Arts

It is done: Derek Webb’s “Stockholm Syndrome” album release + new free song

/ Paul Burkhart / 10 Comments

Untitled

[WARNING: there’s a “bad” word mentioned a few times in this post]

[Also, for those reading this on Facebook, click here to read this on my actual blog, so you can watch the videos, stream the music, and download the audio more easily.]

Well, it’s done.  After all the drama, Derek Webb’s new album “Stockholm Syndrome” is set for release this Tuesday.  Apparently, if you pre-order the album off his website on Tuesday, you will be able to get a free download of the entire album immediately.

But –

this revelation did not come before another song – the song of the album perhaps – was released.  Anyone who has been following this situation knows that Derek has been releasing “stems” (or pieces of the song) for a while.  This is the song with the cursing that started this whole thing.  It is a song that has been titled “What Matters More” and it has to do with the Church’s treatment of homosexuals.  So without further ado, here are all the songs that have been released off of Derek Webb’s newest album “Stockholm Syndrome”.  Enjoy and be sure to download them all on Tuesday.

Thanks again to Shane for the update.  The name above each streaming song is a link to the actual file for you to download.  Right-click or whatever you do to download these things.

“What Matters More?”

“Freddie, Please”

“Heaven”

“The Spirit vs. the Kick-Drum”

It sounds like the new song is what inspired (or vice versa) Webb’s recent purchase of the domain GiveAShit.org, which he plans on using as a fundraising site.  The site’s had no content on it for a while, but just now as I saw that it has a black screen on it, apparently holding the spot for new content coming soon (Tuesday, perhaps?).  We’ll see.

Lastly, I heard from musical artist and friend Joel Rakes (so if it’s not true, blame him – or the people he follows on Twitter) that there was also a documentary done about this whole thing, so keep an eye out for that.  And check out Joel’s stuff while you’re at it.

Here are other sites concerning Webb and the album. Please visit these as well to support the artist and his craft.

For those that don’t even know about Derek Webb and his music, here are a few of my favorite songs by him. Yeah, he’s pretty stinking good. [Once again, if you’re on facebook, these videos may not show up, so click here to watch them]

“Wedding Dress” off of “She Must and Shall Go Free”
Vodpod videos no longer available.

“Medication” off of “I See things Upside Down”
Vodpod videos no longer available.

“My Enemies Are Men Like Me” off of “Mockingbird”
Vodpod videos no longer available.

Regina Spektor’s upcoming album “Far”

/ Paul Burkhart / 2 Comments

First off, I really want to do more cultural critique on this blog.  I feel like I have had my head in the ether for far too long.  Now, I don’t want to talk any less about theology and Christianity, I just want to talk a whole lot more about television, music, movies, politics, technology and the like.  Secondly, I was in the process of ignoring this desire of mine and was almost done putting the finishing touches on an upcoming three(?) part series on philosophy and theology, when @NPRnews popped on my twitter feed with a link to where they are currently streaming the new Regina Spektor album (due out June 23rd).

Let’s just say the philsophy series got put on hold for a day or two.

This album is spectacular.

I’ve never listened to Regina Spektor.  I regret that now.  This album (according to NPR) was produced by four different people in four different places at four different times.  For those circumstances to produce this record is astonishing.  Admittedly, I was really enjoying just the music, vocals, and melodies.  Until I heard the song below.  I really had no idea how wonderful of a lyricist she is.  Good gracious.  And no, I don’t just like the song because it talks about God (in fact, she’s a practicing Jew, apparently).  The lyrics are so thoughtful and smart, the music is so beautiful, and the melodies are those of a very experienced artist.

There are so many beautiful nuances in this record.  I will spend the next week or so plumbing their depths.  Current favorites tracks are: The Calculation, Blue Lips, Laughing With, Human of the Year, Dance Anthem of the 80’s, Genius Next Door, Man of a Thousand Faces.

So, listen to the album, put it on repeat, pre-order it, watch this video (below), and read/love the lyrics.

Derek Webb’s “Stockholm Syndrome” {“Freddie, Please” pt. II}

/ Paul Burkhart / 11 Comments

derekwebb.jpg

[TO ANYONE THAT COMES ACROSS THIS POST: there is updated information and another song on a later post.  All the songs found here are also there, in addition to the much anticipated song off the new record “What Matters More?”  Here’s the link for that post.]

It has been brought to my attention that yesterday’s post is already out of date. Apparently, there was a 12-hour window to download the song. I’ve received a couple of requests to make the music file available for download here. After much thought about the ethics of it all, I’m thinking that since Derek Webb did post it up for free, and he didn’t include any statement prohibiting this, I’ll go ahead and post a link to download it. If any representatives of Webb see this and want me to take this down, I’ll be glad to do so. I really want to support Derek in any way.

[UPDATE: Thanks to Shane Bertou for posting these other audio files up. In the article, he also has the so far assembled audio from the currently released “stems” that form Webb’s song that apparently is being referred to as “Stockholm Syndrome” for the time being.]

So on that note, here’s a link to download the new song “Freddie, Please” off of Derek Webb’s upcoming album “Stockholm Syndrome”, along with the other full songs that have been released so far:

“Freddie, Please” by Derek Webb

from Shane’s site:

“Heaven”

“The Spirit vs. the Kick-Drum”

Thanks to Angina Pectoris for bringing these other recordings to my attention.

Here are other sites concerning Webb and the album. Please visit these as well to support the artist and his craft.

Grace and peace.

Derek Webb’s new free song about Fred Phelps

/ Paul Burkhart / 6 Comments

Untitled[EDITOR’S NOTE:  there was apparently a 12- hour window in which to download this song.  That window having passed, I have made the song available on another post on this site.  Continue reading if you want the story behind the song. Click here for the article.]

If you don’t care about background, story, or mystery, and just want free music and lyrics, you can skip down to the asterisks.

Okay, for everyone else, there are two things you should know about that would really help you enjoy this post.  The first thing is who Fred Phelps is.  He’s the “pastor” of Westboro Baptist Church. This is the church that protests dead soldiers’ funerals with the signs reading “God hates fags.” Most of us Christians don’t like Fred Phelps at all.

Including Derek Webb.

Which brings me to the second thing you might want to know about. It is Derek Webb‘s recent “Lost-style” mystery/game/scavenger hunt/fake-controversy thing.  Long story-short: email’s went out to fans from Webb saying “my new album’s controversial, my label doesn’t like it, I’ll figure something out.”  These emails had a code in them which led to the discovery of a website, twitter account, and other strange things (type “kickdrum”, then look right under his left eye, go to the site, type “youneverknow”. This is what use to pop up.). The unofficial hub of speculation has become the comments section of this article on Patrol Magazine.

Anyway, through his site and twitter account, Webb puts out “instructions” (i.e. “scavenger hunt clues”) for various cities in the the country.  People find the clue, email the code to him, and he releases a zip file of small 1 or 2 second sound clips.  No one has any clue what these sound clips are for.  Supposedly you’ll be able to put them together, but with how long they’ve been so far, there won’t be enough audio for even one full song, much less an entire album.  This has been going on for a couple of weeks with people finding these parts and no major updates happening.

***Until today.***

About 45 minutes prior to me writing this post, Derek Webb posted on the Twitter account a couple of messages that when decoded read “redownload stem 2”.  When you do that on this site, inside the zip file is the first song released off of Derek’s new album “Stockholm Syndrome”.  [NOTE: The song can now be found here] It’s called “Freddie, Please” and it is all about Fred Phelps.  It’s a really good song and it makes me really excited about the rest of the album.  It’s not the now-infamous “sh*t” song that will be on the album, but it’s one of the other anticipated songs.  Every one of Webb’s albums has been a completely different style and it looks like he’s taking a more ambient/drum machine/lounge-techno/postal service-style approach to this album.

Anyway, the song pretty much justifiably kicks Fred Phelps in the face.  Best I can tell, it’s from the perspective  of Jesus asking Phelps “How could you tell them you love me when you hate me?”  In the song, Jesus affirms his love for those despised in the world and says that when Phelp’s is picketing these funerals he is in essence “picketing my grave for loving the things you hate.”

Good for you, Derek.  So go download stem 2 at www.ParadiseIsAParkingLot.com and listen to this great song.  [NOTE: the song is no longer there. Instead, go here to download the song] Here are the lyrics:

Freddie, Please

Freddie, please
how could you do this to me?
How could you tell them you love me
when you hate me,
Freddie, please?

You know I’ll love you honey,
and i’ll bleed you dry with money
I’ll talk where I know you can hear.
Cause Freddie can’t you see,
brother, you’re the one who’s queer?

And the stone’s been rolled away
but you’re picketing my grave
for loving the things you hate.

Then why do you seek the living among the dead?

Freddie?

For all who watch “Lost”

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

I admit: I thought the season finale of “Lost” was a bit anti-climactic.  Of course, I must also admit that I was watching it online as it played in the background while I was focusing on other work on my computer.  This caused me not to engage with the episode with all the faculties that it deserved.  My dear “long lost” friend Mark Traphagen passed this article along to me that changed the way I look at the entire show.  It really is quite incredible and is worth the read for anyone who at least saw the finale.  Though beware:  If you haven’t seen the finale yet, don’t read this.  It is full of plenty of spoilers.  Thanks Mark.

Here’s the article: “What Happens Next on ‘Lost’?” by Ben Shapiro

Enjoy.

A Coffee Gospel & the Beauty of Christ

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

mosaicThis is a snippet from an Easter Service by Erwin McManus of Mosaic Church in Los Angeles.  His coffee story pretty much sums up my life.  I love it.  The rest is a freebie.  Enjoy!

Let me know if the audio doesn’t work.  It’s about 9 minutes long, so if you have a few minutes to spare, take full advantage of it.

“Beauty: Easter Service” by Erwin McManus (click here for download)

Free Anathallo Hymns Album

/ Paul Burkhart / 9 Comments

Apparently, today was the day that Brent Thomas of Holiday At The Sea (formerly Colossiansthreesixteen.com) decided to start his blog over (you can read why here). So why does this warrant me writing a post? Well, Brent was the one hosting a free album by the amazing band Anathallo. Upon a quick glance at the new site, I didn’t see him express any intention of reposting those songs. So, I’ll be glad to do it myself. Here they are. Just right click the names and save:

Tracks:

Here is Brent’s old post telling the story of this album:

The Greek word anathallo means “To renew, cause to grow, or bloom again,” which is an appropriate umbrella for the band of that name. The band’s music is hard to categorize but yet familiar, experimental yet accessible and often focuses on the themes of renewal and redemption.

In 2004, the band recorded an EP simply entitled “Hymns,” a surprisingly sparse and traditional take on six hymns. The short release demonstrates the band’s loving attention to detail and the creation of ambiance and emotion, not simply through the lyrics but also the music itself. Incorporating many of the harmonies and odd instrumentations of their other releases the release, for the most part, remains true to the hymns themselves and honoring their content. The presentation is both humble and heartfelt, something missing in many “worship” recordings of late.

This was a limited release with all proceeds going to support a homeless mission. It remains out of print (and from what I understand, will not be reprinted) and therefore remains a mystery to many. I was lucky enough to purchase one of the few available copies several months ago and with the band’s permission, I am making the entire release available for download.

May these draw you nearer to Christ. Be sure to thank the band for their generosity.

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Help Jesusbranded.com

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I just ran across this site.  These are some great designs, and apparently they are in a really bad financial situation.  They’re trying to sell a huge load of shirts in the next two weeks to stay alive.  They have a great blog, support an orphanage ministry, and they seem to treat their business as a ministry.  So if you have some extra cash and can support a great ministry while looking good doing please do.

JesusBranded.com

I can’t let this not be shared

/ Paul Burkhart / 5 Comments

On my new favorite website, Patrol Magazine, I stumbled upon this amazing interview with poet and professor of Creative Writing at State University of New York, Joe Weil.  He talk to Patrol magazine about poetry, his relationship with God, art, and his other variosu thoughts on life.  As I’ve read the article, I keep finding more and mroe quotes that I am throwing all over my facebook profile, blogs, and such.  Well, it got to be so many, I’m just going to put them all here.  This man is amazing, and I intend to buy as many of his books of poetry as I can.  I resonate so much with all that he says.  Please read the entire interview if you can.  Finally, also bookmark Patrol Magazine.  It really is incredible.  Here are my favorite highlights:

Art is self-indulgence that, if done well, with a good grasp of the craft, and with a sense of constructive dread, ends up serving others. Of course, you can’t predict how it will serve them. . . A poet must be faithful to his or her obsessions. . . The wrong kind of self indulgence is that which puts the artist or his cause ahead of the work. Poets must be both supremely arrogant and humble. Arrogant enough to commit an act of creation. Humble enough to get out of the way of their own work, and let it be whatever it really is.

I once described faith as something I got on my shoe and can’t kick or wash off. I’m stuck with it. My poems are the trespasses and blasphemies of a malpracticing Christian, one who can’t stop ogling an attractive leg, or wanting to be first, who is venial, foolish, seldom at peace, horny and lonely, and so far from the kingdom of God that his whole life becomes the theme of that distance, someone knowing he is in deep shit. It’s the perfect place to be, where you can’t fool yourself into thinking you’re on the right track

I love God, not the idea of God. I hate the idea of God. Ideas are pretty, and neat, and well-formed, and my poems insist that I love God only by my pratfalls and mistakes. The only thing I have to offer God is my sins. I am interested in mercy when it appears in places where you would never expect it. I am interested in love that shovels shit against the tide. I am interested in grace.

I am wrestling with God because I consider God a worthy opponent. . . We have to remember God has the gravitas. God is the dignity. We’re the comic relief. Piety must be challenged. Purity must be tested, or it becomes smugness, and we start to think we have it all figured out. It’s like a marriage where you know exactly how the weekly sex is going to start. It both comforts and kills love in the worst way. My faith informs my confusions. My confusions lead to discoveries in poems my certainties could never find. Faith is not certainty. Certainty is the death of thought.

It is better to be annihilated and crushed by God, if you are in love with God, then it is to have no relationship at all. Better God smite you then merely be absent. God does not “tolerate” me. God loves me. . . A man may call God out and test all purity because it is better than the ultimate hell of complete disengagement.

God allows us to kick and scream in our tantrums and pains until we fall exhausted at the foot of our cross. And then God picks us up and we realize this was all we wanted to begin with, to be held by, and bound fast to him: “Bind me Lord, lest I resist. We resist because we are bound. Our resistance becomes the first sign of our birth pain. . . The peace of a Christian must be a sort of ongoing ferocity—a refusal to let go until the birthright has been truly won, until the blessing has been given. Brokeness is the first condition for receiving grace. Light can’t penetrate an unbroken surface. God enters through the broken heart, not the smug one.

A poem that can be reduced to its ideas is probably not a very good poem. It must be uttered fully. It must be lived on its own terms, the language must be forgiven for being language, then it must be language with all its might. Meaning, content are not the aim but the reward, the grace of a poem being faithful to its own organic process.

Thank you for reading all this (if you have) and I hope it has benefited you.

Severe Mercy

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

This song has been my obsession this past couple of weeks as I round out my first semester in seminary.  I hope it stirs you as well.

The Cut by Jason Gray

My heart is laid
Under Your blade
As you carve out Your image in me
You cut to the core
But still you want more
As you carefully, tenderly ravage me

And You peel back the bark
And tear me apart
To get to the heart
Of what matters most
I’m cold and I’m scared
As your love lays me bare
But in the shaping of my soul
They say the cut makes me whole

Mingling here
Your blood and my tears
As You whittle my kingdom away
But I see that you suffer, too
In making me new
For the blade of Love, it cuts both ways

And You peel back the bark
And tear me apart
To get to the heart
Of what matters most
I’m cold and I’m scared
As your love lays me bare
But in the shaping of my soul
They say the cut makes me whole

Hidden inside the grain
Beneath the pride and pain
Is the shape of the man
You meant me to be
Who with every cut now you try to set free

CHORUS…
…With everyday
You strip more away
And You peel back the bark
And tear me apart
To get to the heart
Of what matters most
I’m cold and I’m scared
As your love lays me bare
But in the shaping of my soul
The blade must take it’s toll
So God give me strength to know
That the cut makes me whole

[I love this hymn right now]

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Thou Lovely Source of True Delight

1. Thou lovely source of true delight
Whom I unseen adore
Unveil Thy beauties to my sight
That I might love Thee more,
Oh that I might love Thee more.

2. Thy glory o’er creation shines
But in Thy sacred Word
I read in fairer, brighter lines
My bleeding, dying Lord,
See my bleeding, dying Lord

3. ’Tis here, whene’er my comforts droop
And sin and sorrow rise
Thy love with cheering beams of hope
My fainting heart supplies,
My fainting heart’s supplied

4. But ah! Too soon the pleasing scene
Is clouded o’er with pain
My gloomy fears rise dark between
And I again complain,
Oh and I again complain

5. Jesus, my Lord, my life, my light
Oh come with blissful ray
Break radiant through the shades of night
And chase my fears away,
Won’t You chase my fears away

6. Then shall my soul with rapture trace
The wonders of Thy love
But the full glories of Thy face
Are only known above,
They are only known above

“Do I?” (a poem)

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

[Audio for “Do I?” from upcoming book of poetry “Of Clefts and Gardens”]

Just because I’m joined to One above
does this mean I am in want of desire for
one below,
one beneath,
one under?

Do I not dream the same as you?
A joyful consummation at the end of the day
of rising and falling
rising and falling?

Of breaths and sighs
of whimpers and cries
and half taken breaths whispered in my ear
under the weight of knowing

knowing
that which was good before we Fell,
before we fell away from Him-
fell away from one another.

Let me fall back into Him, into you:
fall for you as I rise into Thy love
and thine
and mine.

Restored –
a picture thereof as my soul is known
and I know this union once more.

