Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Exodus" (Bob Marley and the Wailers)






                                











Welcome to Tuesday!  'Tis time for an escape into da vastness dat is da musicverse with a couple of curve balls thrown into da mix, just to spice things up a bit don'tcha know.  We call dis special place of getaway gladness, Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  Welcome friend!

We welcome you!  If you're new to da Notes, sit back and relax.  Take a load off of dat covid-19/social distancing weary mind and just soak up da rays...You'll soon fade into da land where social distancing has been banished and handshakes and hugs are the norm...or if you don't dig dat jam, you'll find yourself all alone listening to the gentle surf as it caresses the beach like da gentle beat of a kettle drum in a favorite reggae song...

Let's face it, most of us don't have a beach we can escape to, so we hope dis day finds you body fit and your mind sound.  Da times can bear down on us pretty hard when we are not used to da work/school from home routine.  Have you found it beneficial?  Have you discovered da place where you can escape to keep your sanity?  Are the walls closing in? 

Sounds like dere needs to be a movement of jah people...


Chart success varied for the single "Exodus" by Bob Marley and the Wailers (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Three Little Birds" (Bob Marley and the Wailers)).  It went all the way to #1 in Jamaica, but peaked at #103 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, "Exodus" went to #13 .  

"Exodus" takes the story of the Israelite people from the Bible and places it into the context of the Rastafarian, a Abrahamic religion that Bob Marley practiced.  The album was conceived as an explanation/revelation to the world of the Afrocentric nature of Rastafarian and of their journey to the "Promised Land of Zion" which is the continent of Africa.

Bob Marley had moved to England due to an assassination attempt in his native Jamaica in 1976.  He was grazed by a bullet and his wife, Rita, as well as one of the members of his band were shot, but survived.  This attempt was made after the concept of the Exodus album had been derived and is somewhat based on the contentious election cycle going on in Jamaica at the time. (See, contentious elections have been going throughout history!)   The Exodus album was thus recorded in England and its title track became the first single. 

"Exodus", the song, would become the first Bob Marley track that would be receive heavy airplay on soul/r&B stations in the US.  "Exodus" would be followed up by several other singles that were well received.  So much so, that when Legend, the greatest hits package for Bob Marley and the Wailers AND the best selling Reggae recording of all time, was released, it included more songs from Exodus than any of Marley's other records.  

In the multimedia stores that I used to manage and frequent, it seemed that this time of the year, Legend or Exodus could be found playing as background music.  There is something about the transition between Spring and Summer that make folks feel like they are moving into a new time, region, or place in their lives.  And it seemed that Marley's Reggae sound provided the perfect soundtrack for that transition.

Transition is where we find ourselves as world right now.  We seem to be emerging from a season of oppression that fear and perhaps even pride have created (does mankind really have as much control over virus' or the environment as we give ourselves credit?).  Our emergence has at its foundation a hope that while things will never be the same, they are at least getting better than what we have experienced in the last several months.  The Biblical nation of Israel knew a little something about emerging from oppression.

As we continue our Tuesday's Musical Notes trek through the great stories of the Bible, we come to the book of Exodus.  The stories found in the book are well known. Hollywood, has actually promulgated the Exodus narrative as there have been some really good interpretations of the lives and actions found in Exodus, some really good...some not so much.  We report, you decide.   There are some incredible stories of awakening, peril, escape, and redemption in this book.  But the book as a whole has an overall point, in my opinion, to cause us to see a bigger picture. 

The story of the Israelites leaving the slavery of Egypt is a picture of our own journey.  Whether you wish to admit it or not, we are a slave to our own nature.  Once we become weary of that servitude, we realize that God is in control.  Apostle Paul's letter to the church in Rome, chapter 1, verses 18-23 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel   

We realize that while we may be morally good, we are not perfect.  Romans 3:21-24 NASB/The Message/KJV

God, however, is perfect and has made a way of escape from our own personal Egyptians, our wrongdoing, our sin.  

We can choose to remain slaves, or we can accept the gift of freedom that God provides, through Jesus, the choice is ours.  

We trade our slavery for brotherhood by accepting Jesus' leadership over our lives.  Leadership is significantly different than ownership.  

This acceptance of Jesus leadership over all of our life is the ONLY way we can be free from the bondage in which we reside.  Romans 10:11-13 NASB/The Message/KJV

You must determine with your mind, soul, and spirit to follow Jesus.  Will you do that today?

Then celebrate and tell everyone about your freedom!  Tell the Gospel, don't judge someone else's slavery.

Do you wish to experience that freedom right now?  Ask God.  He's there waiting for a visit.  He's waiting to have a conversation with you about your life.  Just start talking to Him.  If you don't wish to be alone to do this call a friend who is a believer or a local pastor.  Need help finding someone, email me at rawacr@gmail.com and tell me where you live.  I promise I can find someone to talk to God with you.  Your freedom is determined by you.  

As we begin to see the relinquishing of social restrictions come about, let's celebrate the fact that we can begin getting back into a routine.  Does that routine include making bricks with straw and mud, while evil taskmasters watch your every move?  Or do you want more from your normal?  Do you wish for this time of exodus from quarantine to be a celebration of the freedom that you now experience as a brother of Jesus?  All you need do is ask Him and you to can experience a movement of jah people...

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Human Touch" (Bruce Springsteen)







Ladies and Gentlemen.  The story you are about to see is fiction.  The names have been changed...well, I'm not sure why we would change the names since the story is fictional.  But we did so let's move on.  The day of the week, Tuesday, the best day of the week. The time, sometime that day. The name just happens to be Tuesday, Sam Tuesday. I work the music beat with my partner Bob Gaudioso.  

It was a cool Spring morning and the sun was shining everywhere but in the recesses of the mind.  We had gotten a call about the possibility of some illegal use of the hands and were sent to investigate.  When we arrived, we witnessed a scene that can only be described as horrendous.  Two executives, both female, were engaged in finalizing a business deal and they...were shaking hands!!!  What's worse is they embraced as they were about to say goodbye!  We queried as to why they would take such steps in the environment in which we live, both replied without missing a beat..."We are after all sisters and we wanted to launch our business relationship with a little of that human touch..."


We separated the sisters and began our interrogation.  I totally understood the whole sisters act, but the rest of their reply seemed vague at best.  My response to the sister I questioned?  "Just the facts ma'am, just the facts".  Bob seemed to make 
more headway with the other suspect.  She told him that Randy Jackson (Original American Idol Judge) played bass and Jeff Porcaro (founding member of Toto (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Hold the Line" (Toto), Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Africa" (Toto)), played drums on the album recording of the Bruce Springsteen song, "Human Touch".  Not sure what this had to do with their hugging and handshaking, but realizing that Bob was getting somewhere,  I stepped back and listened as she spilled all the details.  "The song peaked at #16 on Billboard's Hot 100 and was the first single to be released from the album of the same name.  Gaudioso and I were begining to get a feeling that there was something she wasn't telling us, so he stepped up the pressure.  " Girl ain't no kindness in the face of strangers.  Ain't gonna find no miracles here.  Well you can wait on your blessings darlin' but I got a deal for you right here".  She replied, "I ain't lookin' for prayers or pity.  I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch.  I just want someone to talk to and a little of that human touch.  Just a little of that human touch."  "Bob", I said, "You just broke the case and got a confession!"  "Even though something doesn't seem quite right, Book 'em both!"  And that's how it ended.  All that was left was to do the paperwork on the Case of the Hugs and Handshakes.


The case of the Hugs and Handshakes may seem a bit extreme, at least it would have not too long ago, but today we are faced with serious consequences for seeking a little of that human touch.  I confess to you that I am a hugger, hand-shaker, pat'em on the back kind of guy.  But in the spirit of keeping myself and everyone around me safe and healthy, I have abstained from any human touch since the outbreak began.  We have all transitioned the ways that we interact with each other and some of those ways we now interact may be permanent.  In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's expert on the virus has said that we should never shake hands again.  White House advisor Dr. Fauci says handshaking needs to stop even when pandemic ends—other experts agree by Jade Sipioni for CNBC.com  It is amazing how well social distancing (a phrase of which I am quickly tiring), working and schooling from home as well as other means of being separated have caused the pandemic to be less severe than anticipated.  While Dr. Fauci's remarks are directed towards a tradition (shaking hands), is there something that he is missing when he makes a blank statement such as this?

In recent years, it seems that inappropriate touch has been a hot button topic.  Laws have been enacted and corporations have created rules to insure the safety of female as well as male employees.  Schools teachers and coaches, leaders at religious institutions, and adults involved in scouting have all come under scrutiny for behavior towards students that should never be condoned by anyone.  While these actions aren't new (look at Greek and Roman cultures as one example) they are a blight on our world and are a result of the brokenness experienced at the fall of man in Genesis.  While these things are agreeably bad, have we swung the pendulum so far in the correctiveness direction that we are causing ourselves another kind of harm?

The benefits of human touch can be very interesting.  If you do an internet search you will find an assortment of author's posts regarding the topic.  Here is one:   Health Benefits of Human Touch March 18th, 2014 by Loretta Lanphier, NP, CN, CH, HHP, Oasis Advanced Wellness Health This article and others suggest that touching can be very health beneficial.  From the time you are born until you are advanced in age, an appropriate touch by another human being can be just what the doctor ordered.  

A more authoritative resource is the Bible.  In the Old Testament especially, we find the Rabbinic laws concerning touching the "unclean".  Here is one example: 

However, in the New Testament we see an different law given.  Jesus comes onto the scene and as he goes about preaching the Good News about Himself, He touches many people and provides healing for their physical bodies as well as an eternal healing for their soul.   These healings and illegal use of the hands are part of what drew the attention of the religious leaders of the day.  Jesus was accused of breaking those laws, when what He was really doing was providing restoration for the broken.  

The remainder of the New Testament contains passage after passage of where Jesus' followers touched and healed folks.  There might just be something to this touch thing after all.  

"You might need somethin' to hold on to.  When all the answers they don't amount to much.  Somebody that you can just talk to
And a little of that human touch."

A former company that I worked for employed a strategy called Quality Service Everytime, QSE for short.  The idea was that we were not going to enforce a rule against 99% of our clientele when only 1% would attempt to take advantage.  Do our current attitudes with regards to touch, pandemic and harassment aside, protect against the 1% who would violate decency?  Is our germaphobia costing us a health benefit we may not even know we can have?  Are we withholding good from others by being too much of an introvert?

I confess that I disagree with Dr. Fauci.  Handshakes are a good thing. An appropriate hug is a good thing.  A pat on the back for a job well done is a good thing.  Let's please remember that when all of this is over, and it will be over or at least managed, we all may need to share a little of that human touch...and those are the facts, just the facts.

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy


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Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Tuesday'S Musical Notes - "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (The Moody Blues)





Welcome to Tuesday!!!  It's time for a Note of a Musical variety!  No, not G# or Bb, but some thoughts and meditations on music in general and life in specific!  It's all wrapped up in a blog that we call Tuesdays Musical Notes!!!

As so many good things in life, we just can't get enough of the things we like.  Especially when it comes to our entertainment choices?  (Anyone binging Star Wars, or Marvel?) So,  today we indulge our guilty pleasure as we introduce the first ever Tuesday's Musical Notes sequel!!!  (Technically, I guess they are all sequels of sorts, but let's not get hung up on semantics, shall we?)  Honestly, you can check the archives and see if we've ever done it before.  They are on the left by date, or you can search by topic, artist, or title of your favorite song.  I really can't recall ever having a sequel in Notesland... but you never know, there might be one out there somewhere, somewhere...


The search for lost love continues...  We were given an introduction to the characters of today's video last week.  That was an actual band that played the younger Moodies, a British band called Mood Six, for the "Your Wildest Dreams" video  They and the female protagonist, Janet Spencer-Turner, return in the sequel song which peaked at #30 on Billboard's Hot 100, the last single to chart for The Moody Blues.  The real cool thing is that the songs, "Your Wildest Dreams" and "I Know You're Out There Somewhere", aren't on the same album.  In fact, they were recorded 2 years apart.  Again, one of the only times that I can think of where a band came out with a sequel song on a different album.  To give you the full picture, and to give you something long enough to have a couple of bites of popcorn with, let's watch both vids...




The video for "I Know You're Out There Somewhere"  uses the radio edit of the song which is just over 4 minutes long.  The album track, as happens so many times in the life of a musical act's singles, is longer, in this case by over 2 minutes.  While I prefer the original track, the edit isn't egregious, like some radio edits can be,  it cuts an instrumental bridge whose theme is well established throughout the song.

For more Moody Blues info, videos, and Musical Notes treatments, check out last weeks blog:  Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Your Wildest Dreams" (The Moody Blues)

The mist is lifting slowly I can see the way ahead
And I've left behind the empty streets that once inspired my life  

This could be an accurate way the Hebrew patriarch Joseph was feeling at the stage of his life in which we find him today.  His life experiences would have caused him to have an entire range of emotions, sorrow and sadness to elation and joy.  He had been a slave,  a venerated servant, a prisoner, and now we find Joseph as the second most powerful man in the known world.  His birth relatives had long given him up for dead as his brothers had betrayed him into the hand of slave merchants.  But out there somewhere was a story that none of them could have imagined.  

One would imagine that Joseph was quickly educated in the ways of Egypt. He had been in the country for many years in a variety of societal status'.   His current position now afforded him the opportunity to carry out the interpretation that God had given him of Pharaoh's dream.   He orchestrated the hording (the good kind...let's face it Indiana Jones didn't find any toilet paper at Tanis...) of food stocks during seven years of plenty in preparation for seven years of famine.  But out there somewhere was a family who began to run low on food.  Get the full story here:  


Jacob and Joseph's stories both reveal historical narratives about redemption.  Each of them were eventually restored to families from which they had been separated.  The reunions with those families explore the depth of reclamation that can take place among family.   They are a perfect example of the power of love and exist to serve as a shadow to the most powerful display of love ever given in history.  With their redemption stories complete we close the book on this chapter of the Old Testament and the creation story as well.  But THE Book is always open when it comes to showing the love that exists throughout eternity.

That display of love is the story of a Creator/Father who waits patiently.  He waits for his created ones/children to desire restoration and reclamation.  He provided a sacrificial payment to insure that a loving reunion can occur for those who ask for it.

Today, friend, what seems to be missing in your life can be found.  Today, friend, that longing for belonging can be filled.  Today, friend, there is a God who looks upon you as His child and He waits singing...

"I know you're out there somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere
I know you're out there somewhere
Somewhere you can hear my voice..."

Many in the world celebrated the fact that there is a tomb that is empty in Israel this past Sunday.  The person who was placed in that tomb after being tortured and killed was seen 3 days later in a physical body and over the next 40 days by many.  He is alive through the same restorative power that waits for you and me.  He is alive, now, begging God for you.  He came once to be that sacrificial payment.  He is coming again to find those who are His and take them home.  He is also singing... 

"I know I'll find you somehow
Somehow, somehow
I know I'll find you somehow
And somehow I'll return again to you..."

Today, friend...

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy 
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Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Your Wildest Dreams" (The Moody Blues)


















Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  This is the place where Rock and Roll teaches Biblical truths.  Wait!!!  Don't stop reading yet!!!  We know. We know. We don't usually mention the Bible this quickly!  We usually try and hook your interest with some groovy tune and then about half way through smack you right in the kisser with a Bible story.  But we are in unprecedented (there's that word again!) times and there is an extreme need for folks to find some kind of truthful information they can use to hang their hat on.  The Bible is that truth.  No news outlet, TV personality, or blogger can share with you information that is foundational like what you can discover in the Bible.  Yup, here comes the link...



Welcome to an unprecedented Tuesday!!!  In fact,  would you have ever imagined a Tuesday quite like today in your wildest dreams?


Tuesday's Musical Notes makes every effort to not be a radio station.  We don't have advertisements that are paid for by local vendors or national accounts and we do everything we can to never repeat a song.  We have attempted to use a new song every week, except for once in the history of The Notes (May 31, 2012 - today, that's 410 consecutive posts.  Here's the archive pitch...you know find your song, look to the left, blah, blah, blah...)  That's right, we repeated a song.  It was an accident because we got very excited about a topic and didn't do our usual due diligence in checking the archives (we've mentioned those haven't we?).  The honor of the only song to get two separate Musical Notes goes to today's feature band, The Moody Blues.  The song is "The Voice" (great song right?)

and

While "The Voice" is a great Moody Blues song, it is not the focal point of today's Musical Notes.  That honor belongs to "Your Wildest Dreams" which could very well be an apt description of where we find ourselves today!  14 years had passed since the  "Nights in White Satin" single from the 1967 album Days of Future Passed album had gained the #2 spot on the charts making it  the highest charting record for The Moody Blues.  Fast forward, raise the needle, or click ahead to 1986 when The Moody Blues would be topping the charts again.  "Your Wildest Dreams" would peak in the top ten at #9.  This secured the band the designation of having a charting single in 3 consecutive decades, something most bands, even those with longevity, are yet to achieve.  

Unfortunately, we are not dreaming, wild or otherwise, and our reality has been shaken.  We live in a time where we need a reminder of what wisdom and frugality can provide.  There is no better reminder of these things than in the Bible.  (Ahhh, this is where we're used to it!)  

There were many times of famine and disease in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament.  The thing about it is, most of the time the folks were warned that these times were coming.  Take for example what happened when Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharaoh.

Once upon a time...  We visited about Joseph's interpretation last week.  7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine for the world.  Egypt was the world leader at the time, making Pharaoh pretty much the king of the world.  He was having some of the wildest dreams imaginable and implored anyone to make an interpretation of them.  Our current Bible hero, Joseph, (see previous Notes from the last few weeks to get caught up on his story...it's a doozie!!!) is summoned from prison, cleaned up, and placed before Pharaoh to tell him what his wild dreams meant.  

When Pharaoh heard Joseph's proclamation, it seemed rational and wise to him.  He immediately took action to find someone who would do the best job in preparing the world for the famine to come.  Never in Joseph's wildest dreams did he imagine that he would be the one chosen to get this plan going.  With God's blessing of wisdom, Joseph expounded on a plan that would save most of the known world from starvation.  Read Joseph's plan here:  Genesis 41: 38-57 New American Standard Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel  

Joseph's brother's had tried to be rid of him.  He bounced back from that to be in favor with the captain of the guards.  The captain's wife tried to be rid of him.  He bounced back from that to be in favor with the captain of the prison.  He was forgotten by those who promised to remember him.  Now Joseph finds himself in the 2nd most powerful position in the world.  What was the title of today's feature song?  

Please friend remember that in times like what we are experiencing, when our words are touched with sorrow, that there is redemption that awaits.  It may come in the form of wealth and success like Joseph experienced, or it may come in the form of an ultimate healing in the presence of Jesus for those who have made him the boss of their lives.  Don't wait for it to come in this life.  Be sure of what comes next.  Be wise and determine that what the Bible says is true.  Trust the reality that so many will celebrate this Sunday.  Don't rely on bunnies and eggs, rely on a living Lord who loves you without exception and waits to fulfill your wildest dreams.

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,
randy

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