Tuesday's Musical Notes - "I'm A Believer" (The Monkees)

Welcome to Tuesday and another edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  You've come to the place where the only thing hotter than the hits we talk about may very well be the heat index we're experiencing right now!  Come on in though, the air conditioning is working fine... 

Most lovers of music have favorite songs.  Those favorites can sometimes be very dependent on the current season.  Summer time is no exception as our minds drift to songs of surf and fun times.  As always, Billboard magazine has a countdown perfect for the season of ice cold lemonade and pool side cheer. 

"Top 30 Summer Songs" billboard.com May 22, 2014

We confess that Summer is not our favorite season.  However, some of our favorite music is associated with the season of boats and beaches.  If you look at the archives for The Notes you might see just a few representatives of Billboard's list.  Coming in at 27 is Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Cruel Summer".  At number 26 is Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Summertime Blues".  Further up the list at number 18 is Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Saturday In The Park".  The Notes also covered the number 13 song on Billboard's Top 30 Summer Song list.  Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Summer Of '69".   

If you look at this list by decade, it is easy to see that the musical decade of the 60's celebrated the times of being outdoors and enjoying summertime activities.  Nearly half of Billboard's top 30 songs of the summer come from that time period.  Beach movies and surfing songs populated a huge part of the iconic cultural scene, right Moondoggy?  It was a time when musical technology and the society at large were changing at a dramatic pace.  


So many of the stories we hear about the 60's involve the negative aspects like the protests and war.  But there was an incredible positive energy that came about with the technological advances that made the 60's also a time of great hope.  With the advent and affordability of television, the entire nation was able to see things that had previously been limited to the imagination.  While not everyone embraced the advances and changes that were occurring, the Apollo moon landing convinced many in that decennium to embrace the changes occurring in the world and to proclaim..."I'm A Believer"



"I'm A Believer" - The Monkees from their #1 1966 album More Of The Monkees 

 

"I'm A Believer" is an musical oddity of sorts to The Notes.  It was released in December and while not on Billboard's Summer song list, it certainly makes Tuesday's Musical Notes list for summer song remembrances.  It is a song written by Neil Diamond ("Sweet Caroline", "(They're Coming to)America", and many others).  It featured lead vocals by the "drummer" Micky Dolenz rather normal lead Davy Jones.  It was the last #1 hit of 1966 and became the biggest selling single for all of 1967.  It went Gold in 2 days and is among only 40 singles that sold 10 million physical copies. With its inclusion in the movie Shrek, "I'm A Believer" became a fan favorite to a whole new generation...albeit those that think an ogre and a donkey were the one's who recorded it.


The Monkees total record sales for 1967, the height of their recording career, would eclipse that of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined.  ("The Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments" rollingstone.com May 11, 2012)  Much of this popularity was fueled by a smash television series. The TV show was so impactful that The Monkees first four albums would go to #1 shortly after their release and as of this writing, their first two albums,  The Monkees, and More Of The Monkees, are five times platinum in sales.  

All that it took for Mickey Dolenz to believe in love was to see her face. Belief in something like love, is easier for some than others.  In fact, recent articles on atheism, the denial of God, indicate that it is second only to Catholicism and Baptists in its adherents. While this is shocking to some in Christian circles, it is indicative of the times in which we live.  All around us folks chose to believe in a myriad of ideologies that are floated around.  In fact, here is a list of the world's religions:  The World's Major Religions cftech.com. As you can see, belief or lack thereof is something everyone chooses to do.  The question that The Notes ponders is this:  In the marketplace of ideas, what causes folks to chose to believe the way they do?  Are they true devotees/disciples of the "religion" in which they believe?  Or perhaps, are they more casual in picking and choosing facets of the belief system that appeals to the way they think and live.  Does it really only take seeing her face...?

Tuesday's Musical Notes exists to encourage.  Therefore, we try to stay away from being critical of a person's ideology or religion.  For most, what they believe in is one of the most personal things they have.  If their belief system is criticized it is taken as a personal affront.  Our calling is to present The Gospel of Jesus Christ and then let folks decide what to do with it. Tuesday's Musical Notes is a Jesus following, Bible believing, God honoring, blog that attempts to present through the media of musical variety,  the truth that is found in the Bible.  We try to do this in as loving a manner possible.  Don't think love is only true in fairy tales...

