Tuesday's Musical Notes - "All I Need Is A Miracle" (Mike + The Mechanics)

Hello!!!  Welcome to the third day of the week!  It's Tuesday, and it's time for our weekly journey down the road of trivia and tunes, making the turn at the corner of musings and melodies and winding up in the downtown square of harmonies and harmony. 
It's time for Tuesday's Musical Notes!!! (Did you just hear a trumpet fanfare?)  Does the above trip seem far-fetched?  Does it even seem possible?  In the next few minutes, we hope to take you down this incredible road.  It is a road that is similar to some of the great music videos of the '80s...it tells a fascinating story.  Well, at least some of the video's of the '80s told a story...fascinating...you be the judge.  Here's one of those stories in the form of a video trilogy.  From 1986, here's Mike + The Mechanics...

"Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)"   Mike + The Mechanics from the 1986 album Mike + The Mechanics   

"All I Need Is A Miracle"   Mike + The Mechanics from 1986 album Mike + The Mechanics  

"Taken In" Mike + The Mechanics from the 1986 album Mike + The Mechanics  

With these three songs, Mike + The Mechanics became international music superstars.  Mike Rutherford, a founding member of Genesis (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "No Reply At All" ), wanted an outlet for his songwriting that was apart from his history with  "Genesis".  After a couple of moderately successful solo albums (Smallcreep's Day and Acting Very Strange), he formed what would become his 2nd successful musical ensemble, Mike + The Mechanics.  For a decade, Rutherford and a somewhat fluctuating band (think Steely Dan Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Pretzel Logic") would produce records that would be critically acclaimed and financially successful. 

One of those songs was "All I Need Is a Miracle", the #5 chart-topper from the eponymous 1986 debut album.  It would be one of the most optimistic songs that Mike + The Mechanics would release.  With a catchy musical soundtrack and lyrics that were instantly easy for the listener to relate to, "All I Need Is A Miracle" would be the one single that Rutherford would continue to rework and allow others close to him to cover.  It would be re-imagined for the Hits album and then reformed again with a newer incarnation of the band for the 1999 album  Mike + The Mechanics (known as M6 by fans so as to not be confused with the '86 release of the same name).  Genesis bandmate Phil Collins would cover the song at concerts as part of the "Turn It On Medley" (Genesis - "Turn It On Medley").

Dictionary.com defines a miracle as an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. So what do miracles look like?  Some would say something like this:  "Do You Believe In Miracles" - Team U.S.A defeats Team U.S.S.R 1980 Olympic hockey... others can imagine the rising and setting of the sun as glorious miracles.  The birth of a baby is certainly one of the more miraculous things you can witness.  If you ponder it for any length of time, however, you realize that the miraculous occurs all around you on a daily basis.  It seems that miracles are dependent somewhat on perspective.  Take for example the eradication of the disease in our lifetime.  The following chart shows the "miracle" of medical innovations:

With the advances in medicine and other "miraculous" inventions that improve life, the life expectancy has reached into the '70s for most developed countries ("Life Expectancy" - Wikipedia.org).  What would have been a death knell for some in the 1920s is not even a concern in 2015.  

As mentioned, technological advances have proven to be somewhat miraculous.  If you were to transplant someone from 1930 into our modern age, you could certainly imagine the words "miracle" or "miraculous" to come from them as they exclaimed about something that seems commonplace for us today.  What exclamations would come from our lips if we were transported back to where the really miraculous happened.  You don't even need a DeLorean to travel back to those times.  We have the greatest piece of living literature ever written to be our guide.  At the lampost up ahead...

Many associate the miraculous to the great stories of the Bible.  Depending on the internet search engine, you can quickly find lists of those events that are considered miracles in the Bible.  The Bible's existence is a miracle unto itself as some of its books were penned 4000-5000 years ago,   In it we read stories of creation (Genesis), deliverance (Exodus), provision (Exodus-Joshua), and sacrifice (Matthew-John).  As children, we are told the story of the salvation of Noah and his family on the ark, the passage through the Red Sea on dry ground by the Israelites, and Jonah surviving in the belly of a large fish.  Through these stories it is easy to be curious as to why we don't see the dead brought to life or fire fall from heaven today.  Tuesday's Musical Notes concedes this theological debate to the enumerable websites that have thoughts on the subject.  We however, we implore you again to consider the idea of perspective when considering the miraculous, before pronouncing that God doesn't work in this manner today. 

The Notes would like to offer this thought regarding the miraculous in both the Bible and our modern day.  Mankind was created to be in the presence of God eternally.  In a perfect garden called Eden, the man Adam and his wife Eve, made a decision to betray the Creator by breaking the one rule He had given them in the garden.  Just one rule.  This disobedience immediately caused the perfected state that Adam and Eve existed in to be destroyed.  They were no longer perfect.  A perfect God cannot be in fellowship, or contact, with the imperfect, so Adam and Eve were cast from the garden and began lives outside of the plan that Creator God had for them.  God continually saw for the needs of those who called on His name, but his intimate relationship with man was now broken.  The Old Testament proclaims the story of God continually drawing mankind back to himself through His Word and men of character that would boldly proclaim His Word.  These prophets would also foretell of the biggest miracle the world would ever see.  This miracle came in the form of a baby.  As we stated before, birth of any child is a miracle, but Jesus' birth was a miracle injected by the incredible love of God.  God, the Father, sent God, the Son in the form of a man to announce the fulfillment of the Old Testament proclamations through a young woman who was a virgin.  

Jesus' earthly life would serve as the way for God to reconcile man to Himself.  Jesus would allow Himself to be falsely accused, ridiculed, tortured, and then killed as a sacrifice to bridge the gap between God and man.  It was the most brutal form of capital punishment known to mankind ever and Jesus allowed Himself to be given up, so our relationship with God could be restored through HIM.  The story does not end at Jesus death, however.  The miracle hit parade continues as three days after Jesus was crucified and died, He physically arose from being dead and was seen by many people.  He counseled with His disciples and then was gathered up to heaven where He sits right now, asking God to forgive us for the things that we do that are sin.  

From those twelve disciples sprung up a following that numbers in the millions today and encompasses the whole world.  This is the true miracle...God loves us.  Even when we are thieves, liars, sexually promiscuous (same sex AND opposite sex), and murderers, God loves us.  He loves us so much that He made a way for our relationship with Him to be solid forever.  That relationship is only restored through Jesus.  He is THE way, THE truth and THE life.  No man comes to Father God except through Jesus, the son of God (John 14 New International Version of the Bible, The Message Paraphrase of the Bible).  Later in John 14, Jesus promises that God, the Holy Spirit, will come and dwell in the heart of every believer.  Holy Spirit guides the follower of Jesus through the temptations and trials that this world will use to cause the relationship with God to be damaged.  Holy Spirit provides comfort and hope for another miracle that God will do when He sends Jesus back to earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ will be restored in their relationship with God, never to have it broken again.  So friend...do you believe in miracles?  Do you believe the story of Jesus found in the Bible in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (if you've never read the story, begin here:  Matthew 1 NIV, The Message).  You can have your relationship with God restored and live with Him forever in heaven...all you need is a miracle.

"There Is A God" - Carman from the 1995 album R.I.O.T (Righteous Invasion Of Truth)

 

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "You Talk Too Much" (Joe Jones)

                                                          

Welcome to Tuesday!!!  It's a kind of chatty day at The Notes as we explore the dynamics around the act of speaking.  Here at The Notes we feel it is especially appropriate to deal with this subject in light of the approaching Presidential election year.  Perhaps this song should be sent to every person considering running for President...our counts are up to 85...actually that's our favorite number, but it still seems that many have much to say about how our country should be governed and what how they would do it differently.  Today however, is not about politics as we have digressed as we so often do here at Tuesday's Musical Notes, and we must proceed so as not to be known as a compulsive talker.  It's Tuesday!!! And it's time!!! 

"You Talk Too Much" - Joe Jones 1960

It seems that the listening public is fascinated with the "One Hit Wonder".  This is a term that describes an artist or act that has only 1 top 20 hit in their career.  On occasion, career's can last on the strength of just that one song.  Tuesday's Musical Notes attempts to feature as many "One Hit Wonders" as possible.  Here are a few:  Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Kids In America", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Video Killed The Radio Star", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Lunatic Fringe", and Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Magic".  Search the archives to see if your favorite "One Hit Wonder" has received the Musical Notes treatment.  The archives are up there:                  

 

"You Talk Too Much" was your stereotypical "One Hit Wonder".  It was released in 1960 by the R&B singer, Joe Jones.  The song was originally written by the brother-in-law of Fats Domino, who turned it down.  It was later picked up by Joe Jones.  Jones had served in the Navy and upon his return to civilian life, attended the Julliard Conservatory of Music.  He became the valet and later a pianist and then arranger for for blues great B.B. King who passed away last week.  ("The Thrill Is Gone" by B.B. King from the 1969 album Completely Well)   Jones only hit came in the form of the top 5 R&B hit, "You Talk Too Much", which also hit #3 on the pop charts. 

Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.  Proverbs 4:24

Proverbs 12:12-14 The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers, but the root of the righteous endures. Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk, and so the innocent escape trouble.  From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward.

A gossip betrays a confidence;  so avoid anyone who talks too much.  Proverbs  20:19

Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 5:4

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

 

Many times in the Bible the word "Talk" is used.  Most commonly, "talk" in the Bible is not necessarily a good thing.    As we can see in the above passages, talking can get us into trouble.  In the New International Version of the Bible, the word "talk" or a derivative is used 124 times.  This would cause one to assume that our ability to communicate with our voice is something that God thought of as important.  Typically, our minds go to the sin of gossip, when we think of "talk" or "talking" in the Bible.  Gossip is a plague that infects every organization on the planet, including, if not especially, the church.  As Christians we are commanded to love God above all else and then love men.  It is very difficult to love someone whom you have slandered or lied about.  Even the truth can be used for evil if it is done so maliciously or without thought of the consequences for those involved. (For the Biblical references to the word "gossip" click here:  "Gossip" Bible references - New Internationl Version of The Bible)   Followers of Jesus are not innoculated against this sin in any of its forms.  Far too many times, a harmless conversation will become harmful when folks just don't know when to quit talking.  Here is a handy dandy way to determine if you talk too much:  "How To Tell If You Talk Too Much" - wikiHow.  I confess that this is a challenge that I face every day.

In contrast, the word "listen" or one its grammatical versions is found 412 times.  That means for every time the Bible mentions talking, there are 3.32 times that the Bible mentions listening.  This is earth shattering for many as they haven't practiced the fine art of listening in some time.  Now we totally get the fact that CONTEXT is huge when it comes to the Bible.  However, if you really researched both of the words, we think you would discover very quickly that listening is far more important than talking.

Psalm 85:8

I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly.

Proverbs 1:5

let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—

Proverbs 1:32-33  For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

¹⁰ Listen, my son, accept what I say,
    and the years of your life will be many.
¹¹ I instruct you in the way of wisdom
    and lead you along straight paths.  Proverbs 4:10-11

Proverbs 12:15

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.

Proverbs 18:13

To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.

Proverbs 19:20

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

Proverbs 21:28

A false witness will perish, but a careful listener will testify successfully.

Matthew 17:5

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Matthew 17:5

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Ephesians 4:29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

James 1:19

[ Listening and Doing ] My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

James 1:22

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:22-24 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

As you can see from the above passages, listening is a really big deal for those who are followers of the Lord Jesus.  It is an act that takes practice to perfect, and attention to apprehend.  It is something that has fallen out of favor in the world today.  Having a conversation regarding the act of listening posits a few questions.  How could the church change the world if we slowed down, stopped talking, and listened?  We used to do that a lot.  The church has gotten out of the habit of loving by listening.  We get the great blessing of knowing folks better by listening to them.  It is very difficult to love those that you don't know very well.  Our lines of communication have gotten so bogged down by the distractions of this world, that we seem to only get the chance to communicate with other members of the body of Christ, at most, 3 times a week.  Perhaps its time for church members to get back into one another's homes.  Perhaps its time to show love by sitting on the front porch with some sweet tea and listen to our brother's life needs.  Perhaps its time for the body of Christ to get sewn back together by the lace of listening and thereby showing our love for each other.  Perhaps it's time we realize that we just talk, talk too much!


'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Ring Of Fire" (Johnny Cash)

Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  This is the blog for which you have been seeking!!!  Today is the day you have discovered the place that combines the best trivial information about some of your favorite songs with the possibility of going on an adventure to discover more about yourself, all neatly packaged for you on the third day of the week!  It's Tuesday and it's time, so let's go...

Today's featured song is by one of popular music's most beloved icons.  He is one of a handful of artists that have been inducted into the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1977), Country Music Hall of Fame (1980), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1992).  His discography on Wikipedia.com has to be listed by decade as he wrote over 1000 songs and had a multitude of #1 singles and albums on many of the charts that Billboard has on record.  He was the only guest artist on U2's 1993 album Zooropa ("The Wanderer") album and he is the oldest artist nominated for an MTV Video Music Awards for his cover of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt" sealing his iconic status with a new generation.  See the video here:  "Hurt" - Johnny Cash from the 2002 album American IV: The Man Comes Around.  To top it all off, "The Man In Black" was born in Kingsland, Arkansas (south central, Arkansas) and raised in Dyess. (north east Arkansas).  He was portrayed to Academy award acclaim in the 2005 movie Walk The Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, Walk The Line.   He served the military as a radio operator in Germany focusing in on Russia and was the first operator to pick up the news that Joseph Stalin had died.  In their 2004 "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list, Rolling Stone placed him at #31.  He opened up every concert with the simple..."Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."


