"Life is hell, but it's beautiful..."

I was watching a video on Mat Kearney's site, and during it he says, "Life is hell, but it's beautiful...".

I couldn't agree more. Life really is hell sometimes. Pain, sickness, war, death, divorce, bills, democrats. They all suck.

A former co-worker of mine is dying of cancer. She's only about 35 or so. I was told just before Christmas that she only had a few days at most to live, and her goal was to live past Christmas and have one last Christmas with her husband and 2 young kids before she dies. She may be dead by now, I don't know yet.

Cancer really sucks. It took my best friend and his death caused his wife to fall hard. She seemed fine for about a year after he died, but then her cousin got her involved in drugs and other things and she basically abandoned her son and is pretty much just a mess.

Another friend of mine died just a couple of weeks ago. Though he and his wife were separated, she still took it really hard. On top of that, I'm concerned about her daughter and the choices she seems to be making.

The stock market has been topsy-turvy for a long time and many people are losing their jobs (I lost mine in October, but was blessed in that I got another one quickly).

We're about to get a new president. I've been concerned about the direction our country has been going for a while, and now I fear it will only get worse.

In this unreliable world, there's only One who you can rely on.

Undeniable - Mat Kearney
It’s undeniable how brilliant You are
in an unreliable world You Shine like a star
it’s unforgettable now that we've come this far
it’s unmistakable that You’re undeniable

February 5th, friday morning, purple dawn,
broke a yawn, as I stepped through the fog, like I stepped to a song
a moment like a poem, you wish you could hold it
I shut my eyes like it’s frozen, it’s gone when I open
it slipped passed the clouds right there where it lingered
like your band and a girl could slip through your fingers
my feet hit the ground like a beat for the lonely
on a path beaten down by the crowds in the morning
if only I could touch past the phony
if only they where there now to hold me
as the questions keep droning

You’re the only one who stuck it out last night
the only other one who caught the other line
You’re the only one when this world collides
the One that I can’t deny

It’s undeniable how brilliant You are
in an unreliable world You Shine like a star
it’s unforgettable now that we've come this far
it’s unmistakable that You’re undeniable

it’s my last year here
my first class moved to portable ‘a’
under construction since summer
and it’s cold today
I can see my breath, and what’s left of the west parking lot
and all the spaces that we fought
and it all seems forgotten, left in the bottom
in the past piles of rubble, in puddles of rain water
that hurt last night when I left like that
when I won’t come back
speaking my peace to the past

I can’t help but wonder, who's this wind at my back

a whisper to walk on, come on from all that

You’re the only one who stuck it out last night
the only other one who caught the other line
You’re the only one when this world collides
the One that I can’t deny

It’s undeniable how brilliant You are
in an unreliable world You Shine like a star
it’s unforgettable now that we've come this far
it’s unmistakable that You’re undeniable

how am I gonna take it away in this winter wind
You found me on a summer breeze
how am I gonna run away when the autumn breaks
now that You found me in the spring
come on and sing it out

It’s undeniable how brilliant You are
in an unreliable world You Shine like a star
it’s unforgettable now that we've come this far
it’s unmistakable that You’re undeniable

Music Builds

Went to the Music Builds tour last night with the boys.

Red

Jars of Clay

RR & TFB - Robert Randolph and the Family Band (WHO??)

Switchfoot

Third Day

In that order. They apparently had Red perform before the actual start time, so we missed it. They ended their set as we were walking in. So I have no comment on them.

Jars of Clay, as always, was fabulous. These guys are just amazing. They did some of my favorites, like Love Song For A Saviour, and also some new stuff from their upcoming new CD. They simply rocked.

Now wait a sec. They put a major band like Jars of Clay before an unknown group like RR & TFB?? What the heck are they thinking?

RR & TFB was interesting. It was kind of a jazzy-fusion sound. But the thing is, it all sounded the same. To me, it sounded like a single 30-minute song.  The music was basically the same, and all they sang was "Good time, good time, we're having a good time" or something like that. Now, the music was definately catchy and quality for it's style, but it's not my style.

Then came Switchfoot. They have definately gotten better since I first saw them several years ago. They have a really top-notch performance. They did a bunch of the classics, like Meant to Live and Dare You To Move, as well as stuff off of their newer albums. It was really a great set.

Then came Third Day. They lead their set with Rich Mullins' Creed. Wow. I think even Rich would have been impressed. They sang Rockstar. I'm sure they sang other songs too, but at this point both the boys were complaining about wanting to go home and being tired, and I got tired of hearing it so we left. I'm sure it was a great concert. Probably more like a worship service with songs like God Of Wonders. I wonder.

Linkin Park

Well, this band isn't in my iPod rotation. In fact, I don't own a single song of theirs. I came across this song while flipping radio stations. Of course, the DJ didn't say who the band was or what the song name was, so I Googled the first few words of the chorus and found out it was Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park.

Wait a minute. I like something by Linkin Park? Me?

Yep. Did some iTunes research (song/video previews) and I found out that I like several of their songs.

Problem: Most of their songs are labeled 'Explicit' on iTunes. Ok, I'm not surprised. I've had a negative opinion of LP since they first came on the scene, mainly due to stereotyping. The kind of people I saw that had LP t-shirts and stickers on their cars, etc, told me that they were a band that I would not care for. So I never checked them out.

Till now.

I gotta say, this song and a couple of others that I sampled on iTunes are brilliant, musically. Now, the songs I checked out on iTunes were all marked Clean, FYI.

When I heard this song (and Numb) on the radio, I was like, Wow, who is that?? Not only did I think the music was brilliant, but I heard something in the vocals and the lyrics that really reached out to me. It was a yearning for meaning, purpose and acceptance.

I looked at the lyrics of several of their songs, and saw a common theme. These guys are desperate. How bout this, from the song Given Up:

I've given up...
I'm sick of living
Is there nothing you can say?
Take this all away
I'm suffocating!
Tell me what the #$%^ is wrong with me?

Throughout their songs, they sing of anger, of pain, of desperation, of wanting/needing something more than what they have. From what they sing, you'd think they have awful lives not worth living. Kind of crazy looking in from the outside. These guys have what so many think they want. They have fame, fortune, stardom. Its not enough. Not fulfilling. But they're hanging on, hoping somehow, somewhere, someday, someONE will help them find themselves and their purpose for living. SomeONE that will accept them and love them unconditionally. I know the feeling. I think we all do.

What are these guys missing? To me, it's obvious. They are looking inside themselves for the answer when what they need is a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, all else is meaningless. I hope they find Him. Can you imagine the amazing music they could create if they did it to glorify God?

Somewhere I Belong - Linkin Park

When this began
I had nothing to say
And I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me
I was confused
And I let it all out to find that I'm
Not the only person with these things in mind
Inside of me
But all the vacancy the words revealed
Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel
Nothing to lose
Just stuck / Hollow and alone
And the fault is my own
And the fault is my own

I want to heal
I want to feel
What I thought was never real
I want to let go of the pain I've held so long
[Erase all the pain 'til it's gone]

I want to heal
I want to feel
Like I'm close to something real
I want to find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong

And I've got nothing to say
I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face
I was confused looking everywhere only to find that it's
Not the way I had imagined it all in my mind
So what am I what do I have but negativity
'Cause I can't justify the
Way everyone is looking at me
Nothing to lose
Nothing to gain

Hollow and alone
And the fault is my own
The fault is my own
I will never know
Myself until I do this on my own
And I will never feel
Anything else until my wounds are healed
I will never be
Anything 'til I break away from me
And I will break away
I'll find myself today

I want to heal
I want to feel like
I'm somewhere I belong

Numb - Linkin Park

I'm tired of being what you want me to be Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface I don't know what you're expecting of me Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow Every step that I take is another mistake to you Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow I've become so numb, I can't feel you there Become so tired, so much more aware By becoming this all I want to do Is be more like me and be less like you Can't you see that you're smothering me? Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control 'Cause everything that you thought I would be Has fallen apart right in front of you Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow Every step that I take is another mistake to you Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow And every second I waste is more than I can take! I've become so numb, I can't feel you there Become so tired, so much more aware By becoming this all I want to do Is be more like me and be less like you And I know I may end up failing too But I know you were just like me with someone disappointed in you I've become so numb, I can't feel you there Become so tired, so much more aware By becoming this all I want to do Is be more like me and be less like you I've become so numb, I can't feel you there I'm tired of being what you want me to be I've become so numb, I can't feel you there I'm tired of being what you want me to be

Rascal Flatts

Now, ordinarily you would not find me listening to country music. I've been forced to listen for the past 10+ years due to Denise liking it.

I will admit, however, that every now and then there's a pretty good country song. I've become somewhat acclimated. I no longer twitch when I hear that twang that's so prevalent in country music.

I'm sure I had heard a Rascal Flatts song prior to this, but what made me stand up and take note of them was their song, "My Wish". What a cool song. If I could sing, I would sing that song to each of my kids. It made me think that these guys must be Christians. I even liked the song so much that I bought the CD. YES, I bought a country CD for ME, not Denise. Will wonders never cease?

After I got the CD, I read the liner notes. Those notes can tell you a LOT about an artist. Especially the 'Thank You' section. Since these guys thank their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I think it's probably a good bet that they are Christians.

This post is not about that song, by the way. It's about another song on the album called "He Ain't The Leavin' Kind".

I saw a commercial the other day for some CD where country artists are singing gospel songs, and this song was included. I said, "Huh? How's that a gospel song?" Once again I have victimized myself by not paying attention to the lyrics. You hear the chorus of "He ain't the leavin' kind, He'd never walk away" and you kinda think, "Oh, that's nice, they're singing about a faithful husband or something like that." While that would definitely be a honorable thing to sing about, what they are actually singing about is much more important.

They're talking about that, despite people's best efforts to get rid of God, He won't leave us. No matter how unfaithful we are to Him, He will always remain faithful to us. Romans 3:3-4 says, "3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4 Not at all!"