The hallmark of disciples of Jesus is the fact that they are called to love God 1st and then to love their fellow man.  The basis of the first four commandments that were given to Moses and the Israelites are focused solely on man's relationship to God.  The last six involve how man is to associate with man.  Exodus 20:1-17 The Message Paraphrase  Exodus 20:1-17 The Message Paraphrase.  In the New Testament, Jesus reemphasized these relationships when asked about the most important of the commandments.  Matthew 22:36-40 Holman Christian Standard Bible/The Message parallel

The entirety of the Bible points to one common thread... Jesus.  From His presence at creation, to His presence at the end of all times, the Bible tells THE story that all need to hear.  Jesus the Son of God, came to earth via virgin birth to live like we do.  He experienced everything that we do, but unlike us, did not give in to the temptation that so easily takes our lives over.  He was absolutely perfect. He was without blemish of character.  Because of this perfection, He willingly took the sins (all of the wrong that we do) of everyone (before, during, and after He lived) and placed them on His person as the sacrifice to restore the relationship that was broken in Eden by man's disobedience.  He was buried in a sealed tomb.  Three days later, He was seen in a physical sense by His followers very much alive.  He ascended to heaven while His followers watched, where He remains until it is time for Him to return to take those that believe these things to the place God resides.  The eyewitnesses to these events recorded them in what we call The Gospels of the Bible,  Matthew HCSB/The Message, Mark HCSB/The Message,  Luke HCSB/The Message and  John HCSB/The Message.

As you can see from the list of the world's religions, there is a plurality of ideas to which you can commit your time and resources.  Please take the time to investigate for yourself the story of Jesus.  If you are skeptical, that's ok.  At the very least commit to finding out what the story, as recorded by the eye witness account, is.  Not just the versions you hear or read about in the news, the internet, or even Tuesday's Musical Notes. Discover how love truly is a giving thing.  If you profess to be a believer, reinforce and encourage your belief by rereading The Gospels.  The Bible is the biggest selling book of all time and it includes the versions of Jesus life that will serve as a source for this incredible story.  

When I was 10 years old, I began believing the story that the Bible tells about Jesus.  There have been moments since then that I have been in rebellion, however, when I repented (turned away from the wrong things I was doing and remained away from those things) God always forgave me and drew me back into relationship with Him through the love of Jesus and the power of Holy Spirit.  Upon reflection of my life since that time I can say, I am a different person because of the forgiveness that is offered in Jesus sacrifice.  I guess you could say...because I got His grace...now I'm a Believer...


"Something Beautiful" by Stephen Curtis Chapman from 2013's The Glorious Unfolding

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Three Little Birds" (Bob Marley and The Wailers)

Welcome to Tuesday mon!!!  It is as hot as the Caribbean in our neck of the woods and the days don't seem to be gettin' any cooler soon!  To celebrate the summer, today's Tuesday's Musical Notes chose feature a genre' of music that always causes thoughts of summer, sand, beaches, breezes, sailboats...you get the picture.  If you have ever traveled to Florida or anywhere along the gulf coast it is likely that you have heard the sound of steel drums, or an easy guitar rhythm being plucked out with hand drums as its accompaniment.  Welcome to the beat of Reggae.  

Fused from Jazz, Blues and a local dance groove and hymn alternative called Mento, Reggae is associated with the area surrounding the Caribbean, especially Jamaica.  With its thick bass guitar and rhythm guitar on the offbeat, Reggae became popular in the 60's and flourished as an alternative sound during the 70's and 80's.  It's most popular artist is Bob Marley and his band the Wailers.

"Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley and The Wailers from the 1977 album Exodus

Bob Marley's influences were many.  The music of Jamaica helped to inspire the birth of Reggae as a musical genre.  The easy going lifestyle of that tropical land also participated in the song writing of Marley.  Marley was a practicing Rastafarian, a religion that believes in a Triune God, as well as Jesus, while equating a former emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 - 1974 to Jesus in his second advent.  It is a religion based in the Abrahamic story of the Bible, but adds so much more to the Bible that it could never be equated with Judaism.  Add to this the "spiritual" use of cannabis and it is easy to see why mainstream music consumers were sometimes hesitant to embrace the music of The Wailers.

