Sunday Message: On Hate

I was woke up from a nap Saturday by Laurie telling me the tragic news- a man had come into a celebration of life and brought death- had come into a celebration of love and brought hate.

I could say my initial thought process was compromised because I was waking up, but I will not.  I will say it was just as tragic because it was.


First thought:  Like the "bombs" this week, or the caravan in Mexico, another fakery for political gain.  What kind of game are they playing now?

Second thought:  What manner of terrorist this time?  Who do we direct our anger to?

Third thought:  Which direction will the media go to spin this against the President, because as we all know, he IS responsible for the dead squirrel on your street, the bird that dropped a load on your car, and the heartbreak of psoriasis.


I staggered into the bathroom, shook off the mid-afternoon cobwebs and said, "Chris, wait a minute."


Eleven innocent people dead.  Several injured including the brave law-enforcement officers who stopped the maniac- and the still-breathing maniac himself.  THESE should have been my first three thoughts.


I could give myself points for how quickly I recovered.  I will not.

I have allowed myself to be infected by the hate that is eating away everything and anything we hold dear.  The concept, as Dennis Miller put it, that "if we disagree, we are enemies."  Buffeted by the thought process (being charitable) of those who look for ways to preach their political hate in every circumstance, I instinctively pushed back with the same hate.   Where's the lie?  Which Hollywood so-called celebrity will blame you-know-who first?

Who do I punch/slander/spit venom at?


And that hate is easy to justify (as Paul would say, here I am speaking as a fool to make a point).  Why, look how the shooter did it!  He built it, by his words, around John 8:44:

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 


From that, even though Jesus was speaking only to a SPECIFIC GROUP- the Pharisees- this man concocted that ALL Jews are children of the Devil.  To do that, he had to use this verse as an anchor to many false assumptions.  Among those were that a local Jewish charity involved in the settling and care of immigrants were "bringing in the people who will destroy us."  Never mind that they were only helping out people who were already being brought in by a government policy.  And that, of course, didn't bother him because he believed that the government, INCLUDING the President, was part of a vast Jewish globalist conspiracy.

Oh, and he was of course a holocaust denier.  Ticking off all the boxes of hate and stupidity.  Calling those he murdered "oven dodgers".


I want you to consider this- a mind so full of hate that he would gladly put Jews into ovens can't believe that someone did it BEFORE him.  This is why they say a mind is "twisted" by hate- in a single coil, they can have completely opposite logics face each other in apparent agreement.

Not a place I want to be.


So, I prayed.  Of course for the people that went through this tragic idiocy.  And for, as I do every day, the LEOs who put their lives at hazard each and every day, including the ones who worked this crime.

And for the shooter.  He still lives, and instead of joining the mob pushing him towards his own personal "oven", we should remember- where there is breath, there is hope.  A convicted felon who moments before was joining the crowd in insulting Christ came to faith in his last moments.  It is NOT for me to judge who God will or will not save, only to pray for that salvation.


But the hardest group to pray for are those who immediately rose to battle on social media- the majority of which were finding "new and exciting" ways to pin everything on the President and his followers.  Even the fact that he moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem- showing far more support for the Jewish people than that lot will EVER muster- is, like with the shooter, twisted.  "If he hadn't moved the Embassy, he wouldn't have made THESE Jews in the US a target."

And personally, I know a Jew who, if he skulks over to read this post, will say of me, "This post PROVES that you LOVE Trump, and if you love Trump, you HATE the Jews.  Because that's what Christians do."


Lord, a few years back, John Lennon wrote the words, "But if you're collecting for people with minds that hate/ all I can tell you is, 'Buddy you'll have to wait' ".  But that cannot be what WE do- what I do.  "Buddy" can't wait- he needs prayed for, now.  He needs to just once, get up in the morning and see Your beautiful dawn and the glory of Your creation.  He needs to look at the wonder of a little child, the cuteness of a kitty, the loyalty of his dog, the majesty of the ocean, a mountain.  He needs to see Your hand in all things, and release- reject- that hate.  Do not wait for Him, Lord, but come to Him, break his chains, present him- even if he has rejected it 1,000 times- the Choice.

Time Machine co-ordinates VILXVIII510102664

Today we arrive at October 26th, 1964- and we just missed the Rolling Stones in their first appearance on Ed Sullivan!

Apparently Ed was miffed that some of them came in t-shirts and suggested that if they return, they 'reform' " in the matter of dress and shampoo"

Instead, we get:


Ten days into his new administration, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson addressed the nation and announced a 15 percent surcharge on all imported manufactured goods in order to combat the nation's trade deficit, as well as tax rebates to encourage British exports.

Dash it all, how Trump-like.  Was he a Nazi?


**************************************************

ANYway, I have no idea what is coming up on today's TM other than two new M10 debuts and a special "I have no idea what to do with Jimmy Gilmer" countdown.  Let me pop out for a minute to see if I can do anything with the 6D victim, and we'll be ready to roll!

***********************************************

In the meantime, enjoy the latest from The Knocks, with help from a duo who slightly altered their first names to come up with the nom de guerre of Sofi Tukker, and our #10 tune...






******************************************************

All right, how's this for a 6D: name the man who, already a household name in music, decided a great cure for depression would be to play professional football?  What singer had a number one hit with two football players singing backup? And what singer, despite already being a singer AND songwriter of some repute, played drums on the 6D victim?  Oh, that's only three, is it?  How's this for a fourth:  Who wrote Beechwood 45-789?


Answer to all of the above:  Marvin Gaye!  Let's start with this article from Jason Plautz of Mental Floss:


Appearing as background singers on the track  (What's Goin' On?) were two of Gaye’s friends, Lions cornerback Lem Barney and running back Mel Farr. Barney had once introduced himself to Gaye by knocking on the door of his Detroit home and the two became fast friends, eventually roping Farr into the friendship. Gaye brought them to the studio when he recorded “What’s Going On” and invited them to sing on the track. However, when Motown producers refused to release the politically-charged single, Gaye again turned to his friends to pursue his longtime dream of playing in the Super Bowl with the Lions.

Barney and Farr helped Gaye bulk up and train to become a wide receiver. He approached coach Joe Schmidt and asked him for the chance to try out. When Schmidt asked him for game film, Gaye reportedly said he had never played, not even in high school, but that he always believed he would score a touchdown the first time he touched a football.According to Schmidt, the first time he met with Gaye he said “If I could sing like you, I certainly wouldn’t want to play football.” The second time Gaye approached him for a tryout, Schmidt decided that he couldn’t put the singer in harm’s way and declined to let him on the field.

It probably all worked out for the best. A few months later, “What’s Going On” was released and Gaye was once again catapulted into the spotlight with what would become his most acclaimed album. And the Lions? Well, they’re still waiting on that Super Bowl.


And the thing that sent me on the quest that led to that gem of a story:  Despite the fact he already had NINE top fortys pop as a singer, he was still playing drums for Motown's legendary Funk Brothers as late as this week in '64, as he did on our 6D song- Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' Dancing In The Street!  It was at #4 this week without a Panel Vote.

************************************

All right, I admit, I was at a loss of a schtik to do with Jimmy Gilmer for his Sugar Shack win, but I have a sweet (see what I did there?) backup plan coming up in a bit.  In the meantime, it's time I did the Panel pi... yes, Nardole?

Well, you could let ME do them...

You don't know earth songs- except what you hear here...

I've been practicing- I've been sneaking down to the mid-seventies and watching The Midnight Special!

All right, I'll let you try- but no Wolfman Jack bits, you hear me?

Yes, Mr Crankypants.  Let me have the one vote wonder list...

Here you go- 19 contestants from 67 stations- AND it's a run-off this week!

Yes, yes... This first one was actually pretty good-  an Australian vote for the first New Zealander to hit #1 outside his own country!  He was Ray Columbus and the Invaders, and the song was She's A Mod.

The Blend wells...

That's Blendells, it's not a recipe...

Er, Blendells were at #88 with La La La La La.   Did this win a grammy for songwriting?

Don't be a cue ball, cue ball.

The Beatles' first American concert opening acts, the Sounds Incorporated, did not chart with this vote from Australia- a version of the William Tell Overture.

Travis Wammack was scratchy- no, wait, he had a song called Scratchy, at #99.

Gayle Garnett was at #2- how did she only get one vote?- with We'll Sing In The Sunshine.

Here are the Beatles with their one representative- so much for your "infestation"- the song Slow Down, which had actually fell off the chart after peaking at #34.

The Kinkys- no, wait, Kinks- were at #35 with You Really Got Me.  Such grammar!

This one is a one hit wonder with a one vote wonder- the Volumes with a song that was NOT their one hit, Gotta Give Her Love.

Oh, how delightful- one vote for Elvis and Ask Me at #67.  Well done, sir!

E:  All right, Shorty, gimme the next runners-up list for I put your head on a golf tee!  Have I The Right by the Honeycombs was at #9 an' got 4 votes...

Chad n' Jeremy, couple'a sissies from England, had A Summer Song at #8 with 2 votes...

The Zombies got three votes for She's Not There at #44.  She ain't here, either, hyuk!

An' Roger Miller got two votes for Chug-A-Lug at #6.  Back to you, El Capitan!

Gee thanks, Elvis.  So like I said, two of our finalists went OT in this battle!  Choose from Leader Of The Pack By The Shangri-Las (#29); Baby Love by the Supremes (7); Doo Wah Diddy-Diddy by Manfred Mann (the top dog); O Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison (4); or Last Kiss by J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers (3)!  I will be back in a bit to let you in on the last two.


