The Old Man and the Sea, and a new music feature and a little rant about Music
Music of the Day:
I have seen on some other people's blogs they list what they are listening to, well I listen to music a ton (like today I have listened about eighty songs today and its only 4:30 in the afternoon, and there have been a couple days this year where I have hit 200) so I will have to do genres with some highlights, it's rare I stick on one CD for more then one time through.
Music of the Day um it’s already up there ^ anyway one more time…
Music of the Day: Punk/Ska or Skunk, I started the day with Bob Marley then switched over to mostly punk, highlight of the day- “$13,000 dollars is a lot of food” by Skank’in Pickle, I love that song…
Also I just figured out how to do links in the text, Blogger had not let me do it before because of Safari, that’s the Internet browser I use, anyway I will probably add a ton of them from now on especially when I talk about lyrics from songs you will be able to just go to the link instead of having to search all over on my blog. Like in my last post I added one to Asian Man Records, which is Mike Park’s record company. I like him he is cool…
So I guess everyone else on the planet was forced to read “The Old Man and the Sea” in high school except me. Stupid Woodbury High School, once again you have failed me, I bet someone is going to take my lunch money now…
I think I need to start doing things I don’t like so I could put a bad review on here sometime. Maybe I will have to go see “Ice Age 2” or “Curious George” those both look like they would make me vomit uncontrollably. After watching the first “Ice Age” I had a serious case of the jibblies, and spewed my lunch for some time on all my friends, what a horrible story, the vomiting well “Ice Age” was a pretty horrible story too. Where was I?
Oh, yea “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway. It rocked!!! I have never read any Hemingway before and he is cool. The story was explained so well and with such sweet details. I really felt for the old man and felt his pain and what he was going through man it was a really great story. I think that is what entertainment is about. Telling a story. I don’t need all the explosions or flash and glamour, man just give me something to care about, even with music if the production is crappy and the music is not even that great but you are telling a great story in a great way man let me have it. Maybe that is part of the reason I have such a general disdain for the Christian Music Industry. They should have the best stories to tell yet so many “artist” just suck. On top of that they have the greatest story to tell ever. Not like kind of a really good one but the best one, lets be honest what story compares to the redemption of man through the blood of God’s only Son, Jesus. And we fill albums with crap, stupid Thousand Foot Crutch, Life Liberty and what, Toby-Who? Help me out if I forget any, Jeremy Post, Aaron Sprinkle, Joe Yerke, Scott, Hunter, Scott Kerr, guys from Plank Eye, Steve Taylor, Dennis Culp, Mark Salomon, Larry Norman, Steve Green, Rich Mullins, Brian McSweeney, and most of all Reese Roper where have you gone? Save us from Rebecca St. James…
Anyway I like “The Old Man and the Sea” I though it was a great story and am excited to read more Hemingway when I get the chance there are a few other books in front of his others but I’ll get there. Thanks for reading sorry I am so boring…
Aim high with your musical selection and I’ll aim high with my spelling deal?
Caleb M. Saarela
P.S. If you want info on who those guys are let me know I will hook you up with a rock’in Christian Compilation that will knock your socks off…
P.P.S. I guess the Christian Music Industry could be worse... The previous link may not be suitable for anyone with good taste...
“I was indeed surrounded
by self-proclaimed mental giants
in ryan's driveway
better a fool in the eyes of men than a fool in the eyes of God
watching minds descend under the blacktop
baited-breath, cigarettes, in the cab of a volkswagen van
eight-teen, born again, arguing the origins of man
teeth grit, fist clenched, I swing and strike the dashboard
how can they be so blind they want to blaspheme my Lord
the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men
wisdom is proved right by her children
drew a thumbnail sketch of the cross in the window steam
from the thumbnail sketch inspiration came”
J. Post
I have seen on some other people's blogs they list what they are listening to, well I listen to music a ton (like today I have listened about eighty songs today and its only 4:30 in the afternoon, and there have been a couple days this year where I have hit 200) so I will have to do genres with some highlights, it's rare I stick on one CD for more then one time through.
