Turning the key...

Hi all(?)

Been thinking about music recently. more specifically the music I used to listen to alot. Music that I have left behind somewhat, since my life has been maturing and growing. This all came from a conversation during our cell group yesterday. It was a fairly brush-off ice breaker whereby we all (about 12 of us) took it in turns to name and justify our (or one of our) favourite movies. Now, i imagine there have been a million blog posts on this subject so i will not explore it any further.

But, it did have a point. The leader of the discussion ended it by commenting that you can know something about a person from the movies (my interpretation: stories) they hold close to their hearts. This fits in nicely with the ideas of a John Eldredge, who states that the stories that we connect to speak of greater truths in our lives, of our spiritual need, and of the story that has been running through our (and God's) spirit since (and prior to) creation. Now this is something i hope to expore further one day - to help me understand myself, my family and friends, and my relationship with God. But, amidst all the great stories quoted by various members of the group, such as Lord of the Rings, Titanic, Life is Beautiful, The Notebook, Lion King, and Gladiator, the one clear film i could think of is not a film of great story - it is one of life (in that story itself is love, anger, death, passion, and change - the subjects of many of the above), but in a seriously undramatic way. On discussing, it was the sublime 'feel' of the film that came out as the reason why i seem to connect with it. it has a rhythm, a pulse that runs through it (in the score, the editing, and the story) that builds to a minor crescendo, but all in a day, and you finish it knowing that it will all happen again tomorrow, but that nothing is really the same as time goes by. There are two other films seen recently that have affected me so - Garden State, and Crash (the new one...). Either way, there is a pattern. A pattern that seems to spill over in to all of my other heart-stories (love of music, art, prose, etc) that must have some connection. If i can filter out the immediate feelings and pass through the emotional memory, and with prayer, i hope to gain a better understanding of my lost desires - the things my heart need (read: the things God put in my heart). I may use this as a scrapbook of sorts to, or i may not, as recent blogging history has shown - it don't get done to often!

There is something in certain sounds that touch my heart, it's hard to describe, but it's always been there, from the child with his head pressed to the hi-fi speaker straining to to hear the breath of the Andean pipe players as they created mesmerising sounds, to the dark days leading up to my accepting of Christ. I thought i was just being avant garde, the never-ending art student in me - so i left it behind and moved on. But it still talks to me, draws me in, and pulls at my very being.

I'll end with two videos to play at your leisure. The first is a new video of a track by Colleen that i feel has the elements (and I, as a scientist am trying to analysis my feelings, to find a pattern, a governing logic, a unifying factor (which is my belief in God as the source, subject, and goal of this universe) and the source of the longing in me) of my discussion. There are also some mighty nice visuals. Sorry if they're slow to load - that's just life!



Next is an old track by Japanese virtuoso percussionist Asa-Chang featuring Junray, and Hana. This shook me when i heard it, there is no way i can understand the words, they may as well be meaningless, but there is a sublime tension that i just can't place. I don;t get the video, but it was an easy way to get it on here...

You tubing music...

Most of you will have seen the video of Lasse Gjertson on Jon's Blog recently, so I thought that some may find this entertaining:



There is a whole strange world of music out there on Youtube. Some fantastic, some weird, and strangely the majority are filmed in the bedrooms of Asian teenagers!

Oh well

Best of 2006

Ok, following on from Jon's call to arms... Here's a few thoughts from last year.

It's been a seriously full-on year, with the major happenings including: Getting married, moving house, almost buying said house (instead that will have to form the first of 2007's), promotion at work, new car... All of this extra responsibility has come along with a fairly full bag of emotional ups and downs as well. In some ways, emotionally and spiritually, I feel as though I have taken
a step back this year, and where I have grown in some areas of my life, others have diminished. but at least I kind of know where I stand. The year ahead can be seen as a continuation of study, career, but also the start of new things - new house, the next stage of our marriage, and hopefully a growing emotional and spiritual maturity. Here's hoping anyway!

On a lighter note, lets take a look at the highs of the year, in terms of the world of entertainment.

Best Films: Children of Men - Big budget British Sci-fi, a refreshing but harrowing look at a future facing the end of humanity. Could have been utterly rubbish and trite, but a great cast, sensitive story, and fantastic photography make this my top choice. Others include Tsotsi, Everything is Illuminated, and Casino Royale.

Best Books: I've read very little this year, what with all those OU books I have to get through. But a couple of good ones I've skipped through are Gods Generals by Roberts Liardon and The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge.

Best Albums: Cerys Matthews - Never Said Goodbye, A Collision - David Crowder Band, Life in Slow Motion - David Gray, Surprise - Paul Simon, On My Way To You - Rigmor Gustafsson, and the mighty Takk -Sigur Ros . Again, it's been a very slow year musically, but the end of the year has brought around a couple of great live DVDs, namely Ben Folds and WASO (West Australia Symphony Orchestra), and Farewell to the World, the 1996 Final concert by Crowded House, as the play out to Don't Dream It's Over, there is not a dry eye in the 130,000 strong crowd on the steps of the Sydney Opera House...

Best Websites: No Surprises here, really just Flickr, Google's personalised Desktop, and the continuous drooling over Apple.com.

That's it for now, I might even try to write in this thing more than once this year!