**********************************************************

Ready for our second debut- all the way up at #6?  From 2006's 30th anniversary re-release w/bonus tracks of A New World Record, here's ELO!





************************************************

So to do something in honor of Sugar Shack, I decided that I would look into songs that had sugar in the title- and there were so many, I hadda go take a metformin after compiling my top ten!  So here ya go, Chris' top ten sugar songs:

10- Sugar Shack, Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs.  Honestly, I don't care for the song that much, so this is an honorary position.  In fact, I spent half the day changing the lyrics:

Drink a lot of coffee, smoke a lot of hash, but the cops pulled me over- and took my stash
That's why I've got to get back, o to that sugar shack...

9- Sugar Town- Nancy Sinatra.  Again, not a huge fan, but it was gonna be Sugar In The Morning or A Spoonfull Of Sugar- or worse yet, Sheena Easton's Sugar Walls- if I didn't...

8- Sugar And Spice, The Cryan Shames.  It barely cracked or barely missed the top 50 in 1966, and deserved better.

7- Sugar On Sunday, the Clique.  Almost entered the early M10, and hit #22 in 1969.

6- Pour Some Sugar On Me, Def Lepperd.  Oh, come on, you knew this would be on here somewhere...

5- Brown Sugar, Rolling Stones.  One of those songs, along with Sweet Home Alabama, I can't figure out why it hasn't gotten PCed off the radio...

4- Sugar Sugar, The Archies.  I thought I was going to have this at #1, until I found...

3- No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature, The Guess Who.  And I thought THIS was going to be #1 until I hit...

2- I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch), The Four Tops.  And I certainly thought THAT would be my top, until...

1-  





***************************************************

And did you get one of the two who split 15 votes apiece? You did if you picked The Supremes or J Frank Wilson!  If not, you picked one of the three that had 17 combined.  Make your best guess at the winner...


**************************************************


Stat Pack!

I should note what Nardole missed on the Ray Columbus Panelist She's A Mod:  While it hit #1 in Australia in '64, it never CHARTED in New Zealand until 1981- and finished at #2...

Big mover was the a-side to Elvis's Panel song- Ain't That Loving You, Baby.  It went from 53 to 21, 32 spots.

The #64 in '64  nets you a bargain- the ep 4 By The Beach Boys.  EPs were big in the UK, but not so much here.  This was the only one to chart here by the boys, and included Wendy (which peaked at #44), Don't Back Down, their gorgeous rendition of Hushabye, and Little Honda- which peaked at #65 for them, but the Hondells had it at #11 as we speak (relatively).  The ep peaked 57 here and 11 in the UK.

The Ventures held the #101 slot with Slaughter On 10th Avenue.

I knew 31 here and 15 of 50 in the UK, which had several Panel songs aboard (Baby Love #24, Have I The Right 25, O Pretty Woman 2, She's Not There 45, and You Really Got Me 26) and at the top was Sandie Shaw's cover of Always Something There To Remind Me.


***********************************************


The rest of the M10:

ELO is on twice this week, with Train Of Gold falling from 6 to 9.

Also slipping were Escondido's Crush On Her (5 to 8) and Rad City's Ghost Organ (4 to 5).

Alkonost's instrumental of Paporotnik climbs 3 to #7.

Roseanne Cash, makes the 8 to 4 jump with Not Many Miles To Go.

And the top three holds, with What I Want at 3 for Anna Burch, Frankie Cosmos and Apathy at 2, and still at the top...

The Decemberists with Sucker's Prayer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


***************************************

Now the final battle seemed at first to be going nowhere- I was through over a dozen stations before either one got a #2!  But then one of them picked up momentum and won the run-off by a 6-2 margin!  Who was it?  Why, it was...

...the Supremes with Baby Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So you know there'll be good stuff coming next week when the girls and I visit- 1965!

Wednesday Bible Study: The deep dig

Sigh... I just typed this out, and Blogger ate it.  Let me try again...

This post will connect to the yet to be written Sunday Message, which hopefully I can write sometime today, Blogger...  and it gets us back on track in our 3:16s tour in Romans.  The point being, comments have mentioned amazement at the various versions of verses in Scripture, and as I intend to mention, these I think are there to get us to dig, and deepen our understanding.  God has a reason for EVERY word He uses... no matter which one He uses.  This is a study in that.  Another thing you will have gleaned from SM is that I have started to read through Psalms again, and thus it was no surprise when the verses THAT I HAD JUST READ in Psalms 14 this morning were quoted by Paul.

Rom 3:10  as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; 
Rom 3:11  no one understands; no one seeks for God. 
Rom 3:12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 

Paul then goes on to quotes a plethora of verses from both Psalms and Isaiah to continue his point:

Rom 3:13  "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." 

Rom 3:14  "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." 

Rom 3:15  "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 

And then skips over our verse to continue:

Rom 3:17  and the way of peace they have not known." 

Rom 3:18  "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 

And in between, as I found researching all this, he puts one line that was NOT a quote from Scripture.  Everything else here I've taken from ESV, but I am switching here to MKJV so you can get the gist of the verse:

Rom 3:16  destruction and misery are in their way, 

So why throw a non-quote in the middle of this? First, let's get a little more context.  In this chapter, Paul is fighting a two-front battle: one against the Gentiles, who are using Greek logic to propose that if confession of sin brings grace, then let's sin more to get more grace.  The other side is the Jews who are saying, "You bozos, that's not how it works- let US show you."  So, he has to explain to the Gentiles that it is not a good thing to be a sinner before God; and to the Jews, they are no better off.  And to do that, he throws them a two word curve ball.

The word translated here "destruction" is suntrimma.  This word, when you break it down to the literal base, comes out to be something along the lines of completely turning into a gnawing wound, deeply rutted.  "Grinding into powder" came to my mind.  The word for which we get "misery" is talaipōria, and it also is a deep-dig word, made from two concepts:  to bear the weight of a test, and that test being one that pierces you clear through.  They are the strongest words Paul could find, and they are the ONLY TIMES these words are used in the NT.

So Paul put them here for a reason, to stress what he was getting at.  But why?

The JFB Commentary postulates that the line was "supplementary", connecting to the "feet" reference in v15, and "expresses the mischief and misery which men scatter in their path, instead of that peace which, as strangers to it themselves, they cannot diffuse." 

 But I think it more than that.  

Paul was first dealing with the self-righteousness of the Gentiles and their "logic"; and then dealing with the Jews and their self-righteousness over being the bearers of "the oracles of God" (v2).  The Gentiles could be reached through their logic, as Paul does; then he has to reach the Jews through Scriptures, as we have seen.  But in the midst of this, he had to set this verse- which would stand out as foreign in the midst of all the verses the Jews knew- to get them to pay attention to one simple fact.  They were liable to the same destruction as the Gentiles without Christ- and he used these words so that they understood this was no earthly destruction and misery that they had ever been through- or would be able to say, "Yeah, we've been through that" in, say, 2018.  This was destruction on a scale that could not be conceived as earthly.  And it was not reserved for the enemies of Israel.

And what does it mean to us?

1- God means to use EVERY word He uses.

2- God means to use EVERY version He uses.

3- We all have pre-conceived notions which we use like cookies on a webpage to help us just "skip past" certain things in this life- and God wants us to ABANDON them.

4- At least for me, without the differing versions, the curious words that make me dig deep, I'll never understand or see what those cookies are.  One thing I do know, this process is different than a computer, where I can "clear the cache" and get rid of all the cookies.  These have to be sought out and erased one by one.

Scrappy goes to the woods

What better way to forget about what a stupid direction your job is heading in than to give your best friend his heart's desire?

Somebody's moping that all his water holes are dry...

If you want fall color, the best bet are these little red berries.

"I wonder if they're good to eat?"
"If they were good to eat, something would be EATING them!"

The trees not so much...

"Is that a good enough pose, Daddy?"

"Damn!  This one's dry, too!"

And here we are trying to convince Daddy to go check the dry stream bed for water.
Answer: No.

All right, I'll let you look at this one...

"Damn, dry too!"

Big Guy will be the last to turn colors, and the last to drop 'em

It just amazes me how any specific spot will generate new fungi I've never seen on it before.  Sorry, Jo-Anne...

...but these were cool!

About the extent of color foliage in our area...

And here we have Scrappy examining an amateur Indian encampment.

Sunday Message- stumbling towards wisdom

This week, I have embarked on applying two things I learned from David Jeremiah and Turning Point.  One was the concept that to gain wisdom as God defines it, I need to seek it out.  He suggests a plan in which one reads every day one chapter of Proverbs and 5 Psalms every day.  I am trying to do that, and do it prayerfully and carefully.  The second thing is a helpful way OF accomplishing this.  He suggests four attitudes to bring to this study:

Humble- don't come to God already bringing YOUR version of wisdom- listen to God for HIS version.  I have already hit that in Psalms:

Psa 4:4  Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah 

That word "angry" is a curious case itself, and we will come up against it again at a later date.

Hungry- Be eager, hungry, for what God has to share with you.

Hearing- obviously, you have to listen.  Not so obvious: are you listening, or trying to mold what you read into your pre-conceived notions (more on this Wednesday)?

and Heeding-  God won't give you wisdom UNLESS you are being obedient to what you read!  This is my big failure, and again a thing for another discussion.

So with these tools in place, I have been making my slow way through Proverbs and Psalms.  Today, I wanted to give you one example of what I have found, and how it ties to the bigger picture.  Let me start with the ESV on this verse:

Pro 3:27  Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. 

Naturally, to one with my "pre-conceived notions" (we'll go with PCNs henceforth), I looked at that and immediately asked, "Who is good "due" to?"  I didn't realize that the question was much like Peter's asking Jesus, "How many times shall I forgive my brother? Seven?"  To show you how I figured that one out, let me bring up the YLT translation:

Pro 3:27  Withhold not good from its owners, When thy hand is toward God to do it . 

"From its OWNERS"?  What was going on here?  Now I read this at work, so I wasn't exactly able to flip to the Strong's numbers and work out the translations (such as I do).  Had I, I would have found that the word translated 'due' or 'owner' meant 'part of (belonging to) a master/husband/owner'.  Which really wouldn't have helped me any more that the YLT did.

So I pondered in my heart.  Not on my bed, but at my machine.

And as I did, I realized what God was saying.  Think about this verse:

Luk 17:10  So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" 

We have a tendancy to make ourselves "feel good" in doing some good deed.  And really, there's nothing wrong with that so far as it goes, because God loves a cheerful giver.  BUT... we have to be careful about how hard the back gets patted.  We see our good deeds as things we pass out as we choose, to "get points" in heaven.  But, GOD sees them as things we OWE to those we do them to.  The guy in China we bought a Bible for?  That was HIS Bible, we HAD to give it to him.  The Guy who got a meal at the soup kitchen because of our contribution?  That was HIS meal, it was our JOB to give it to him.  See what I mean?  God doesn't see it as giving someone from our bounty, He sees it as giving them what BELONGS to them.

Do we still "get the points"? Sure, but it is the ATTITUDE that makes the difference.  And if that doesn't change our attitude in doing, then we aren't getting it.

And bear with me, I am trying to learn that as we speak!

I think this ties in with a lot of what I am learning lately.  One quote Jeremiah made the other day- and I may have shared it already, is, "God doesn't give us strength to fight, He gives us strength to STAND."  Just like Jehoshaphat getting the Army of Israel all armored up in 2 Kings and then having them stand and not move while the Lord defeated their enemies, I have had to realize that the Armor of God is not an offensive weapon for us, but for God- and for us it is DEFENSIVE.  We need to take each piece and say, "Lord, you have clothed me in this, now YOU win the battle."  

It is literally astounding to me to learn how much of God's will is counter-intuitive to man.

Time Machine co-ordinates VILXVII509101963

Well, it's a quiet Saturday on October 19th, 1963.  The balance of what is happening:  Lord Alec Douglas Home becomes the new British Prime Minister, the first Lord in almost 70 years to hold the position.  Not exciting enough? Well, I've got JFK makes a speech in Boston... the Pope sends a bunch of missionaries to Africa... The Beach Boys playing the Hollywood Bowl... did I mention Lord Home?

"Yes... and, if I may say, you made a right hash of it!"

Well, your Lordship, there's only so much you can do with 5 surfer boys, 4 missionaries, 3-initialled POTUS, 2 mentions for his Lordship, and a day wherein nothing occurred...

Good, Lord, that was ghastly...

Yes... yes, it was.  I'd better get to the good stuff.  This week, two new M10 debuts- including just the second instrumental; what Bert Parks, Lawrence Welk, and Tony Bennett have to do with the 6D victim; The Donny and Marie connection to this week in 1963; and our Panel guest, POTM Bobby "Boris" Pickett!  I know it ain't the same Pickett, but- CHARGE!!!

*************************************************

First off, I want to let you in on a promise I kept.  I promised myself I would NOT listen to Lucinda Williams' original of Lonely Girls until Vanessa Carlton's #2 cover dropped off the M10.  That day came this week, and so I thought I would share Lucinda's version with you.  I darn near had the song back on the chart...




I should note:  photo credit is : 
"sad and lonely girl" by amanda tetrault


**************************************

SQWEEEEEEEEEEEK... clump clump clump rattle rattle CLOMP!

Well, look who's here- Bobby "Boris" Pickett!

Good evening... say, I thought a person got younger again coming on this show...

Well, generally they do... but you look creepier as an old guy   there was a temporal malfunction, so...

Ah, yes... Technology seems to have an aversion to gentlemen of ... my line of work...

That and mirrors.  Anyway, I think you are familiar with the set-up here?

Yes, your delightful little assistant was quite helpful... what was his name again? Igor?

Nardole.  But you can call him Igor if you like.

Yes... so let me see the list...

Okay, 53 stations and 13 contestants-  here are the one-vote wonders...

Wait... look into my eyes... you are sleepy...

...sleepy...

Now, when I snap my fingers, YOU will read the one-vote wonders and all the intermediaries, and then you will wake up and give me the final contestants... do you understand?

...yes, master...

SNAP!

The one hit wonders... we start with an Australian vote for an act called the Town And Country Brothers... I could find out nothing about them... except their song is called Sandy Sandy...


Trini Lopez was at #37 with If I had a Hammer...

Stop for a moment.  Every time you speak a woman's name, you will bark like a dog.  Understand?

Yes, master...

Continue...

Next is Los Indios Trabajaros with Maria BARK BARK BARK Elena Woof woof at #33 and climbing...

Then comes the Dramatics with Misery at # 72 and debuting...

Then it is Sunny whimper whine and the Sunglows with Talk To Me at #12...

Wait.  Why did you whimper?  

Because I don't remember if Sunny is male or female...

Sigh, very well.  Continue...

Cry To Me by Betty BowWow Harris is at #43...

The Rivingtons somehow got a vote despite the fact their song Papa Ooh Mow Mow charted last September...

And Dion's Donna Arf Arf Woof The Prima Donna was at #6.

The other runners up...

Stop.  Now, when ever you read a man's name, you will call him a name that starts with the same letter as his name.  Understand?

Yes, master...

Continue...

... are Cry Baby by Garnett the Goof Mims and the Enchanters at #4...

..and Washington Square by the Village Stompers at #7...

What?  That's all?  Very well, you will now go back through and give names to the rest of the men...

Bobby the Boob Pickett..

What?  That's not what I...

Bobby the Bozo Pickett...

Stop that!  Stop that right...

BOZO BOZO BOZO...

Dash it all!  When I snap my fingers, you will wake up...

SNAP!

Hmm?  Oh, wow, I must have dozed a bit.  Those power naps are really refreshing!  Anyway, here are the three contestants that make our final...

Thank you... Kindly choose from Be My Baby by the Ronnettes at #2;  Deep Purple by Nino Tempo and April Stevens at #11; or Sugar Shack by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs at #1.

Alright, and thank you, Bobby, I can't remember having such a delightful guest!  I do wanna let you all know this:  This was not a close race- the winner lapped the field with 52.8% of the vote!


***************************************************

Debut the first, at #10, is the b-side to the latest single from a brand new- released Thursday- lp called Octagram.  Why the b- side?  Because that is the version spotify turned me on to, and the second instrumental in M10 history!  From Russia with love, here's Alkonost:





Before you ask, "Paporotnik" means "fern"... And it comes in at #10.

**************************************

So our 6D victim this time out is Bobby Vinton's Blue Velvet.  It's at #3 this week after a tour at #1.  But what I didn't realize was that this song- written by one Bernie Wayne, who also penned Bert Parks' Miss America theme, There She Is, had so many covers!  In fact Bobby was far from the first to record it- and he almost didn't.  He had just hit #3 with Blue On Blue, and so did an lp with all-blue songs, and thought he would have had a bigger hit with Am I Blue!  Finally, we score one for the A&R guy!

The first trip onto the charts for Velvet was Tony Bennett in 1951.  He made #12 on Cashbox and #18 on Billboard's best seller list.  The Clovers, best known for their #23 original of Love Potion #9, took their version to #14 R&B in 1959, and the next year it bubbled under at #103 for the Paragons- a doo-wop act from Brooklyn their former manager called, "real hoodlums; real zip-gun, street-warring hoodlums", but who had (presumably) mellowed after several line-up changes and manager changes as well.

That same year, another outfit, called the Statues, snuck up to #80 on CB- and shared time on the bubbling under with the hoodl- er, the Paragons.  And around the time Bobby was charting it, Lawrence Welk also bubbled under- also peaking at #103- with a mainly instrumental version.


**************************************************************

Stat Pack:

I knew 30 of our Hot 100, but not the #63 in '63, Dee Dee Sharp's Wild!, which would peak at #33.  Wiki claims it was on a "various artists" compilations called All The Hits By All The Stars.  There were 4 volumes of that brand name out from Cameo-Parkway, and NONE of them had Wild!, though volume 1 did have both Mashed Potato Time and Gravy- in fact, I saw no evidence it was EVER on an album!

Our #101 was the New Christy Minstrels with Saturday Night.  A non-lp single that came out in between Ramblin' and Today, I can't prove it, but it looks like it is a lineup that featured Gene Clark of Byrds fame and Barry McGuire of Eve Of Destruction fame.

The big mover caught my attention, and here's why.  Two songs that I have always associated with each other were Donny and Marie's 1974-5 hits Deep Purple and I'm Leaving It Up To You.  Maybe just because they were Donny and Marie songs- but maybe, just maybe I also remembered the originals- because while Deep Purple is in the Panel Picks at #11, the original ILIUTY by Dale and Grace is the big mover this same week, 34 spots from #62 to 28.

The Brits had 2 of our Panel Picks- If I Had A Hammer at #6 and Be My Baby at #32- but I only knew 13 of the 50.  One of those I did not was Brian Poole and the Tremoloes cover of Do You Love Me at their top spot.  What, no Shadows this week?

