IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR MY ARRIVAL

So I'm in church this past Sunday morning. We're singing songs. The music is good and creating what I would consider an atmosphere condusive to worship. And then all of a sudden one of the girls singing on stage goes all Christina Aguilera on us. My state of reverence quickly turns to me leaning over to my sister who is seated next to me and whispering, "since when does Christina go to this church?" It wasn't just once either. This girl went off. Up and down the scale on every note. Over and over ... and over. I'm all for using the talents God gives you but man, I thought we were going to go straight from "Amazing Grace" into the First Baptist version of "I Am Beautiful". It was a little over the top.

While I'm on it I'd like to make another point. First of all I'd like to say that I think way too much importance is put on music in most churches today. I don't mean the church spends too much time or resources on this. I just mean that more often than not a church is judged on the quality of their presentation and music is a large part of this. My point is that the quality and type of musical presentation has nothing to do with a church being a healthy body of believers. If you can show me otherwise somewhere in the Bible then so be it, but I'm pretty sure it's not there. I could go on and on about this but that's not the point I wanted to make. My point is much more light hearted and trivial. Music is obviously a large part of most worship services. Every church seems to have their own take on how this should be carried out. Some are very traditional and only sing hymns. Some are very contemporary and seem almost like going to a rock 'n roll show. Most however fall somewhere in between. At my church they have a band, sometimes a choir, a guy who leads the music and then 4 additional singers with microphones on stage to back up the main guy. This group usually consists of 3 women and 1 man. It cracks me up because they're really into it. I mean really, really into it. It's sometimes like they're trying to fill childhood dreams of being Michael W. Smith ... or whoever the female equivalent would be. (by the way, I know of a few but I won't make myself look any more foolish by actually naming their names). It just makes me laugh because they just try so hard sometimes. Like the aforementioned Christina Aguilera wannabe. The thing about being on stage is that it's hard to fool the people watching you. If you're genuine in your singing and worship I think that shows ... but the second you throw just a hint of showmanship in there ... trust me, we can tell. I really have no complaints about this. I just find it funny to see 40 something men and women on Sunday morning trying their best to someday grace the cover of CCM. And with that last comment it's official ... I spent too much time in youth group. It sure would have been funny if after the last song one of the singers finished with "what .....!"

RECOMMENDATION FROM AN INSOMNIAC

I took a rather long nap in the late afternoon/early evening today so now with only a few hours before I'm suppsed to be up getting ready for work I find myself unable to sleep so I figured I would write a little. I'd like to take this opportunity to suggest a great t.v. show to you. I started watching this show last season when it debuted and now in its second season it is becoming one of my favorite shows. It's on FX and is called "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia". It's about 4 people in their late 20's who live in Philadelphia, own/operate a bar, and deal with real issues in the most ridiculous ways possible. Their t.v. spots have been saying critics are making Seinfeld comparisons and although that's pretty lofty company, I can see this being a sort of modern day version of Seinfeld. Like most FX shows, it has a very loose and free flowing production style. I like this and think is a direction most television seems to be heading in the coming years. FX has pioneered many of these types of shows and apparently has the ratings to support this shift in television programming. So anyways, go check out this show. It comes on Thursday nights at 9:00 on FX. If it doesn't make you laugh then I suspect there is something a little wrong with you.

Now I will try this sleep thing again. Hopefully it works better this time. I'm all out of Nyquil which is making this process very difficult. Hopefully I won't have to resort to Scotch.

NEW MUSIC

I bought this record about a month ago and it has been in heavy rotation ever since. In addition to my love of fast paced, melodic, indie rock I have a special place in my heart for the kind of music I grew up with. It's country from the old days. Roots music. Americana. Country with a difinitive western influence that is nothing like and should not be associated with what most people know today as country music. It was music that told stories about life, love, hardship, journies and home. The music told every bit as much of the story as the words did. It was music that was born and raised in dancehalls, honkeytonks and beer joints from Texas to California. And those are the same places it survives today. It uses instruments like the fiddle and steel guitar which have been all but lost in today's version of country music. Eleven Hundred Springs is a band from Dallas that is definitely keeping the old traditions alive. With infuences that seem to range from the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens to the western swing sound popularized by Bob Wills they run the gamut of what was and can still be great about counrty music. I saw them live for the first time the other night and was amazed. They opened with an old tune called San Antonio Rose and continued seemlessly mixing old classics with their own new version of western music. Everyone danced. Everyone sang along. And everyone had a few drinks along with the band. It was a great night to be a Texan and a lover of Texas music. And if any of you are still a little skeptical about the coexistence of my love for indie rock and this type of music you should know I'm not the first to feel this way. Mark Reznicek is the drummer for Eleven Hundred Springs. He used to drum for another Dallas based band called The Toadies. They did alright for themselves back in the '90's in the world of rock 'n roll. So if you're interested you can check these guys out here or here. Let me know what you think.

"... you don't like my music
You don't like my song
You say you want to party
You say you want to rock 'n roll
Well that carbon copy music
Don't mean a damn to me
Hank Williams wouldn't make it now
In Nashville, Tennessee."

WHY THE HELL NOT?

Everyone say hello to Mr. Kinky Friedman, the next governor of the great state of Texas. I'm not a huge history buff but if I'm not mistaken, the last independent candidate to be elected governor of Texas was a man by the name of Sam Houston. Kinky is making plans to be the next. And with slogans like, "why the hell not?" and "how hard could it be?" why wouldn't he be a shoe in for the job. He is an author, musician, Texas cultural icon and is now looking to put governor at the end of a long list of titles he has held.

Oddly enough, Mr. Friedman's brash disregard for anything traditional or mainstream as far as state politics go has officially landed his name on the ballot along with governor Perry, democrat Chris Bell, and some lady that calls herself "the grandma". He has garnered a lot of support around the state in the past few months and whether he wins or not he intends to at the least be heard while he is allowed the microphone in his hands on such a big stage.

So take a peak at Kinky's thoughts and intended actions on various issues in this election here. And whether you vote for him or not I hope you'll at least enjoy the show he puts on as he tries to convince the state of Texas to collectively stand up and give governor Perry a big, "Adios Mofo!" More on that here and here.