Top Ten CD's

So, its that time of the decade. Everyone is making their best of the decade lists--best college football team, best films, etc. And while I'm tired of it, there is something wonderfully democratic about this exercise. It is an expression of judgement. No one gets to tell me what the best music is. I can have my own top ten list. They may not be the best--they're my favorites. And it was very hard to narrow down to ten--I have a lot of great new music from this decade. And so, because I have my own blog and because I can, here are my top cd's of the decade.

10. Elivs Costello--North. A criteria for this list is wanting to listen to the whole cd all the way through. And this one fits that bill. These are torch songs. Think Sinatra, not the Attractions. Elvis whispers sweet nothing in our ear in smooth arrangements, his voice just misshapen enough to give them some character. "Still" is one of my all-time favorite songs.

9. Bruce Springsteen--The Rising. A time like the aftermath of 9/11 is the perfect setting for someone like Springsteen. The cd has a weight to it, a consistency, born of the subject matter. Bruce's ties to both the rock and folk traditions provides the perfect sensibility here. Just enough anger and grief and introspection here without any Toby Keith idiocy. I like every song on this cd.

8. Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation--Mighty Rearranger. Again, I listen to this one straight through every time. Great music often combines genres in new ways. Here we have Delta Blues and middle eastern music brought together in a very satisfying way, and sung by one of the best rock vocalists ever. "Shine it All Around," "Dancing in Heaven," "Mighty Rearranger" all great songs.

7. Spoon--Gimme Fiction. Spoon is one of the real finds for me recently. I feel cooler than I should listening to Spoon. And its hard for me to pick between Ga ga ga ga ga, or Gimme Fiction. Gimme Fiction gets the nod for one of my favorite songs, "The Delicate Place." Everyday should have a little Spoon.

6. Ben Harper--Both Sides of the Gun. I saw Harper perform "Better Way" on Letterman and knew I had to have this cd. Harper has great range, and its all on display here. You've got protest music like "Better Way," and beautiful love songs like "Happy Everafter in Your Eyes." All of it makes you want to dance (if a person were inclined that way), and most of it makes you chuckle a little.

5. Wilco-Sky, Blue Sky. Don't skip any songs on this cd. Jeff Tweedy is genius. I'm never embarrassed by a Tweedy lyric, and the "middle eight" in a Wilco song is nearly always a revelation--not the way you expected the song to go, e.g. "Hate it Here." Lyrics, vocals, guitars. Great.

4. Johnny Cash--American IV. What an amazing, amazing thing the American series is. Rick Rubin, who produced these Cash sessions, provided the perfect setting for Cash's wise and weary voice. You don't want to hear Cash sing everything he does on these albums (Bridge Over Troubled Water), but there are classics here, especially among the covers. American IV features the original, "The Man Comes Around," and the great cover "Hurt."

3. Bob Dylan--Modern Times. I hear all of Dylan through Time Out of Mind, Modern Times,and Love and Theft. TOoM came out in the 90's so is eliminated that way. Modern Times gets the nod because its a little darker, the songs featuring Dylan's "fearsome wheeze" a little better. "Spirit on the Water," "When the Deal Goes Down," "Workingman's Blues #2," "The Levee's Gonna Break." Great songs. Plus, Time Out of Mind came with four videos, "Things Have Changed" being my favorite.

2. Brandi Carlile--The Story. I was listening to Brandi the other day and my son asked, "who is this? She's good." Another find of the decade. Great, great voice, and great songs. It's tough to choose between her last two albums (Give Up the Ghost came out a few months ago), but The Story gets the nod because of when it came along in my life. I found the chords to Turpentine the other night and like many Brandi songs, simple structure, easy to play, beautiful melody.

1. U2--All That You Can't Leave Behind. The first cd I bought this decade was my favorite. I knew with the first listen that this was a great cd (it usually takes me a few times through). I still listen all the way through. It holds up great and my favorite song changes from time to time. At first it was "Stuck in a Moment," then "Kite," then "Beautiful Day," then "In a Little While." I had fallen away from listening to music for awhile. This cd brought me back. Seeing them a few months ago in Chicago kind of frames the decade in music perfectly.

There are a lot of honorable mentions: The Raconteurs, Tom Petty, Black Rebel Motorcyle Club, My Morning Jacket, Lucinda Williams, Tyrone Wells, Pearl Jam, The Black Keys, Radiohead, Jet, Green Day, Kings of Leon. And ten years from now, I might still be listening to these and have let some of the above drift down a notch or two. But I like this list a lot. I hope the new decade brings as interesting a mix as this.

U2 on a Monday

Last night I was in Soldier Field in Chicago for the second night of U2's 360 tour. It was a spectacular night, one I will always remember.

