Author Archives: brad

Nothing New Under The Sun

I’m a copycat. Dave just posted a list of all of his iTunes purchases, which I promptly ridiculed.

I didn’t ridicule for posting the list, because that’s kind of an interesting idea.

I ridiculed him for his atrocious taste in music.

So, without further ado, and with the full knowledge that I’m setting myself up, I present to you my list of purchased music.

  • Shimmer by Fuel from the album Sunburn
  • Wonderful Maker by Chris Tomlin from the album Not to Us
  • Enough by Chris Tomlin from the album Not to Us
  • The Wonderful Cross by Michael W. Smith from the album Worship Again
  • Breathe Your Name by Sixpence None the Richer from the album Divine Discontent
  • Jane by Ben Folds Five from the album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
  • Lullabye by Ben Folds Five from the album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
  • Butterflies by Toad the Wet Sprocket from the album Fear
  • Banditos by Refreshments from the album Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy
  • Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head by Ben Folds Five from the album One Amazing Night
  • (They Long to Be) Close to You by Barenaked Ladies from the album One Amazing Night
  • 20th Century Man by The Kinks from the album The Kinks’ Greatest: Celluloid Heroes
  • Hound Dog by Elvis Presley from the album Elvis
  • Stacy’s Mom by Fountains of Wayne from the album Welcome Interstate Managers
  • Sunny Days by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Amazing Grace by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Lonely People by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Only Alive by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Trouble Is by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Faith Enough by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Show You Love by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Lesser Things by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • I’m in the Way by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Jesus’s Blood Never Failed Me Yet by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Jealous Kind by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Sing by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • My Heavenly by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead
  • Better Is One Day by Passion Worship Band from the album One Day Live
  • Breathe by Passion Worship Band from the album One Day Live
  • Here I Am to Worship by Passion from the album Our Love Is Loud – Live from the Passion Experience Tour
  • Famous One by Passion from the album Our Love Is Loud – Live from the Passion Experience Tour
  • God of Wonders by Passion from the album Our Love Is Loud – Live from the Passion Experience Tour
  • God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan from the album A Winter’s Night
  • No Such Thing by John Mayer from the album Room for Squares
  • Drive by Incubus from the album Make Yourself
  • Island in the Sun by Weezer from the album Weezer
  • Mad World by Tears for Fears from the album Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears
  • Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears from the album Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears
  • Tom’s Diner by Suzanne Vega & D.N.A. from the album Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega
  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole from the album Facing Future

    Let’s get a couple things straight, though. I bought “Shimmer” as my first song because I wanted my first purchase to support a local artist, but someone that doesn’t suck. Fuel fits the bill. Great band from a few miles away. The next three (two Chris Tomlin tunes and one Michael W. Smith tune) were purchased because I was introducing those songs at church and wanted copies to practice to in the car (yes, the car is where I do the majority of my vocal workouts). Allow me to go on record as saying that the only, absolutely only, reason I bought Smitty’s rendition of “Wonderful Cross” is that Chris Tomlin’s far superior version is not available on iTunes, which is a shame.

    “Breathe Your Name” by Sixpence. I heard it in a grocery store one morning before work and remembered it. I purchased it shortly thereafter. Cool song. “Jane” and “Lullabye” are two of my favorite tracks off of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner by Ben Folds Five, a band I consider to be one of the most important of the 90s. “Butterflies” by Toad the Wet Sprocket is a great song. I’ve always admired the arrangement of it. It’s so wonderfully put together. “Banditos” is just dumb fun.

    I was glad to find “Raindrops” and “Close To You” from the Burt Bacharach tribute. Right before the tribute aired on PBS, a friend asked if I was going to watch it. I scoffed. He taped it for me and I loved it, particularly these two tracks. Both are very good renditions of old tunes. “20th Century Man” is the greatest work of the greatest band of the 20th century. “Hound Dog” I bought for Gracie. I sang it to the dog one night and we’ve been singing it ever since. “Stacy’s Mom” is Fountains of Wayne’s guaranteed spot in rock history. What a great song.

    The next 13 tracks comprise my first, and as of yet only, full album download from iTunes. Jars of Clay is one band from whom I’ll buy anything. And I’ve yet to be disappointed. This album in particular shows tremendous growth for the band. I’m really the bluesy “Trouble Is” and the southern-gospel-inspired “Jealous Kind”, one of the best Christian songs I’ve ever heard.