 

While "Three Little Birds" never charted in the US, (Marley and The Wailers highest charting single, "Roots, Rock and Reggae" went to #51 in 1976), Bob Marley's ode to a stress free life made it all the way to #17 in the United Kingdom.  The single was released three years after its album, Exodus, which did break into the US Billboard album charts, peaking at #20.  The mantra of the song echoes an overwhelming theme throughout the Bible, the fact that God doesn't want us being distracted by worry. 

The Bible is consistent in its approach to worry.  God told Joshua to not worry about the larger armies the Israelites would face as they entered the Promised Land (Joshua 11:5-9 The Message Paraphrase). (Personal note:  If you want to see where the ACTUAL boundaries of Israel should be, check out God's description in this article:  Boundaries Of The Promised Land - Different Spirit differentspirit.org). Boaz, as her kinsman redeemer, told Ruth to not worry about anything with regards to her gathering food on his land: Ruth 2-3 The Message.  The story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one that would be completely different if Mary had worried about her situation.  To have an unwed pregnancy in that culture was punishable by being stoned to death.  Mary had much to fear, but due to the angelic promises she received, the Bible says she took all of those things and "pondered" them.  (Matthew 1:18-19 The Message,  Luke 1:26-56 The Message).  In the Sermon On The Mount, Jesus declared that we need not worry due to God's intense love for us.  Matthew 5-7 The Message.  If Jesus, one of the persons of the Godhead, tells us we should not worry, then our response should be...

There is much in our world that could be cause for concern, but worry?  Nope!  In fact, as I get older, I am attempting to develop an adage that served a very dear aunt of mine, Aunt Bee (yep, like Andy Griffith, her real name was Vera, don't know where the Bee came from). She never worried about anything.  She STUDIED on it.  Time was a precious commodity to Aunt Bee, after all she had to have everything done so she could watch rasslin' (wrestling, kind of like the WWE) on Saturdays.  She contemplated and applied the Biblical construct of pondering over those things she deemed worthy of her time.  Her positive attitude towards her concerns made an incredible impact on my life and putting this practice in place has served well when the enemy has tried to distract me with the negative emotion of "worry". Besides,  why waste the time when the Creator God has told us that He's got this...and of course there are the three little birds saying:

"Don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing gonna be alright..." 

"Don't Worry" from Transform, the 2000 album by Rebecca St. James 

   

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "For The Love Of Money" (The O'Jays)

Welcome to Tuesday, July 14th, 2015!!!   This is your place for insight with inspiration, songs with sanctification, and trivia without trepidation...it's Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!   

Today The Notes explores one of the touchiest subjects we have ever tackled.  There are as many differing opinions regarding our topic's use.  Some consider it as one the most important things in their life, others consider it a tool to provide for their livelihood, while there are those who could care less.  The Notes contends that the best attitude towards money is a perhaps a combination of these ideologies and that your money prioritization depends on your stage in life.  

We must provide a disclaimer at this point.  Tuesday's Musical Notes is an opinion blog.  We do not provide money management advice.  We confess to having made plenty of mistakes in our own management of money and therefore have some opinions that we would like to pass on.  The Notes has a similar attitude towards money as we have mentioned in our politically laced blogs, Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Saturday In The Park", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Vote For Me", Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Mr. President, Have Mercy On The Working Man", (you really should visit the archives sometime...quite the treasure trove).   As with a Presidential choice, You should do your own research regarding your money, find the best plans/advisory personnel for you, and then be diligent and consistently patient with how you manage your resources.  'Cause you wanna do thangs, do thangs, good thangs with it...

"For The Love Of Money" by the O'Jays from 1973's Ship Ahoy

 

Since 1958, listener's of popular music has been weary of "The Back-Stabbers" while riding on the "Love Train".  You  "Put Your Hands Together" while being careful "For The Love Of Money".  All the while proclaiming "I Love Music" and "Livin' For The Weekend".  We comforted our buddies as they mourned that she, "Use Ta Be My Girl".  This soundtrack of our lives in the 70's was provided by the R&B group, The O'Jays.

What started out as a 5 man band, dwindled to a pop sensation trio that would populate the R&B charts of the 70's and crossover 7 times into Billboard Hot 100 top 20.  Hailing from Canton, Ohio, they derived their name as a tribute to Cleveland DJ Eddie O'Jay.  

"For The Love Of Money" would be their highest pop chart hit (1974, #9) after hitting #1 in 1973 with "Love Train".  It was nominated in 1975 for "Best R&B Vocal Performance- Duo, Group, or Chorus" at the Grammy's, but would lose to "Tell Me Something Good" by Rufus.  "For The Love Of Money" continues to be covered and sampled by popular groups since the early 80's.  It was also used as the theme song for the reality shows, "The Apprentice" and "Celebrity Apprentice."  Even though the album version was over 7 minutes long, it still received considerable airplay at radio.  If the title of the song sounds familiar, it is due to the fact it was taken from 1 Timothy 6:10 in the Bible.  The King James Version states:   "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

 

While the love of money, or to put it bluntly, the idolatry of money, is a topic of much concern, The Notes would like to approach our discussion in a little bit more of a positive bend.  Welcome to the topic of thrift!

"The whole thing of clothes is insane. You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars on a jacket in a shop. And if you saw those two jackets walking down the street, you probably wouldn't know which was which."

actress Helen Mirren (Red, The Woman In Gold)- brainyquotes.com

 

King Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs:  

"The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin."  Proverbs 10:16

and Benjamin Franklin:"If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting."

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. "

Have you ever considered the phrase, "I just saved a lot on that purchase?".  This statement is the definition of irony.  I have come to realize something many older than me have been trying to tell me for years.  When you purchase anything you cannot be saving anything.  What this means is that if you buy something, you are spending money.  You may be buying it at discount, but you are not SAVING anything.  Saving would be putting the money you just spent in some sort of vehicle that would either earn you interest or at the very least not cost you anything.  Jesus provided a lesson on this in one of His parables:  

Matthew 25:14-30The Message (MSG)

The Story About Investment

^14-18 “It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.
^19-21 “After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
^22-23 “The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
^24-25 “The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’
^26-27 “The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
^28-30 “‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’


Jesus' life was a lesson in paying a price.  In the book of Romans (Romans 6, The Message), the apostle Paul writes about wages and payments, costs and benefits, if you will.  He explains that the wrong things we do in our life come at a price, it cost someone something.  This a price that someone must pay.  We either pay it in the afterlife by being separated from God forever, or we accept the loving, substitutionary payment that Jesus made by enduring torture and death.  Colossians 1:13-23 Holman Christian Standard Bible    Creator God did this so that we can be restored through Jesus blood.  Our part is repenting (turning away) from the evil that we do everyday.  Believing that Jesus was who He said He was saves us for eternity, however it does not make us perfect.  Only Jesus was perfect.  We will still sin, but as believers, this sin is forgiven because of Jesus sacrifice.  The debt is paid.  When Jesus said "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.", we were a part of "them".  He did it for you and me.  


The Bible has much to say about "things" that will come into our lives that will attempt to become "idols", those things that would take the place of our love and devotion to God.  Money happens to be one of those things.  As a tool, it can be used for great things.  As a device of greed, it can be used for bad.  I think the O'Jays had the right philosphy:


"Don't let, don't let, don't let money rule you
For the love of money
Money can change people sometimes
Don't let, don't let, don't let money fool you
Money can fool people sometimes
People, don't let money, don't let money change you
It will keep on changing, changing up your mind...money money money" 


"Money" by Manic Drive from the 2011 album Epic  



'Til Tuesday,


Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Sing" (The Cast of Sesame Street)

 

Welcome to the first Tuesday of July!!!  The Notes hopes that the "boom" shook your room this past weekend as we celebrated the most venerated of holidays here in the United States of America...Independence Day!!!  

You've come to your place of information, inspiration and instrumentation...it's Tuesday's Musical Notes!

It is with a great deal of sadness that The Notes mourns the passing of a era.  In an effort to combat piracy, this past week it was announced that Friday is now the global street date for all forms of music release. Sigh...  Don't think for one second this blog will become Friday's Musical Notes...just doesn't have the same ring-a-ding-ding to it.  We will continue to honor the time held traditions of Tuesday street dates, the best day of the week, and besides why change thousands of people's reading habits when they are used to The Notes being on Tuesday.  So keep checking in on Tuesday as we explore what we can about our favorite songs as well as our favorite passages from the Bible to make ourselves better, make our world better and ultimately bring glory to God.  

It's the first Tuesday of the month, so cue the flashback music to April 12th, 2011.   (For the full effect of flashing back in time click me NOW!!!)