Music of the Day um it’s already up there ^ anyway one more time…
Music of the Day: Punk/Ska or Skunk, I started the day with Bob Marley then switched over to mostly punk, highlight of the day- “$13,000 dollars is a lot of food” by Skank’in Pickle, I love that song…
Also I just figured out how to do links in the text, Blogger had not let me do it before because of Safari, that’s the Internet browser I use, anyway I will probably add a ton of them from now on especially when I talk about lyrics from songs you will be able to just go to the link instead of having to search all over on my blog. Like in my last post I added one to Asian Man Records, which is Mike Park’s record company. I like him he is cool…
So I guess everyone else on the planet was forced to read “The Old Man and the Sea” in high school except me. Stupid Woodbury High School, once again you have failed me, I bet someone is going to take my lunch money now…
I think I need to start doing things I don’t like so I could put a bad review on here sometime. Maybe I will have to go see “Ice Age 2” or “Curious George” those both look like they would make me vomit uncontrollably. After watching the first “Ice Age” I had a serious case of the jibblies, and spewed my lunch for some time on all my friends, what a horrible story, the vomiting well “Ice Age” was a pretty horrible story too. Where was I?
Oh, yea “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway. It rocked!!! I have never read any Hemingway before and he is cool. The story was explained so well and with such sweet details. I really felt for the old man and felt his pain and what he was going through man it was a really great story. I think that is what entertainment is about. Telling a story. I don’t need all the explosions or flash and glamour, man just give me something to care about, even with music if the production is crappy and the music is not even that great but you are telling a great story in a great way man let me have it. Maybe that is part of the reason I have such a general disdain for the Christian Music Industry. They should have the best stories to tell yet so many “artist” just suck. On top of that they have the greatest story to tell ever. Not like kind of a really good one but the best one, lets be honest what story compares to the redemption of man through the blood of God’s only Son, Jesus. And we fill albums with crap, stupid Thousand Foot Crutch, Life Liberty and what, Toby-Who? Help me out if I forget any, Jeremy Post, Aaron Sprinkle, Joe Yerke, Scott, Hunter, Scott Kerr, guys from Plank Eye, Steve Taylor, Dennis Culp, Mark Salomon, Larry Norman, Steve Green, Rich Mullins, Brian McSweeney, and most of all Reese Roper where have you gone? Save us from Rebecca St. James…
Anyway I like “The Old Man and the Sea” I though it was a great story and am excited to read more Hemingway when I get the chance there are a few other books in front of his others but I’ll get there. Thanks for reading sorry I am so boring…
Aim high with your musical selection and I’ll aim high with my spelling deal?
Caleb M. Saarela
P.S. If you want info on who those guys are let me know I will hook you up with a rock’in Christian Compilation that will knock your socks off…
P.P.S. I guess the Christian Music Industry could be worse... The previous link may not be suitable for anyone with good taste...
“I was indeed surrounded
by self-proclaimed mental giants
in ryan's driveway
better a fool in the eyes of men than a fool in the eyes of God
watching minds descend under the blacktop
baited-breath, cigarettes, in the cab of a volkswagen van
eight-teen, born again, arguing the origins of man
teeth grit, fist clenched, I swing and strike the dashboard
how can they be so blind they want to blaspheme my Lord
the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men
wisdom is proved right by her children
drew a thumbnail sketch of the cross in the window steam
from the thumbnail sketch inspiration came”
J. Post
Labels: Books, Movies, Rants and Raves
posted by Caleb M. Saarela at 5:50 PM
15 Comments:
There are Christian artists who are great storytellers who are completely overlooked by the Christian music industry.
Sufjan Stevens has an astonishing song about serial murderer John Wayne Gacy, Jr (who buried his victims under his porch), that ends with an admission of his own depravity: "And in my best behavior / I am really just like him / Look beneath the floorboards / For the secrets I have hid." And the David Crowder Band did a cover of his "Oh God, Where Are You Now?" that pretty much sucked compared to the original. (No offense to Mitch! :)
Kudos for quoting J.S. Bach in the photo at the bottom of your post. Did you know he put the initials SDG (or sometimes INJ) at the end of many of his manuscripts? Soli Deo Gloria / In Nomine Jesu. He was good at the Christian duty of being reproductively fruitful, too. (And he married his cousin! Sick!)
I knew that Bach was a believer and I guess he is one of the great examples of a Christian who was a leader and better than his contemperaries because of his belief and passion for his music and God. Thanks for the Stevens quote, I will be pretty honest I am sure there our artists that have taken the place and have taken up the torch of the men I listed since most of them have moved on from music. I would like to hear some of the others, from anyone really.
helping you to aim high with your spelling (is learning the difference between sweat and sweet aiming high?) ha. . ha???
sweet--something that rules. . .or something that is sugary like dessert. . ..like dessert has to have two s's because you always want more sweet has to have two ee's because you always want more sweets. . .sweet like a dessert relates to sweet like something rules. . .dessert is sweet and dessert rules. . .
sweat--happens while running in a race. . .perspire. . .gather moisture on the surface. . condensation. . .
another way to tell the difference when you say each of these words you can tell which one would have the double ee vs. the ea "SWEET" like when people used to say it drawing out the two ee's. . .anyway this is just after my teaching english class which i think is the perfect time to read your blog. . .don't you?. .
Yea thrilled to have you back lets see haven't made a comment in 2 months or so and this is it, yea thanks anything else you want to add. Although I guess you wouldn't have anything to add to the music conversation, cough KDWB, yea better stick to making fun of my spelling...
O.K. anybody got anything else they don't like about me? I mean let’s just get it all out.
"Now we have come to the airing of grievances. I've got a lot of problems with you people, and now you're going to hear about them!"
Frank Costanza
Yikes I will never live this one down. Jeepers you would have thought I killed someone or at least a little rabbit, stupid little rabbits.
I can think of some cover songs that are better than the original. "Every Where I Go” originally by Amy Grant redone better by 5Fe. "You’re Still the One" originally by Shania Twain ouch, that hurt to write, redone by Roper.
O.K. maybe those are not great examples since I probably am a little biased. There has got to be some, but not a lot that is for sure. I think a cover can be better if it is unexpected or just a strange combination, but that can also be the death of a cover. Also a great unexpected cover song at a live show can be the best, but you got to choose well.
“American Pie” by Madonna, now that is a great example of projectile vomiting.
Commence with the destruction of my grammar and spelling
you're welcome bethany. . .anytime. .. i actually like being annoying. . .it is too much fun to worry about how the receiver feels. . .pros outweigh cons. . .
You annoying? No way, never... None of you ever...
Help me Jesus...
You talked of redemption in the Christian Music industry. I agree with you on some level. The Gospel ("Good News") is the greatest story ever told and Christians have the privilege of sharing it! However, some musicians may not be called specifically to adoration or proclamation of the Truth of the redemptive story in the Bible in their music.
Some may be called to address contemporary issues, pain, heartache, joy, etc. from a basis of hope in Christ, thus directing their listeners to God in a personal way, even if it uses "Christianese" jargon to do it. Jesus meets people where they are. Many times he uses music you might call "crap" to work for his purpose. (I definately have my particular tastes in music as well - shout out to Third Day! - but I don't knock the potential they have, as ANYONE has, to be used by God for the fulfillment of his will).
I believe God uses secular music for his purpose as well (though I may not condone some of the messages spouted across that industry - even my beloved country music has thematic vices). There are those in the secular industry with non-secular messages (like "When I get Where I'm Goin'" sung by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton - which I want played at my funeral), and then there are those which call to question life's big problems and obsessions and the insatiable search for "love" in all the wrong places.
That's where we Christians step in and use the depravity of our cultural philosophies and mindsets to point out the foundation of our need for something bigger - the need for hope in a meaningless life. Ta-da! Jesus loves you, and he'll meet you where you are - hope that lasts forever, etc. Man, I love God! Praise Jesus, Amen, Amen!
Lit./Writing major preachy moment:
Speaking of redemption, some literary critics have superimposed that theme on Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (imagery of the cross from the mast at the end of the book), but it is kind of a stretch given Hemmingway's biography and personality type. He had a hole in his head and people poured libations into it at drunken parties for amusement. He was pretty much insane.
I like his style, don't get me wrong. Hemmingway is one of the greats in my estimation, but drawing conclusions from the text that Hemingway likely didn't mean to emulate gets dangerous. If we don't take literature into consideration of the one who wrote it, we begin to make false presumptions and spread relativity and too much subjectivity in any sort of literature.
