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Here's the best John McCain ad evah! Yo, Hillary supporters...

I saw a commercial for this group tonight and had to youtube them. They have an amazing sound if you like men's harmonies and Irish music. Here is a solo song by Keith Harkin. You can check out their website here. Enjoy the beautiful melodies.


Mountains of Mourne
Oh Mary this London's a wonderful sight
With people here workin' by day and by night
They don't sow potatoes, nor barley, nor wheat
But there's gangs of them diggin' for gold in the street
At least when I asked them that's what I was told
So I just took a hand at this diggin' for gold
But for all that I found there I might as well be
In the place where the dark Mourne sweep down to the sea.
There's beautiful girls here, Oh never you mind
Beautiful shapes nature never designed
lovely complexions of roses and cream
But let me remark with regard to the same
That if at that those roses you venture to sip
The colours might all come away on your lips
So I'll wait for the wild rose that's waitin' for me
In the place where the dark Mourne sweep down to the sea.
You remember young Davey Mc Clarin of course
Well sure, now, he's round here with the rest of the force
I saw him one day as I was crossin’ the strand
And he stopped the whole street with a wave of his hand
And as we stood talkin’ of days that are gone
The whole town of London stood there to look on
But for all his great powers he's wishful like me
To be back where the dark Mourne sweep down to the sea
But for all his great powers he's wishful like me
To be back where the dark Mourne sweep down to the sea

I discovered this Scottish Percussionist who is also deaf while surfing around on TED. Here is a trailer for a movie about her and the way she explains sound. It really "resonates" with me (pun intended). It is a lot like what I experienced at the Sigur Ros concert, but now she has given me the articulation of it. Check her out on TED as well.

I was treated to a Sigur Ros concert in Chicago a couple years ago. I did not know what to expect and have never had an experience quite like it. It was held at the Chicago Lyric Opera House and, honestly, except for the thunderous applause after each song, you could have heard a pin drop the entire night. It was that thunderous applause that so annoyed me, however, because it interrupted what I can only describe as a musical massage for my brain. The fact that Sigur Ros is from Iceland and sing in either their mother-tongue or a language they made up for some of their songs, allows one to simply listen to the sound of what is happening. Like I said, I've never had an experience quite like this. I wished they could have given me a private performance!

Well, I stumbled across this amazing movie on Youtube. It is about their return home ("Heima") to Iceland and their 15 performances there in 2006. The movie is roughly 97 minutes long and contains some of the most beautiful footage of a country I've never visited nor know much about. It slightly resembles a documentary of Iceland and Sigur Ros, but well worth watching if you have the time.

I have to mix in some lighter posts with my other, more weighty (some would say "opinionated") posts. I found this on Bits and Pieces.

Music using sounds found on your computer only - very creative.

I was running today and was really wanting to hear some Keith Green (old school, I know). But his passion is like life to me. I found this "video" on youtube tonight. Hope you enjoy. I love this song "Create in me a Clean Heart".

This movie gave me chills! I can't think of the last time I had an experience like this watching a movie. There is something about music that has always captivated me. I have written poems about it (I'll add below), and sometimes just try to "swim" in the sound of a song and allow the chords to reverberate through my soul and shake the dust from the rafters when it strikes me just right. There's even a fascinating story by Tolkien that talks about Creation actually happening in a chorus of music [The Silmarillion]. There is something about it that I can't explain.

So this movie, August Rush, gave me chills as I watched it tonight. Here's a clip:



There are some great actors, including the young Freddie Highmore (from Finding Neverland), and the story weaves the magic of music, lost love, and the journey of an orphan into an amazing tale. Highly recommended. There is a line in the movie: "Music is all around us. All you have to do is listen." This is exactly the point of this poem I wrote about 8 years ago.

So here's the last scene of the movie (WARNING: spoiler). But this is the scene that gave me goose bumps, especially when the little girl [Jamia Nash] starts to sing.

Today I've been thinking about heaven. I have a playlist on my ipod called "Heaven" that has about a dozen songs on it. After church today, I just played it on repeat for a while. I'm not sure what triggered this, but I am glad to be thinking about it.

Here is a quote from Jonathan Edwards in The Christian Pilgrim, which I love:
Here are a few of the songs on my list:

I don't know why, apart from the shear respect for something I can't do, but this amazes me and I love listening to people yodel. I was flipping the channels tonight and stumbled upon Jewel performing this song. Hope you can at least smile, with appreciation, as you listen. (In the performance I saw she mentioned that she grew up with an outhouse and no TV, and this is what she did with her time - HAVE to respect that!)

This guy got a standing "O" from Simon...



...and he did win the finals.

This girl is just loveable:



And maybe America has some talent too. (She's only 11)

I just heard this song on the radio during a Memorial Day Weekend tribute. Thought you might enjoy.



"The War Was In Color" by Carbon Leaf

I see you've found a box of my things
-Infantries, tanks and smoldering airplane wings.
These old pictures are cool. Tell me some stories
Was it like the old war movies?
Sit down son. Let me fill you in
Where to begin? Let's start with the end
This black and white photo don't capture the skin
From the flash of a gun to a soldier who's done
Trust me grandson
The war was in color
From shipyard to sea, From factory to sky
From rivet to rifle, from boot camp to battle cry
I wore the mask up high on a daylight run
That held my face in its clammy hand
Crawled over coconut logs and corpses in the coral sand
Where to begin? Let¹s start with the end
This black and white photo don't capture the skin
From the shock of a shell or the memory of smell
If red is for Hell
The war was in color
I held the canvas bag over the railing
The dead released, with the ship still sailing,
Out of our hands and into the swallowing sea
I felt the crossfire stitching up soldiers
Into a blanket of dead, and as the night grows colder
In a window back home, a Blue Star is traded for Gold.
Where to begin? Let's start with the end
This black and white photo don't capture the skin
When metal is churned. And bodies are burned
Victory earned
The War was in color
Now I lay in my grave at age 21
Long before you were born
Before I bore a son
What good did it do?
Well hopefully for you
A world without war
A life full of color
Where to begin? Let's start with the end
This black and white photo never captured my skin
Once it was torn from an enemy thorn
Straight through the core
The war was in color

I am not naive enough to think it was all roses, but there is something about a time before I was born that seems a little better then what we've got now. Just a little daydream in the middle of a blog. Enjoy.


SANDI THOM LYRICS
I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)

[Chorus]
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
In 77 and 69 revolution was in the air
I was born too late into a world that doesn't care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

When the head of state didn't play guitar,
Not everybody drove a car,
When music really mattered and when radio was king,
When accountants didn't have control
And the media couldn't buy your soul
And computers were still scary and we didn't know everything

[Chorus]

When pop-stars still remained a myth
And ignorance could still be bliss
And when God Saved the Queen she turned a whiter shade of pale
When my mom and dad were in their teens
And anarchy was still a dream
And the only way to stay in touch was a letter in the mail

[Chorus]

When record shops were still on top
And vinyl was all that they stocked
And the super info highway was still drifting out in space
Kids were wearing hand me downs,
And playing games meant kick around
And footballers still had long hair and dirt across their face

[Chorus]

I was born too late to a world that doesn't care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

Driving home from Christmas, I heard this song and it just seemed to say something I would say. It is an older song, with a low, swaying melody, that fits the lyrics. Yes, the words are fitting, but combined with the music, it was a powerful 4 minutes in the car. Amazing how music can do that.

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

(In my case, I would not chose the same as Billy Joel. I promise, this will be my last entry on this topic. Silence is not always a mistake, whether it is for self-defense or any other reason.)