Top 10 albums lists never bode well with me.Although I listen to a fair share of music throughout the year, I don’t come close to listening to the amount that “real” critics encounter.Therefore, my last few albums tend to be solid albums but not necessarily all time favorites of mine.I also discover a lot more music that has not been released in 2008 but would represent my year of listening much better such as Menomena or Rogue Wave.With all those clarifiers out of the way though, I can’t help but make a “best of 2008” list because let’s be serious, who doesn’t love lists?And this time I’m going to stick to albums released in 2008.
10. Sam Amidon – All is Well
This guy from New York came to Taylor for an IFC concert and although I could only stay for half of his live performance, I was convinced that this guy was … well, weird.Amidst his songs, he rambled on about inane philosophies and enjoyed showing us his chicken impression.Suffice it to say, I was left wanting more.I did pick up his album simply because I had heard a few bits on iTunes and liked what I heard.I’m thankful I did.Relying on old Appalachian folk songs, the simple guitar plucking supported by strings and other assorted instruments make for some hauntingly good music.
9. The Cool Kids – The Bake Sale
That’s right, a rap album made it to my top 10 … but then again, I’ve always had a soft spot for well produced rap music.The Cool Kids, a collaborative effort with a guy from Chicago and Detroit, make some old school beats that you can’t help but nod your head to. I originally heard about them from RELEVANT Magazine’s editor (Cameron Strang) via their podcast.I downloaded the album, thought it decent but put it on the backburner for a while.But within the last month or so, Morgan and I have officially made them the soundtrack to Mario Kart 64 (try it sometime) and considering the amount of MK64 we play, they’ve quickly become favorites.With relatively zero sustenance to their lyrics (although void of much profanity as well), The Cool Kids bring a good time, anytime.
8. MGMT – Purchased Music
These guys write pop songs.To be honest, I don’t have a bunch of stories or reasons why I like these guys so much other than their music is catchy so I keep listening.
7. Fleet Foxes – [self-titled]
Beautiful harmonies.Beautiful music.Take a listen.I need to sit down and listen to the lyrics a bit more but these guys rule.Signed to SupPop, I’ve come to realize those guys don’t produce a whole lot of crappy bands.
6. Son Lux – At War with Walls & Mazes
Electronica?(Is that what this is classified as?)I first heard Son Lux off a sampler I got from CalvinCollege’s Faith & Music conference.I only had two songs to listen to so when the full length came out in the spring, I was quick to purchase this one.With simple phrases often repeated alongside electronically produced music, one might think it alike all other electronic albums.My answer to that would be that Son Lux’s lyrics are more like a spiritual repetition of words to engrain them in one’s soul rather than a catchphrase to accompany repetitive techno beats.Also, Andy Whitman from Paste Magazine and Johnmark Hatfield (my musically inclined cousin) think Son Lux is great.
5. Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs
I listened to the single “I will possess your heart” to death before the actual album came out but it remains one of my favorite tracks off the album.I had rather high expectations for this album considering Death Cab’s last three albums would all most likely make my top 25.Although I can’t say that I was completely blown away by their second major label production, Narrow Stairs definitely has its high points.“BixbyCanyonBridge” is a near perfect opener with lyrics reflecting Gibbard’s inner struggles alongside crunching guitars and “Cath…” proves that DCFC still rules the “lost love” category of song writing.A few of the tracks (Talking Bird) lose my attention and others hover around mediocrity but I’m glad to say that Death Cab has not “sold” themselves over the mainstream.From what I can tell, they still have plenty of steam left.
4. Vampire Weekend – [self-titled]
Preppy, ivy-league pop music that occasionally utilizes a few African instruments.Why would Vampire Weekend not be in my top 10?Some may say their music is too simple or whatever but I think they’re missing the point.This is a pop album.The guys may all be rich and go to ivy league schools where they are probably pampered and disconnected with life (at least that’s the impression I get from what I’ve seen) but they write music that makes you feel good.I think they accomplished what they set out to do.
3. Coldplay – Viva la Vida
I had low expectations for this one after X&Y.Although X&Y wasn’t a let down, it wasn’t exactly a progression for Coldplay and they kind of claimed their spot in the music world by making music that everyone could like.Gorgeous vocals from Martin etc, easy chord progressions, and it was all so listenable.So when I bought Viva la Vida, I was thrilled to hear a variety of sounds coming from the band.Their two singles were decent but have quickly become two of my least favorite on the album.“Lovers in Japan” and “Yes” each clock in at over six minutes but use the long time length to split the song in two.I personally loved this move, the piano outro on “Japan” is beautiful and the second half of “Yes” reminds me of an m83 song except with Martin crooning in the background.Predictably, this album has sold a bunch and hasn’t broken any musical boundaries but I do think that they are open to other influences and changes in their style.Good job, boys.
2. Sigur Ros – Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
My Icelandic friends have done it once again.I only found out that Sigur Ros was releasing another album about a week before it dropped so it definitely made a pleasant summer surprise.Where as the quartet has relied on slow building, angelic devices for the large part of their previous albums, Med Sud shows Sigur Ros’s more upbeat, happier side with their opener “Goobledigook” showcasing quick guitar strums and an up-tempo drum.That’s not to say that the entire album is an upbeat ruckus of tunes but the slower building songs deliver as well as any previous album of theirs.Seeing them in concert (which has been a life goal for a few years now) also made me realize that these foreign speaking dudes might make the most beautiful sound in popular music.[One last note – check out their music video for naked people running through the forest.]
1. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
The story is over-told but important: Bon Iver (French for good winter) recorded “For Emma” in a Wisconsin cottage after breaking up with his previous band and after dealing with a lengthy sickness.The sound resulting is one more heartfelt and genuine than any emo album put out (suck it Chris Carabba) in the last ten years.They performed at Taylor for what I must say is the best performance I’ve seen at Taylor and the best intimate concert I’ve ever been to.Although restricted to a guitar, drums, bass (and a few other assorted instruments) the simple harmonies and sounds easily earn this album my best of 2008.“Skinny Love” probably received the most plays this year although the entire album is a solid, introspective piece of goodness.
The Onion has some of the best satirical material out there. An article popped up on my GoogleReader today satirizing the Christian community. Way to go The Onion, way to go. Read on
This blog would fall under the category of "avoidance of paper writing."
I'm slightly stressed about the vast amount of writing left to do this semester but I'm a senior in college so I should suck it up and do it. On that note, I love the competition sought out over who's the busiest. I don't feel like I've really realized it fully until this year (surprisingly) but college students love to do this. Almost everyone has a lot of homework, a lot of extracurriculars, and a lot of relationships to keep up. When asked to do something, almost everyone has the response, "Oh, I would love to but I've got so much to do tonight that I couldn't possibly fit in something else" with which the enquirer responds, "Dude, I've got so much going on too, probably more than you, but I'm making the choice to do this (whatever event is going on)."
Basically, this has little to no effect on people because practically everyone thinks they are the busiest person in the group. In reality, most people are probably rather comparable, and even if there is a clearly "busier" person, that person is probably more capable of handling more. My thought is that we each need to consider how much we want (and should) commit to our various responsibilities. If we have clear commitment levels, other people should understand the heart of the person has designated certain amounts of time to certain responsibilities and respect their decision or, if the other person feels the first person devotes too much time to one responsibility, confront them on what they should be devoting their time.
I guess I give surface level attitudes little thought. I'm more interested in well adjusted people.
This blog doesn't really make sense but I've run out of designated time I've previously set aside to blog writing so you will have to live with an unclear/unedited blog.
In efforts to erect new light posts around the loop, workers hit a gas pipe, causing mass hysteria and danger on the Taylor campus. Chapel canceled. Students sent to their dorms. It's like War of the Worlds and every other apocalyptic type book/movie.
Watching McCain speak tonight at the Republican National Convention made me realize something: Republicans annoy me. Not so much all of the Republican policies so much as the people who are hardcore Republicans. :) I speak all of this in love.
To the point. Here's a video of Mr. Brian Mclaren speaking about righteousness/justice and the use of power. It's good. And it adds to the conversation as to how we, as Christians, should be thinking about politics.
The following is a blog/essay I had to write for my Senior Seminar class concerning my worldview. I did not cover everything, but many things. I thought I would post it here because ... I can
Feel free to comment.
