Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Thriller" (Michael Jackson)

Welcome to Tuesday and the 2014 Halloween edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes!  (Ok official disclaimer #1, so this is the first time the graphics dictated the theme...but it works!!!)  For our Halloween "10 On Tuesday" notes, we provide you with 10 handy, dandy tidbits of trivial tastiness and add just a sooper, dooper dollop of The Word to take away any of the spookiness that might possibly be lurking around the corners of your week.  Seriously, today's notes feature 10 links to make this "holiday" perhaps a bit less spooky, and a lot more fun.  Did you hear a door slam???

Some people remember where they were when JFK was shot (...wasn't born!), others remember where they were when they heard Elvis died (...White, with woodgrain sidepanels, 1973 Chevrolet pickup waiting on dad to close the barbershop), many others remember the first time they saw Michael Jackson's Thriller. (...University of Arkansas, Holcombe Hall TV room...December 2, 1983, the day of its debut on MTV). Our first link on "10 On Tuesday"

1)  Michael Jackson's Thriller from the 1984 album Thriller

It was MTV's first world premier video and it would solidify in many people's mind the genius of Michael Jackson.  It was considered a music video by many of the populace, but was created as a mini feature film by Jackson and John Landis (Animal House, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf In London).  The film was inducted into the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2009, confirming its iconic status and guaranteeing to "terrorize youse neighborhood..." for years to come.

Have you ever thought "Wow!  I would like to see "Elektra" (Jennifer Garner), "Gollum" (Andy Serkis), "The Incredible Hulk" (Mark Ruffulo) and that chick from the annoying Sprint commercials (Judy Greer)(she's going to be in Jurassic World and Marvel's Ant Man...ah redemption) in one incredible scene....No? Ok humor me and enjoy your treat at our #2 link from the "coming of age" comedy 13 Going on 30.  It utilizes "Thriller" as icebreaker meets party maker for Garner who plays a misplaced 13 year old from the 80's trying to come to grips with the adult life of her 30's in modern time.  Good movie....great dance scene!

2) "Thriller" from 13 Going on 30

Many followers of Jesus choose to abstain from focusing on the "darkness falls across the land" variety of Halloween observances, so this link provides at least 10 different fun activities your family can explore to have fun with everyone else without letting Freddy or Jason be involved.

  3)  Halloween Alternatives for Christians from about.com

"Have you ever been to Odyssey?  It's a real nice place to be...", Tuesday's Musical Notes highly recommends a weekend spent with the folks over at Whits' End.  Adventures in Odyssey harkens back to the days of radio dramas when the family gathered around and listened intently to the adventures of The Lone Ranger or The Phantom.  The series, which has been on the radio waves since 1987, is produced by Focus on the Family and  appeals to children of all ages.  (For current broadcast time and station listings click here:  Adventures In Odyssey - station listing by state)  Link #4 on our list gets you a start with Adventures in Odyssey and allows you to listen to the most recent episodes. (Adventures In Odyssey - free episodes to listen to online)   "What Are We Going To Do About Halloween" is an episode geared towards the history of the day and the traditions that come with it.  It is from The Lost Episodes pack and can be found at Amazon, iTunes, or the AIO website.

4) Adventures in Odyssey

You knew we couldn't get through the special "10 on Tuesday" without featuring at least 1 Musical Note!!!  (Well, there is at least 1 more coming...)  This is Tuesday's Musical Note's salute to Halloween from 2012.  It features the Ray Parker Jr. Classic "Ghostbusters".  If the rumors are to be believed, the "Ghostbusters" reboot will feature ladies in the lead roles as they go about saving the world from the "not so nice" ghostly realm.  "Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart..."  "Who ya gonna call?"

5)  Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Ghostbusters"

And on with the countdown, that really isn't a countdown...it's more of a list...but I digress. #6 is a link to the greatest Halloween songs ever according to Billboard magazine.  Some are a little creepy, so be aware of those around you when you click on the link...official disclaimer #2 noted...can you guess what is #1?

6) Billboard Magazines Top 10 Halloween Songs

If your tastes stray towards the more visual, but you really aren't into saws or hockey masks, you might enjoy our next link on the list at #7.  It provides a TV-friendly listing of specials that air annually at the end, or sometimes during the whole month, of October.  The main page on this link features child appropriate Halloween themed tv specials, a menu of links to other network-specific Halloween themes, and links to lists of 10 Halloween movies.  Get the popcorn and soda ready....anyone have any extra butter "'cause this is Thriller, Thriller night"!

7) Top Ten Halloween Movies for Kids - TV

What would this season be without costumes.  From ancient times, folks have been participating in the masquerade.  Costuming has always been a part of dramatic performance.  From the times of Shakespeare (or Christopher Marlowe as some think) when young boys were dressed appropriately for the female roles, to the masquerade balls of the 19th century ("Masquerade" from Phantom Of The Opera), to more current celebrations where the focus is on being quite honestly someone else.  Which in and of itself smacks of some dishonesty.    It seems that we as humans have a very easy time donning disguises or masks.  Sometimes this can be good...other times...not so much. Halloween provides the outlet for "dressing up" regardless of the rationale behind it.  Here is a list from Halloween Express of the most popular costumes of this year...(disclaimer #3, Tuesday's Musical Notes has no affiliation with or to the retailer Halloween Express, we just liked their site!!!)

8) Top 10 Halloween Costumes - Halloween Express

It seems that as I get older (note...NOT OLD), traditions seem to become more important.  We enjoy times with extended families, yet it seems that with time the "extended" part of the families is getting stretched thinner and thinner.  So with each generation, you find a "bringing it all back home" time where the children who have become parents are no longer the focus of the holiday celebrations, but became the facilitators...sigh...That being said, our family has decided that after attending our church's block party on Halloween we will adjourn to our comfy chairs and couches of the homestead and start the season of feasting as we watch the classic "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" followed by one our favorite actors, Cary Grant, in the classic "Arsenic and Old Lace"...CHARGE!!!! (Arsenic And Old Lace - trailer)  In the meantime, we might trip over to Tuesday's Musical Notes and see what the Notes were for last year..."It's Alive!!!"

9) Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Frankenstein"

Today's Musical Notes have featured a listing of 10 websites that you might find handy as you and your family gather to enjoy the season.  Unfortunately, Halloween has become a season associated with darkness, so the Notes would like to end our "10 Of Tuesday" list with a link to the passages of Scripture that speak about light.  The first chapter of the first book of the Bible (Genesis) tells about God speaking light into existence.  Jesus called himself the "Light of the world".  It just seems that as this season focuses on the weird and the really dark, we could use more light.  It is a physical fact that darkness cannot exist in the presence of light.  Perhaps that is what you should be for someone today.  Not an overbearing, burning out the retina kind of light, but a gentle, enveloping light that shows the people you come into contact with that you are different and that you chose to make a difference. By doing so you might even be able to rid someone of...the evil of the Thriller...(insert maniacal laugh)  

10)  100 References To "Light" In The Bible

"In The Light" by DCtalk from Welcome to the Freakshow video

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Rapture" (Blondie)

Hello there!!  Hi!!  Howdy!!! Salutations!!!  Wassssuuuupppp!!!!  Mellow Greetings...Yookie Dookie!!!  Welcome to today's very different Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Its different in that today's Tuesday's Musical Notes' feature song is one of the most unique #1's in chart history. It is the first #1 chart topper to feature Rap and was the first Rap video featured on MTV.   With Debbie Harry on lead vocals, here's Blondie with their 1979 #1 hit...let's eat some cars!!!