His 1963 hit, "Ring Of Fire" would also make a Rolling Stones list.  It came in at #87 on the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list ("The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" - Rolling Stone Magazine).  "Ring Of Fire" would become one of Johnny Cash's most easily recognized hits.  The song would originally be recorded by June Carter's sister, Anita.  While receiving good reviews, her recording of the song would not become a hit.  Johnny Cash fulfilled a promise to Anita that if the song did not become a hit, he would wait a few months before he recording it.  When he did record it, it was somewhat different than Anita Carter's original. Johnny's re-imagined song included the now familiar inclusion of the Spanish trumpet intro.  Here's Johnny Cash with the #1 Billboard Country and the #17 Billboard Hot 100 crossover hit  from 1963:

"Ring Of Fire" by Johnny Cash from the 1963 album Ring Of Fire: The Best Of Johnny Cash

The origin and lyrics to "Ring of Fire" have been the subject of much debate and interpretation.  June says she cowrote it for and about Johnny.  Johnny's first wife said he wrote it and gave the money to the Carter family as a gift during a time of financial difficulty.  Roseann Cash says that it was written to express the trans-formative power of love.  Regardless of who wrote it, The Notes, wonders if "Ring Of Fire" isn't more of a euphemism for the temptations that Johnny faced with drugs, alcohol, and his other addictions.  Perhaps this connotation with temptation is the reason "Ring Of Fire" resonates with so many across musical genre and generations.

Genesis 3 in the Bible is the story of the tragedy of temptation.   Genesis 3 New International Version of the Bible  Adam and Eve were placed in a perfect paradise.  Every need they had was provided.  They were given 1 rule.  Don't eat out of this particular tree.  1 rule...  And the power of temptation was more than they could handle.  I suspect that if we do a quick evaluation of our day, we find more than just 1 rule that we have broken.  Sure, we don't live in a perfect paradise.  We live in the world that, due to the overwhelming influence of temptation to Adam and Eve, is extremely broken.  Because of that brokenness, we are faced every minute with a temptation of some sort.  

If you study the Bible for very long, you see a pattern of succumbing to the power of temptation.  Adam and Eve were the first in a long line through our genealogy of those whose lives have been altered because of this tool of the evil one.  However, we have a promise from the God who created us...

1 Corinthians 10:12-14 NIV/The Message parallel

Did you see the solution to our temptation turmoil?  Look just a little closer.  The Message paraphrase puts it like this..."Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence".  This is the only way that we can overcome temptation.  We must have a confidence in the fact that God is who He says He is.  Notice that Paul never says that we won't have temptation in our lives.  However, he writes about God's grace and mercy in providing an avenue of escape from it if we rely on God. 

As further proof that Jesus was a man just like each of us, He went toe to toe with the evil one in the wilderness.  He faced a grueling temptation for 40 days.  Jesus did this to provide an example of how we can overcome the plans of the great deceiver.  Matthew 4:1-11 NIV/The Message parallel.  Notice that Jesus defeated His enemy by having a foundation in God's Word.  Jesus knew His Bible.  As we daily attempt to become more like Jesus it would seem rational that we would be in His Word.  Knowing the Word of God provides incredible benefits.  It prepares us for our "Ring Of Fire" moments and it molds us more into the likeness of Jesus.  

Knowing the Bible also shows that there is great hope for us, even if we give in to the temptations around us.  We have mentioned our love for the story of King David previously in The Notes.  He is a prime example of this great hope.  "I fell into a burning ring of fire..."  He gave in to His temptation and then had a man killed for it to cover up the sin.  "I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher..."  This was a turning point in David's life.  "And it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire, the ring of fire..."  (Cue trumpets)  David had to suffer the consequences for his choice of having an adulterous affair with Bath Sheba.  The child that was conceived from that union died at birth.  But David realized that his sin in this situation caused a fracture in his relationship with God.  David was remorseful.  David more importantly was repentant and he got right with God.  He reestablished his relationship with God and in His great mercy, God continued to use David.  The result of David's temptation and the consequences he suffered from it resulted in the writing of Psalm 51...Psalm 51 NIV/The Message parallel

Both of these stories are incredible examples of what to do when faced with temptation.  While David gave in, Jesus was victorious.  David wrote scripture as a result of his battle with temptation.   Jesus quoted scripture to be the Victor in His battle with temptation.  David suffered the consequences of his sin.  Jesus was the Conqueror.  We will be faced with temptation, our own "Ring of Fire", but we have the examples of repentance with David and victory with Jesus as aids to face the temptation that so easily besets us.  

Speaking of temptation, here is another arrangement of "Ring Of Fire" that I couldn't resist including in today's Notes...

"Ring Of Fire" by Home Free (featuring Avi Kaplan from Pentatonix) from the 2014 album Crazy Life

 

'Til Tuesday

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "No One Is To Blame" (Howard Jones)

Good Tuesday to ya!!!  It's time for another edition of tantalizing tuneage from times afore! So get your cd player, portable turntable, or boombox ready for a flashback to the 80's through the window of March 29, 2011, the origin date of today's Musical Notes!  We're in replay mode as we revisit an email that inspired The Notes.  Today's feature song is Howard Jones' 1985 and 1986 (the remix featuring Phil Collins on drums) hit "No One Ever Is To Blame".  Que the fog, flash back music, and GREAT hairdos...

"No One Is To Blame" by Howard Jones from the 1985 album Dream Into Action

 

     It was called New Wave.....a style of music from the 80's that would ultimately spawn the grunge and alternative sounds in the 90's.  It came to inspire new looks in hair and fashion accessories and birthed the music of  "Flock of Seagulls"(Tuesday's Musical Notes - "I Ran"), "The Talking Heads" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Burnin' Down The House"), "The Knack", and solo artists like Graham Parker, Joe Jackson, and Howard Jones.   Jones had 15 top 40 hits between 1983 and 1992. "Life In One Day" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Life In One Day"), "Things Can Only Get Better"and the 1986 hit "No One Is To Blame" being the highest charting of those singles.  The 1986 remix version of "No One Is To Blame" charted as high as #4 in the US and became an anthem that exemplified a generation's frustrations. 

     In some ways this song also speaks to an intense desire to not accept responsibility.  How many times have you heard, "It's not my fault!!!", by someone who has either just been scolded or reprimanded when they made a mistake.  Perhaps it is a phrase you may have even said yourself.  In the 70's, comedian Flip Wilson even had a catch phrase in his act  for his alter ego Geraldine subverting responsibility for her actions... Flip Wilson and Geraldine - "The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress" .  This hesitation to be held accountable is part of our human nature.  Let's face it, Adam did it when God asked him about eating the fruit, and so the process began.

In previous weeks, Tuesday's Musical Notes has made as a focal point the need for God's grace in our lives.  Content of The Notes has weighed heavily on God's forgiveness of sins. This includes the sin in our own lives as well as those things that do not impact us quite as much.  God's grace is something everyone needs but many do not understand.  In fact, Ozzy Osbourne just made a statement about his eternal destination that The Notes finds very interesting:   "Ozzy Osbourne: I'm Going Down To Hell" Winnepeg Free Press May 4, 2015 .  It is indeed a shame for Ozzy to have a knowledge God's laws and never been introduced to God's grace through Jesus.  In this article it seems that Ozzy IS accepting responsibility for his sin.  However, there are millions around the world who have never  come down the spiritual pathway enough to reach the conclusions that the head of clan Osbourne asserts.  Pray for these folks that someone, perhaps even you, will introduce them to the prospect of grace through Jesus.  Believing in the One who provides that grace is the ONLY thing that can save them from the hell for which they are currently bound.

As believers, we rely on grace.  In fact the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 about a conversation he had with God through a vision regarding the subject of grace and its sufficiency for every situation.  God tells Paul, "My grace is sufficient..." Read the entire chapter in context here:  2 Corinthians 12 New King James Version/The Message paraphrase parallel.  

Christians love to discuss grace from God, yet we don't often talk about God's discipline.  Since none of us have achieved the perfection that only God posesses, we all sin.  (Romans 3:9-25 NKJV/The Message parallel)  Even for followers of Jesus, there are repercutions for our sin.    We must recognize there are consequences for the wrong that we do, and God will use those times to bring us back to Himself through His discipline and training.  Hebrews 12 NKJV/The Message parallel

It is so easy to lay the blame on someone else for our failures.  It is a much more difficult task to accept the responsibility and discipline that it takes to shape us more into Jesus' image.  Ultimately we have to realize that when we blow it...no one ever is to blame... but ourselves.


"Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" by Reliant K from the 2004 album Mmhmm



'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
Randy