Monthly Archives: September 2005

Like quite a few of you here in the US , I was watching Martin Scorsese’s ‘rockumentary’ this week on Bob Dylan – No Direction Home. The film on PBS was incredibility focused – a very human look at the singer-songwriter’s life and music from 1961-66 which chronicles those years when Bob Dylan moved from being merely another folk singer to a true American icon. What I was most … There’s more to read here.

Songs don’t make memories – but certain songs certainly bookmark them for us.

To be human is to have memories which are often engraphed to our deepest longings – our childhood wonder of catching a snowflake on our tongue for the first time, the angst-ridden shame of wanting to fit into a conversation at school and being tuned out, the awe of falling in love and the humility of the … There’s more to read here.

What does it mean to be “American”?

I admit asking myself that question at the odds times these days – driving down the freeway past the 14th Walmart I’ve seen in 10 miles, watching Sean Penn rush to help Hurricane victims with his PR agent in tow to photograph his humanitian efforts for the fans, or just the simplicity of watching America’s great pasttime played on a September evening by … There’s more to read here.

One thing needs to be stated at the outset – I was never cool enough for punk.

As a theologian in my 40′s, I doubt my ‘street cred’ in punk circles could ever be established, so I won’t even try. Granted, I love(d) the Clash (especially “London Calling”) and living in the UK gave me a deeper appreciation for “The Guns of Brixton” as art and much needed social … There’s more to read here.

Read the following this morning as American awake to “labor day”:

“This is the big lie the world tells us: that the universe is connected by trade agreements, electronic banking, computer networks, shipping lanes, and the seeking of profit—nothing else. Whereas this is the truth of God: all creation is one holy web of relationships, and gifts meant for all; that creation vibrates with the pain of all its parts, … There’s more to read here.

Is it me or do songs that degenerate into post-linguistic revelry provoke the uncontrollable drive to sing along? I have found this utterly ironic – once language moves beyond the framing of a linguistic system (‘La La La’) and into the pure utterance of sound qua sound – we feel some permission to draw closer and want to join in. Here is an example: think of the 1969 song “Kiss … There’s more to read here.