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Mirrors

March 21, 2013 in Entertainment, Faith/Hope/Love, Music with 0 Comments

What if our lives really were reflections of someone or something beyond us? What if the best – and worst – parts of us echoed through the lives of those around us; our love and our fear leaving their mark on our children, our friends, our spouses the way a shadow attaches itself to sunlight? What if our stories didn’t end, but instead continued, like ripples in a pond, to tell themselves through those we leave behind every day?

I think this is what it means to be a Christian. The very person of Jesus Christ reveals himself through his followers, the church. The more closely we move to the source, the more clear the reflection becomes and the more visible it becomes to others. If my life is a reflection of Christ, if my story is really His story played out in a new beautiful mess that is my life, then I’m ok with that.

So Justin Timberlake may be right. His new song “Mirrors” is exploding all over the airwaves and interwebs right now. For lack of a better word, it is my jam. I saw JT sing it on SNL a couple weeks ago and loved it. He released the official music video just this week, and quite honestly it is heartbreakingly beautiful. The video pays homage to Timberlake’s grandparents, William and Sadie Bomar. William passed away late last year after a long battle with dementia and heart problems. Sadie is now left alone with the shadows and memories and impressions from a lifetime of love, commitment, struggle, frustration, passion, and intimacy.

The video captures this relationship through the best of times and worst of times; the excitement of young love, the heartbreak and disappointment that we are all capable of and prone to, the lifetime of intimacy, and the shadowy reflections that remain now as Sadie is left alone. Fittingly, the coda at the end of the song shows Sadie dropping a wedding ring that was worn for more than 60 years…and Timberlake himself catching the ring, symbolically accepting the challenge to face the next 60 years in the same kind of beautiful marriage with his new wife, Jessica Biel.

Last October, my grandfather passed away after struggling with Alzheimer’s. He was married for 71 years, and now my grandmother is left alone to walk in the same kind of memories and reflections that Timberlake portrays. As I write this, she is fighting for her life with some heart complications, as if her entire body seems to recognize that a whole part of her is missing. It is sad and tragic and so stunningly beautiful. If my marriage can be some kind of mirror of that legacy; if I can hit 60 or 70 years of marriage to my wife, through the ups and downs, then it is a good life. Definitely a story worth telling and a song worth singing.

And if I could dance in a creepy funhouse with those pointy shoes and look as fly as JT, then I would gladly make that a part of my legacy as well.

I you haven’t seen the video, it’s worth a watch.

Me The Machine

February 7, 2013 in Entertainment, Music with 0 Comments

This is incredible. Imogen Heap shows of her new “magical musical gloves,” and debuts a new song written and performed entirely in 3D space. I strongly suggest taking 20 minutes to watch the full video, but even if you don’t feel like listening to her whole explanation of the tech, at least do yourself the favor of skipping to about the 13:20 mark to see the song she wrote. Yes…you can “see” the song.

How He Loves

May 23, 2012 in Music with 0 Comments

27 Million First World Problems

February 28, 2012 in Action, Entertainment, Faith/Hope/Love, Music with 1 Comment

There is a big joke these days about “First World Problems.” (Just check your Facebook feed or search #firstworldproblems on Twitter). Let me entreat you with a couple examples:

Funny? Yes. But tragic because these really are the things that bother us? Very much yes.

How about this for a first world problem: Atlanta, GA is considered to be a major hub of human trafficking in the United States. Some 300,000 Americans – mostly underage girls – are at risk right now for being snatched up in the criminal sex trade. There are  thousands upon thousands of very real stories of very real girls in our own country who are forced to “service” up to 40 men a day. Some are rescued or escape; most do not. And those numbers only grow exponentially when you look outside of the U.S.

Slavery and human trafficking are very much first world problems. Continue Reading…

Life In Music: “Unfaithful”

February 27, 2012 in Music, Personal with 4 Comments

Here is the second installment in my music biography.

Back when I was writing a lot more music, I would occasionally get the question from listeners: “What is your process for writing a song?” The honest answer, for me at least, is that I never had a real system. I would generally start with one line, image, or idea, and the song would just build from that. Sometimes it would take weeks and months of tweaking and editing to bring a song to completion, and often even after all that I would end up scrapping everything. Other times, the whole song would just come together in a matter of minutes.

Unfaithful was one of the latter. This was a song I wrote pretty early on in my life, both in terms of my songwriting experience and in terms of my personal and spiritual maturity. When it came to my understanding of biblical truth, I thought I knew it all. But I had not yet walked through the fires of refinement and I had many childish things that I was unwilling to let go of: pride, lust, selfishness, insecurity, inadequacy, etc. Knowing that these were damaging thoughts and patterns was one thing, but finding freedom from them was another. Like many professing Christians, I struggled with the apparent disconnect between proclaiming Jesus as my savior and actually living a life that reflected that belief. It was the age-old question: how can we keep on sinning if we are supposed to be dead to sin? Continue Reading…

Life In Music: “Monday Man”

February 7, 2012 in Music, Personal with 2 Comments

Last week marked the 1 year anniversary of when I launched this blog. I didn’t really know what to expect when I began, I just knew that I needed to write – I needed that creative outlet and I wanted the opportunity to take action by sharing my voice and my story. I was afraid that blogging was something I wouldn’t stick with, and I was afraid of fizzling out. But, after 12 months I am enjoying it as much as ever, and I am continually learning and growing through the process. Thanks for being a part of that with me!

So, today I’m branching out a little bit. If you have been following this blog for any amount of time, you know that music is a huge part of my life. Truth be told, my own personal creativity and expression in that area has felt stagnant for a while. Yesterday – finally – I decided to take action and do something about this…by looking backwards. I have had a number of requests over the past couple of years to post some music to YouTube. For some reason, I have been very hesitant to do this. Oddly, despite the fact that I used to perform with a band all the time, and the fact that I feel totally comfortable leading worship in front of any sized crowd, putting a video on the internet just seems weird. Regardless, music and songwriting for me has always been an extension of my life – it is an expression of my relationships and my faith. As such, I think there is great value in sharing that with those who care to hear it.

That said, I have decided to share this journey with you. My hope is not to blow anybody away with my mad skillz, for that certainly would not happen. I simply want to look back – for myself, and for others who can relate – at my own story. I will try as faithfully as possible to share some of my music on a regular basis, giving you not just the song itself, but also sharing the experience and meaning behind the music.

Here it goes… Continue Reading…