Family conspiracy

I've only been engaged 3 days, and already I can hear my family talking about what they're going to do with my bedroom once I move out.

Kate Bush - Deeper Understanding 2011

Hmmm...

I'm genuinely not sure how I feel about the 2011 version of Deeper Understanding. (To provide a bit of background, Kate Bush is re-releasing a few songs from her 1989-1993 period in the new compilation "Directors' Cut" which comes out in May. This is the first single.)

The subject of this song - computer addiction and social isolation - was incredibly prophetic when it was written, but doesn't seem so groundbreaking now.
The voice of the 'computer' is a bit off-putting, especially compared to the heavenly chorus in the 1989 version. But that's obviously quite intentional. I really like the long bluesy/jazzy section in this version in the last couple of minutes.

The video itself? Well I like that it has Robbie Coltrane and Noel Fielding in it. Kate always gets famous people in her videos, which gives me the impression she's BFFs with every celeb in Britain or something. The storyline and the way it is told is a bit cheesy but it gets the point across. Perhaps a little too obviously.

So... that just happened.

On Saturday afternoon, Nick asked me a certain question, and I said yes.

We've known that we're heading towards marriage for a long time, but it was still quite a surprise when he proposed! It's real now - and the feeling is at times dreamlike, and at other times surprisingly normal.

Everyone's congratulating us and it's definitely an exciting time. It was even announced at church on Sunday evening, which we weren't quite expecting. To have people praying for us is a great encouragement. It's definitely important as we have a lot of planning and decision-making ahead of us.

Resurrection Day

“The dawn will come, the sun will rise
Out of the grave we’ll see hope’s light.
Tomb opened wide, stone rolled away
Morning has come, a brand new day.
“He isn’t here,” the angel said.
“He is alive, no longer dead!”
Our hearts are lifted, souls raised high
Christ is with us, Christ is our life, he’s our life!”

Emu Music “Never Alone”

Video: "Follow"

They played this at church this morning. I think it's cute. Seemed to go down well.

Good Friday

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

- Isaiah 53:7-12

Why would we call the day our Lord died “Good Friday”? I used to wonder this myself. Is it irony? What’s so good about an innocent man having religious leaders conspiring to kill him, one of his disciples betraying him, all his friends deserting him, the authorities not giving him a fair trail, suffering the embarrassment and the physical agony of crucifixion - the worst and most shameful execution method ever invented; and worst of all, having the terrible wrath of his own heavenly father poured out against him even though he didn’t deserve it?

The answer is ironic in some ways. “By his wounds, we are healed.”

Before Jesus was arrested, he was praying over and over that God would let him off the hook. He knew God’s will was for him to die. He knew it was God’s plan to rescue sinners - to have Jesus, the only sinless man, pay the price instead of each of us. But Jesus obeyed - what an amazing model of courage and faithfulness. We are now able to approach God with gratefulness, because he has forgiven us and saved us, and that we can have eternal life with him. That’s the gospel, or literally, “good news”. We celebrate Jesus’ death because he did it for us.

Albums that should be overrated but aren’t: Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Banned version of album cover with copyrighted Superman image. Naughty naughty.

I think the full name of the album is Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the Illinoise! but there’s no way I’m calling it that.

This album is an absolute staple of the indie-folk genre. If someone called this their favourite album I’d regard it as a fairly generic thing to say, like when people call The Shawshank Redemption their favourite film. Quality, but a bit of a safe choice.

Everyone raves about this album. And that makes me sceptical.

In most cases, artists with a fairly sizeable discography have some lesser known stuff under their belt that is actually better than the most succesful release. That’s not the case here, though. I hate to dismiss the future efforts of this young, ambitious songwriter, but I daresay Illinois is, and probably always will be, Sufjan Steven’s masterpiece.

I want to be able to say it’s overrated. I look at those pretentious, five-line track titles that are entirely too wordy to memorise, and I think he’s trying to hard. Even the acknowledgements and copyright information on the inside sleeve are long-winded. It makes me roll my eyes a little. And I look at that seventy-something-minute running time, and I think: surely there’s not enough good stuff here for me to want to keep listening for that long. But there is. And I do keep listening.

And then there’s always the hipster heartthrob factor. The Soof is young, talented, and heartbreakingly handsome, with a gentle and agreeable persona… and because of that I often feel like his fanbase is overcrowded with dodgy fangirls who worship his every note. Is that fair? Probably not.

Anyway, I must admit to Sufjan’s skills as a gifted musician and delicate lyricist. This is on full display on Illinois, which is a thoroughly charming album, and it pretty much deserves all the praise that it gets.

As a concept album based on places and history of the state of Illinois, it has a wonderful nostalgic feeling. I’ve never been to Illinois myself but some people have said the album does a remarkable job of capturing the feeling of the place. The same has also been said about his earlier effort, Michigan, based on his home state. I’d like to see him to continue the “50 states project” but it seems like he’s sick of it already.

On Illinois, Sufjan’s lyrics are evocative, sprinkled with wit, and often highly spiritual. It’s not “Christian music” - the focus isn’t on worship or evangelism, but Sufjan’s personal faith spills out, sometimes in a sly “did he just say bible study?” kind of way, but mainly through biblical allusions and pieces of storytelling that relate directly and indirectly to Christ. You don’t need to be a Christian to appreciate it, but I feel I get a lot more out of it as a believer. The apocalyptic The Seer’s Tower is shiver-inducing.

The album is full of melodies that can be hauntingly beautiful or they can be catchy and hummable. And have I not mentioned the grand instrumentation? Some of the tracks are quiet, but for a significant portion of the time, trumpets and strings and electric guitars and acoustic guitars and banjos and recorders and all kinds of percussion resound. Large choirs serve as background singers. The results of all this can vary between ‘cute’, ‘kitsch’, and ‘epic’. This is indeed ‘folk’ music, because it sounds like an entire village of ‘folk’ were needed to record most of it. I dig that. Stripped back acoustic-n-vocal ain’t my style. I like the sprawl.

Basically, I love this album, and regard it as an absolute a treat to listen to.