a coherent collection of random statements regarding God, words and tunes

OK, I'm calling it...

     There's really no need to wait. Having spent a lot of time this week absorbing the low-key Joyceanism that IS Kate Bush's Aerial (while pretty much alienating the remainder of my family in the process ), I can safely say my #1 is still in place.

     As for Kate's latest, think: The Sensual World, take away the "Love and (the) Anger" (and the utterly sublime "Reaching Out," for that matter -- but definitely leave in "This Woman's Work"), build it into a album-long suite, take the pieces that don't quite fit and make another album out of that, and that's pretty much Aerial. You can decide for yrself where to go from there. All I can add from there is: It sounds better loud, and played late at night. Lots of minor moments, no major ones.

     So, in this most transitional and interesting of years, wherein my non-Christian listening habits were easily the highest they've been in the last five years, it was yet nonetheless and yet again a "Christian" album that topped the list (although I'd still be surprised to find in one o' them there Christian bookshoppes).

     First, a few moments to list some albums that I discovered this year (really, since this summer) that didn't come out in 2005 but affected me greatly (and again, the Loveland Public Library been beddy, beddy good to me in this regard):

     Patti Smith -- Trampin' (had I found it when it came out last year, it've given Mike & Mark's Fun with Sound a run for its money for Album of the Year)

     Steve Earle -- Jerusalem (has probably done nearly as much to liberalize certain of my views as watching certain Republicans has )

     Uncle Tupelo -- 89/93: An Anthology (wherein the sum is clearly WAY more than its Wilco/Son Volt parts)

     The Waterboys -- A Rock in the Weary Land (a wonderful, overlooked classic -- not quite on the level of the first four Waterboys albums, but danged close)

     Richard Thompson -- Mock Tudor (from the altruistic rockin' lust-cry of "Cookesferry Queen" to the haunting "Uninhabited Man" to the plain, stark and ugly "Hope You Like the New Me," Dickie near the top of his game without needing another divorce to do it) 

     And now, for the top five of 2005 (Top 10! Are you joking???):

     5) Buddy Miller -- Universal United House of Prayer (gospel-folk with teeth, and a killer version of "With God on Our Side")

     4) Graham Parker -- Songs of No Consequence (the old boy's still got the old vitriol, and enough remaining vocal capacity to pull it off)

     3) Kate Bush -- Aerial (this one's still a bit speculative, but sounds about right)

     2) Beck -- Guero (yeah, sure, it's a more musically subdued Odelay, but this time the boy goes the lyrical kitchen sink instead, from fun to morbidity and back again. Que onda, guero???)

      ...and the best album of this year (which I suspect will be topping a lot of critics' lists, but so what?)...

     1) Sufjan Stevens -- Come on, Feel the ILLINOISe

     This one is still bringing it for me. Aside from a few outtakes of his stuff that had wound up on my former homeboy Jai Agnish's Blue Bunny Sampler, I had no idea what I was getting into. But after spending the last few months playing the laser grooves off of this largely self-played, self-orchestrated masterpiece, forget about it. I've seen it classified as neo-folk, and lyrically that's dead-on. Musically, it's a whole 'nother story -- it's got a whole lot more to do with They Might Be Giants, Steve Reich and Laurie Anderson.

     Kinda speaking of the latter (see also: ambitious musical projects involving the United States), this is in fact only the second of a proposed 50 albums, one for each state (his homestate of Michigan being the first, although he does more time in Manhattan these days). Although I really don't know how he goes about topping this one. (Still, I would have to buy the New Jersey album on general principle alone. )

    The family's back, so guess the song-by-song breakdown will have to wait. But this entry's been long enough anyway....

Posted by: burninglight at 21:57 | link | comments

Yo, Babies!

     I'm not even sure where this is going yet. All I know is, well, why should byrnes have all the good blogs?

     Anyway, as mentioned above, this will be a place for various organically connected thoughts (and I say "organically" because they probably won't be connected any other way ) on God, words and tunes — probably mostly the latter, but since it will involve using words and a lot of the music leads either indirectly or directly back to God, well, so there.

     A few quick words on myself: I'm an almost-lifelong resident of New Jersey, save for the last five months where we uprooted and started a new life out here in northern Colorado. I'm an editor and writer these days, and have been on other days too, ranging from a bunch of local northern Jersey papers to a weekly book-trade magazine to a non-profit (dis-)organization celebrating the joys of a certain board game/sport that I can't even bring myself to speak the name of anymore; to, most recently prior to this, um, servicing the legal profession via certain also-to-be-unnamed reference products. There were also those stints in between as teacher of the delinquent (the district called them handicapped, but that was just to get the extra funds — trust me, delinquent is more accurate), stock boy at Sears, data analyst for a shoe retailer, etc. Interesting times.

