Good Friday Playlist

Good Friday is the hinge day to a new world. It is God's affirmation that he enters into all of life with us. There is no aspect of human experience in which God refuses to participate. Good Friday, not Easter Sunday, is Jesus' moment of glory in the Gospel of John, and I think this might be why. At any rate, for me Good Friday is about possibility in the midst of life's complexity.

So, today I have a Good Friday playlist. It's theme is new music, music new to me that is. There are a few tunes here that I've had awhile, but I've found them anew. Songs that I overlooked before, but are now at the top of my most recently played. But the rest are from music I bought this year. And this is a good year for that.

This playlist isn't just my faves from these cd's, though some of them are. A playlist has to make sense from song to song, either musically, or lyrically, or both. And this one is a bit of both. We start with rolling blues rock and end with some basic three chord rock and roll. But in between there are acoustic guitars. So, for what its worth, here's today's playlist.

Beyond Here Lies Nothin'--Bob Dylan. You expected something different? I love this song, which is a pre-release for the upcoming cd. It's got a Cajun blues feel--guitars, horns, accordian. And Bob's scratchy vocal, "Oh, I love you pretty baby..." Perfect.

Shuffle Your Feet--Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. This is from their cd, "Howl," which is the find of the year for me. My brother-in-law hooked me up. Their other cd's are good, but very different. This one is rife with gospel themes, sin and redemption, and you get the feeling these guys could go either way. Great guitars, harmonica, blues rhythms, blues/gospel vocals. And this song, I always have to play twice.

Good Eye--Bruce Springsteen. I like Bruce when he's roughing it up a little. His stuff can be a little corny for me and several songs on his new cd are that way. But not this one. He growls about his good eye being turned to the night and his blind eye to the day. A great transition from BRMC.

I Want You--Kings of Leon. And while we're in the blues rock kind of mold, we go to those Southern rockers, KoL. This is my guilty pleasure music. I love this guy's vocals, and the Southern Rock guitar licks.

Magnificent--U2. Here we make a playlist turn. The growling guitar at the beginning of the song makes it possible to go from KoL to U2. I like the new U2 cd a lot, and this might not be my favorite song. But I like it plenty. "Only love, only love..."

The Delicate Place--Spoon. I always have to listen to this song more than once. It makes me feel cool to listen to Spoon, one of the good things to come out of Texas. We're into a jazz/rock fusion kind of thing here, more piano driven. Love it. "I'll picture for you, you'll picture for me, the delicate place."

Remain--Tyrone Wells. This guy can flat sing. If you want someone who can roll your socks up and down, Tyrone Wells. We have now transitioned into slower stuff.

Look at You--My Morning Jacket. I bought this after reading a review in the NYTimes. I like it. And there are definite gospel allusions in these songs."Look at you...such a glowing example of peace and glory, glory, glory..."

True Blue (Acoustic Version)--Gary Louris. Louris is one of the Jayhawks' vocalists. I saw him in the Dallas airport a few weeks ago carrying his well worn guitar case. He was on his way to SXSW. I want to learn to play this song on the guitar. "Today is the day all my branches will bear their fruit and all my labor will be rewarded... Strip it down...to what is right and true blue."

Pull Me Through--Foy Vance. My buddy Ben Ries turned me on to this guy. The cd is uneven, but there are great moments and this song is one of them. "You fill me up with fire and I crash on the rocks of desire..." Great, great vocal.

I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You--Colin Hay. A friend gave me the Garden State soundtrack a few years ago, and some of the tracks made it immediately onto playlists. Such a beautiful cd and a great movie. Somehow this song didn't make the playlistsand I've only recently rediscovered it. Beautifully sad, which sometimes is the most beautiful kind of beautiful. I wish I could write these kinds of songs. Great acoustic guitar and a beautiful vocal. "If I lived till I was a hundred and two, just don't think I'll ever get over you."

How Come--Ray LaMontagne. Another song I've had for awhile but am just now discovering. LaMontagne allows a vocal transition from Colin Hay. They have a similar sound. But this song is upbeat. It makes me want to dance (don't worry, I resist in public), which is pretty great for a protest song. I always have to listen to this one twice.

Mr. Richards--REM. Can't say why exactly, but I love this song. In fact, if I want to do a little celebrating during the day, this is the cd these days. It's just fun. And it's biting critique of something, perhaps our bureaucratic society. "Mr. Richards you're forgiven for a narrow lack of vision but the fires are still raging on the public's got opinions...and we know what's going on."

So, all the stuff of life on a Good Friday. It all gets admitted as evidence, and as possibility for transforming love. Good Friday.