Josiah Hatfield
9/02/08
Senior Seminar
I would like to structure this essay loosely around a few of the “Questions to Ponder.”I am not sure if that will cover the whole of my worldview (or outset on life) but I think it will cover a decent portion of it.
What is the nature of a human being?
When asked this question three or four years ago, I would have answered spiritual, easily beating out biological or other options.My answer now is still that of spiritual, but with a pause for clarification or clause.I believe we all have souls, that there is a world outside of our physical existence to which we are held responsible for and which play a part in our “post-death” life but I also think that the physical realm plays a large part in the physical realm.For instance, when a person meets a physical need (such as feeding a homeless person lunch), there is a strong spiritual occurrence happening concurrently.I am also persuaded that much of what Jesus speaks of is bringing heaven to earth.In my church going experience, a lot of attention has been placed on an “eternal” view of Christianity; that the “winning” of a person’s eternal soul was the ultimate goal of the church and that disregarding the physical need was, although not directly expressed in church, of lesser importance.However, while reading other authors or the Bible itself, I have come to realize that the Bible directs that it is our job to build a life here where it is “on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10).
Can we really know anything? How?
I am going to steal the adage that “all truth is God’s truth.”I believe there is an absolute truth out there.I believe God’s word (written or otherwise) is absolute truth.I believe that much of man’s creations, words, thoughts, etc have elements of truth and it is our job as Christians to find truth and claim it as the Lord’s.Throughout the history of Christianity, we have constantly been rediscovering what God’s truth means for the current generation.I once read the (perhaps cheesy) analogy that Christianity is like railroad tracks, viewed from ground level or from above or from the side present totally different ideas of what railroad tracks look like but the tracks themselves remain the same.I think it is important for us as Christians to keep this idea of constant interpretation of the Bible in the back of our mind as we live by its precepts.
To do some more stealing, I will use an analogy Rob Bell uses in his book Velvet Elvis: we need to view our faith as springs on a trampoline. If one of our beliefs is taken away, the trampoline still works.Opposite of that, if we view our faith as a brick wall and we take a brick away, our “wall of faith” is in danger of collapsing. With that said, I think it is easy for us, as Christians, to claim a stranglehold on truth based on our understanding of the Bible or life in general and become rather indignant of outside commentary.Reinforcing the last point made, we need to be humble in our claims of knowing absolute truth.
Is there a God? If there is a God, is God active today? How?
As far as “defending the faith” goes, there are much smarter people who can do that and prove that the Bible is 100% historically true and thus, Christianity’s claims are 100% true but then again, there are a number of atheistic intellects who can “100% defend” their worldview.But I have found that it has less to do with intellectually finding what religion or worldview is right and more about finding out who God is and realizing that He makes sense (Donald Miller makes a similar point at the beginning of the chapter titled Belief in his book Blue Like Jazz).The Bible’s words make sense but more than that, the Bible presents a God that earnestly loves His people and longs for a restored relationship.When Christians grab onto that and practically live it out, it is beautiful and I have a hard time refuting that.
The question of God’s activity today has been a recent rumination of mine.I recently read Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great.In essence, it is a bash on any and all types of religion and it defends an atheist’s point of view.I disagreed with a lot (well, most) but it furthered my thought process of wondering how much of what we credit to God is actually His doing.When Joe Christian prays for the healing of a friend and the friend is healed, is that God?When Joe Christian prays for a new car and he wins one on The Price is Right, is that God?When Joe Christian asks God to send a wake up call to the United States because the U.S. allows abortions and homosexuals and something like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina happens, is that God?I realize God can answer in “Yes, No, or Wait” and I realize some of my example prayers had more to do with God’s will than others but my question remains as to how much we should attribute to prayer.Is it too much?Is it even too little?This is my one “agnostic” (or currently unanswered) portion of my faith.
What does it mean to be a good person? Are humans essentially good?
To answer the second question, no.I believe we are born with a sin nature and calling on Jesus’ name and living the life He has called us to is the only way of salvation (salvation for this life, and after death).Humanity has done some pretty awful things throughout history but they have also done some good things as well – both inside and outside of Christianity.Regardless, each human has a tendency towards sin, towards doing the wrong thing; it is our natural inclination.We need a savior.
I sometimes wonder if we as Christians do not put enough emphasis on works though.I am not suggesting that we bring back a religious spirit of requiring certain actions but rather, we should emphasize that a life transformed by Christ is something that should be displayed in our actions.The parable of the sons in Matthew 21:28 asks the question “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” of two sons: one who verbally agreed to what his father asked but does nothing and another who verbally denies his father but actually helps him.I wonder if the church today places too much importance on grace and not enough on living out a life of true sanctification (i.e. becoming more like Christ on a daily basis).
That is all the questions that I am going to answer.I feel as though I covered quite a few bases concerning my worldview.I can honestly say that my experiences over the last three years has aided me in thinking through what it is that I believe.
The following is taken from my Romantic Literature's syllabus. It's going to be a good semester.
... Attitudes 1. The Politically Correct (products of secular relativism) and what might be called the Pharisaically Correct (products of religious legalism) share some characteristics, including the following:
a. They sometimes ignore reason due to an excessively earnest pursuit of their ideology. b. They sometimes distort or censor language in order to impose their ideology on others. c. They often lack a sense of humor or irony.
In this course, let us try to avoid being either kind of PC. ...
Tomorrow the freshmen come. For anyone unaware, I'm a PA (RA) at Taylor University this year. The arrival of the freshmen more or less signifies the beginning of my job as PA and really, as the beginning of the year. The past week has been filled with PA bonding and training time but now the practice is put into use.
I like Taylor's ResLife program. One reason: today (the last day before move in day), we had two hours of 'reflection time' or whatever you want to call it. Basically, two hours to sit back, read, journal, pray, etc. Something hard to come by with such a busy week of planning, decorating and such.
I don't really have anything significant to say in this blog other than that it feels like a transitional time moving into this small role of leadership, beginning my senior year, and moving back into academia after a summer of care free abandon.
I wish you all (Ruf) a fantastic fall and ask for your prayers as I am a human with much wisdom yet to be gained.
les films (j'ai évalué des films, 1-10) chronicles of narnia: prince caspian 5.5 i am legend 6 wristcutters: a love story 7 baby mama 5 click 6.5 about schmidt 8 the bridge 4.5 indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull 7 chumscrubber 4 as good as it gets 6 pollock 7 gangs of new york 8.5 billy elliot 8 little children 8.5 mulholland dr. 7.5 adaptation 9 monster's ball 8.5 shakespeare in love 6 sideways 6.5 erin brokovich 8.5 the virgin suicides 8.5 chicago 8 for the bible told me so 7.5 the insider 8.5 the english patient 7.5 get smart 5.5 dogma 7.5 [40 rock: season 1] [extras: season 1] wanted 4 be kind rewind 7 elizabeth: the golden age 7 away from her 8 in bruges 8 the green mile 8 hancock 6 the godfather: part II 8 before the devil knows you're dead 7.5 the full monty 7 the dark knight 9 the thin red line 7 ghost 6.5 [extras; season 2] quiz show 7.5 schindler's list 9 dances with wolves 7.5 pulp fiction 8.5 old school 6 jerry maguire 7 the air i breathe 5 il postino 6.5 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days 8 love actually 5.5 sweeney todd 8 witness 6.5 kinsey 7 pineapple express 5.5 the orphanage 8 wallE 8
les livres everything is illuminated .. jonathan safron dress your family in corduroy and denin .. david sedaris the road .. cormac mccarthy the virgin suicides .. jeffrey eugenides the poisonwood bible .. barbara kingsolver i sold my soul on ebay .. hemant mehta jesus for president .. shane claiborne do you believe? conversations on god and religion .. antonio monda passion for jesus .. mike bickle tree of smoke: a novel .. denis johnson people's history of the united states .. howard zinn (1/4) the kite runner .. khaled hosseini american pastoral .. philip roth falling man: a novel .. don delillo on the road .. jack keroac a thousand splendid suns .. khaled hosseini the feast of love .. charles baxter me talk pretty one day .. david sedaris god is not great .. christopher hitchens
I just finished reading Christopher Hitchens' book, god is not Great. The book was published sometime last year (Wikipedia: May 1st) and sold real well and is a part of the "New Atheism" movement and catches your eye because the cover is yellow. I read it because no one likes those people that bash on a book/person when they are uninformed (i.e. The Golden Compass - do you really think any of those Christian bloggers out there had actually read the book?). Plus I thought I might pick up some ammo to use against mainstream evangelical Christianity because c'mon, let's be honest, being all emerging church is sexy.