This is something I think we need to cling to in these times. With economic uncertainty and this crazy election and the possibility of a man like Barak Obama being our president, we need to remember that despite people's efforts to kick God out of this country, God will not leave us. He ain't the leavin' kind.


He Ain't The Leavin' Kind - Rascal Flatts

They tried their best to drag him out
Of a courthouse down in Montgomery
And now they wanna kick him out of school
And take him off our money
They can take those words off of paper and stone
But he ain’t gone, no

Chorus
He ain’t the leavin’ kind
He’d never walk away
Even from those who don’t believe
And wanna leave him behind
He ain’t the leavin’ kind

She stayed mad at him for a lot of years
For takin’ her husband
Started losin’ her faith
And thinkin’ that her life meant nothin’
But when she looks at those kids she raised all by herself
She knows she had some help, yeah she knows

No matter what you do
No matter where you go
He’s always right there with you

Even from those who don’t believe
And wanna leave him behind

He ain’t the leavin’ kind
No, no
He ain’t the leavin’, he ain’t the leavin’ kind
He ain’t the leavin’ kind
He ain’t the leavin’ kind

Cheap Trick/Journey

Got to go see Cheap Trick and Journey in concert on Saturday, and I was pleasantly surprised.

I had never been a Cheap Trick fan. I liked a few of their songs here and there, but never bought an album. I'm still not a Cheap Trick fan. Despite Wikipedia saying they have a "reputation as "the greatest live band ever", their live performance was lacking. The audio sucked and their singing was awful. It was more like screeching. You could not make out the words most of the time, even if you knew the song by heart. While I recognized most songs, the most recognizable was their cover of The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" and "The Flame". I simply was not impressed.

Journey, however, was a different story.

My first impression of Journey when I was a kid was that they had very cool album covers. They still do. They have a lot of cool songs too. Obviously, the Steve Perry years defined Journey as a band. That's why I was somewhat apprehensive about going to this concert. They have a new lead singer that they found on YouTube, who has only been with them since December of 2007. And he's some guy from the Philippines.

Well, I decided to go. After all, it was free tickets and I really had nothing better to do, so why not? Let me tell you, this Filippino guy, Arnel Pineda, is incredible. He sounded so much like Perry that if you closed your eyes, it would be hard to tell that it wasn't him. It was the first time I had ever seen Journey live, and I'm glad I went.


It was really fun watching the stupid drunk college kids too. One of them only knew how to do 'the pony', and he did it for the entire concert. It was hilarous.

All in all it was a fun night. I got to spend some time with my friend Russ and hear some good old classic rock.

Need tunes now!!!

Wow, it's been over a month since I wrote anything here.... Nothing has hit me as being noteworthy of late, so maybe I need to go buy a new CD....

Being part of a legend... or two...

Boston. Clearly one of the most legendary rock bands of all time. Amazing guitar riffs. Incredible vocals. Some of the best rock 'n roll you'll ever hear.

So why am I writing about Boston? Well, with the unfortunate and untimely death of singer Brad Delp, something interesting has happened. I have known about this for some months, but just haven't sat down and wrote about it till now.

Boston has chosen Michael Sweet to be their vocalist for the 2008 tour. !!!
(They also have some other guy, but he's not relevant to this post. Sorry dude.)

Now, Michael, as you may know, has already had a stellar career with the legendary Christian Metal band Stryper, and a pretty darn good solo career as well. Now the guy gets a chance to be part of Boston history too. How lucky can you get? Michael Sweet is an amazing vocalist. He can scream better than just about anybody. If they come through Alabama, I'll probably try to go. It'll be interesting if they play any of Michael's/Stryper's stuff.

I had a hard time deciding what song to list here, there are so many good ones. I decided to listen to a few and see if any really grabbed me, when, once again, I actually paid attention to the lyrics of one that I had never really paid attention to before. The song Higher Power is dedicated to those who have recovered from substance abuse.

The possible Christian application of this song is so obvious, I'm not even going to talk about it.

Higher Power - Boston

Let me love you
Take me home to your religion for the night
Let me touch you
Teach me how to see your vision through my eyes
Turn the pages
Tell my story, let me face another day
Safe embraces, I feel it comin' now
My captain's on his way.

Hey, my high power
The world is spinnin', but I'm not afraid
Yeah, give me the power
It's the beginnin', the beginnin' of another day.
Yeah

Let me hold you
Take me back into the secrets of my mind
Let me know you
Come and save me Lord
Don't let me cross the line


Hey, my high power
The world is spinnin', but I'm not afraid
Yeah, give me the power
It's the beginnin', the beginnin' of another day.


"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Thy will,not mine,shall be done. Amen."*


Ooh, let me love you
Ooh, let me love you
Hey, my Higher Power
The world is spinnin', but I'm not afraid
Yea, my Higher Power
It's the beginning of another day.


Hey, my Higher Power
The world is spinnin', but I'm not afraid
Yeah, my Higher Power
It's the beginnin' of another day.


Hey, my high power
Hey, my high power
Hey, my high power

*The Serenity Prayer is not included in some edits of the song.