     It's also worth mentioning that the name of this blog comes from the journal of Christian literature I published for five years (the name of which I  ripped off from Bruce Cockburn, who in turn got it from Blind Willie Johnson. So there.), prior to becoming part of a church plant where I obtained and applied my ministerial licence some five years later. And now I actually work for a Christian publisher — my two worlds finally together, and supporting my family in my process. Go figure. That 2 1/2-mile commute with the Rocky Mountains staring you dead in the face ain't bad either. 

     So, that's some facts about me, even if it doesn't especially tell you who I am. I figure that'll emerge in time.

     And like I said, I suspect most of the discussion here will involve music, but we'll see about that too. My two favorite music blogs are already in the Links section to your left. I can only hope to be as inspiring as either once in a while. And since we're starting near the end of the year, an Album of the Year post will no doubt show up in a month or so. Besides, I just picked up the Kate Bush album yesterday so I might yet change my mind, but so far, and far and away it'd have to be S... a secret.

     So let me start very generically yet thoroughly. Maybe I'll do also do a Top-10 Albums of All Time thing some time. But so you know the real range of music here and don't pigeon-hole me or nothin', let me end this first post with a list of the CDs in my "barn." It's a dorky little thing my wife Marion bought me, but it's nice size for the CDs that I put above all others (I'll say 50-60, prior to typing). So, to give you an idea what I like, the "barn" is as follows:

Arrested Development — 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life of...
Beach Boys  — Pet Sounds
(Beach Boys)  — Making God Smile:An Artists' Tribute to the Songs of Beach Boy Brian Wilson (Lost Dogs, Phil Keaggy, Aaron Sprinkle, Rick Altizer, et al.)
The Beatles — Revolver
Be Bop Deluxe — Raiding the Divine Archive (The Best of)
Big Star — Sister Lovers
Beck  — Odelay & Sea Change
Tim Byrnes  — 1900/Debut CD
The Clash — Sandinista!
Slaid Cleaves — No Angel Knows & Broke Down
John Coltrane — A Love Supreme
Bruce Cockburn — Circles in the Stream
Crowded House — Recurring Dream:The Very Best of...
Daniel Amos — Motorcycle & Mr. Buechner's Dream
Nick Drake — Way to Blue: An Introduction to...
Bob Dylan — Blonde on Blonde
Steve Earle — Jerusalem
Eddie from Ohio — Looking Out the Fishbowl
Peter Gabriel — Peter Gabriel (the third one — w/ "Biko")
Genesis — The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Mark Heard — High Noon
(Mark Heard) — Strong Hand of Love: A Tribute to... (Tonio K., Michael Been, Bruce Cockburn, VoL, etc.)
Robyn Hitchcock  — Perspex Island
Phil Keaggy — What a Day & Crimson and Blue
The Kinks — ...are the Village Green Preservation Society
Mike Knott — "A Lot of Knott" (a bunch of solo/LSU stuff) & Life of David
John Lennon — Plastic Ono Band (a "where were you 25 years ago..." may be in the works too....)
Lost Dogs — Scenic Routes, Little Red Riding Hood & The Best of....
Van Morrison — Astral Weeks
Mott the Hoople — Brain Capers
The Move — Shazam!
Rich Mullins — A Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band
Phish — Billy Breathes
Public Image Ltd. — Second Edition
Michael Roe — The Boat Ashore
7 & 7 Is (Mike Roe & Mark Harmon) — Fun with Sound
77s — Late & A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows (aka The Funky Crow Thang)
Patti Smith — Gone Again & Trampin'
Jill Sobule — Happy Town & Pink Pearl
Miranda Stone — 7 Deadly Sins
Igor Stravinsky — The Rite of Spring
Matthew Sweet — Altered Beast
Swirling Eddies — Outdoor Elvis & Zoom Daddy
Television — Marquee Moon & Adventure
Tension Envelopes — In Yo' Face & Show Place, December 2, 1984
Uncle Tupelo — 89/93: An Anthology
The Velvet Underground — The Velvet Underground (the 3rd one, not "& Nico")
Vigilantes of Love — Slow Dark Train
The Waterboys — Fisherman's Blues

     The 10 that would be left standing might surprise you. But again, that's for another time. I've blathered enough.

     Anyway, if I know you and you found this: Yo, baby!

     And if y'r just a poor unfortunate who stumbled here: Yo, baby!

     Talk to all of you again in the not-so-distant future....

carl

 

Posted by: burninglight at 22:42 | link | comments (6)