"If you desire Dark Shadows, you'll require a REAL vampire, not one from a novelty song..."

Egads, methinks this has become an early Halloween show!  Sorry, Barnabas, let me move right along to our high debut at #8.  From the lp due out next month called She Remembers Everything, here's Roseanne Cash...





********************************************


The label battle was a quantity or quality match for sure.  Capitol registered 10 of MusicVF's top 100 for the year, beating out Columbia with 7.  Problem was, over half of those 17 were at #86 or lower.  Thus we were set up with a 4-way battle for best average position between RCA (6 hits), Laurie (5), Epic (6), and Warner Brothers (4).  But the best average position- and Bobby Vinton's revenge for not getting Panel votes...

...Epic!!! Bobby contributed There I've Said It Again (11), Blue On Blue (55), as well as Blue Velvet (19).  The Dave Clark Five added in Glad All Over (16), The Village Stompers' Washington Square made 43, and (keeping in mind that this is a mixed US-UK site) the Cliff Richard cover of It's All In The Game (80), all of which gave them an average position of 37.3- almost 4 better than RCA, and 24 better than Capitol!  As for the overall, RCA now has 40 to Columbia's 27, MGM's (who got shut out this week) 26, 24 each for Capitol and Decca, 22 for Mercury, and ABC-Paramount with 20.



*********************************************************

The rest of the M10:

Leon Bridges manages to squeak out a sixth week, falling from 5 to 9 with the former #1 Beyond.

Speaking of former #1s, Blackberry Smoke seems determined to give up one spot per week, slipping to #7 with what is now the number 5 for 2018, One Horse Town.

ELO's Train Of Gold chugs back two to #6.

After spending all of its three weeks at #7, Escondido moves up to 5 with Crush On Her.

The big move is made by Rad City's Ghost Organ, up 4 to #4.

Last week's #1 drops to 3- Anna Burch's What I Want.

Ascending to runner-up:  Frankie Cosmos and Apathy.

Which means the new numero uno is the second such for this act- 

...the Decemberists and Sucker's Prayer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And your panel winner?  Well, the Ronnettes only gotcha 9.4%, and Nino and April only managed 15%, so yer winner was...

....Jimmy and the guys with Sugar Shack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


1964 is next- will there be a Beatle infestation?  Find out next week!

Wednesday Bible Study Special edition

This one's going to be a lot different, as we veer off our track this week for something God has put on my heart.  For those of you that read these posts for entertainment value, I'm sure you will be entertained.  For those who view this as a supplement to their personal study, this might be the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT Wednesday study I ever type up.  Before I get to the meat, let me establish a "base camp".

Now you are pretty much all aware of how MAN can stretch what the Bible actually says out of all proportion.  Let me use for example the Catholic concept of Purgatory- that there is a place for those who "merit" heaven, but have some sins to clean up, to go when they die until their fellows pray enough prayers and have enough masses said until they are released.  The basis of this is in the Apocryphal book of the Maccabees, which doesn't really matter, and neither does the verses that are claimed to "also state this", though I have never seen one.  What does matter is this- if the doctrine of Purgatory was true- then surely the thief next to Jesus on the Cross would have went there, as he was paying on earth for sins most of us don't want to commit.  Jesus did NOT say, "It's is finished- except for the next couple thousand years in Purgatory, to scrub off the stuff My Death missed."  He said, "It is finished", and whatever misreading one does to say Jesus' death WASN'T enough is simple blasphemy.

Or the perpetual virginity of Mary.  This one perhaps you can defense a little better.  There is some truth to the statement that the word "brothers" used in Mark 6:3 of the brothers of Jesus can be used for other relations.  HOWever, why doesn't Luke, then, call Elisabeth Mary's "sister", rather than cousin or kinswoman?  And besides which, let's use just a bit of thought- WHY would Mary stay a virgin, when she was marrying Joseph and had a social obligation to bear HIM children?  Was she in waiting in case God needed some more "little Jesuses" later on?

Now, take these two examples and file them under, "If it ain't in the Bible, it don't count."  Now, I want to get a little closer to our point today with an actual Biblical example- one that previously would have just hoisted me on me own petard, matey!

In Genesis 6, we have the whole deal I've discussed before with the "Sons of God" hooking up with the "daughters of men" and creating the "heroes of old, the men of renown."  Here, the Jewish traditions bring in fallen angels, called the "Watchers" as the "sons of God", and hint that the mythological pantheons were the result of their breeding with human women.  I used to subscribe to that, but I decided some time ago to apply the Kalko rule and look at the context.  Ignoring the other sources, I found that you could make sense of it without legends.  The sons of God were the faithful offspring of the line of Seth- an ever-dwindling line as the sinful line of Cain made inroads into their ranks, until only 8 were left standing when the Floodwaters came.