A brief outline of the book can be found here (thanks again Wiki), but if you're looking for my words, Hitchens basically tries to bash every religion for every evil thing they have ever done including (but not limited to) genocide, limitation of thought, mistreatment of women and children, the banning of medical treatment, and so on and so forth. Then he points to how atheism is the logical, scientifically proven option for humankind where we are evolving out of this mystical madness that made sense for peasants hundreds of years ago but now that we have the internet and front loading washing machines, it's rather absurd that we spend so much time on religions that do nothing but harm mankind.
About half way through the book I thought to myself, "he's trying to take on a whole lot of stuff." Now The New Yorker calls him an "intellectual" on the back cover so yes, it's true he is smart. But even my limited knowledge (well, I guess I go to a Christian school...) found a number of things that I could pretty easily answer to. Then again, he brought up some things that I agreed with him on. But the point being, you cannot "disprove" every religion in a matter of 300 pages.
A lot of the Christian church's past has been pretty screwed up. The Crusades, using scripture to support slavery, the Inquisition, not allowing women to do anything, etc. What I'm not totally sure of is why Hitchens cannot grasp the idea that Christians renounce these things today. He argues that the religion itself changes and therefore, is unreliable. But that's just incorrect. As we better understand the Scriptures, the closer we come to what Jesus describes as the Kingdom of God. Now I'm sure the church is far from being perfect but I think it unfair to discount the presence of a god because of the mistakes and misinterpretations its followers have made (although that only highlights the weight our decisions as a universal Church hold).
(As I was reading god is not Great, I was re-reading Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis. This was a good co-read. The beginning of Velvet Elvis looks at Christianity as constantly being "repainted" by its followers. From the doings of the early Church to the meetings to decide what would be included in the "official" Bible, to the constant interpretations of Scripture, Rob explains our responsibility as Christians is to constantly be understanding what the Bible is saying for us today. This aided in my understanding of past church mistakes.)
In addition to the critique of past offenses, Hitchens says that the church is currently harming its members. He uses the example of Jesus' messages of loving thy neighbor or committing adultery in one's heart. In these messages, Jesus is furthering the commandments to move them from simply physical actions to heart conditions but Hitchens sees it as a micro-management that the church uses to shame their members. I think he's misunderstanding the messages in the same way that some church leaders might. He simply sees them as rules instead of as to an invitation to join something better. I think most the larger majority of Christians today understands this and to be frank, Hitchens misunderstands a lot of the details.
In covering practically every religion, he also seems to group a lot of religions together. One example of this would be his medical chapter where he claims that circumcision of every kind is grotesque and evil of a religion to require. He obviously points out Judaism and how awful this was for the males. Now maybe this has something to do with him being born in the UK but circumcision is fairly common in the States (with the uncircumcised usually being the minority) so I didn't really see his point there but then he seamlessly moves onto female circumcision (which is practiced in some African cultures). Female circumcision on the other hand, is a horrible practice that is not really accepted anywhere except for these remote cultures and it is forced onto girls. This is only one example but when attempting to make points, he seemed to pick and choose from varying religions and then claim it as a defect of all religion (which is really unfair to the innocent parties).
Perhaps the point I don't understand the most is how he pits Religion vs. Science. OK, the church thought the earth was the center of the universe. There's been a number of other bad moments in the church when it comes to denying scientific progress, but there are scientists out there that believe in God. There are those that believe in Intelligent Design in the strictest of sense (which would go against the majority of science believed today) but there's just as many that believe in a Theistic Evolution approach to the earth's beginning. The pursuit of religion and science is easily (and done best) when done together.
Those are my rantings. I sort of sound like a fundamentalist. That's not sexy at all... although I do have one "Evangelical Critic" comment to make. As I read Hitchens' critiques of other religions present today I repeatedly thought to myself that if this were a Christian author just trying to disprove other religions, the Christian mass would eat this stuff up and make it a best seller a la Left Behind. Throw in an atheist and a Christianity critique and the author receives death threats. What little difference between our "enemies."