So can I want?  Can I dream?
Can I read the words of wisdom old
and long for your fingers to drip with myrrh
as I reach into your garden latch

and seek the rose I long to taste?

May I?

Sex (Of Clefts and Gardens)

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

Yes, that title was mainly to catch your eye and get you reading, though it isn’t completely off topic.  I’ve been criticized recently for this blog becoming too theological and not really very personal as it used to be, so the past few posts have been my attempt at getting back to that.  Don’t worry, there’s more theology to come, I’m just taking a breather.  Anyway, as many people know, I’ve spent the past six months or so writing an album entitled “So Tearful Apologies.”  Recently I “finished” it (as any musician knows, are you ever really “finished” with your music?).  Technically, it’s not completely done, but it’s done enough for me to feel free to work on my next project, which I wanted to write this post about.

So, I’ve been on a concept album kick.  That’s where you write an album with a unified theme or story as opposed to the typical random assortment of songs.  My next project is about sex.  The working title for it is “Of Clefts and Gardens.”  Using Song of Solomon as one of my inspirations, I was wondering if a Christian in 21st century Evangelical America could write and sing art that is explicitly sexual, but both God-glorfying and beautiful.  As I’ve jokingly said, my goal is to write stuff that is completely God-glorifying but that no Christian bookstore would carry.

With this project, I want to try something different.  I’m writing it as a book of poetry and also recording performances of that poetry and writing music to go along with it in a CD.  Some will be songs, some will just have background music for the poems, but I really want to try and publish this.  I have a lot of poetry already.  I might as well start trying to get it out there.  A little bit about the book/album:

I really do want to explore sexuality in all it’s different facets in this project.  It will be broken up into four sections, each dealing with a certain part of sexuality:
(1) Purpose: exploring the symbolism and design of sexuality
(2) Passion: looking into that drive that makes us sexual
(3) Perversion: exploring the sexual brokenness in this fallen world
(4) Purity: a celebration of sex in its purest and most God-glorifying forms.

As a treat to those who made it through this whole post and apparently care, I’ve included the audio to the first track/poem from the album/book.  It’s called “Do I?” and it sets the tone for the project, asking if I, as a Christian, have as much a right to talk about these things as secular minds do (as a contrast, the last track/poem will be called “I Do” and it will be a celebration of marriage).  Feel free to leave comments, criticisms, ideas for poems/songs, or witty insults.  Here’s the poem/track.  Just click on the title for the audio:

“Do I?” from “Of Clefts and Gardens”

Just because I’m joined to One above
does this mean I am in want of desire for
one below,
one beneath,
one under?

Do I not dream the same as you?
A joyful consummation at the end of the day
of rising and falling
rising and falling?

Of breaths and sighs
of whimpers and cries
and half taken breaths whispered in my ear
under the weight of knowing

knowing
that which was good before we Fell,
before we fell away from Him-
fell away from one another.

Let me fall back into Him, into you:
fall for you as I rise into Thy love
and thine
and mine.

Restored –
a picture thereof as my soul is known
and I know this union once more.

So can I want?  Can I dream?
Can I read the words of wisdom old
and long for your fingers to drip with myrrh
as I reach into your garden latch

and seek the rose I long to taste?

May I?

Final Monologue for Acting Class

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

This is my “final exam” for my acting class I took this past spring.  I performed the death scene of Cyrano DeBergerac in the play by the same name.  He starts hallucinating all the flaws within him as real people and tries to fight them.  These flaws are what have kept him from being happy his entire life, and it is only now, as he’s dying, that he realizes this.  Thanks to film student/future director Dylan Goodwin for filming all our monologues.  Also thank you to my beard for making a cameo shortly before I left it.

For those reading this imported on facebook, you’ll have click on the “view original post” link at the bottom of this note to see the video.

Mark Nicks of Cool Hand Luke

/ Paul Burkhart / 2 Comments

Anyone that knows me well knows that my favorite band is Cool Hand Luke.  They have had this title since about my sophomore year of high school and it seems that their musical stylings have matured along with my musical tastes, leading me to love them all the more through the years.  Anyway, I saw them play a show in Newport News last night and it was absolutely incredible.  Mark Nicks, the lead singer/songwriter of the band stopped before the last song to talk for a bit and ended up preaching this seventeen minute-long sermonette that touches on everything from politics to current church trends.  Usually, bands talking for a while can get annoying, but this was awesome.  He’s so humble in what he says and so right at the same time.  So, I decided to post this up for everyone else to hear as well.

Click here for Mark’s “Sermon”

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