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One of the most fun things I have come up with of late, those of you that actually read Time Machine on Friday, is my Martin Ten. For the first time since the mid eighties, I feel like music actually has something for me. The problem is, there are a lot of good, sorta good, and not bad tunes I am finding that I'd love to share with you- but either they come across my unwritten rule about not putting more than two songs on a post, or they get crowded out before I can get to them by something I absolutely fall in love with.
Case in point, I am listening to the new album by a band I discovered just Friday- and will hit the M10 with the highest debuting song so far in its 15-week history. I don't wanna give anything away, but when I played the song in question for KC, he said, "Her voice is one I'd like anything she sang." Beginning to feel the same way as I listen to the lp.
But I'll bet there are those of you that are thinking, "Why are you going on and on about music when there's been another mass killing in California, and they're in the middle of a shootout with the bad guys? Are you that shallow?" No, I have CNN on over my shoulder right now (because Shepard Smith really got on my nerves this afternoon on Fox. Can't they find someone with a news voice AND a brain?), and in private I will pray for those affected. But you know what? Jerks like what did that think they control the world, and guess what? YOU DON'T. There are beautiful things- LIFE things- in this world that are far more important and worthwhile than you and your almighty need to kill.
And for me, music is one of them. Martin Luther said, “The devil, the originator of sorrowful anxieties and restless troubles, flees before the sound of music almost as much as before the Word of God….Music is a gift and grace of God, not an invention of men. Thus it drives out the devil and makes people cheerful. Then one forgets all wrath, impurity, and other devices.” And that is a big part of what music is to me. It is praise, pure and simple, from Percy Faith doing the A Summer Place Theme to ELO belting out Ma Ma Ma Belle.
And so, gentle reader, weekly I put myself through the battle of just what will be where in the Martin Ten, and heaven for me would be to have you all gathered around as I do it. But since I can't, I'm gonna cheat a little bit and play you a couple of tunes from that upcoming M10. So that, for a few minutes you can forget douchebags with guns and sing a little, maybe praise a little. First, here's one I promised I'd get to last week- the band is called the Decemberists, and their song is at... HEY! Not giving everything away...
And now, against my sense of making anticipation, let me introduce you to what may be my new favorite band- they call themselves Alvvays...
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Good for you, Chris! We can't let the terrorists win, foreign or homegrown. We can't roll up in a ball. Go about your business. Live your life. Share with friends that which brings you joy. I do it and so should you. I enjoyed both acts presented here, Decemberists and Alvvays. They both have a refreshing alternative rock sound. See you Friday, good buddy!
ReplyDeleteThey will never win here...
DeleteChris:
ReplyDeleteFirst, thank you for addressing this latest shooting.
You brought a very good point that I would have missed - that of (good) MUSIC.
It was once said that "music hath charm to sooth the savage breast". Very true.
Second, there are people out there with nothing in the world to DO, but wreak havoc, when all that is needed is to stop and take some time to enjoy life and all the good things that come with it.
I also dive into music (keeps things centered), but with me, it's the classical gig.
Those two new songs oyu posted are pretty good, BTW. Nice finds.
I'm sure the music in Luther's day kept a lot of folks from getting in over their heads when it comes to the evils of the world. He was (and is still) right there.
Well said.
Stay safe up there, brother.
Luther, I found out recently, has a bushel basket of music quotes much like the one I chose. I wish he made sense to those who are so empty of anything that they fill themselves up with Jihadist garbage.
DeleteI saw your comment on my FB page and came to read this. All I will say is THANK YOU! You're so right. As those song lyrics go...music is the universal language and love is the key!!
ReplyDeleteIt sounded like you needed it, happy to provide.
DeleteCW-
ReplyDeleteThere has been great music out there, but you had to look for it.
I feel that by the end of the 70's, the business side of the music industry really took over, and what made up "mainstream" music became very narrow.
Look at the variety of sounds of popular music in the early 70s's, with Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peter Frampton, James Taylor and Led Zeppelin all sharing the same space on FM radio.
Fast forward to the 80's and the mainstream was much more homogenized. But alternative radio was there, and it really did represent an alternative in the early days.
So is Always the band you started the post on, or am I going to hear something else tomorrow. I'd not heard Always, but liked this clip.
Larry
Finding those alternatives has been difficult in Fort Wayne. I listened to a barely-able-to-receive station out of Detroit for a long time before we got one.
DeleteOh, and yes Alvvays (two v's) is the one I was talking about, but I will have a couple other M10s on TM Friday. I was listening to their full lp last night and I think I know what my gift to myself for Christmas will be.
Delete