I am a huge U2 fan, but was somewhat skeptical that a stadium show could scratch my U2 itch. But once the concert started, I was so inside the experience that it just wasn't a factor, at least not negatively. In the words of "Put on Your Boots," the boys from Ireland "let me in the sound." I was close. But on the positive side, it was simply an amazing thing to be with nearly 100,000 people moving with one energy. Even leaving the stadium at the end of the concert, with all those people being pushed through a very limited space toward Grant Park, was a great feeling. We have all experienced something significant together.

But how do you describe the concert in words. The stage was enormous and quite the spectacle (the photo from a set done by Snow Patrol before U2 came on). A multi-media/giant spaceship that moved and lit up and displayed things on an enormous, expandable screen. It was a character in the U2 drama, and most of the time a positive one. The space/future theme of the stage was underscored by the opening as the band walked into "Major Tom" and by the ending as they left to "Rocket Man."

There is simply nothing like live music. The thumping bass in your chest. The ear splitting guitars. The energy of live performers, especially someone like Bono. The surprise of an innovation in lyric or melody or rhythm. This show had everything that makes live music great.

And of course with U2, you're looking for meaning, and Christian meaning. And last night's meaning was hope. This space ship was not 2001 a Space Odyssey, the future as an ominous darkness where technology threatens us. This future was hopeful and full of justice. Gone were some of the darker images related to society (e.g. Bullet the Blue Sky). This was God's future pressing on us.

My favorite U2 song is "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," which has not been a regular on their concert playlists on recent tours. This is properly an eschatological song. There's still something coming, the kingdom come, "where all the colors bleed into one. You know I'm still running." It was their 6th song this evening, right on the heels of Magnificent and Beautiful Day. It was worshipful, and it was not lost on Bono that we were gathered on a Sunday.

The best part of the evening for me was the first encore. The band had left the stage and the first thing we saw to open the encore was an amazing video from Desmond Tutu. He said that the same people who fought for civil rights in America were the same people who fought Apartheid in South Africa and who continue to fight injustice in the world today. He was animated and joyful as he designated us gathered that night as the same people--the very same people who had fought in all of these places. And he promised us that the wind of God's justice would be at our backs. At the video's end, the band played "One." Perfect. And then Bono played his guitar and sang a soulful verse of "Amazing Grace," which led into the properly eschatological, "Where the Streets Have No Name." All we needed was the eucharist. (The people down the row from us had their own elements, an incense all its own).

This was what worship should be. A diverse group moving as one. Pure bliss and joyful embodiment. Praise accompanied by acknowledgement of the world as it is (with not a little complaining and lamenting). And hope for what the world will one day become in the grace of God. A call to belong to that day. Perfect.

Set list

1.Breathe
2.No Line On The Horizon
3.Get On Your Boots
4.Magnificent
5.Beautiful Day / King Of Pain (snippet) / Blackbird (snippet)
6.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
7.Elevation
8.Your Blue Room
9.Unknown Caller
10.Until The End Of The World
11.Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
12.The Unforgettable Fire
13.City Of Blinding Lights
14.Vertigo
15.I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / I Want To Take You Higher (snippet)
16.Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock The Casbah (snippet)
17.In the Name of Love
18.Walk On

1st Encore
19.One / Amazing Grace (snippet)
20.Where The Streets Have No Name / All You Need Is Love (snippet)

2nd Encore

21. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22. With Or Without You
23. Moment of Surrender

5 Albums on a Sunday

I had stopped listening to music. Can't say why, but my life lacked a soundtrack for a few years. I remember when the music returned. It's crazy really. I was at a church camp-out and a teen brought me their discman and let me listen to what she was listening to. It was the Wallflowers, One Head Light. Not the greatest song ever, but I liked it plenty. I was intrigued and then found out this was Jakob Dylan's, Bob's son. Music was back. So, in addition to Bringing Down the Horse, by the Wallflowers, here are some other benchmark albums along the way.

Dulcinea--Toad the Wet Sprocket. Let me remind you, these are not my favorite cd's, but turning point cd's. My brother bought this for me for Xmas one year.They'd been around awhile and I had no idea who they were. How could something like that happen? It made me hungry for new music. I like Todd Phillips, their lead singer, a lot. And I loved this cd. So, I'm always surfing now for the one I've overlooked or is just emerging. Carbon Leaf, Rocco Delucca, Gomez, Nick Cave, The Shins. I'm willing to try new stuff, expand my horizons. Music is adventure again. I wasn't going to wait anymore for what was popular or out there. I was going to find stuff.

Sarah McLachlan--Surfacing. I went through a female singer/songwriter phase. Sarah, Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, Aimee Mann, Liz Phair, Lucinda Williams, and later Brandi Carlile. Surfacing is just a beautiful cd. I found Sarah pre ipod days and I had a little boombox in my study with three a three cd shuffler. Sarah was always one of those in those days. Great lyrics and a stuning voice.

Jet--Get Born. But after the sirens, I needed some guitars. And I found Jet. Throwback. Rock and roll. Male hormones. I wanted to be in a garage band again. This is cleaning the house music or when I'm alone and crank it music. One of the most amazing experiences of my life was the first time I skied with my ipod to Jet. The snow was perfect and the adrenaline rush was amazing. I know that at nearly 50, I probably would feel out of place at a Jet concert, but who cares.

U2--All That You Can't Leave Behind. I liked U2 and was somewhat familiar with their story line. Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For is one of my favorite songs ever. But this cd was magic for me. I like every song, and knew I loved the cd on the first listen, not a common occurence for me. I began teaching a college course on Christianity in Culture and I made my students watch the Elevation tour dvd at my house, lyrics sheet in hands. There are people who know a lot more about U2 than I do, but I became known around campus as a U2 guru of sorts and had lots of opportunities to make presentations featuring U2. One of the highlights of my life was meeting The Edge outside the Starbucks in Malibu.

Bob Dylan--Time Out of Mind. Everyone feels like they ought to be a Dylan fan. But I had just missed it. I liked Dylan songs more than I liked actually listening to Dylan. But I had been buying some music I had missed and felt like I would love, notably all things Neil Young. So, in that spirit I bought Time Out of Mind. It was amazing. Love Sick, Till I Fell in Love With You, Cold Irons Bound, Make You Feel My Love. I loved the guitars, Dylan's gawd-awful rasping vocals, the lyrics. Loved it all, couldn't stop listening. And I've been a little obsessed since. There's this great line in a West Wing episode from an intern of Josh Lyman (sorry, if you don't know West Wing) who wonders what it is about guys Josh's age and their devotion to Bob Dylan. I have no idea. But there's a playful, ironic, gritty, despairing hopefulness that just seems to capture midlife I guess. There's still love, but there aren't any illusions left. I've been playing catch up ever since. And one of the great nights of my life was seeing Dylan in Dallas last February.

Dylan on a Sunday

I've played the new Dylan song over and over. Can't wait for the new cd in a few weeks. This has been a momentous month. Purchased U2 tickets. Bought the new Gomez cd (I'm a fan, what can I say), I see Alexi Murdoch ("In your love, my salvation lies in your love...") Monday evening and Dylan releases a new one in a few days. It is good to be alive.

Beyond Here Lies Nothing

Oh well I love you pretty baby
You’re the only love I’ve ever known
Just as long as you stay with me
The whole world is my throne
Beyond here lies nothin’
Nothing we can call our own

Well I’m moving after midnight
Down boulevards of broken cars
Don’t know what I do without it
Without this love we call ours
Beyond here lies nothin’
Nothing but the moon and stars

Down every street there’s a window
And every window made of glass
We'll keep on loving pretty baby
For as long as love will last
Beyond here lies nothin’
But the mountains of the past

Well my ship is in the harbor
And the sails are spread
Listen to me pretty baby
Lay your hand upon my head
Beyond here lies nothin’
Nothing done and nothing said

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.

U2 on a Sunday

I know I'm probably the last one in the blogosphere to comment on U2's new release. It takes me awhile with U2. They are so idosyncratic as a group that your ear takes awhile to make sense of what it is that you're listening to. My friend, Scott Hagley, thinks this is why their music sticks with you, doesn't end up in the pile of sings you used to listen to. I'll go with that.

So, for me the jury is still out on the musical achievement. But again I feel myself comfortable in the horizon of their lyrical world. This cd is more shot through with specific biblical or theological allusions. You don't have to wonder whether or not there are biblical or theological overtones. They are right on the surface. This is a mixed bag for me because I think explicit references in a pop format can trivialize both the reference and the pop format. On the plus side, its not hard for me to find my bearings.

The faith on display here is no easy belief. The world is dark and God is not an obvious certainty gleaned from the facts on the ground. This is a grainy place to make out a clear picture. This does not, however, keep these songs from some beautiful pictures. Love that heals. Forgiveness where forgiveness is not. Magnificence. Joy and celebration. It is simultaneously realisitc and hopeful. Where else could joy spring from?

And there are moments of conversion. Life and faith are not all settled at once. This thing is hills and valleys. And the atm, the gaze of a stranger, and other ordinary places are also at the edge of the known universe. Every moment bears a transcendent possibility. I like that.

And I like that its all sensual, that sometimes you can't tell if they're singing about God or a woman.

So, today its a day with U2. Did I tell you that I met The Edge? He was at a Starbucks in Malibu a few years ago. We walked out at the same time (I timed it perfectly). I held the door for him, and he said...wait for it...wait for it..."thank you." So, then we're walking toward our cars and I'm trying to think of something to say without sounding like an idiot. So, finally the words tumbled out of my mouth, "Hey, thanks for what you do." He smiled at me and said, wait for it... "thanks, have a great day."

I am thankful for what they do.

From "Magnificent"

I was born to sing for you
I didn't have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love can heal such a scar
Justified till we die
You and I will magnify
The Magnificant.