"Rapture" - Blondie from 1981's Autoamerican

With the exception of a break from 1982-1997, Blondie has been making records and touring since 1976.  They have sold 40 million records worldwide and just released their newest album, Ghosts of Download, in May of this year.  The  foundation of Blondie is formed by 3 of its original members, Harry, Chris Stein (guitar and bass), and Clem Burk (percussion, backing vocals) and has built on this foundation with an array of musicians coming through their ranks in the 40 year history of the band.  Stylistically all over the charts, Blondie might be punk rock ("One Way Or Another", 1979) one minute and then step into a reggae jam ("The Tide Is High", 1980), Power Ballad anthem ("Call Me", 1980) or a disco infused beat ("Heart of Glass", 1978).  They received Grammy and Juno (Canadian version of the Grammy Award) nominations in the early 80's and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

When you hear the word "Rapture", two very different ideas can come to mind.  One is the idea that Blondie is trying to get across in their song.  This "rapture" is a feeling of ecstatic joy.  The other ideology conjures up something that perhaps looks like this:

Left Behind (2014)

Left Behind (2014) came out at #3 when it was released on October 3 of this year.  It is a remake/reboot of the movie series (1st in the series debuted in 2000) that starred Kirk Cameron (Fireproof, Mercy Rule) and adapted from the multimillion dollar book series of the same name that was released in December of 1995.  The new movie follows the lives of a family impacted by the filmmakers vision of what the Biblical concept of "THE rapture" might be.  Critics did not care for the movie, which means it has to be good...seriously friends of mine have seen it and recommend it as a good film. 

The notion of being "raptured" or "being taken up" comes from 1 Thessalonians where the Bible says: 

^"And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we have the Master’s word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they’ll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He’ll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they’ll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words."  - 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18  The Message

This passage refers to only those who believe and follow Jesus.  They will be the ones who are "caught up".   The time line of how this will happen has been a topic of debate since Paul first wrote this letter to the church at Thessalonica.  These discussions are ones that should cause us to read and study for ourselves what the Bible has to say specifically about the time of Jesus' return.  Jesus' earliest disciples where of the mindset that He would return during their time and with each passing generation, the question gets posited...will it be today?  Paul was writing this letter as one who expected these events to occur during his life.  However, Jesus explained that He would not return until all the people of the world had the opportunity to hear the Gospel.  The process of spreading the Gospel looks very different in our world compared to Paul's, but there are some stark similarities.  In Matthew 24: 12-15, Jesus says, 

  ^"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." 

These scriptures can cause some trepidation among folks.  There is a great deal of uneasiness about things in which we have no frame of reference.  But both of these passages are incredibly encouraging if we get passed the unknown..."So reassure one another with these words..."..."But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved...".  These are words that should cause rapture in the hearts of believers.


According to the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, there are 3,004 unreached people groups in our world.  This means there are over 3000 "nations" that have never heard the Gospel of Jesus.  From this we can conclude 2 things:  1) There is still time left in the world for followers of Jesus to do the good works God has planned for them and see transformed lives as a result of those works, and 2) If we want to go to heaven sooner, our heart should be for those 3,004 people groups to hear the Gospel as soon as possible. 

Regardless of the timeline of eschatological events, the Bible is filled with examples and prophecies that followers of Jesus are in for times of persecution.  All but one of Jesus disciples were martyred for spreading the Gospel and one need only look at what is going on in the lives of Jesus' disciples in places like Egypt, Ukraine, and Houston, Texas (City Of Houston Demands Pastors Turn Over Sermons - Fox News) to see the persecution in today's age.  Bible prophecy says it will be getting more difficult for Christians as the day for Jesus return draws near.  "So reassure one another with these words..."..."But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved...".

I recently read a fascinating and kind of scary article that shows Biblical prophecy being set up to come to pass in the form of what would seem to be very "good" things.  The prophecy involves the "mark of the beast" (again, read and study for yourself as to whether Jesus disciple's will be a part of this).  In Revelation 13:16-17 the Bible says: 

"It (referring to a beast in the end times) forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark on the right hand or forehead. Without the mark of the name of the Beast or the number of its name, it was impossible to buy or sell anything.

And now...the rest of the story:


Nine Real Technologies That Will Soon Be Inside You - Yahoo News

For those who believe Jesus, (whether you believe the Church will be around during this time or not) this will be of no consequence, as Jesus  has already defeated anything we might possibly face in this world.  He has overcome the world!!! He wears the Victor's Crown!!!  Regardless of the timing, we should be challenged like never before to seek out those around us who are clueless about these things and share with them the Gospel of Jesus.  With the headlines screaming out a myriad of fearful things, the Gospel of Jesus is truly the good news that the world needs to hear.  It is the light in the darkness, it is the calm in the midst of chaos, and for those who believe and call on the name of Jesus it will ultimately be...rapture.

"Victor's Crown" - Darlene Zschech, Kari Jobe, Israel Houghton and the Integrity Singers

'Til Tuesday

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (Pat Benatar)

Hello!!!  It's Tuesday!!!  Time for tripping the light fantastic down the road of musical musings and trepidatious trivia.  That's right folks, you have found today's...wait for it...Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Only 11 more shopping Tuesdays before Christmas...let's not rush it though shall we.  Today our trek will take us to that wonderful time known as the 80's!!!  Where we explore strange new hair dos, we seek out new guitar riffs and odd drum solos, and we boldly go where no blog has gone before... cue Alexander Courage...engage...or fire away!  Welcome To The Notes!!!

"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benetar from the 1980 album Crimes Of Passion

If you were to ask folks about female Rock-n-Roll acts of the '80s, some of these bands may come to the forefront of your conversation, Heart, The Go-Go's, The Bangles (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Walk Like An Egyptian"),  and Bananarama (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Cruel Summer").  Also included in your ponderings would be solo acts like Madonna ( Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Holiday"), Tina Turner, Joan Jett, and Stevie Nicks.  Usually in at least the top 5 of everyone's list would be the MTV sweetheart of the 80's Pat Benatar.  

She originally began training to be a classical music star and had plans to go to Julliard.  Thankfully for fans all around the world, Patricia Mae Andrzejewski, changed her vocational  path after pursuing careers in health education, marrying her high school sweetheart, and becoming a bank teller.  She would begin to pursue her singing career in 1973.  For the next 7 years she would hone her stage persona by playing local venues and became a regular at New York's Catch A Rising Star Comedy Club.  In 1979 she would sign with Chrysalis and record her first album, In The Heat Of The Night.  In 1980 Pat Benatar would become a musical star as the first single from her Crimes Of Passion album, "You Better Run", would be the 2nd video featured on the brand new music video network, MTV and its second single,  "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" would go as high as #9 on the charts.  She would score a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance for the album in 1980 and ovver the course of the next 10 years, Pat Benatar would be nominated 8 times in that category.  While not achieving the chart success that she had in the 80's, Benatar continues to tour giving her best shot to  millions of fans worldwide.

Did you hear the one about the American Olympic shooter?  Unfortunately, truth is stranger than any fictional punchline we could come up with...meet Matthew Emmons...

In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Matthew Emmons. an American Gold Medal Sport Shooter, was in  line to win his 2nd Gold medal.  He had a comfortable lead going into the final round of competition and then the unthinkable happened.  He got into his stance, lined up the shot, and fired...bullseye...into the wrong target.  He was disqualified from the event for shooting the wrong target.  Not his best shot.  He missed the mark altogether.  Flash forward to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Matthew Emmons once again is dominating the sport shooting competition.  Again, he has a comfortable lead.  Only this time he misses the target completely as he misfired his weapon while getting into his stance.  He moved from 1st place to 8th.  Not his best shot either...Matthew Emmons continues to be one of the United States best shooters, but unfortunately he is known for these two instances of missing the mark.  You can read more about Matthew and his on and off the range battles in this article from Yahoo sports:  U.S. shooter Matt Emmons doesn't think of himself as a choker despite mishaps in Athens, Beijing. 

In archery, if the target is missed completely it is called a miss.  Missing the bulls-eye but hitting the target is called a sin.  This is a word that we hear much about in the context of the Bible.  The Biblical concept of the word "sin" is one of separation.  Let's face it, we are all "real tough cookies, with long histories" and have junk in our life in which we take little pride.  Paul in his letter to the  Roman church puts it this way, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God".  What does that mean?  For it to mean anything, you must have a foundational belief system that is based on the Bible.  If you believe the Bible, you remember quickly that God can not be in the presence of anything that is not pure.  Darkness and light cannot coexist in the same place.  Neither can holiness and sin.  When Adam and Eve disobeyed God while living in Paradise, they made a choice of disobedience.  This required God to be separated from them.  From that point forward, sin/separation from God, has been man's destiny while on this earth.  If Adam and Eve, who were created by our perfect God and were placed in a perfect place, chose imperfection, how much more likely are we to chose imperfection...which we do everyday.  

There is a price that must be paid for this decision to chose separation.  The Bible says that payment is death.  Again in his letter to the Roman church, Paul says that the "wages of sin is death."  Fortunately, Paul doesn't stop there, he continues.."but the gift of God is eternal life, through Christ Jesus our Lord."  So there is a way that those who are separated can be brought back together, but restoration requires sacrifice.  John, one of Jesus' disciples wrote this:  "For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only Son..."  God made the sacrifice so that you and I wouldn't have to pay the wages for our sin.  He gave Jesus as a sacrifice.  Jesus paid our debt.  Jesus died so we could live.  Jesus physically rose 3 days after his tortuous death and was seen by followers.  He is coming again to receive his followers into a new paradise.  Friend, please understand that today's Notes is not intended to judge.   Each day of my life is filled with the struggle to make right decisions. In short, each day of my life is filled with sin. The good news is that while I may have to abide by the consequences of poor decisions in this life, those consequences do not follow me when I die or am received by Jesus when He returns!  

The Bible says that all we have to do to hit the bulls-eye and attain eternal life with God is believe Jesus is who He said He was, the Son of God.  We hit it right in the middle when we say yes to His leadership over every aspect of our lives.  We will have temptations, and we will do wrong, we will miss the bullseye on occasion and sometimes even the target, but when that occurs, we can say with confidence to the enemy..."Knock me down it's all in vain, I get right back on my feet again"...fire away!

"Til Tuesday

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing)" (Benny Goodman)

Welcome to the first Tuesday of October!!!   It's time for this week's dose of songs with a mix of the Spirit, tunes with a mix of the Trinity, and melodies with a mix of the Messiah...it's Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Have we got a show for you!!!

Today's Notes features an origin story...a long, long time ago there was a newsletter for a church.  Each staff member was asked to submit an update on their ministry or an article of interest for said newsletter.  For many years your humble blogger/worship leader/musicologist, had the intense desire to write reviews about music that was mainstream and add to that review an application of insight from a Biblical perspective.  This newsletter provided the opportunity.  The result was a submission entitled..."Walk Like An Egyptian".  There were 2 more newsletter articles published. All 3 of the original articles have been published as an email and blog (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Teach Your Children", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Walk Like An Egyptian", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Walking On Sunshine").  These articles became the inspiration for Tuesday's Musical Notes as it transitioned to being an email for church members and guests, and friends.


From  February 2011 - May 2012, Tuesday's Musical Notes was exclusively an email designed to engage, encourage and encounter music and the Messiah in a fun and sometimes interesting way.  To reintroduce you to some of the songs and insights from those posts, The Notes wishes to reprint on the first Tuesday of each month, one of the past correspondences.  Today's Musical Note is taken from the very first email. It has been modified a bit so as to feature a great song and its story (which the first email did not).  Welcome to the origins of Tuesday's Musical Notes as we encourage you to "Sing, Sing, Sing"

"Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing)" - Benny Goodman

The 1930's were musically known as the Big Band era. The Jazz and Swing movement that are the origins (along with Blues) of all modern day American music were showcased during the time of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Bob Crosby (Harry's  brother, you might know him better as Bing), Duke Ellington (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Sir Duke"), Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Glen Miller, and Woody Herman.  These are just a few of the names associated with the style of music that became popular during this time period and remained popular due to the emergence of radio and television all the way through the 1960's. 

"Sing, Sing, Sing" was written in 1936 by Louis Prima, and recorded by Prima and his band, The New Orleans Gang.  Benny Goodman put together a who's who of Big Band musicians and recorded the best known cover of the song.  While most recordings of the time, as are many today, use the time window of around 3 minutes, Goodman's recording of "Sing, Sing, Sing" clocked in at 8 minutes 43 seconds.  It took up both sides of the 12 inch 78 in which it was recorded.  The song or a portion of it has been used in over 25 theatrical productions from 1936-2011 as well as countless television shows making it one of the most well known and iconic musical compositions.

The original composition included lyrics, which makes sense since the song is about singing.  The words are repetitious so we won't include all of the song, but here is a taste...

When the music goes around,
Everybody's goes go to town.
But here is one thing you should know
Sing sing sing sing everybody start to sing like dee dee dee, bah bah bah dah
Now you're singin with a swing

Countless times I have been told by folks..."I can't sing".  After about the first 85 times of hearing this phrase I began to ponder (a great exercise for the mind, body, and spirit) about what they were actually saying.  I came to the conclusion that unless one is mute, (8 out of 10,000 is the educated guess of most resources), everyone has the physical parts to make a "joyful noise".  If you have ever watched the auditions of American Idol, you soon realize that there are those whose proficiency at singing is not on the same level as others. This skill level is what many are referring to when they say "I can't sing."  But is singing a choice?  As a follower of Jesus, I don't think so.  

The word "sing" appears over 100 times in the New International Version of the Bible.  See for yourself at:  "Sing" in the Bible (NIV)   Many of these passages are directives about singing to God as a result of His benefits to the writer.  About 1/3 however, are commands FROM either God Himself, or God through the writer to sing as an act of worship. 

  "The devil hates music because he cannot endure gaiety.  Satan can smirk but he cannot laugh;  he can sneer but he cannot sing."  

This quote from Martin Luther was something I had never considered, but a tactical weapon that I had used time and again against the enemy.  We've all heard that "music has charms to soothe the savage beast".  Well, sometimes that beast can be our emotions, our fear, our anger, or our frustrations with life in a world in which we as Christians don't belong.  As you come across those "beasts" this week let me challenge you, if I may.  Let that beast smirk, you can laugh.  Let that beast sneer, you can sing.  And at the point of your singing, the beast must leave.  He can't stand to be in the presence of happiness or joy, especially when the foundation for the joy is a relationship with Christ.  Notice that it has nothing to do with notes sung perfectly or lyrics that rhyme every time.  Singing is spiritual warfare and one of the most powerful weapons at our disposal. 

Singing also has physiological benefits..."Keeping Body and Soul in Tune" - The Guardian  You don't have to sing in a church choir to get those benefits (there are many other benefits you can receive however...you should check out your church's choir program or start one yourself) but whether you do it as a part of a "professional group", part of a congregation at your church, or individually while in the car or at home, you should sing, sing, sing, sing, everybody needs to sing...maybe even a praise to the Lord

"Sing Your Praise To The Lord" - Amy Grant 

For further encouragement please read "WHy Do We Sing? by Bob Kaulflin at this link:http://www.churchleaders.com/worship/worship-articles/173499-bob-kauflin-why-do-we-sing.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=clnewsletter&utm_content=CL+Daily+20141011

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy