May is the month!!!

There are a ton of great new realeases coming out in May.
Several movies, to include :

• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian


• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull


• Iron man

There's also some great CD's coming out as well. Not the least of which:

Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?

Larry Norman

4/8/1947 - 2/24/2008

A legend died on Sunday. Larry was a pioneer in Christian music. Often called the "Grandfather" of Christian Rock, Larry had a profound influence on many Christian artists over the past 40+ years. I've been enjoying his music since the early '80's.

It is, in a way, Larry's fault that I became a lover of music, especially Christian music. Back in 1970, Larry lead Randy Stonehill to the Lord. Randy, known as one of the 'Fathers' of Christian rock, went on to create some great Christian music. The very first Christian record I ever owned was Randy Stonehill's "The Sky Is Falling" (I still have it, too). Larry produced, sang background vocals and played various instruments on this album . After loving this album and reading the liner notes, seeing Larry's name all over the place, I figured I better check out this Larry guy since he seemed to have a lot of influence on this recording. So I bought one of Larry's tapes and have been a big fan ever since.

I only got to see Larry live once, at Cherry Hills Community church in Denver, Colorado. It was an amazing concert.

His second solo album, Only Visiting This Planet, has been voted the best Christian album of all time by CCM magazine.

Larry was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

The following credit Larry with influencing them in one way or another:

• Randy Stonehill


• Steve Camp


• Mark Heard


• Toby Mac/dc Talk


• Frank Black of the Pixies


• U2


• Pete Townshend had been inspired by one of Larry's early rock operas to write Tommy*


• "It’s often said that Bob Dylan was heavily influenced by his music during his “Christian period,” and even attended Larry’s Bible study while on tour."*


• Too many more to mention.

*These claims I have not been able to confirm, but they are mentioned in multiple websites that I've found.

I think Larry summed up Christian Rock music best in the following words:

Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music? - Larry Norman

I want the people to know that He saved my soul
But I still like to listen to the radio.
They say rock 'n' roll is wrong, we'll give you one more chance.
I say I feel so good I gotta get up and dance.

I know what's right, I know what's wrong, I don't confuse it.
All I'm really trying to say
Is why should the devil have all the good music?

I feel good every day'
Cause Jesus is the rock and he rolled my blues away.

They say to cut my hair, they're driving me insane,
I grew it out long to make room for my brain.
But sometimes people just don't understand,
What's a good boy doing in a rock 'n' roll band?

There's nothing wrong with playing blues licks,
But if you got a scripture, tell me to my face
Why should the devil have all the good music?

There's nothing wrong with what I play'
Cause Jesus is the rock and he rolled my blues away.

I ain't knocking the hymns,
Just give me a song that has a beat.
I ain't knocking the hymns,
Just give me a song that moves my feet.
I don't like none of those funeral marches
I ain't dead yet!

Jesus told the truth,
Jesus showed the way
There's one more thing I'd like to say.
They nailed him to the cross,
they laid him in the ground,
But they shoulda known you can't keep a good man down.

I feel good every day, I don't wanna lose it.
All I wanna, all I wanna know
Is why should the devil have all the good music?

I've been filled, I feel okay,
Jesus is the rock and he rolled my blues
Jesus is the rock and he rolled my blues
Jesus is the rock and he rolled my blues away.

---

See ya, Larry. Thanks for everything.

Chris Rice

The past couple of years I've really enjoyed Chris Rice's music. He writes a lot of catchy tunes that you can tap your foot to, and his lyrics are clever, funny and very profound. To me, it's happy music. It sounds like he's happy, and it makes me happy to listen to it. This is one guy I'd love to sit down to dinner with and just have a long converstation about life.

I don't think I've heard a song yet that I didn't like (although there are some that I have to be in a certain mood to listen to). I even use a portion of one, Smile, as a ringtone on my phone.

One song in particular that I'd like to mention in more detail: Life Means So Much.

The message of this song is one I'm desperately trying to learn. Every moment of our lives means something. Is it a blessing or a curse? Are we lifting up or tearing down? Are we investing or squandering? Unfortunately, too often it's the negative.

I'm really trying hard to learn that every moment I have with my family is precious and can't be retrieved once lost. I've been trying to spend more time with them, be nicer to them, be a good dad and a good husband. Unfortunately, I fail all too often.

Life Means So Much - Chris Rice

Every day is a journal page
Every man holds a quill and ink
And there's plenty of room for writing in
All we do and believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessings
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketching

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Every day is a bank account
And time is our currency
So no one's rich, nobody's poor
We get 24 hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest, or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who's under

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Has anybody ever lived who knew the value of a life
And don't you think giving is all
What proves the worth of yours and mine

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Every day is a gift you've been given
Make the most of the time every minute you're living

My New Band (sorta...)

the latest internet meme (fad) that’s going around is the band album cover theme. You pick random words and pictures from Wikipedia and Flickr and combine them to create your custom band album. It goes like this:
1. The first article title on the Wikipedia Random Articles Page is the name of your band.
2. The last four words of the very last quotation on the Random Quotations page is the title of your album.
3. The third picture in Flickr’s Interesting Photos From the Last 7 Days is your album cover.Throw in some Photoshop and mix to get your own album cover.

My Band
Band Name: This Disambiguation
Album Name: If You Just Trusted Yourself
Cover: