20December2006
Posted by nate under: song.
Another day, another song. Last night I watched An Inconvenient Truth – holy cow, It made me want to repent more than any sermon I’ve heard. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about Al Gore’s slide show on global warming. It goes between him presenting the slide show and him talking about himself and how the slide show came about. It’s hard to believe a movie hosted by Gore would be remotely intriguing but it’s amazingly captivating and despite the weighty topics, it even has some humor (thank God for ghost writers). Anyways todays song from the advent e.p. would’ve had a verse about global warming if I had seen this movie two months ago. ‘A Day Like Today’ is pretty straightforward, addressing my frustrations with the church and remembering that despite our screwed up ways, Christ is present. If yesterdays two songs scared you with thier use of distortion, this one will woo you back with it’s gentle 3/4 call. Waltz on. A Day Like Today
Would you come on a day like today? / To a world full of violence and hate / With leaders that claim you but kill anyway / Would you come on a day like today? / Would you come on a day like today?
Could you come at a time such as this? / With a church so divided over who we should kiss / That the heart of the gospel is completely missed / Could you come at a time such as this? / Could you come at a time such as this?
Was your mind on the cross in the womb? / Set free at your birth and again at the tomb
The whole world€™s in labor, oh Jesus come soon / Was your mind on the cross in the womb? / Was your mind on the cross in the womb?
You are here in the bread and the wine / The promise holds true after all this time / The finite and holy become intertwined / You are here in the bread and the wine / You are here in the bread and the wine
19December2006
Posted by nate under: song.
This last weekend I had the distinct privalege of being (and playing a bit) at Micah Taylor’s CD release party. What a day! I got up at 5:30, made it into St. Paul and did a little Christmas shopping (I fit all of my shopping into 3 hours this year – possibly a record) and then I picked Micah up for lunch. After lunch it was a lot of gear getting and setting up. Toward’s supper musicians started trickling in and meeting one another – it was cool to see all of Micah’s circles converging – I got to meet a bunch of people who’s names I’ve been hearing forever. The energy in the room was great – by the time Micah went on the place was packed and energized by Put Down the Muffin’s opening set. Micah was in great form – during and between songs. It was awesome. dare i say rad.
so check out Micah Taylor and buy his new album.
In other news here’s a couple of advent songs for you:
First: In Days of Old God Spoke to Us Through the Prophets, But Now In These Last Days God Has Spoken To Us Through His or Her Son.
In Days of Old
A look at Elijah and the role of prophet €“ incarnation€™s been on my mind €“ title inspired by reading too much Anne Lamott in too short a period of time €“ wrote in October 2006
Lyrics:
I was in the cave I was crying out to you / When I heard the roaring wind I thought you might be passing through / But the wind was just like me, yeah it was crying too, / We wanted the same thing, Oh God do what you must do, / Do what you must do Lying in the dark waiting for some sort of sound/ I felt the mountain shatter was that you who shook the ground / But the earth was just like me, it lay open to the sky / We wanted the same thing, Oh God, do not pass me by / Do not pass me by Out beyond the mouth I saw a distant light / Are you behind the smoke in the fire blazing bright? / But the fire was like me; it burned for you to see / We wanted the same thing oh / God do you remember me / Do you remember me? You drew me to the edge by whispering my name / You could have used your power, yet in gentleness you came / And you sent me to the desert, to anoint the chosen ones / We wanted the same thing, oh God your will be done Drawn into this world, Mary whispering your name / A humble manger held you, may we do the same / You grew among the people; some said you were the one / We wondered the same thing, oh God is this your Son? / This is your Son
And here’s one of my favorite hymns: On Jordan’s Banks the Baptist’s Cry This is one of my favorite hymns €“ again prophetic stuff €“ J the Baptist was such a lunatic I€™m sure I would€™ve followed him around the woods €“ originally this version was for pleasure and a more palatable version was going to go on the e.p., but micah and I decided this was way more fun and honest €“ micah experimented with stereo drum takes €“ I sang the vocals for about an hour till I lost my voice €“ homemade electric banjo finally made it on a recording €“ this 4/4 crazy horse arrangement is referred to as the locust and mead mix
11December2006
Posted by nate under: Uncategorized.
It’s been a busy few days – Jodi Lydia and I made a trip down to St. Paul to see old friends and new babies and had a great time. I’ve been finishing a few writing projects for augsburg fortress which has been a good challenge and now I’m finishing up my 5 song advent/christmas CD. It’ll be a lot of fun – hopefully by this weekend you’ll be able to download it from the site. At that point I’ll also try and get the lyrics as well as an explanation up – it’s not your typical christmas offering.
I’ve been toying around with the idea of recording and posting a song a week for january-march. I’m not that mobile these days and it would be good way to be disciplined about recording as well as get some of the back catalog out there. I’m meeting with my web genius, musical collaborator and heckuva friend, Micah Taylor on Friday to see what this would all entail. It was pretty much his idea in the first place, so I’m hoping he knows what he’s getting himself into.
Speaking of back catalog I’m also hoping to start getting some of the old cd’s, mostly out of print, available for free down load, as well as lyrics, and maybe a little overview of what was going on during the making of the album.
Well, those are the lofty ambitions of a self declared folk star, be kind to each other, it’s advent,
Nathan Andrew Houge