Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Babel" (Mumford & Sons)

Hi there!  Welcome to your weekly amalgamation of songs and spirituality!  It's Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Featuring the continuing story of musical exploits combined with Message examinations.  Today we join ancient mankind at one of its most unified moments!  That's a good thing right? 

"Babel" - the title track from the September 21, 2012 album by Mumford and Sons

In the scope of most of the acts that we discuss here at Tuesday's Musical Notes, Mumford and Sons are new to the scene.  The British band began in 2007 and in a decade have become one of the hottest musical groups on the planet.  Their debut album, Sigh No More, peaked at #2 in the UK Albums chart as well as Billboard's Hot 100.  

They are one of a few bands who did not suffer from a sophomore slump as their second album, 2012's Babel,  soared all the way to #1 on both charts and became one of the fastest-selling albums ever.  It also received the Best Album Grammy that same year and came in at #7 for 2012 at Billboard's end of the year album charts as well as #11 at Rolling Stone's similar countdown.   

Babel featured 4 singles.  "I Will Wait", "Lover of the Light" (peaked at #97 on Billboard's Hot 100), "Whispers in the Dark" (peaked at #81), and today's featured song, "Babel" (peaked at #60).  All of the songs were released as digital downloads.  Despite the success of the album, as you can see, none of its singles were dramatic successes.  Seems that the songs of this album needed to be united to achieve the 3x Platinum sales history recorded so far.  

We often hear about unity among folks being a good thing.  Tuesday's Musical Notes agrees wholeheartedly.  Much can be accomplished when folks of differing cultural backgrounds (1 race, the human race, everything else is melanin and culture) work together towards a common effort.  One only need look at recent history to realize that wars can be won, the oppressed can be released from domination and evil can be defeated.  But what does it look like when unity spawns a goal that is not a righteous one?

Genesis 11:1-9 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel  

In reading this story about what is commonly known as "The Tower of Babel", you might wonder what is the big deal?  Why is God upset that folks are united in everything, including building a structure to reach Him?  Why would He seemingly punish the descendants of Noah as they worked together?  

To put Babel in context, we must remember a few things.  First, God is Holy, Righteous and Perfect.  He expects righteousness and obedience from His people.  When Noah's descendants reached the Valley of Shinar, they stopped doing what God had commanded.  God had told Noah and his descendants to go forth, multiply, and fill the earth. (Genesis 9:1 NASB/The Message/KJV)  For them to stop at the Valley of Shinar was disobedience to God's command.  Since leaving the ark, they had stayed all together.  No one was attempting to "fill the earth" which would have required venturing out on their own.   

Secondly, their lives quickly became about making a name for themselves.  I confess I really don't understand this one.  They were the only ones on the planet.  Who were they trying to impress?  Certainly not God.  They were disobeying Him.  That's not a way to make an impression.  

"Like the city that nurtured my greed and my pride,
I stretched my arms into the sky
I cry Babel, Babel, look at me now
For the walls of my tower, they come crumbling down"  

It seems that their pride in their building skills got in the way of their worship of God.  That's the way pride works.  It replaces appropriate God-honoring worship. They seemed to be more impressed with their construction skills than God's supply causing them to become prideful.  Pride says, "You've got this accomplished all on your own.  You don't need anyone else."  Worship becomes about the pronouns.  "I", "Me", "My" replace Father, Son, and Spirit.  Self-reliance replaces Creator God's provision. According to the Bible...this never ends well.  

Finally, they were attempting to subvert God's plan.  "Let's make a tower big enough we can all stay together forever!"  That's the simple paraphrase of Genesis 11:4 NASB/The Message/KJV  The fallacy that these folks faced was that their security and safety could be found in a building, albeit a massive one,  or sheer numbers of people, rather than the guidance of the Almighty.  

The point?  Unity can be a very good thing.  Good unity finds its foundation in righteousness and obedience to God.  Loving God and loving others should be the foremost unifying principle of any movement.  Unity cannot be founded on anything manmade.  Unity cannot cause stagnation or disobedience.  Unity based on pride in anything that does not honor God is not a sustainable unity.  Unity like this just leads to a bunch of...well...babble!

"'Cause I know my weakness, know my voice
And I'll believe in grace and choice..."

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

randy

  

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "My Generation" (The Who)

Good Morning from Rockin Radio KTMN as we provide continuing coverage from White Lake, New York, and the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair: An Aquarian Exposition.  It's 5 am and Sly and the Family Stone have just left the stage.  Due to rain in the area, the event has seen a few delays and conditions can be best described as "muddy".  Attendees, even with the challenging elements, have a good attitude as they enjoy a total of what we are told will be 32 bands that will perform sets that will last about an hour.  Several invited acts, like The Byrds, Chicago, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and others either had schedule conflicts or chose not to participate.

The sun is beginning to rise and break through the remaining clouds and our next band is about to take the stage.  We'll be back with continuing coverage throughout the festival to ensure our listeners have the best listening experience.  But for now, we'll leave you to listen to the British band that was formed in London in 1964.  Up next is a band that we're told will put on quite a show.  I'm sure they will sell millions of records.  Here is bass guitarist, John Entwhistle, drummer, Keith Moon, vocals and lead guitarist Pete Townsend and lead vocalist Roger Daltry, you know them better as The Who...

"My Generation" by The Who, the title track from the April 1966 album  

50 years seems like a long time.  2019 will see the 50th anniversary of several milestones in history as well as seminal musical points of interest.  The first landing on the moon occurred on July 20th, 1969.  We all had to find out the way to Sesame Street on November 10th, 1969.  The Beatles performed a rooftop concert on January 30, 1969, and released Abbey Road on September 26th, 1969.  (For a more comprehensive list click it:  50 Things Turning 50 in 2019, by Jennifer M Wood and Colin Ainsworth, January 9, 2019, mentalfloss.com)

But few events that year had a lasting impact as a music festival held on a muddy dairy farm from Friday, August 15th - Monday, August 18th.  Simply known today as Woodstock, this counter-culture music and arts festival literally weathered the storm and produced some of the most iconic images and performances ever put to magnetic tape and celluloid.  Culture and music would forever be changed as festival-goers experienced a myriad of opportunities to, shall we say nicely, "explore" in ways they had never imagined.

A 40th Anniversary music festival, overlooking the original site with several of the original performers, happened on August 15th, 2009.  However, promoters for Woodstock 50, unfortunately, were not able to pull the event together.  Some sources claim greed, while others did not want to repeat the turning away of thousands of people as happened during the first Aquarian Exposition.  

You can relive the event through the documentary Woodstock and several soundtrack albums that have attempted to recreate the musical happenings of the weekend.  

Folks who attended are now in their late '60s and '70s.  They continue to reminisce about the event and as with the generation before them, they dream back to a day when things seemingly were simpler.

Woodstock was a sounding call to a generation.  The term "Generation Gap" came from this time denoting the differences between the "Hippies" and "The Greatest Generation".  It was a time of upheaval and demonstrations.  It was a time of questioning long-held beliefs about culture and how humans were to exist in that culture.  

In retrospect, it really wasn't all that different than the generation before them.  The styles changed, but the message and desire to be different from your predecessors remained.  There was no desire to be seen as "just like your parents" for they were the "squares" who didn't get the new vibe, they didn't dig what we all s-s-say.   

Regardless of this seeming disrespect, this was a generation who knew the names of their grandparents and many of them knew the names of great-grandparents.  This sense of belonging grounded many of them during the time of psychedelia and power to the people.  It gave them a foundation on which to return when their time of youthful pursuits transitioned into the time of making a living. 

Some of the hardest reading you will find in the Bible are the sections that are talkin' about the generations.  It seems early on that God had the desire for folks to know from whence they came.  Ancestry.com has made millions attempting to fill this insatiable desire to know where our background is.  The first listing of generations is found in Genesis 10 - New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/ King James Version of the Bible parallel  Here you have Moses talkin' about the generations that were Noah's descendants.  Why is this important for us to know?

Today more than ever folks need the knowledge that they came from somewhere.  The disposable demeanor of our world (razors, diapers, cell phones, and even life (abortion on demand)) provides a lack of belonging to anything permanent.  

As always, this desire for immutability can be found by reading the Bible.  Time and again the Bible lists "who begat who" and relates in detail who were a particular character's ancestors.  One would surmise that if you did enough digging and the records existed, everyone would eventually be determined to be a descendant of Noah, who according to the genealogical record of Genesis 5 NASB/The Message/KJV was a descendant of Adam and Eve.  1 race, the human race.  Everything else is melanin and culture.  

Our innate desire to belong and our longing to have permanence can all be satisfied by studying the genealogies of the Bible.  There is reassurance in the text that we all came from the same place and that we are all truly brothers and sisters.  When folks realize this, it could cause a big s-s-sensation.  This reality would resonate and reverberate for generations to come, if we'd only embrace it, and would certainly be a reason to be talkin' 'bout our generation

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

randy  

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Alcohol" (Brad Paisley)

Welcome to Tuesday!  It's time for Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  This is the blog that explores interesting, timely, and sometimes controversial themes with a soundtrack of the most popular music ever recorded!  Today's topic goes into that last category in case you haven't guessed!  We better get started, there's much to do!!!  Take it, Mr. Paisley!!!

"Alcohol" by Brad Paisley from the August 16, 2005 album Time Well Wasted 

Written from the perspective of libations, "Alcohol" arrived in the summer of 2005 to critical as well as listener acclaim.  It went all the way to #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and crossed over to peak at #28 on the Hot 100.  It was nominated for 2 Grammys (Best Country Song, Best Male Vocals) and finished at #24 on the end of the year US Country chart.  

The song goes to length to describe the effects of imbibing in fermented grains or grapes. As the descriptors get more outrageous, one can't help but laugh as we've either succumbed to the effects or known folks who have done most of the items on the list.  

The irony behind the song is that Brad Paisley joins a list of other famous folks who don't drink alcohol. ("10 Things You Didn't Know About Brad Paisley" by Devon Barker, wideopencountry.com, "Famous People Who Don't Drink Alcohol", Celebrity Insider, ranker.com)  The Notes suspects that Mr. Paisley's self prohibition is caused by seeing too many of the incidents described in today's featured song played out before his eyes.  

One incident not included in "Alcohol" is described in Genesis 9:20-27 New American Standard Bible/ The Message paraphrase of the Bible/ King James Version of the Bible parallel  

Noah, yup the one who found grace in the eyes of the Lord, got smashed...hammered...bombed...lit...(you get the idea).  The Bible never eludes to a rationale behind Noah getting drunk, it simply says that he "grew a vineyard, drank of the wine and got drunk."  Notice that God never comments on Noah's drinking. Genesis never says anything about Noah losing control over his faculties.  Yet, Noah's activities laid the foundation for the focal point of this passage.

The Bible does comment on drinking.  While there is no command to completely abstain, there is the command against drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18 NASB/The Message/KJV, Proverbs 23:29-35 NASB/The Message/KJV) There has been much damage to the cause of Christ due to well-intentioned folks judging others on this issue. However, we must remember a couple of things as believers.  First, we are not the judge.  That's Jesus' role.  Secondly, we must not be a stumbling block for those who struggle with addictions to alcohol (or anything else) by drinking in the presence of those folks.  Finally, based on the previous points, one would surmise that while abstinence is never commanded, it is advisable for Believers to refrain from drinking alcohol or participating in any activity that could result in destructive/addictive behavior.   

And now...the rest of the story.

Ham, Noah's youngest son, observed Noah passed out and naked.  Now, to 2019's voyeuristic culture, seeing someone in such a state isn't held with the same shame as it was during this episode.  God had standards in the beginning.  Since God never changes, the inference can be made that His standards never change either.  Noah's state of undress was still perceived as shameful as it was at the time of Adam (Genesis 3:10 NASB/The Message/KJV)  For Ham to come across it and do nothing was disrespectful and sinful.  Ham not only saw Noah's nakedness, but he did nothing to remedy the situation and told his brothers, Shem and Japheth about it.   Shem and Japheth immediately did the respectful act of covering Noah.  Notice they put the cover on their shoulders and approached Noah with their backs to him so as not to view him.  When Noah woke up, he realized all that had occurred and laid a curse upon Cannan, Ham's son.  Noah proclaimed that Cannan would forever be the slave to his relatives.  

There are those who would make much more about this passage of scripture.  Tuesday's Musical Notes suggest that you research for yourself and allow Holy Spirit to reveal to you the truth.  The Notes finds enough sin in the disrespect Ham gave to Noah, that no other commentary need be made.  

The main point?  Noah lost control.   It would be easy to judge Noah, however, the Bible doesn't comment on it.  Ham was disrespectful to Noah and God. There was a price to pay for Ham's maligning of Noah.  He would watch as his family surrendered to servitude to his brothers.   I don't know about you, but that seems harsher than having pictures made of him with a lampshade on his head...

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

randy

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Rainbow Connection" (Kermit the Frog)

Hi! Ho! Music's best blog here welcoming you to Tuesday and another groovy edition of Tuesday's Musical Notes!  We've got a jam-packed blog ready to go for you today so let's dig right in with a little banjo, opening of the movie, type music.  Plink a plink a plink a plink a plink...

"Rainbow Connection" by Kermit the Frog, from the 1979 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to The Muppet Movie  

Can you believe it?  The Muppet Movie turned 40 last month.  It is the retelling/reimagining of how the cast of The Muppet Show (first-run syndication, 1976-1981) met. The cast of characters who had previously only been seen on Sesame Street or The Muppet Show was now unleashed upon the world via the big screen. The lovable protagonists and their Muppet-only humor would bolster the movie to critical acclaim and box office success.  

The soundtrack was equally popular.  It showcased the songwriting skills of Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher who received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song ("Rainbow Connection") at the 52nd Academy Awards. (The song lost out to "It Goes Like it Goes" by Jennifer Warnes from the movie Norma Rae.  Ummm, I don't recall ANYONE ever talking about THAT song 40 years later, much less devoting a whole blog to it! Hmmm...) 

"Rainbow Connection" stayed in the top 40 for seven weeks, peaking at #25 on Billboard's Hot 100 in November of 1979.  Since that time it has been covered by the likes of Kenny Loggins, Willie Nelson, Sarah McLachlin, Jason Mraz, Gwen Stefani, and many others.  

The American Film Institute ranked it at #74 on its  AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list. 

Rainbows are a source of awe, wonder, and romanticism.  The inspiration of rainbows to the creative arts is undeniable as they seem to be infused in many pieces of literature, art, and of course music.  

Why this fascination in the way the sun breaks light through the rain?  "What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing and what do we think we might see?" What causes mankind to stop and stare whenever a rainbow presents itself on a rainy day? There my friend is the true rainbow connection.

Imagine that you and 7 family members (wife, 3 sons, and their wives) are the only remaining humans left on the planet. The gravity of the situation begins to weigh on you as you exit onto the dry ground and you realize that you and your family have been saved from cataclysmic destruction.  The landscape all around you is unrecognizable and you wonder how far you may have traveled since first entering the boat 120 days earlier. Then you hear a voice calling your name.  (And no you are not half asleep)   It is the same voice that instructed you in the building of the boat no less than 55 (possibly as much as 75) years earlier.  Reality kicks in and you succumb to the knowledge that what He said was all true.  God has saved you and your family.  You soon become aware that your sons are hearing God's voice as well as He speaks of a covenant relationship He will have with the remnants of mankind. 

Then it happens.  You see in the sky an image form that you've never seen before.  It has blue, yellow, violet, indigo, green, orange, and red stripes.  And God speaks: 

"This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." ( Genesis 9:8-17 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel ) 

This is where the rainbow connection begins.  God promises Noah and his descendants (that includes us, 1 race, the human race, everything else is melanin and culture) that He will never use water to destroy His creation again.  The rainbow is the reminder of the covenant from God to man, a visible connection that we have from God in the form of this covenant promise.  

That rainbow connection exists today each time we see light filtered through the rainclouds.  Yes, there are scientific explanations of how light is bent by the water and blah, blah, blah, but how did that science come into existence? 

Tuesday's Musical Notes confesses to the lack of skill in describing the science behind a rainbow and relies on the Biblical narrative as its foundation for understanding that God created the scientific arena by which rainbows are able to exist, as He spoke it into existence in His covenant-making with Noah.  

Each time we see a rainbow it testifies to the promise that God made to mankind about the global apocalypse by water.  But I think it also testifies to the promise that God made that He would save those in whom He found grace.  Genesis 6:5-8 NASB/The Message/KJV

That message hasn't changed.  For when we see a rainbow we are reminded that God will never destroy all of creation again with a global flood.  But there are a few other things to which this rainbow connection should remind us.

1) God is patient.  He gave Noah's world a 120-year deadline (Genesis 6:3 NASB/The Message/KJV)

2) Everyone is warned, but only a few will be saved (The Gospel of Jesus according to the Disciple Matthew, chapter 7, verse 14 NASB/The Message/KJV)

And finally, 

3) A second and final destruction of the world as we know it is coming.  The rainbow reminds us that while God is patient, He is not patient forever.  It reminds us that Holy Spirit is calling ALL mankind to Himself, but only a few will accept Him as the Boss of their lives.  It also reminds us that this world will be destroyed to make way for the new world that God has planned. (2 Peter 3:10 NASB/The Message/KJV, Revelation 21 NASB/The Message/KJV)

So dear friend, have you made the rainbow connection in your life? 

 "Have you been half asleep, have you heard voices?"  I heard Him calling my name.  "Is this the sweet sound that called the first sailor?" The voice really's One and the same.  You've heard it too many times don't ignore it.  It's something that you're supposed to be. God's shown it plainly, the rainbow connection, He's calling, go to Him, you'll see.  "La da da dee da da doo, la da da da da dee da doo..."

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

randy