    The next five are songs by the Passion Worship Band (which includes Chris Tomlin) that I wanted to work into the services at church (or already had worked in and needed inspiration for a better arrangement). “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by BNL and Sarah McLachlan has become one of my favorite Christmas songs.

    “No Such Thing” is a sign of good things to come from John Mayer. “Drive” is my favorite Incubus song; I love the way the vinyl is worked into the music. And “Island in the Sun” is Weezer channeling Sugar Ray. I’ve actually performed this song in public at least once.

    I bought Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” and “Head Over Heels” in a fit of unbridled pessimism after watching Donnie Darko. I much prefer the Gary Jules version of “Mad World” from the film’s closing, but it’s not available on iTunes, andthe original in still quite good. For some reason, I bought “Tom’s Diner” at the same time. Not sure why, though.

    Finally, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by the huge guy with the unpronouncable name. You may remember this one from a VW commercial a few years back. I had wanted to look for the song, but forgot. Then one day, Nicole told me to check out the guy’s picture on the iTunes store, and I realized it was the song I was looking for.

    So there you have it. Now to find some other reason not to go to bed.

    • Picking Nits

    For all you Tolkien purists out there, here’s the Nit-Picker’s Guide to The Lord of the Rings. The author compares Jackson’s film adaptations to Tolkien’s original text, in painstaking detail.

    Some points are valid:

    Faramir never intended to take the Ring to Minas Tirith (TTT p.354,367,383). Jackson has Faramir take Frodo as far back toward Minas Tirith as Osgiliath before he finally gives up on the idea of hindering Frodo’s quest. And, of course, in the book Faramir never leads the Hobbits to Osgiliath.

    Jackson’s entire treatment of Faramir drove me crazy. I understand the reasoning behind it, but I don’t agree with it. The whole Arwen thing doesn’t bother me. Turning Faramir into a jerk bothered me a lot more, because it fundamentally changes one of the most noble characters in the story.

    Some are truly nit-picking:

    Gimli says that he killed 42 Orcs at Helm’s Deep (TTT p.188). Jackson has Gimli end his tally at 43.

    Yeah, that’s important.

    Losing Pixar

    Disney has messed up big time. Steve Jobs and Pixar have walked away from the negotiating table and into what will likely become a no-holds-barred bidding war for Pixar.

    Jobs, in typical style, said, “We’ve had a great run together — one of the most successful in Hollywood history — and it’s a shame that Disney won’t be participating in Pixar’s future successes.” Translation: We made a ton of cash for Disney, and now they’ve blown it. Oh, well. More money for us.

    Michael Eisner issued his own statement: “Although we would have enjoyed continuing our successful collaboration under mutually acceptable terms, Pixar understandably has chosen to go its own way to grow as an independent company.” Translation: I don’t negotiate with animators.

    Not to be outdone, Roy Disney and Stanley Gold said, “Michael Eisner’s inability to manage and nurture crucial creative relationships, like the one Disney had with Pixar, is one of the main reasons we have maintained that we did not believe Disney’s earnings were sustainable.” Translation: Michael is an idiot. I can’t believe he blew it with Pixar. Maybe Treasure Planet 2 will be a big hit. Yeah.

    See the full story here.

    Like A Phoenix

    Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, comes the undead reincarnation of Mike’s weblog!

    If it were made into a crappy zombie movie, it would be called Like 200 Days Later.

    But now that Mike has a decent connection at home, maybe we can expect to hear more from him in the near future.

    Or maybe he’ll spend all his time online watching Strong Bad emails. I don’t really know for sure.

    Snowball

    Sometimes, in order to effect a major change, something fundamental, you need to do something drastic. Something uncharacteristic. Sometimes, you don’t get to benefit from these changes directly. You act as a catalyst in the hopes that others may benefit, or at least learn.

    This week I threw a snowball, so to speak, and it seems to be starting an avalanche. I pray it turns out for the best.

    There’s a knot in my stomach that won’t come undone. Maybe with time.

    For now, I take comfort in knowing that all of this has a purpose. That all of this was planned in advance.

    What I’ve done can’t be undone, and people could be hurt in the process.

    But something had to change.

    And I was the only one who could do it.