The Truth – YouTube Video

Got this video sent to me. It sounded like a “Jack Handy” episode at first, like the one about taking your daughter to a burned field and telling her that Disney World burned down. But then just keep watching.

Pretty cool.

“Christian” Music Woes

This debate has been going on forever, I know, but I am bummed today. Family Force 5 came out with their new album today, and although the music is good, and in interviews the band members will say that the lyrics are actually about Jesus, I can’t…I just can’t listen to it, and that really bums me out.

See, I mostly listen to music in the car driving my family around, and I put on “crazy music” (rock) when my wife goes into the store and I wait out in the car. The kids love that stuff…Skillet, Family Force 5, Tourniquet, Deliverance, Scaterd Few, Flemming and John, P.O.D. They all bounce their heads and dance around…it’s fun.

Well, Family Force 5, as you can see in an older post, was a favorite…OK, the lyrics didn’t mention Jesus, but at least there were a few songs that spoke about good, usable stuff, you know, heart stuff. (I was going to say edifying, but that word may not mean much to some most people).

So, I was excited that FF5 was coming out with a new album, and from their PreReleases, it sounded like it was a cool new sound. Well, it came out today, and here are the lyrics from JesusFreakHideout.com – which is a great site for Christian song lyrics by the way).

We’re gonna take control
Dancing is your weapon
Let your moves unfold
Kill ‘em with your steppin’

And, yes, I’m sure I can come up with a way that ties the lyrics to a Christian Walk, The Enemy is defeated by our “dancing” or Living for Christ…but I’m not sure I can do that this time. They lyrics are too obscure and are so deep in concept, that it’s not worth my effort…mostly because my kids ears are better than mine and they can decifer lyrics when I can’t, which means they are getting taught something. Sorry FF5, I’ll wait until next year to see what else you come up with.

On that note, My wife and I really liked a band in the 90s called Fleming & John. OK, the lyrics weren’t overtly Christian, but it was at a time when we couldn’t find anything Christian that we liked. The music is really good. The singing, the instrumentation, was just amazing, and we were always on the lookout for a new album, but I guess we forgot or whatever.

Well, it turns out that they have another album, which came out in 1999. I found that today and started listening to the samples on iTunes…wow, the music is just really really good. The kind of music that makes me smile and want to share it with people, “Dude, you need to listen to this.”

Then I heard the lyrics.

Man, it kinda make me want to cry (I know, that’s dramatic). All the lyrics are about relationship…starting with “I’m so small”, then “Come on come on just say it – you and me sitting in a tree – K-I-S-S-I-N-G – you’re not in love with me”, then “oh look I found it oh I really found it how could such a thing be happening to me”, then, “we’ve been together longer than – most of our friends have – but they don’t know that it’s not always a party”, then “your silence is giving me too much hope”, then “and I don’t know what I’d do if I found out you were untrue – would I find it in my heart to forgive”, then “next time I’ll hold my breath and count to ten”, then “can’t you see you’re leaving me for an ugly girl – does she talk about politics and all the stuff that used to make me sick”, then “you were trying trying to tell me something – I didn’t want to know”, then “get away while there’s time your friends are making bets on your life”, then “years have flown by taking with them time she never had for her own – now she plays house while her husband stays out on the town”, then “I think I’ve come to the conclusion – that it’s all a bunch of bull – love is an optical illusion – and once again I’ve played the fool”, then “Well I love you mom and I love you daddy – and I sure am glad that you had me – but is it worth it? – Over a stupid remote control?”. What the heck. I don’t want to listen to that.

I realize that I’m promoting this album, and that great, this album will speak to some people. I’m not finding much “encouragement” there. These guys are married, is this something that happened to them? What is the point of this album? Did it sell well in 1999? I think I know why I didn’t see it in the Christian music stores, probably due to the cover, which I think is pretty cool.

It sucks. The songs are really cool, but the lyrics are…well, I can’t relate…or I don’t want to relate. And I don’t want my kids to hear this stuff.

Here’s an exceprt from an interview with Fleming:

…the songs on The Way We Are detail the ins and outs of their life together, both good and bad. Take the ode to jealousy in “Ugly Girl,” the story of how they first reached coupledom in “Sssh!,” or one of the last songs they wrote for the album, “Comfortable,” which continues to be one of the most poignant for Fleming. “On that one, I was very honest, I didn’t hold anything back, and I expressed an emotion that I’ve learned since that a lot of married people and people that have been together a long time have experienced,” she explains. “That was kind of hard because I didn’t want John to think that I was bored with our marriage. I wanted him to know that, even though we’ve gone through these other stages, I’m just so comfortable in the relationship that it’s actually a deeper kind of love. That’s one of his favorites. I just hit on something that was going on in our lives and we both knew it. So that one is true to the way we are.”

At the end of this interview, Fleming says that she just wants people to listen and enjoy the songs. OK, I guess they’ll be enjoyed in the same way “Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morisette” was. Again, I’m nost saying the songs are not great, they are, I’m just not going to buy the album. And I’m sure some of you will be inspired by the fact that even though Fleming and John went through all this stuff, they are in fact still married…that’s a good thing.

So, there’s my rant. I’m bummed.

I’m pretty sure the new Michael Gungor Band album coming out in September isn’t like this.

The Afters did the same thing. Their first album was full of Jesus.

Jorge

Jared Anderson – Ready Now

We started doing this song during Worship at church. It’s a pretty fun song to play, and it’s a song that has me pleading to God to help me want Him more. To help me understand His plan for me.

John Mark McMillan How He Loves

This song surprised me. He can’t sing the last verse on the song on the album, so I went and researched and found this.

Stephen was his best friend and a youth leader. He prayed that God would shake the youth of the nation, that he would give his life if God would shake the youth of the nation. He died that night in a car accident.

The Hug That Lasts Forever – Funky Worship

OK, so I don’t know what else to call it, but “Funky Worship” seems to fit. Except for two instrumental tracks, these songs are worship songs I wrote within the past couple of years. I’ve been on a quest to find good worship music that’s not necessarily traditional/contemporary music. It’s hard to find.

So, as with almost every one of my music projects, I saw a need (at least one I saw in myself) and did something about it.

These tracks are a mix of trip hop, breaks, techno, soul, 80s, pop, dance, rock, house, chill, electro, worship and well, probably other things. I just put a bunch of stuff together that sounded good to me. They were built using Apple’s “Garage Band”.

I am happy with the way these tracks turned out, except for the vocals on some of the tracks, but I can live with it. It’s really hard to record vocals, and I’m not a great singer, so you will find that on most of the tracks, I have processed and put loads of effects on the songs. I am thinking it adds to the interest, but I can’t tell anymore.

I like them, and hope you will too.

So, since they started out as worship songs, I am including pdfs for each of the songs with the lyrics and guitar chords so you can play them at home or at your church or youth group or whatever.

And, I am giving you permission to download these mp3s, burn them, share them, whatever you want. Have at it.

Oh, and the title of the project is “The Hug That Lasts Forever”, which comes from my oldest daughter. She was praying and asking the Lord what He wanted to tell her, and He told her that “One day, I’m going to give you a hug that lasts forever”.

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About You – “I love you…”

[download mp3]

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Delight – “Help me believe…”

[download mp3]

[lyrics & chords]

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For You – “You like thinking about me…”

[download mp3]

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Hello – “A line that ties my heart to yours…”

[download mp3]

[lyrics & chords]

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Mommy – “I want to live…”

[download mp3]

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Teach Me Lord – “My feet, me knees are Yours…”

[download mp3]

[lyrics & chords]

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Treasure – “Found me and sold everything…”

[download mp3]

[lyrics & chords]

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Who Is Like You – “I cannot escape, Not on my own…”

[download mp3]

[lyrics & chords]

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You Love Me – “You bring the life…”

[download mp3]

[lyrics & chords]

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You Served – “As ransom for me…”

[download mp3]

[lyrics & chords]

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More music from me…