music
A Playlist for Seekers and Doubters
Music has consistently been a vehicle for my ponderings and prayers about and to the Divine, or lack thereof. These are a few songs that have stuck with me, organized by theme. Questioning “Doubting Thomas” – Nickel Creek The title is a dead giveaway. This plaintive tune ponders what plagues many when at the crossroads…
Anarchy in My Fond Feelings for Jesus Christ Superstar
What would it take to make me not want to see a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar in the summertime? This. Thoughts and Prayers, people, that I am not snatched into a white van, straightjacketed and have my eyelids forcibly propped open to force-witness this abomination while all I can do is “mmmph” through…
The Praying Habit: Jewish Week!
I think I chose to attempt Jewish prayer my last week of this project because I subconsciously hoped it would be the most spiritually rewarding. I should have known better. I’ve found that anticipating or hoping for spiritual fireworks leads to the exact opposite: boredom and sometimes even frustration. So why did I have these…
Lint SOTD
Before Rick Springfield publicly coveted his friend Jessie’s girl, he turned his attention upward. To the sky, but he wasn’t talking to the air. He was talking to the Lord. Then the world looked better! Speak to the Sky is a Linten classic — enjoy! His gentle God-rock reaches through time and space
Is The Pope a Rock Star?
I recently saw a banner hanging on a nearby hospital which said “Our Nurses Are Rock Stars!” I took a moment to imagine a soul-deadening cycle: the people who thought of this idea, formatted it on a PC and sent it to China, where the banner was printed in a factory and shipped to San…
Songs for a Mystical Supper
Those who tire of the holiday clatter and need rest might want to download some selections from Church of the Beloved’s latest digital album, Songs for a Mystical Supper. This Edmonds, Washington, church may be Lutheran in origin but their music will dance with the spirits of anyone post-Solstice, Hijra, Advent, Hanukkah, or even Festivus.…
Buddha Loves Me, This I Know
Some folks act just like they hate ya/ But all dogs have a Buddha nature.
Deacon Tim’s Ghost Degree
What’s scarier around a campfire than Catholicism’s moment of complete awesomeness?
Searching for Bach
The cello sounded like heaven. Or whatever heaven sounds like when you’re twelve.
A Little Song I Wrote
People won’t buy Bobby McFerrin’s new album if they think he’s a Jesus freak. I was called upon to testify.
Home Taping Is Skill in Buddha
We are musicians, sampling his breaks, writing our own songs hundreds of times.
Inside Hadyn’s Head
During a press trip to Austria’s Burgenland region, we visited Eisenstadt, a town billed as Haydn’s Graceland. Being a non-disciple of Elvis, I’ve never possessed a desire to tour Graceland. But I can attest that both sites glitter with the ethos of their respective musical icons, be it in the sequined styles of Las Vegas…
Songs from A Broken Liturgy
A little Friday afternoon contemplative music: we’re intrigued by the Allentown, PA, experiment in deconstructed ambient folk-hymns known as “Broken Liturgy.” Curated by an arts and music collective known as saints&children, you can now download a six-song album “Songs from a Broken Liturgy.”