There will be very little commentary from me here. I just want to show everyone a process of the Kingdom of God breaking through Christian culture to redeem it. First, watch this. Please, watch the whole thing. Whatever you do, do not stop this video before the 2-minute mark. You might want to take notes.
Then, see how the “secular” culture (if there was ever such a thing) comments on this, care of Talk Soup:
Continue reading
A little more than an month ago, myself and my roommates held a Housewarming show to inaugurate our new presence in South Philadelphia. In all, we had six musical acts play, 32 songs performed, and almost 60 people attend. It was an amazing night. One of the best I had had in a long time. For all those that came, thank you again.
We also live recorded the music that night, and today, we are proud to officially release The Birdhouse Presents, Vol. 1: The Housewarming. Those recordings are now available for download for free (or donation, if you like). The album comes in two editions. The Color edition has the evening broken up by individual song; the Black & White edition contains each artists’ full sets, including the talking, joking, and intros between each song. Just click on the banner below and pick your edition:
The recordings themselves are a bit quiet, but are fine with headphones or external speakers. They came out really well. As a preview, here were some of the covers and songs everyone seemed to enjoy a lot that night from each of the performers:
For those living in Philadelphia, tonight (on the 4th of July) will be what is supposedly the largest outdoor concert in the country (really?). Last year they had Bruce Springsteen come in and play.
This year? Well, the Goo Goo Dolls are headlining (I had no idea they were still around). But that’s not why I’m writing this.
One of the other acts is Philly’s very own The Roots. For much of the country, this band gained notoriety as Jimmy Fallon’s band on his late night show. For me, they’re perhaps my favorite hip-hop ensemble out there.
Their new album How I Got Over came out a couple of weeks ago. It is amazing; one of the best hip-hop albums released in the past few years, in my opinion. I’m working on a review of the album for Patrol Magazine, so to prepare, I’ve been listening through The Roots‘ entire discography this past week. Wow. What a group. I can’t wait to see them tonight. And if you’re around, you should be just as excited to come out.
I’m having blogging withdrawal. So sorry. I’m still trying to find my rhythm with the new job. I have several articles I’ve slowly been working on and others that I was working on, only to have the “moment” pass before they were done. This is particularly true of some political articles I’ve been thinking through. Just when I get an idea for a political article, the proper time passes before I’m actually able to get the thing written and published. So once again, sorry.
But, I’m not slacking on my writing for Patrol Magazine. Here’s the new article:
As I said last week, I am the new Thursday blogger for the site. My first article went up last week, and it was on Christopher Hitchens’ brother, Peter Hitchens. This week’s article concerns a David Bazan show I went to early this week and some things this show taught me concerning my own spirituality. So read and feel free to comment!
UPDATE: The album is no longer up, but clicking the link below will take you to a page where you can download the super-controversial single “What Matters More” off of the album.
Hey everyone, I just wanted to plug this. This morning at 9am I got an email from the Derek Webb mailing list saying that on Noise Trade you can download Derek Webb’s newest album, Stockholm Syndrome for free for the next 48 hours. Which means it should be up until about 9am Friday morning (02/26/2010). You have nothing to lose, and an amazing album to gain. Here’s the link:
Download “What Matters More” from Derek Webb’s album Stockholm Syndrome on NoiseTrade.com for free
Also…
I don’t know why, but I’ve been in an increasingly political mood recently. My blog-crastination (my perusal of blogs and news outlets to avoid doing other things with my time) has been almost exclusively centered around politics rather than my usual intake of theology, evangelicalism, and culture. So, expect some political writing for the next while on the blog.
I sat down last night to write an article on health care, politics, and economics last night to try and post it here today. But, as is typical for me, I’m not even done with it and it’s already six pages long. So, in my ever-failing attempt to put up shorter posts here, I’m going to see if that full article might work if I submitted it to some other sites. If not, I’ll whittle it down to a manageable size and post it here. I don’t know that it’s that profound, but there might be some substance there. So, for my apology for not having any new material today, I’ll just pot the song/EP that have been going on repeat on my iPod.
Ladies and gentleman, I give The Civil Wars performing “Poison & Wine”. Lyrically, one of the best relationship songs I’ve heard in years. Musically, (at the risk of sounding cliche) it’s haunting. Enjoy:
(Live version here)
On this beautiful White Christmas (at least where I’m at), for those precious few of you that will make it online today, I wanted to put up a hymn I wrote a about a year ago. I pray this encourages you and creates anticipation for the Advent that is to come. Merry Christmas.
O Sovereign, Come
Our chains behind us, our sin before us
showing all our crippling need.
Your Grace within us, Your Spirit upon us
transforming our every deed.
After our freedom and we pass through the Red Sea,
let us not forget the desert comes.
Refrain:
Rip through the clouds, tear through the skies;
Let us see that you’re God on High.
O Sovereign, Come. Seize our hearts.
Show yourself as Beautiful.
Your triumph of Glory, You crimson Cross
heralding Your Sovereign Way
of life through our death, enduring our thorns,
completing Your sufferings in ourselves.
Let us embrace your cross that’s set there before us
and know that it precedes the crown.
Refrain
On that day, when freed from sinning,
how I’ll see Thy lovely Face.
Clothed then in blood-washed linen,
how I’ll sing Thy Sovereign Grace.
Refrain
Yes, this is late notice. Yes, probably no one will get this in time to come out if they weren’t already planning on coming, but nevertheless:
Joel Rakes and Turning Violet, Violet are playing tonight at World Cafe Live at 8pm. The show is going to be amazing. If you can come out, you should. Get tickets here. Also, be sure to grab 14 free Christmas songs by Joel Rakes at his site. Here’s a taste:
For those that have read this blog for a while, seeing the name “Derek Webb” AGAIN in the title of one of my posts probably caused you to at least roll your eyes, if not actually letting out a heavy sigh accompanied with an “oh Paul…”. This is because in about a three month span, I wrote 8 posts all having to do with Derek Webb’s newest album Stockholm Syndrome (here they are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). Admittedly, I kept writing all those mainly because I was boasting record visits to my site because of those articles and I wanted to maintain that. But eventually it got old, and I went back to my smaller numbers, though those article still rank as my highest visited even still.
Well, that was exciting. I noticed a huge jump in visits to my site and saw that I was getting traffic from Derek’s main page. So, I jumped over there and saw that he has a blog feed going. It linked to the article I wrote last week on his thoughts on art in a recent interview. No doubt the feed just crawls the web for keywords and puts up links to any ol’ page that finds his name in the title. I doubt he has actually read any of my stuff. So far I only know of one “celebrity” that’s commented here.
But still, I thought it was cool. My little 15 minutes . . .
btw- “Beauty” part 9? On the way in a few minutes.
The Mockingbird blog did a great interview with Derek Webb that was published today. It seems like every interview he’s been doing has consisted of the same content, but this seems to have a few original questions in it. It’s really enjoyable.
This was my favorite quote from the whole thing. It’s a very biblical view of “Christian art” and it resonates well with my recent article on the Beauty of Art, so I thought I’d share it with all of you.
As an artist, my job is to look at the world and tell you what I see. Every artist, regardless of their beliefs, has some way that they look at the world that helps them make sense of what they see. A grid through which they look at the world which makes order out of it. For me that’s following Jesus, for other artists it’s other things. It could be anything, but every artist has that grid. Most Christian art unfortunately is more focused on making art/writing songs about the grid itself. As opposed to writing songs about what you see when you look through the grid. I’m more interested in looking through the grid and telling you what I see.
In other art news, I can stop listening to the new Pete Yorn/Scarlet Johanssen duet/compilation album Break Up. It’s pretty phenomenal. Expect a review here in the coming days. You can listen to the entire thing online here. I know Scarlet’s received a lot of crap about her voice and singing ability, especially after her solo album of Tom Waits covers called Anywhere I Lay My Head. Personally, I love her voice. I think it’s amazing, refreshing, and seductive. Here, try this random single she did called “Last goodbye” (I have no idea where it’s originally from. Sorry.):
Enjoy the quote, links, and audio and let me know what you think.
Here you can read a really informative interview with Derek Webb concerning the Church, culture, his creative process, and of course, his new album “Stockholm Syndrome”.
Patrol Magazine is perhaps my favorite site I read, and this interview furthers secures its place in my affections. A favorite and very enlightening paragraph in the interview reads:
Stockholm Syndrome is the sound of me using the resources I have to create a barricade between my own community and the people I love more than anybody else in my life, who don’t understand (nor do I) the major disconnect between the way that Jesus loved people, and the way that Jesus’ followers love people. People have no problem with Jesus, this man who loved others so radically that he was killed for it. But many who now follow Jesus love others so poorly, and they seem more like those in the Biblical account who Jesus reserved the harshest language for. I’m as confused about that as my friends are. But it was time for me, personally, to draw a line and try to absorb for them, to join them on the line, absorbing this hatred that seems directed at them. I just couldn’t go another year in my personal life and not make some of these statements, simply because some of my best friends have been on the receiving end of that hatred.
A commenter on a previous post I wrote on this album let me know from a personal conversation he had with Webb that he does not in fact see himself as a prophet. Just an artist making art about what the world looks like to him. Derek says:
Ultimately, my job is to look at the world and tell people what I see—and I literally see it as part of my job, to agitate people. I’m good at it . . . Controversy—it’s not something that I’ve intentionally manufactured. I don’t look for opportunities to make it happen. As a communicator, though, I would be stupid to not take advantage of every opportunity.
I must say, after this interview, I really do have a much more understanding picture of Derek Webb in my head. I see more of his heart, and as I’ve really worn out the album, I’m starting to “get it” more.
So, read the interview, buy the album, and begin to see the world through the eyes of Derek Webb. Let me know what you think.
sorry, no y-axis this time
[Thank you to spectacular photographer and friend David Schrott for inspiring this post]
Okay, due to a few recent articles I’ve written, the number of people visiting my blog has increased by over 4000% in the past week. It’s pretty nuts. That’s why everything has seemed to be about Derek Webb and his new album, Stockholm Syndrome. So, I just wanted to take this chance to put in a few plugs for some of my other projects.
I have web magazine called Reform & Revive. It looks at the intersection between faith and culture, politics, art, the church, and just life in general. These Derek Webb posts would perhaps have been more appropriate on that site, but the readership here jumped up so fast (I’m actually on the first page of most Google searches having to do with the album).
Anyway, friend, brother, and fellow impassioned writer, Sean Brendan Stewart, just put up a special article that seems to have a similar message as the new Webb album. It’s some commentary from him, then a very brief manuscript of some audio from a Carter Conlon message. After that, feel free to look at our more regular full articles from our Contributors.
Lastly, I have my own personal site, Prodigal Paul, that acts as a hub for organizing other blogs, Bible studies, sermons, and such that I have produced over the years.
That is all.
[NOTE: this is not a review of the whole album, just an impression from the songs released so far]
He has said it is his most important album to date. But no matter what, Derek Webb’s Stockholm Syndrome will not be just an album. Regardless of the music, production, or vocals, this album will first and foremost be a manifesto, an indictment, a message. The lyrics will define this album. This album – this artist, even – has become a voice for an entire group of disgruntled twenty-something Christians that have surveyed the rolling hills of American evangelicalism and have found it lacking. They have called out for a prophet to say the words and use the language that will draw the line in the sand and separate the “Biblical” sheep from the “fundamentalist” goats. A man to come out in sackcloth and ashes and save real grace-driven Christianity from the clutches of the legalistic drones that would rob us of our freedom in Christ.
So, the question I have struggled with ever since the first songs on this album came out is: is this the right message spoken in the right way to the right people at the right time?
I hate saying it, but (from what we’ve seen so far) I don’t think so. There is a time and a place for the message this album seems to carry, don’t get me wrong. I don’t write off a song done by a Christian just because it has a curse word or says things sharply. The Old Testament prophets spoke just as harshly (if not more so) to the “church” at that time. They would call women cows (Amos 4:1), say that the people “lusted” after other gods like some dream of fornicating with others with penises the size of donkeys and ejaculations like that of horses (Ezekiel 23:20), and declare that the best things we ever did were nothing more than rags dipped in a woman’s menstruation tossed before the face of God (Isaiah 64:6).
I fancy Derek Webb sees himself as such a prophet, just as I know many of his fans do. Now, I think this harsh tone is absolutely appropriate and the balance is struck with all of Webb’s previous albums. But the vehemence of the songs released so far from Stockholm is off-putting and seems a bit out of place. It’s not just a declaration that the church is off on a few points and how they’ve gone about some things – all the songs are a mockery and sarcastic rant against her. As a friend well put it: this album probably will not accomplish the goal for which Derek set off writing this record. Rather than shock the church into reform, this album is far more likely to galvanize the opposition force against the church and those that think the Church has become so out of touch and impotent it has become unimportant all together.
I know that’s not Webb’s heart. Anyone that’s heard the album 2003’s She Must and Shall Go Free knows this. The songs from Stockholm Syndrome seem to form an epistle from a wounded lover. A man who loves the Bride of Christ so much he hates how she has gone a stray and has been personally affected and hurt by it. But I wish he would take a page out of Hosea and try to play a part in wooing the church back rather than trying to beat her back.
I just want to say it again: this criticism is not about language or tone. I am really not bothered by the “bad words” used or the forceful tone. Perhaps my favorite song ever recorded by any artist, “Wedding Dress“, has both of these elements, and yet it is geared more towards Webb’s own depravity rather than the Church’s flaws. Look, I have the same criticisms as him. Raised as a Dallas, Texas Southern Baptist, my family has been destroyed by the effects of fundamentalism and “easy believism”. But Jesus said He is building His church, so we must try and find the balance between working with Christ in building it or mocking what He’s done so far, and thereby working against the work Christ would have us do. I fear this album is the latter.
Much has changed on the landscape of American Christianity since Webb’s 2007 album The Ringing Bell. The Church has effectively lost its grip on pop culture, politics, and the prevailing worldview of the nation. This being the case, these songs from Stockholm Syndrome come on the scene too late and kick the church while she’s down, as it were.
But, at some point today, Derek is supposed to begin pre-orders for the album accompanied by immediate digital downloads. So when that happens, I’ll be sure to put up a more comprehensive review as soon as possible.
I pray he surprises us. Thoughts, anyone?
[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.
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.
the long way home 