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A Tribute To My Uncle

// February 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // reflections // reflections

This morning around 3 a.m, my Uncle Hubert passed away.  He’s the second one of my great uncles to pass away in the past year, so Greensburg, Kentucky (I was shocked too that Greensburg had its own Wikipedia page.) is grieving the loss of  two great men.

When someone mentions a  “good ‘ol country boy,” I immediately think of Uncle Hubert.  He was a gentle, caring man who had these amazing mutton chops sideburns and who would greet me with one hand a powerful handshake and the other hand a comforting pat on the shoulder.  He almost always had a smile on his face.

Growing up, my siblings and I spent some time on his farm. I have several fond memories of our time there.  I even can look back at nearly decapitating myself running into a wire strewn across the driveway in a positive light.

I shared this song a few months ago and I’ll post it again because it brings me comfort in times like this.  It helps me keep things in proper perspective.  I wrote it for aunt who passed away just over 10 years ago.

The song talks about the hope I have in life after death. I hope you enjoy the words. I wrote the song between my aunt’s death and her funeral and the only time I’ve played it for anyone was during the actual service.  Below are the lyrics and the rough audio is available here if you want to hear how the song goes (pitch and off-key as all get out).

::transcending 47 (a celebratory hymn)::

open shades
of the window
illuminsence
it fills the sky
rooted safely
minded love
intent eyes upon
the fading horizon

praises ring from all that i see
voices sing from the depths of my heart

a rusty moon
now an azure sky
and fields of grain
with the One Love
i’ll remain
enthralled
visions of light
beam before me

praises ring from all that i see
voices sing from the depths of my heart

time to sit
and be content
with joy
glistening glory
listening the silent vows
intermittent hands
fingers to thumb
melding the body of life

and how can i be
waiting here for You
in this love
endless love

and saving grace has brought a peace
everlasting, everlasting

(philippians 4.7)

The Political Lens Principle

// February 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // reflections // reflections

I’m watching the Health Care Summit right now  and a few things hit me.

  1. If this is typical of how things work in Congress, I’m glad I’ve never watched it before.
  2. Since they get paid to speak, I would expect nationally elected speakers to be better speakers.
  3. Applying the Lens Principle to what politicians say can lead to a black hole in brain function.

Many years ago, I learned about the Lens Principle.  I learned it the way a lot of us are exposed to life’s lessons, the hard way, through experience.  I didn’t know what it was called at the time, but I figured out that a lot of the stuff that irritates you about other people are things you don’t like about yourself.  That is a crude interpretation of the Lens Principle but that’s how I phrased it.

Generally speaking, if someone has a hard time trusting other people’s word, they tend to not be trustworthy in themselves.   This also applies to the way we interpret other people’s motives.

It wasn’t until I started studying John Maxwell (you can follow John on twitter @JohnCMaxwell) that I learned a better name (and phrasing) of this idea: The Lens Principle.  Thanks to Google Books, you can read about it yourself in Winning With People.  The chapter is only 9 pages long, so it’s a quick read.

“Who We Are Determines How We See Others.”

“Who you are determines the way see everything.”

So back to the Health Care Summit, listening to politicians attack each other and talk about underhanded tricks or backdoor deals makes me wonder about where they’re coming from.

I wonder if  this is what Otto von Bismarck was thinking about when he famously said:

“Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.” ~Otto von Bismarck

The 15 Most Anticipated Albums of 2010

// February 24th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // lists, music, videos // lists, music, videos

I’ve been working on this post on and off for almost 2 months now. Well, mainly off, but here’s to a great year in music, I hope.  2009 came and went and we saw some tremendous albums releases.  We’re just a few weeks into a new month, a new year, and [possibly] a new decade.

The isn’t a ranked list, most of this is in the order in which I wrote it.   Pretty much all these bands have some new material or teaser material one or more of their sites.

Standing Small – unknown (first half of 2010?)

The as-yet-to-be-titled Double CD should be released this year.  The band should be close to finish recording the tracks and send it off to be mixed and masterered next month.

One of the least well-known bands on the list, I was fortunate enough to catch these guys play with Cool Hand Luke a couple years ago.  And I have yet to be disappointed in any band that CHL tours with.  It’s acoustic-based, reminds me of the softer-side of CHL, and chock-full of talented musicianship with ample amounts of biblical truth.  Musically, they have grown tremendously since Sister Wisdom and I hope the trend continues onto the new record.

Check out “Call In The Troops,” presumably from their upcoming release.

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Mark Nicks of Cool Hand Luke – Of Man/Live CD

I’m usually a big fan of whatever music Mark makes.   I’m sure this will be no different.  Though the overall sound of the band (and now it’s just Mark) has changed over the years, Mark has a way of taking truth, some complex, some simple, and wrapping it with passionate music that makes me want to sing from the bottom of my lungs.

Mark’s working on two albums for the year.  One is a concept record about the Passion and the other is a live recording of Cool Hand Luke songs.

Check out a song from the Passion project called “Of Man.”

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The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang (June 15, 2010)

Their last album (The ‘59 Sound) was one of my favorite albums of 2008.  It is still on my Walkman.  I can’t get enough of Brian Fallon’s gritty vocals and their Jersey Shore (not the “reality show” on MTV) sound.

The lyrics, which hold more substance and more thoughtful than most, often contain references to literature, music , and movies.

This is the opening track off their last album.

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Desoto Jones – unknown

They are without a doubt the best band on Deep Elm.  They are also genuinely nice guys.  It’s unusual for a band of brothers to be able to make great music.  Owen’s lyrics are an amazing display of hope and a positive attitude that is absent in a lot of indie rock.  They released a few mp3’s on their website last year (that have since been removed) but Ean (the bassist) gave me permission to post this song.

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The Influence – unknown (Spring 2010)

I was shocked to find that this band has only been around for 3 years.  They have a great blues/rock/grunge/70’s vibe to them and I can’t wait to hear more of the new stuff. You can hear the softer side of the band here and one of the best songs released last year here.

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¶Sunny Day Real Estate – unknown

One of my biggest musical regrets is not going to Atlanta to see these guys rock out last year. They’re touring and writing a new album now.  It’s sure to have that signature SDRE sound. Here’s one of the better videos for their song called “10″

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I’m sure missing a few.  But these are the albums that I am looking forward to the most.  Undoubtedly there will be others and new discovering.  Some will be delayed, some bands might break up.  Some might be horrible.  But I remain hopeful.

Grammatrain – unknown

Their EP Kneeling Between Shields was great.  I was fortunate enough to grab my copy before it sold out.  It still sounded like Grammtrain despite being 10 years since Flying came out, but it didn’t sound stale.  It was what Grammatrain should sound like.  Note: the singer/guitarist Pete Stewart (no relation) is also releasing a solo record next month.  You can listen to the whole thing on his site.

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¶Anberlin – unknown (September 2010)

This album should be less poppy & deeper than “New Surrender” Their first major label release lacked the elements that made their previous efforts good, solid CD’s.  Hopefully this won’t end up on the most disappointing albums of 2010.

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E for Explosion – Why do i keep hitting myself with a hammer? ‘Cause it feels so good when i stop…

The best thing to come out of Kentucky since me.  Just kidding. With all humility aside.  I found this gem called “I Explode” (free download) and fell in love with band.

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Foxhole – unknown (first half of 2010)

I went to school with a couple of these guys and was good friends with the bassist.  I lost touch with him since then, but I’ve kept up with the band.  They are currently writing a new album. which is, unfortunately, their last record (probably).  They are an instrumental band that’s so good, you don’t even miss the vocals. Although I do have an old recording from the late 90’s that does feature vocals.

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¶Coheed And Cambria – “Year of the Black Rainbow” (April 2010)

This will be the prequel and let’s hope Claudio & Co. do a better job than George Lucas did with Stars Wars. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait 20 years for this.  You can listen to “The Broken” on their site now.

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¶The Classic Crime – Vagabonds (April 6, 2010)

Twitter has kept me high on anticipation on this release.  “The Silver Cord” was an amazing album and they avoided the all-too-often sophomore slump. The title track from the song is giving room for hesitation and doubt to creep in. But that was  based on this acoustic radio performance.  Of note, all the profits from pre-orders of the new album will go to Haiti relief.

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¶U2 – Songs of Ascent (June 2010? or 2015)

I was disappointed in their last album, “No Line On The Horizon” but perhaps this one will be among their better albums. Recently there have been talks that the album might be delayed so the band can make it better.

Check out “Winter” which is supposedly going to be on the new album.

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These next few are a throwback.  I have this theory that the music you identify most and are drawn to is what you listened to when you were in or within a couple years of high school.  I think this holds true unless you listen to mainstream radio.  (This can also be attributed to when I had the mental acuity to discern what good music really was)

Stone Temple Pilots – untitled (May/June 2010)

I know this won’t sound like Core or Purple, but I can still expect a more-than-just-decent album.  The album is mastered and I guess we’ll hear what’s in store.

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Soundgarden – unknown

Thank you. some of the best news of the new year was this simple message posted by Chris Cornell on New Year’s Eve.  Chris has garnered the unusual achievement of having success with more than one band, but I am excited to hear what the new stuff is going to be.

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