We know the Bible is divinely inspired based on intertextual evidence (taking faith to believe its validity as well as the probability of historical evidence for validity), and so we hold the Bible as a source of divinely given authority. Without that knowledge of ultimate authorship, we could subjectify the text to say anything we wanted, even including the mixing of Scriptures: "Judas hanged himself"... "go, and do likewise."
I strongly urge you to research Hemingway, any notes he may have made on the text, notes of credible contemporaries, etc. You may come to a newer or deeper appreciation (maybe even a balanced distaste) for this author whom you've already held in high regard for this particular work.
After all, look how much Christians ascribe Biblical meaning and depth to Tolkein's famous trilogy, when several credible biographers have noted Tolkein's desire for this not to occur. (Those parallels are still present because the author put himself into the work, as any good author does, and his Catholic faith was a big part of his identity, but it was not his primary intention to have his work be scrutinized to fit a mold or a faith-based agenda)
Again, my friend, context is key... context is key. (context of culture, context of intended audience, context of the literary work, context of the times, and context of the author's identity). Be careful with popularly assumed generalities (in your literary interest... and when you have time to put effort into that interest) and follow-up with research. I always find it rewarding (but that is me).
Heather I will respond to your comments soon they are not unread or unappreciated, I am just a little strapped for time... I love secular music... So much so I don't like calling it secular... I don't know what that means...
First of all, you all gotta lay off Caleb for his spelling. I mean, he went to Stout. Stout probably decreased his spelling ability after high school. Caleb just speaks his own language, so you should know when reading his blog that sweat = sweet, crap = football, and totally awesome = his redheaded friend Scott.....not that I would know anything about that...... http://scottistrendy.blogspot.com/
On this music issue, I'd like to bring in the recording industry side of it all. Really when it gets boiled down, the objective of Christian labels is not to glorify God or to spread to Gospel, but to make money. How do I know, because I saw it for two years working a local Christian bookstore. The way it is set up is that certain discs must be bought otherwise the bookstore would lose its "discounted" status and have to end up charging us even more. So if an album is released that has questionable material on it to bookstore has to buy it and sell it. Now it is not up to the Christian label to decide what should and should not be released, but the larger secular label that it is under. Those people pocket the profits. It is a nasty cycle which cannot be stopped here in America due to overwhelming consumerism. Also, it is abundantly clear that many "Christian" artists go that route because it is easier to breakthrough. Therefore they may say they are making these albums to glorify God, but they are really after money. I agree with looking at the context of each and every bit of communication. I want to know what context Third Day makes their music in when they get thousands and thousands of dollars by being a Chevy sponsor. Are they trusting God for their money and are they making music for Him or for their abundant amount of bosses? I'm not saying that they are a bad group, but there are sides to these bands that we would rather not know about. Like riders for concerts and what the bands demand for food, luxuries, etc. is just ridiculous. I know that Third Day, Supertones, and DC-Talk were the worst at this. They basically wanted to be treated like stars, mini-gods, whereever they go. That all being said, the Christian music industry is not entirely painted with that brush. One of the bands I used to make fun of the most, Jars of Clay, are actually the most down to earth, normal, non-spotlight people you'll ever meet.
I'd also like to say that I think the comment regarding context was self-defeating. I completely agree that the Bible should be interpreted within its context. The reason that it should be is that billions of people have put their faith in it over time. It defines the cornerstone for so many people, myself included. But, I don't see anybody making up a religion that follows Hemmingway. If we apply the rules of contextual hermeneutics towards Hemmingway and secular music, we must do it to Christian music and because sometimes the context is not as God-honoring as we would like it be (sometimes unfortunately completely the opposite), how is it different from a secular context. So, if this "Christian" music can be used for God's purposes with context that is not of Him, why not Hemmingway or secular music? It is always dangerous to perform eisegesis on works so that we can make them say what we want them to say. This should never be done to the Bible because it needs to define out lives, not the other way around. But because the other works that we've been discussing are not nearly as "significant" in terms of current AND eternal life, there is always room for God to us them in our lives to draw us closer to Him. If God can do this through crappy music, secular or Christian, why can'y He do it through Hemmingway for my buddy Caleb? The context defines the INTENDED meaning of the text, but it does not change Caleb's intepretation of the text and it's affects on his life. POSTMODERNITY COMIN' AT YA! Context will always count, but on what level?
If I say the phrase "I like dogs more than my wife", there are many ways to take that. I could think dogs were much cooler than my wife. Of course, they are certainly not. It could also mean that my wife does not dogs as much as I do. Let's say I die and this is on my tombstone (OK, lame tombstone I know, but stay with me) and two people walk by it. The first is struggling in his marriage and he doesn't realize it is because he has 12 dogs and his wife hates them. My tombstone makes him realize this and he goes back, sells the dogs, and his marriage is saved. His wife didn't like dogs as much as he did, but he still loved his wife more The second person walks by, a woman who is having struggles in her marriage and the inscription makes her realize that her husband likes their dog more than he likes her. She goes back, they go to counseling together, and the marriage is saved. OK, I know these are late-night, lame examples with really stupid people in them, but this is the essence of context. If, when I mentioned those words, I meant the first interpretation rather than the latter, does that change the way it affected the person who identified with the latter interpretation? Should they not have realized these things and decided to act upon them because my original context was different? No, they should not. Relative interpretation is postmodern and it's not going away and God is very active in this way
We of course don't do this with the Bible for reasons I mentioned above. Anyone who does is led right back to their own self-depravity. I don't mean to rip on the person who perviously posted, I am just simply stating my view of the subject. Sorry for this being long, but its late and I got lots of that tired energy thing goin'.
I have actually met and interviewed Jars of Clay, and yeah, they are really down to earth. Boring actually. I nearly fell asleep. Good music though, but it would have been nicer if they had the crazier personalities of PFR.
And I don't feel ripped on. You're lucky I'm the kinda gal who likes to be shown different perspectives. I don't claim to be the end-all of correct information (like Silas, *ahem*... j/k!). I understand your points about context. That is part of the reason I posted that thing about Tolkein and his intent vs. what people (Christians) see in his work. I didn't say it was wrong that Christians see that (though I did say it came from the author's identity when he put himself into it), even though that wasn't his intention. God uses postmodern methods of interpretation, sure. I'm just making the point that when conclusions are drawn, they are clearly stated so there is no confusion from where they come. For example, with Hemingway, if someone says, "I can see a parallel here in the imagery that bodes well for the Christian perspective and emulates the Biblical principles surrounding redemption." That is fine. But this is the statement I warn against, "The author is trying to show the redemption of the old man with symbols of a long struggle to represent a hard life, and that mast to represent the source of refuge and redemption of the cross' significance in the Christian culture from a long, and difficult life."
Do you see the difference there? If the author's intentions cannot be known, we should not ascribe him the credit of such a thing. But if his works can have that significance to a critical thinking reader, the reader has the responsibility to make his speculations his own, not pinning them on the author - specifically given the context surrounding the author's life.
And if what you say about Third Day in their needs for being pampered, that saddens me. But like you were saying, I liked them not because of their intent or character (though I would like them less if they had a very scrupulous character), but I like their sound and the lyrics they sing. God has used them to speak words of encouragement, humility, refuge, etc. to me and my friends. After all, who among us has flawless charecter? Yet, God may still be glorified (despite our intentions, or motives, often to the contrary) through us, even in our sin. (see Rebecca Pippert's book Out of the Saltshaker and into the World. She addresses how we should be authentic in all we do - even our failures - to be better witnesses for Christ. It is a wonderful book... please get it, read it, and read it again.)
I completely agree. It's way to easy for someone to say "the author is saying this" when they really had no intention of doing so. The more proper response, for a believer at least, is to acknowledge what the author was intending to say and then explaining your experience with his or her words and meaning.
Sorry that I got on a soapbox last post. I generally do and need to not do so sometimes. It was late but for some reason I was at that point inspired to spill senseless crap onto Caleb's already crap filled blog
If I were laughing any harder, I'd bust a gut!
Crap filled? Do I suck? I think I do... Why will no one love me? I'm hideous!!! Look away!!!
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