And that is the point- get it from the Bible, and gain understanding where you can from other sources.  But you still need to be careful.  Let me show you how I learned this from two examples that hit bang-bang for me last week as you read this.  The first was during my nightly reading, and I was in Colossians 1:

Col 1:16  For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. 

Now if you were brought up Catholic- or apparently Orthodox- you would recognize the terms "Thrones", Dominions", "Principalities" and "Powers" as four of the classifications of Angels.  Now, the question is, how do we get that out of this verse, which is THE place that that idea comes from?  So, I resorted to my list of Commentators on e-sword, and all but one agreed that these were angelic orders.  And I read on, wondering how they deduced that.  Now to me, Paul was trying to set bookends of the created world- starting with things of heaven on on side and of earth on the other; then, visible things on one side, and invisible on the other; then, thrones (kings) on one and kingdoms (dominions) on the other, and last nobilities (principalities) on the one and physical control (powers) on the other- and then show that no matter WHERE on the bookend continuum you were, CHRIST CREATED YOU.  Simple concept.  But the closest I came to an answer on the commentators thinking it otherwise was that word "whether" in the middle of the verse.  That it did not just separate another set of bookends, but it connected what came after to the single word next to it- "invisible"- and thus was talking about angels, as they were in the "invisible realm".

But just before I could pull my hair out, one lone commentator came bringing common sense:

From the People's New Testament:

The angelic hierarchy; different ranks of angels, according to the teachings of some of the Jewish doctors. A heresy had already been proposed that divided these into ranks, assigned them an undue prominence, and held that Christ was only an angel. Paul does not pause to say whether these divisions are correct, but declares that Christ is above them all, created them, and that they were created for him. One of these heresies he wished to counteract was the doctrine of angel worship. 

Get it?  Paul didn't give a hang whether there were divisions of rank in the angels- or about the men that were playing, "I'm with Cephas, I'm with Apollos" with them.  His ONLY concern was to stamp out the veneration of Angels, and he threw in terms he knew would catch the eyes of those who subscribed to the heresy to do it.

My point being, sometimes you have to dig deep- first in the Word itself, sometimes into the translations, and sometimes into the wisdom of those who came before you.  But the defining test is, what would Jesus have meant?  And this got born out the next day when Laurie questioned something.

Mar 1:40  And a leper came to Him, begging Him and kneeling down to Him, and saying to Him, If You will, You can make me clean. 

Mar 1:41  And Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him, and said to him, I will; be clean! 

Simple enough, right?  But look what happens when I use the NIV:

41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”

So how do we go from compassion to indignant?  This was a complicated story, and I am glad I dug as deep as I did.  But to try to give you the complete idiot's guide so you don't fall asleep on me:

Basically, the majority of translations use the same Greek texts, and out of all the ancient texts, the one the NIV uses is one from 500 AD which alone translated the word not as the word for compassion (pity), but anger ( indignation).  Why was it different?  The first article I read surmised that the original was the "anger" version, as sometimes scribes would change things to make them "make more sense", or "harmonize" them with other Gospel accounts.  Therefore, since it was more likely that a scribe would "chill Jesus out"- and because the other two accounts skip Jesus's frame of mind- the one that "sounded" wrong had to be right.  Therefore Jesus was indignant.  

So I thought, well, was He upset over something that had happened before?  Not according to the preceding story.  And after, He firmly told the leper, "tell no one"- and apparently that was enough with the other supposition to convince the NIV that Jesus was in fact angry.  Me, I looked at Jesus, and I didn't buy it.

So I dug a little further.

And I found another article, and this article explained a bit more.  This source the NIV used was a copy of a Greek-Latin text- first a page was copied in Greek, then in Latin.  So most people supposed the Greek was correct, and the discrepancy came in the Latin translation.  But waitaminit, this guy said, let's think about this.  For one, ALL the Gospels had several examples of Jesus going "Wrath of God" on someone with no problem- why would they then change this one?

He figured three ways that it COULD have been an easy mistake.  Without getting into the messy details, look at it this way- the original copy has been redone XXXLXVI times by 500 AD, and while the original might have been written by Greeks ( the NIV's position), the last several copies had been made by LATIN speakers- and they hit a relatively rare word ( the Greek word used here for "compassion") and, not knowing for sure what it meant, they scanned the context- and saw the "strict warning" from Jesus.  They looked back at the Greek word- a long word whose second half looked like the more common Greek word for "indignation"- and said, "Well, it must be "indignation"!

So, does this mean you can't get to the truth of these controversial passages, since our copies are flawed?  NO, and this is my whole point.  Remember last week's ( not the latest, assuming I get one in on the 14th) Sunday Message?  JESUS IS the truth.  You're a leper coming to Jesus for healing.  You beg with proper reverence.  Is Jesus going to be compassionate, or mad?

So Doc Martin's rule for today?  Start with Jesus- end with Jesus.  The middle will fall into line on its own, yes?