     What is your favorite song?  At first glance, you might think that is easy to answer.  Let me refine the question a bit further.  Regardless of where you are, who you are with, the time of day, and how you are feeling, when you hear this song, you have to sing it enthusiastically out loud?  Any ideas?  The answer to that question has changed over the years for me as it assuredly has for you.  In fact, my musical tastes tend to transition as I have new life experiences and encounter new people.  You probably heard that the only constant that we experience in this world is change.  Needless to say, what I like musically today is vastly different than what I liked say in 1973.

 
"Sing" written by Joe Raposo as heard on Sesame Street for over 42 years by the cast of Sesame Street

     There is a street that many children from all over the world have traveled down.  It has big birds and grouches, monsters and vampires, and friendly faces with lessons on friendship, manners, and multiplication thrown in for good measure.     "Can you tell me how to get....how to get to Sesame Street?"  The actress who played "Maria" for 44 years is retiring from her residence on this beloved lane.  Read her story here: "Sesame Street's Maria showed Latinos who we were – but it didn't stop there" by Daniel Jose Older at theguardian.com 

 Somewhere in between "Theme from Sesame Street" and "One of these things doesn't belong here", Sesame Street had the time to introduce a song about music.  Simply titled "Sing".  . The song was written by Joe Raposo for Sesame Street and became synonymous with the children's television show.  Being associated with the muppets of Sesame Street it eventually showed up on the eleventh episode of The Muppet Show as Lena Horne sang the song.  Recorded later in the year by the Carpenters, "Sing" reached #3 in Billboard's top 100 in 1973.  The Notes favorite line from the song goes, "Don't worry that it's not good enough, for anyone else to hear, just sing....sing a song." 

The freedom that is expressed in that lyric could revolutionize lives and churches if only Christians would embrace their faith in that manner.  I recently read a blog about why Christians sing.  You can find it at:

     "The Three R’s: Why Christians Sing" by Bob Kauflin from desiringgod.com 

 

     The Bible has plenty to say about singing as well.  According to Biblegateway.com, the word sing  is mentioned over 100 times in both the King James  and the New International Versions of the Bible, many times mentioning singing in the form of a command for God's people.  In 1 Chronicles 16:9 New International Version/ The Message parallel and  1 Chronicles 16:23 New International Version/The Message parallel we are commanded to sing to show God's salvation and love, the entire book of Psalms are songs written to express the emotions of King David and the other writers as they went through their lives.  We are instructed by the apostle James  to sing because we are happy James 5:13 New International Version/The Message parallel and Revelation tells of the singing that will happen in the end of all earthly time Revelation 5:11-12 The Message Paraphrase . 

     Recent studies have shown the health benefits for those that sing as well.  A longer, happier life is one of the benefits of being obedient to God's command.  This article shows a little more detail on the physical/well being aspects of being a singer...even if you don't consider yourself a good one.  "How Singing Improves Your Health (Even if Other People Shouldn't Hear You Singing)" from sixwise.com

 Think for a moment about your church experience.  Do you sing?  If not, why not?  Many of you have heard of the Gaither Homecoming videos.  While many of these friends of Bill Gaither's  are professional singers, they certainly didn't start out that way.  The wonderful words of life sound better to me at a Homecoming event than when they do when singing in their individual groups.  They seem perhaps more encouraged to sing as they come together for a Homecoming gathering.  There is a synergy, if you will, that feeds the joining of their voices to proclaim the wonders of God and have a conversation, through song, with Him.  That same encouragement could be provided to the person sitting next to you in church as you boldly sing and it has the potential to alter their life forever.   

Perhaps you are among the many church folks who don't think you sing well.  The Notes contend that this is a sort of reverse pride.  Your self critique is not what matters.  Singing is an expression from your heart about what God has done in your life.  Besides that, God has commanded His creation to sing of His great works.  This command should resonated even more for those whose lives have been redeemed by the Lamb.  Don't think for one moment that the sounds that you hear coming from your mouth, are the same sounds that your neighbor is hearing.  Ever hear of Pentecost?  How selfish are we when we withhold a vigorous song about our salvation.  We've a story to tell......a Savior to proclaim......Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!!!  Please don't discount God's creation.....your voice.  Use it to the best of your ability and Sing.....sing a song!!! 

  "Sing To The King" by Passion from the 2003 album Sacred Revolution

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy