twenty-one

little fish turned twenty-one.
big stuff.
screaming jon visited to help celebrate.
almost daughter loren also came. (she's been little fish's room mate for three years so she qualifies as an "almost" daughter.)
they are the next generation of christian leaders.
screaming jon is also a pk.
neither he nor little fish are planning to become pastors even though they started their own church last fall.
any church who has them involved (almost daughter too) will be blessed to have them.
i suspect they will shy away from churches that are too slick or try too hard to be relevant or make big claims to be "unique."
i suspect they will want someplace with good music, good teaching, and good friends.

music part three

radio
where would music be without radio?
i remember summer days listening to top ten am radio
("it's my party and i'll cry if i want to . . . hey, hey paula . . . dream, dream, dream, dream, dream . . . little gto . . .)

but there have been times
and still are
when radio music is stale, very stale

my junior year of high school, an evening dj started playing an expanded play list that included "underground music"
he introduced me to groups like vanilla fudge and eclectic artists like arlo guthrie

unfortunately, even though i loved it, someone else didn't and the dj was gone

a few months later,
late one summer evening, listening to a new radio my father bought that had fm as well as am and suddenly "the who" was coming out of the radio,
"i can see for miles"
at song's conclusion the dj said, "that was side two of the who"
i thought, "what radio station plays a whole side of an album?"
then the dj introduced the pusher
i was amazed
those songs were not heard on the radio
i was hooked on an afternoon show called "jelly pudding"
every day during my senior year of high school i listened to "jelly pudding" and heard frank zappa, the dead, jefferson airplane, and many other artists that received little or no airtime on am radio.
it expanded my musical horizons
and expanded my record collection
on a radio station that the rest of the day played classical and jazz
a little known cincinnati radio station called webn
within a few years it was a 24 hour rock station
today it is a pretty stale station that broadcasts
the same repetitious playlist that hundreds of other stations duplicate

when i listen to radio today, while back in cincinnati
i am drawn to wnku, especially in the mornings
with michael grayson
good guy, old friend
plays a great, eclectic assortment of music
give it a listen, 89.7
if you do not live in the cincy area, you can listen on their web site
www.wnku.org

so what about "christian" radio?
that's a different story
for a different entry
stay tuned . . .

christianity . . .

christianity . . .
tormenting atheists since 30 ad

(the preceeding thought from son of fish)

invisible god

some people only know god through the rules they keep
and the activties they avoid
this is an invisible god

bible shopping

The Catholic Bible
The New American Bible
The Word on the Street
The Bug Collection Bible
Baby's First Bible
Billy Graham Training Center Bible
Amplified Bible (but is there an unplugged version?)
Everyday Life Bible
True Identity (for women)
Grace
The Message Remix
Archaeological Study Bible
The Power of a Praying Woman Bible
The Holy Bible
Illustrated Study Bible
The Duct Tape Bible
Apostle's Bible (is it just the old testament?)
New Jerusalem Bible
Couple's Bible
Women of Color Study Bible
Becoming (for women)
Quest
Bible in 90 days
Sanctuary (for women)
Seek/Find: The Bible for All People
The Bible Experience
Extreme Teen Bible
The Maximized Living Bible
Friendship First

some of these, i find incredibly offensive. some of them are laughable. but the point is that my cart is still empty.

good music prt. 2

good music is listening and performing
the previous blog described how i started performing music
listening is equally important
sometimes more important
listening involves connecting with good music
a matter of personal taste
there has always been music i do not like, with exceeptions
most soul music from my teen years i did not like
the exceptions - marvin gaye, wilson pickett, some temptations
disco could not fade soon enough
but donna summer was a great talent
disco ruined the bee gees
heavy metal has mostly excaped me, though led zepplin I & II; amazing
today i avoid rap, though a few months ago i saw a rap artist on letterman who was really good, very intelligent lyrics, very melodious, i don't remember his name
what do i like or have learned to like
beatles, beach boys, bruce cockburn, stevie ray vaughn, wagner, italian opera, early chicago
CD's i've recently listened to over and over:
beatles on capital, vol 1 & 2
love, beatles
tom petty, highway companion
rod stewart, great american songbook, vols 1-4
michael mcdonald, motown vol 1 & 2 (especially 2)
stevie ray vaughan's first three recordings (texas flood, couldn't stand the weather, soul to soul)
ric blair, fields of freedom (check out his web site and order his cd's: www.ricblair.com)

if no one listens, is it still music?

little fish has eclectic taste in music, very indie

good music, pt. 1

good music has always been important
very young i ran around the house singing elvis, "you ain't nothing but a hound dog" and everly brothers "dream, dream, dream, dream, dream"
uncle elwood was my first musical influence;
sitting on the floor in the middle of his living room surrounded by his friends;
guitars, mandolins, fiddles;
country, gospel, rockabilly
a blur of chords, melodies, harmonies
i wanted to do that
my first guitar, the vagabond, came from my grandmother's cousin who played in a square dance band.
my grandmother took me to see them
during their break i talked to her about her guitar and how she played it
it was the only time i remember seeing her
the next christmas her guitar was leaning against the couch in the living room with my name on a gift tag
she bought a new guitar and decided i needed her old one
it leaned against the wall in a corner of my bedroom until february 9, 1964 - the day the world of music changed for me
i had heard beatle singles on the radio, "I want to hold your hand" and "love me do" and "my bonnie" (sort of a beatle song) but did not grasp the whole package until ed sullivan said, "ladies and gentlemen, from liverpool, england, the beatles!"
i was speechless, mesmerized, inspired
i wanted to do that
i got out the guitar
a mystery of strings, wood, ivory
fortunately 20 or so friends had the same dream
we taught each other
uncle elwood taugh me a couple of chords
house of the rising son - the most chords, if you can learn that one, you know almost every chord you need for rock & roll
louie, louie; satisfaction; peter gun; twilight zone theme; walk don't run - guitar primers
it was frustrating but i needed to learn
pain in finger tips, bloody callouses, we played for hours, we sounded horrible
thank God for parents who endured
formative musical years
later came music for Jesus
then it was just music because