A year-and-a-half ago I walked into the legendary Berlin nightclub on Belmont Street in Chicago for the first time in probably two decades. A bit of expansion, some needed touch-ups to the restrooms, but for the most part the place retained the charm the key value that made me a straight regular at . . . → Read More: The Waterboys – The Whole of the Moon, By Mitch Hurst
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I suppose we humans like our numbers rounded. There’s a reason there’s no 49 dollar bill. But when it comes to age, it seems rather pointless to place emphasis on an event simply because it ends in a zero. But society has protocols with which we must comply, so I shall do my best . . . → Read More: On 50: A Partial Self-Obituary, By Mitch Hurst I kinda got off the Springsteen bandwagon back around Born in the USA [with the exception of The Seeger Sessions]. The new record, Wrecking Ball, is pretty good. It has flashes of the old stuff, the soul that we heard on The River and even Greetings from Asbury Park. The production isn’t as stripped . . . → Read More: Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball – Mini Review By Mitch Hurst
Resurrection Band on what looks like the Chicago elevated train. In the fall of 1983, a group of classmates from the Moody Bible Institute went to see The Resurrection Band play a live show at the Odeon, a suburban Chicago venue that often featured the latest in Christian contemporary bands. At the show my . . . → Read More: CCM and Me – One Christian Discovers the Smiths and All Hell Breaks Loose, By Mitch Hurst Here’s the 11 recordings I listened to most this year, which would be a small indication that they’re my favorites: - Explosions in the Sky: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care - Sigur Rós: Inni [Live] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcbLIO1bQ-Q - The Horrors: Skying - Bon Iver: Bon Iver - Washed Out: Within and . . . → Read More: The 11 Best Recordings of 2011, By Mitch Hurst When you get to be my age much of the experience of listening to new music is about reference points. I remember a half-decade ago hearing for the first time the song Munich by the Birmingham, England-based Editors, a dark, muscular band that managed to evoke all the grime and grit, the . . . → Read More: The Chapel Club – Surfacing and Backstage Acoustic Show at Leeds Festival, By Mitch Hurst Rick Reilly, the Wrestler, and Doubting the “Courage” of Conviction ESPN columnist Rick Reilly did something rare last week. He criticized a decision that had been made out of religious conviction. Reilly takes a male wrestler to task for refusing to hit the mat with a girl during the Iowa state finals. Joel Northrup . . . → Read More: Christian Boy Refuses to Wrestle Powerful Girl: Where is God When it Hurts to Lose? by Mitch Hurst In spring of 2001 I developed a ritual. On weekends when my wife, pregnant at the time, was traveling for work, I would sit on our terrace with a cigar and a glass of Knob Creek. The unobstructed skyline view of my adopted city of Chicago provided a more-than-suitable backdrop for pondering . . . → Read More: Mogwai, Family Dancing and Aging Musical Tastes, by Mitch Hurst As a post-believer raised in the Christian fundamentalist tradition, I maintain connection with my believing past through observing the evolution of Christian conservatism, particularly as it has become indistinguishable from modern Republicanism. [Note: I do not assume every Christian Conservative identifies as a Republican, but I am referring to the almost complete overlap of . . . → Read More: Bachmann Overdrive: Ex-Fundamentalist Sees Michelle Bachmann as an Unlikely and Self-Serving Ally of Fully Politicized Christianity, by Mitch Hurst Conor O’Brien fronts [is, really] the Irish band Villagers. O’Brien is a contemplative sort, and his darkly lyrical songs reflect an inward focus, perhaps a healthy type of narcissism. If there is such a thing. Wikipedia entry here –> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villagers_%28band%29 - Mitch Hurst, Author of the fine blog, Exbaptist. . . . . . . . → Read More: The Villagers – Becoming A Jackal on Later Live…with Jools Holland, by Mitch Hurst The folk band British Sea Power composed a soundtrack for the 1934 British film Man of Aran and performed it live during a showing of the film at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2008. Thankfully, the band recorded the composition in its entirety. This clip captures what became an exquisite mashup. - Mitch Hurst, . . . → Read More: British Sea Power composes haunting soundtrack for 1934 film, Man of Aran – by Mitch Hurst From an album called “Learning” by Seattle singer/songwriter Mike Hedreas, aka Perfume Genius. From the limited information found online about Hedreas, it appears he wrote the album — hence the title — to come to terms with difficult issues from his past. There are times when listening to a record you can tell the . . . → Read More: Perfume Genius – Mr. Peterson, by Mitch Hurst |
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