Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Go Your Own Way" (Fleetwood Mac)



Hey there!!!  Thanks for joining us today at Tuesday's Musical Notes, where we attempt to answer the burning question...does anyone really know what time it is?  Sorry, Notes for another time, but we are here to explore a classic song and give it a contradistinctive twist.  Wasn't that a version of Chubby Checker's song?  Maybe not, be we do guarantee the opportunity to learn more about this favorite song and maybe, just maybe, a little bit more about ourselves in the process!  Are you ready? 


For 52 years, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have been playing in the band named after them,  Fleetwood Mac.  Over the course of that time, they have seen 8 guitar players and a basic "core" group come and go. 
Their commercial success is without question.  They are included on "Best of" lists all through popular music.   4 of the current 6 band members have been around for the most successful of Fleetwood Mac's albums, including Rumours, the Diamond certified (albums selling in excess of 10 million units, as of 2016 only 92 existed:  All 92 Diamond-Certified Albums Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take by Andrew Unterberger 9/29/2016 billboard.com) record that feature's today's 1976 smash hit, "Go Your Own Way".  Do you remember where your copy Rumours is?

"Go Your Own Way" was the first single from Rumours and was released just in time for the Christmas season of 1976.  The song's soaring up the charts prepared the way for the full album to go to #1 and see the release of 3 more singles.  "Dreams", "You Make Loving Fun" and "Don't Stop" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Don't Stop").  All 4 of Rumours' singles made the top ten and paved the way for Fleetwood Mac to dominate record sales and sell-out concert venues around the world in the late 70s and early 80s.

Like "Go Your Own Way" so many of the songs from Rumours are introspective of the turmoil that was going on in the personal lives of the band.  Lindsay Buckingham is said to have written "Go Your Own Way" as a way to seek revenge at Stevie Nicks for ending their relationship.  He had known her since he was 16 and upon their inclusion in the band on New Year's Eve in 1974 they were integral in reinventing the sound of Fleetwood Mac .  Buckingham has said that his ability to get over the breakup with Nicks was aided by writing songs about the breakup, including "Go Your Own Way" and some other songs from the Rumours album.  (Songexploder Episode 150: Fleetwood Mac)  

The results of Fleetwood Mac's relationship choices resulted in one of the most well-known albums in musical history.  What results can be attributed to some of your choices?  

Since the dawn of history, mankind has been going their own way.  Genesis 3 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel  This passage details Adam's choice between 2 trees.  God, who created everything including Adam, instructed Adam to not eat from 1 tree.  But alas, Adam decided to go his own way.  Based on what we continue to read in the Bible and throughout history, this wasn't the right thing to do.  But, bless his heart, Adam couldn't change the way he felt.  God was prepared to give Adam His world.  But Adam in his pride tried to take it from God.  As we have noted in previous Notes, the astounding part is that Adam chose the knowledge of good and evil over eternal life!

This isn't the only example of mankind going their own way.  After the children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea on dry land and seen other miracles on their journey to their homeland, they decided to go their own way and not invade the land that God had told them He had already given to them.  A trip that should have only taken 2-3 weeks lasted 40 years because of this poor choice.  Numbers 13-14 NASB/The Message/KJV

The wisest man to ever live, King Solomon, wrote several things about going your own way:  


In reading these passages, and by reading the Bible in its entirety, it is easy to see that mankind should not be left to go their own way.  Jesus, as a portion of His sermon on the mount, taught about the way a man should go:  


For me, it isn't always easy to follow God's pathway, but it sure makes life much easier when I do.  I can't be left to my own devices.  That is why I must have a solid relationship with the God who created me and knows what is best for my life.  

Friend, you have a choice.  You can go your own way, you can call it another lonely day...  Or, you can surrender today.  

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy


Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "I Believe in Music" (Gallery)



Good Tuesday to ya friend!  Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes, the place where the magic of music is masterfully manipulated into a majestic measure of meteoric musings about our magnificent Messiah!!!  Brought to you today by the letter M and the number 22!

Today marks the 352nd edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes.  For just under 6 years now, we've filled the blogosphere and some email boxes with thoughts that you might not have ever thought from songs you haven't heard in some time, or perhaps ever.  Please peruse the month-by-month breakdown on the far left of the screen and see if one of your favorite musical artist's songs has been included in our musical musings on The Messiah.  You can also search by a specific title of a song or artist in the search bar above the monthly archives. 

For many, music has had a dramatic impact on their lives.  Tuesday's Musical Notes exists to remind us of some of those impacts.  This blog also exists to connect said music to life-changing principles derived from the Bible, God's Word.  From this perspective, we can unequivocably sing... "I believe in music...I believe in love..."


Written and originally recorded by Mac Davis in 1971, "I Believe in Music" would be covered by a number of top-name artists before the Jim Gold-led group Gallery sent it to #22 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1972.  "I Believe in Music" was the follow-up to Gallery's #4 smash "Nice to be With You" and the second of three singles to be released by Gallery from their debut album.  The third single from Nice to Be With You, "Big City Miss Ruth Ann" would also go as high as #22 on the charts.  The band would soon dissolve after their 4th single, "Love Every Little Thing About You" did not chart.

I think it would be difficult to find anyone who would dispute the power of music in our world.  From the strains of the oldest "Classical" chart by the big 3 "B's" (Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms) all the way to the latest Grammy Winners (Although I find it hard to imagine many of those songs winding up on an "Oldies" radio station or as the background music for a movie soundtrack, but I digress),  music has the ability to influence folks in many ways.   This influence provides the impetus for us  to sing with Gallery..."I believe in music..."

Music even has the ability to impact the outcome of battles.   All throughout the Bible, there are references to music as worship being a "rallying cry" for the troops of Israel.  One of the most powerful of these instances occurs in 2 Chronicles 20.

Jehoshaphat (yes, that was his real name) was the king of Judah.  David's Israel had split into 2 nations due to Solomon's following away from God's leadership and Rehoboam's (Solomon's son) denial of relief from the tax burden that Solomon had imposed on the nation.  This time was tumultuous for both Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom).  They were constantly at war with each other or surrounding nations.  Some of the kings were good, but most rulers in both kingdoms did not follow God and allowed their respective monarchies to be eventually defeated by the world powers of their time.  The entire book of Lamentations was written as a sad soliloquy for their time period of exile.

But Jehoshaphat was a king of Judah that followed God. And apparently, Jehoshaphat believed in music.  Let's look at the story of one battle that was enveloped in music used as worship.


Jehoshaphat started his reign in a God-honoring manner.  He did things that were right in God's eyes.  But Jehoshaphat messed up by making an alliance with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.  God was displeased at this union and the peace on all sides that Jehoshaphat had experienced quickly ended as nations began to rise up against Judah, the Southern Kingdom.  The passage above eludes to the nations of Ammon and Moab as well as others rising up against Judah.  Jehoshaphat remembers God's grace.  He cries out to God and leads Judah in a national prayer service. (Can you imagine what that could look like for the United States?)  God answers through Jahaziel's words that may ring very familiar. 

"Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.  Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.  You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Chronicles 20:15-17 NASB)  

So they prayed together as a nation, God reassured them as a nation, and then they responded to God's proclamation by putting "those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire" at the front of the battle line!  The musicians were at the front!!!  What a testimony to the faith of Jehoshaphat and his leadership! God told them to not worry and instead of putting their faith in their military might, they put their faith in their musician's ministry.  Instead of their army yelling "Charge!", their singers were proclaiming,

“Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting!!!”  

I think it should be noted, that Israel and Judah oftentimes DID have to fight with chariots and battlements.  Those instances were usually when their disobedience had separated them from God.  Perhaps you feel like you need to "armor up" in the battles you may be facing.  The question would be why do you feel that way?  What have you allowed to come in between your relationship with God?  Instead of "armoring up" perhaps you should kneel down, confess the reasons for your distance from God, and renew your relationship with Him.  Peace on every side of your "nation" can be achieved through a strong relationship with the God who created you.  

If you've never had such a relationship with God, you can have that today.  Just talk to Him, confess your need for Him, and turn away from the rebellion in which you have lived.  Allow the Holy Spirit to imbue you and take charge of your life.  Believing in and relying on God is far superior to anything else you may have experienced.  

And now, the rest of the story...  

God then set ambushes for the enemies of Judah and those enemies started fighting themselves, ultimately destroying all of the invading armies.  Judah spent the next 3 days taking the spoils from the armies of Ammon and Moab.  On the 4th day, they assembled and began the journey back to Jerusalem.  They closed their symphony of victory as they had started it... with worship through music!  

"Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.  They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord."

Yes, Jehoshaphat believed in the power of music.  But more importantly, Jehoshaphat believed in Who was behind the reason for the music.  Judah's music was created in response to their faith in God and was to be used to praise God!  It was an expression of love for what God was doing in response to their national prayer movement.  It was also an expression of love for the faith in which they had in what God would do during what seemed to be an impossible circumstance.  Yes, they believed in music.  Yes, they believed in love...

"Music is love and love is music if you know what I mean
People who believe in music are the happiest people I've ever seen
So clap your hands and stomp your feet and shake those tambourines
Lift your voices to the sky tell me what you see."

“Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting!!!”    

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy


Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "What I Did For Love" (Cast of A Chorus Line)

 




Welcome to Tuesday it is time, Yes it's time, for Musical Notes of a different Kind!!  A focus on songs some old and some new, with something just a little bit special for you!  It's time for the blog without any rival, complete with past blogs all arranged in archival.   Let us start let's get going, the time is a-wastin'.  There are notes to be sung, there are thoughts to be hastenin'.  A song filled with love is our focus today.  Come on,  you'll love it,  just join in the fray.  A salute to the season, love takes a bow.  Let's do this, get going, it all starts right now!

'Twas the week filled with Valentine's and all through the land, the folks they were frantic, what gifts would be grand?  Chocolate, flowers, and cards they'll adore.  An expression of love, but wait there is more!  Stuffed toys, and date nights with hearts all aglow, 'tis a time of surprises and feelings that show.  The Notes, not exempt will shine like a ray, a precursor to this special day of all days.  With songs that uplift and thoughts from above, we'll show you just what we did for love..."


While its debut would not be on Broadway, the musical, A Chorus Line, would take Broadway by storm upon its opening on July 25, 1975, at the Schubert Theater.  It would win 9 Tony awards after having been nominated in 12 categories.  It also would win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976.  The original Broadway run would entail 6,137 performances, the longest ever on Broadway up to that time.  That performance record would later be surpassed by Cats in 1997.   

The music from A Chorus Line has been used in popular culture since its debut in 1975.  "What I Did For Love" has proven this acclaim as it has been covered by a vast array of artists from Bing Crosby to Josh Groban.  While never charting on Billboard's Hot 100, the song's poignancy has made it one of the more prominent songs from the musical's soundtrack and a good go to if you need just the right setting in your television show:  "What I Did For Love" - GLEE - from the 2010 episode ''Audition''

"What I Did For Love" comes at a point in A Chorus Line where one of the dancers suffers a career-ending injury.  This causes great reflection from the remaining cast members as they are asked by the director what they would do in that situation.  Their reply, the declarative statement of their passion for their artistic expression - "Won't regret, can't forget what I did for love".  

Have you ever pondered what you've done for those people/things in which you are passionate?  What were you willing to risk or sacrifice so that passion could be fueled or the love for that person could be expressed appropriately?  

As you would imagine, the Bible is filled with references to just such risks and sacrifices.  In fact, if you want to find out what the true nature of love is, and what has been sacrificed for that love to be fully revealed, you should start by reading The Gospel of Jesus according to the Disciple John New American Standard Bible/The Message Paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel

In this book, you find the most familiar quote from the Bible to many in our world, John 3:16 NASB/The Message/KJV  This passage of scripture details the risks and sacrifices that a Holy God was willing to take and do for love.  It is the penultimate example of what we should be willing to do for love.  In fact, John would later on in his recounting of Jesus life tell about Jesus stance on what love means.  John quotes Jesus as saying "greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends".  John 15:13 NASB/The Message/KJV

We've discussed this before here at Tuesday's Musical Notes, but I think it bears repeating.  Jesus is saying exactly what you think He's saying in this passage.  You should be willing to die as an expression of love for other folks.  He did!!!  He loved everyone so much that He gave up heaven and the presence of God to be enveloped in skin and bone to live as we do.  He gave up the adoration of angels to be ridiculed by men.  He gave up His throne in heaven to receive a crown of thorns and a cross of crucifixion, the most horrendous form of capital punishment ever invented.  That's what He did for love.  

So, the question now becomes what are you willing to do for love?  Are you willing to give up your agenda and place yourself in the servitude of Jesus?  Are you willing to believe today that Jesus is who He says He is and did what the Bible says He did?  If so, you only need ask Him to take control of your entire life.  Leave no part out!  Allow Jesus to direct and guide your life, then be willing to risk and sacrifice your life for others as He did. 

If you are a believer, what will you do for love?  Are you willing to attach yourself to a local church and love the folks who attend there?  Are you willing to love them without condition?  Are you willing to lay down your life in the form of spending time in fellowship, worship, and prayer with them?  Are you so in love with the folks in your local congregation that you can hardly wait to spend more time with them...in a small group... on Sunday night... Wednesday night... or even in a business meeting?  Are you willing to use talents that you have and spiritual gifts given from God to serve the folks in your church...even the babies?  What dear believing friend are you willing to do for love?  

That kind of love is the "flip side" of the sacrifice in which Jesus spoke.  You may not have to die for His sake.  But you surely will have to lay down your life in the form of time, resources, experience, talent, and passion to serve the folks, believers and nonbelievers, in your community.  This is the ultimate expression of love and love's what they'll remember. Upon the final analysis of your life, if you have laid down your life for others, you can be demonstrative in saying... "Won't regret, can't forget what I did for love...what I did for love..."

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin' (The Righteous Brothers) (Hall and Oates)



Welcome to Tuesday!  It's time for The Notes!!!  The music you love with a message you long for...whether you realize it or not.  Go ahead read on.  You might be surprised...at least I hope you're surprised... you're trying hard not to show it aren't you? 

Regardless of your state of surprisedness welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  A plethora of pianos and pizzicatos awaits as we explore the best music of all time!  It's Tuesday, time's a-wastin' and we've got things to do before the chance is gone, long gone..woah!


and for aficionados of the '80s...


finally, we would be remiss...


In November of this year, "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'", like a lot of us this year, turns 55.  In its 55 year history, it has achieved a success that is rare in the music industry.  It is listed behind  "White Christmas" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "White Christmas")  and "Happy Birthday" as the 3rd most profitable song in history.  BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) has listed it as the most played song on the radio in the 20th Century.  (15 Million Plays as of 2011)  It is listed at #34 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time listing and in 2015 was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. There really is a love for this song that you don't find every day.

The Righteous Brother's recording of the Phil Spector, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil song was the first song to which Spector's "Wall of Sound" was attributed.  It became the standard for the recording process for the remainder of the '60s and beyond as stereo sound was beginning to be introduced into the marketplace.  It featured studio musicians The Wrecking Crew, as well as other artists to lay down the instrumental tracks.  The "Wall of Sound" procedure started in this song with recording 4 acoustic guitars.  When the guitar track was ready they then layered 3 pianos on top of the guitars.  The operation proceeded by the layering of 3 basses, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, 3 saxophones, and then drums.  After the instrumental tracks were finalized, vocals by Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley, and back up singers, The Blossoms, as well as other back up vocalists including a young Cher (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The Beat Goes On") were recorded and dubbed.  String arrangements were then placed into the mix and the rest, of course with a little reverb added, is history.  The vocal tracks took 8 hours over 2 days of recording for Spector to get the desired sound.  That's 8 hours vocally, and countless hours on instrumentals for a song with a total running time of...3:45.  Much longer than most radio stations wanted to play due to the desire to get more advertising space.  

Ultimately, the results were outstanding as seen by the song's 2 consecutive weeks at #1 in Billboard's Hot 100, #5 ranking of all songs in 1965, the continual covers, as well as usage in TV and the movies.  It seems that no one has lost that lovin' feelin' for this smash hit!!

The first 2 weeks of February seem to be the part of the year where LOVE is celebrated...that would be the romantic kind of love.  Tons of chocolate, bushels of roses, and let's face it, Hallmark makes a gazillion dollars during this season.  (This is the only time of the year it seems that their actual CARD business competes with their MOVIE business).  

While many folks express their love during this time, it is equally important to remember that there is much loneliness that seems to be amplified during the first half of February.  Make sure yas you celebrate, you are considerate and  sympathetic to those who have lost loved ones in this last year, to those who are currently experiencing difficulties with their relationships and to those who've lost that lovin' feelin'.

Have you heard of the church that experienced today's featured song?  We read about it in the book of the Bible written by the disciple John called Revelation.  Folks tend to shy away sometimes from this book, due to its symbolism, and apocalyptic prophecies, yet there are incredible truths regarding our culture, in the church and out,  that should get a closer inspection.  For example, Jesus Revelation to the disciple John, chapter 2, verses 1-7 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel

Ephesus was a huge deal in the Roman empire.  Archaeologists have discovered roads going in a myriad of directions from this ancient city.  As such, it isn't hard to imagine why God would want it to  be the place where the apostle Paul planted his first church.  Paul used the church at Ephesus, located in modern-day Turkey, as a home base when he went about establishing other churches through his 4 missionary journeys.  Let's take a Drive Thru History and learn more about the city of Ephesus:  Drive Thru History - Ephesus (partial)

And now back to The Notes! 

Did you catch what Jesus said to John to tell the church at Ephesus?  He could have very well sang our feature song's chorus to them!  "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love."  Jesus had just told the Ephesians that they were doing really good things in their community.  They had discerned false teachers, hated the compromising religion of the Nicolaitans,  worked really hard rooting out evil and presevered in their efforts for Christ.  Yet, something was not right!  Their motivation for doing all of these things had changed.  They needed to bring back their lovin' feelin'!

You see dear friend, at the point in which you turn the administration of your life over to Jesus, you begin a process of growing to love God more and more every day.  The reason you do the small or great acts of kindness to folks is because you love God and He has commanded you to express your love to Him by loving others.  You may notice that when Jesus gave this commandment in The Gospel of Jesus written by the disciple Matthew, chapter 22, verses 36-40 NASB/The Message/KJV, He didn't qualify "who" we are to love.  That's right.  Jesus commanded us to love God and love others.  Not the "others" who are most like us, and share our political beliefs, share our socioeconomic status, or even denominational beliefs.  (When is the last time you told a Christian brother from another Christian denomination that you loved them?)  Jesus commanded us to love and let Him be the judge.  Jesus commanded us to do our "work" because of our love for Him.  Jesus commanded us to allow love to be the motivation for everything we do.  This immediately allows us to place the emphasis on other folks instead of ourselves.  

Jesus was telling the Ephesian church, and more importantly believers today..."...if you would only love me like you used to do..."

There is a very churchy word that describes what happens when we bring back that lovin' feelin'...it's called revival and it is what we so desperately need in our time...woah!

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)