPR station to listen to Piano Puzzlers on Performance Today. It’s absolutely incredible. A pianist/composer (Bruce Adolphe) takes a familiar folk or pop tune and sets it inside a classical masterpiece (or in the style of a particular composer). Sometimes it’s easy…sometimes it’s ridiculously difficult. There are days when I say, “got it” on the first pass. Then there are days when I say, “what the heck?” And, more often than not, I’m able to get either the popular/folk tune or the composer.

This is sad to admit, but there are nights when I’ll slow down on the drive home or sit in the car in the driveway to finish an episode. In fact, I get a little worked up if someone stops me after WNL…as I might miss the beginning of Piano Puzzlers (it usually hits around 8:20pm on our local station).

Take a listen to some of the archives and see if you can figure it out! It’s really cool…but probably only appreciated by music geeks (the kind of people that listen to NPR for their musical programs and not just the snipets of cool indie rock between segments on All Things Considered…which is a great show too).

Play Piano Puzzlers HERE!

If you’re a bit of a music snob (like myself), and you have children (like myself), you may have deep convictions about allowing your child to listen to much of the music that is offered to babies and toddlers. Baby Einstein, the Wiggles, and numerous others definitely make me ask the question, “Is this what I want my daughter listening to?” Honestly, every time I hear some of these poorly produced children’s music albums, I cringe at the thought that my daughter might actually enjoy listening to these songs.

But, yesterday, Emily and I may have found the answer in Rockabye Baby! This is a project that takes some of my favorite artists tunes and puts them into “lullaby” versions…mainly featuring percussion ensemble instrumentation (marimba, vibes, etc). I love it. I’d listen to it even if I didn’t have a child. My favorites are Radiohead, Coldplay, and the Pixies! I also find AC/DC and Metallica hilarious! Be sure to check it out!

Sammie rockin’ out in the music room!

I don’t spend much time in the car. However, when I do find myself in an automobile, one of the first things I do is turn on the radio. If I’m alone, my second step is to turn the volume up to a “more-than-comfortable” setting. Typically, my radio will be tuned to NPR or some college radio station.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how I could use my time in the car more productively. Rather than listening to in-depth reports about how messed up things are with our government, environment, economy, etc…I could use the time to focus on something more positive. Rather than listening to a lot of sub-standard indie rock…I could use this time to focus on something more uplifting.

So, over the last two weeks, I’ve been tuning into Christian radio stations. My line of thought is that the positive messages of the Christian music and dialogue would charge my spirit. One thing I learned within the first day is, with our local Christian stations, I can pretty much only handle K-Love. They tend to sprinkle in more Crowder, Robbie Seay, Switchfoot, and other tolerable, modern Christian acts than the other stations. And, I also realized that I need to mute the channel when the DJ’s start their banter. My goodness, I never thought I’d find dialogue more annoying than what I find on WLBC (104.1 in East Central Indiana)…But, Christian radio has come through and delivered me into a land more pestiferous than local Top 40 radio.

Here’s what I’ve found…Over the last two weeks, I’ve found myself ignoring and turning off the radio on a much more frequent basis. There are times in which I just can’t take it any more…This usually occurs when Sandi Patty, Avalon, Point of Grace, 4Him, FFH, or Steven Curtis Chapman make their regular appearance.

Also, I’ve found that my spirit is often charged…just not in the positive way I was hoping for! Unfortunately, I find myself getting irrate and irritated listening to the Christian radio stations. I find much of the music to be so sub-standard that I wonder if God’s really getting the glory for it. I often find myself wondering if God is listening in and asking, “Is this the best you’ve got?” Too often while listening to Christian music, I get on my soapbox…proclaiming that Christian music should be the best music out there due to the subject matter. But, unfortunately, I can usually spot a Christian music station within 4 seconds due to the production quality and overall cheesiness of the product. This often troubles me. Then only thing that offends me more than the dialogue of the DJ’s and much of the awful music is the talk show hosts. I’ve yet to listen to a program that has offered positive and helpful alternatives to the topics the hosts seem to be attacking. I could go on for hours and hours.

So, this week, when I find myself in any automobile, I will only listen to CD’s or playlists of my choosing. Unfortunately, I often find the “secular” music I consume to be much more uplifting than any thing the Christian radio stations have to offer.