Mike Scott has always had a little Jagger swagger, fancying himself a rock n roll troubadour, yachtsman’s cap and all. It’s not definitional, per se, to his wide-ranging song-writing cannon, but it’s there in anthems such as “The Whole of the Moon,” “Everything is Rags,” and, most notably, “The Big Music.” Nearly two decades ago …
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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 a mostly …
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 to …
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 down …
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 friend John and I ditched the group and headed to the …
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 Without – The War …
This Youtube currently making the rounds in the blogosphere juxtaposes quotes from self-professed Christian elected officials about their love of Ayn Rand and quotes from Rand herself during an interview with Mike Wallace. That the religious right would embrace not just a self-avowed atheist, but one whose atheism was rooted in the notion that religion …
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 monotony of industrial, …
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 refused …
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 questions such as …
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 the …
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. . . . .
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, Author …
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 artist …
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Thanks to Mitch Hurst for this link: New Dominionists: Meet the Christian Couple Behind the Right’s Most Viral Videos – News – GOOD
Why is African-American gospel music of the forties and fifties, and for that matter, white country gospel music of the same time, usually perceived by critics to be more real, vital, culturally-significant, lasting and better than the Christian Contemporary Music which immediately followed thereon? Chris Estey – I could write a book. Wait, I am. …
“Scorpio Rising” was the single off 10KM’s “The Wishing Chair” and had a video to accompany it which was so forgettable no one has even bothered to resurrect it on Youtube. I saw it in those days at Chicago club, Berlin, under the Belmont El Stop, across from Tuts/Avalon, while hanging with Mitch Hurst and …