May 05, 2008
worship and new zealand music month
To celebrate New Zealand music month, I posted a short review of 5 Kiwi albums released in the last year. It has occurred to me since that each of the 5 albums have been incorporated in various shapes and forms into worship here at Opawa Baptist. For those what are interested in worship as "all that we are responding to all that God is" (superb definition from John Drane), here is how:
Salmonella Dub's Heal Me has a track titled "Seeds" We used it to as part of Grow through gardening, over 3 weeks. We had a hanging basket. Everyone got given a "flower" laminated, on which they wrote their name and planted themselves in the hanging basket. It served as a call to worship. It became for me a very spiritual moment to hold that basket and then pray for those gathered to worship that evening, that they would grow.
Two albums; Tiki Tane, and Little Bushmen start with a track using traditional Maori instruments. We have used these tracks in recent weeks in our morning service as a call to worship, followed by this prayer:
We gather at a place on which many have gone before. Thanks for land on which we gather. Thanks generations worshipped in this church. Thanks for those who have shaped our faith, mentored and encouraged us. May our acts of worship continue your work of shaping generations for ministry in our world today. Amen
SJD's album has a funky track titled Jesus, full of questions about the place of Jesus in our world today. We used it in our Grow through searching for the real Jesus. The service includes a time in table groups, in which people discuss together - as we listened tonite, what did questions would we like to ask Jesus if he was sitting beside us; and as we listened tonite, what words would we use to describe Jesus. The song "Jesus" made for a helpful soundscape as people talked in groups. What people discussed is then collected up, and placed on the Grow service website.
And, as for my top album, Into the Dojo, by the Blackseeds. Well they have a track titled "One by One." With lyrics like "Come on and take me up, one by one" and being a song filled with up-beats, well, it's a great song for during the offering! With a smile of course.
So there you are. Five examples of using songs in worship, honouring that pathway, as a layer allowing, "all that we are - even our contemporary musical life - responding to all that God is - alive in Aotearoa New Zealand today."
May 01, 2008
new zealand music month 2008
It's May, which means New Zealand music month again. The month dawned golden, with news that Flight of the Concords debuted at No. 3 in US charts. It's been an excellent year for Kiwi music.
Salmonella Dub were back with Heal Me. While they missed Tiki Taane, their partnership with the NZSO was a wonderful blend of indigenous beats and luscious harmonies.
Speaking of Tiki Tane, he went solo. Past, present, future is not a great album, but it holds promise of musical creativity worth nourishing.
Another album from Little Bushmen is well worth a listen. Pendulum feels like a lot more of unified narrative that the Onus of Sand. Experimental and thoughtful.
SJD was back and I'm glad. Songs for a dictaphone is much more mainstream in sound than his earlier work. But it works, presenting a much more cohesive and accessible sound.
But my top album award goes to Into the Dojo, by the Blackseeds. Great beats. Laidback. Superb.
In the year ahead, I'm hanging out for the partnership between Richard Nunns and Paddy Free, and that mix of beats and indigenous Maori instruments. This is a definite creative stream in New Zealand at the moment. It has led to me trialing an innovation in our Sunday morning service, whereby we start with a brief recorded karanga, or musical call, using snippets of indigenous Maori instruments, followed by a prayer, acknowledging our sense of place and those who have gone before. Still waiting for feedback, but for me, it deeply connects me with God here and new in Aotearoa New Zealand.
What about you? What has been your musical highlights of the last year, and how has that enriched your connection with God?
October 22, 2006
5 star music review: tim finn's imaginary kingdom
Tim Finn's latest album, Imaginary Kingdom, is a superb listen. From the sing-a-long opening of the single Imaginary Kingdom, to the beautifully arranged strings of Winter Light (which appears in The Chronicles of Narnia), this album is a musical feast, from an artist who has mastered the craft that is the 3 minute pop song.
Amid the catchy riffs you become aware of a thoughtful humanity. Whether it is the impact of suicide and loss in songs like Salt to the Sea and Dead Flowers, or the mystical appreciation of nature in Astounding Moon, this is an album of poetical depth.
Tim Finn has been penning rock songs since the 1970's, first with Split Enz, then Crowded House and The Finn Brothers. His mop of grey hair is a reminder that writing good music is like a good red wine. It is a skill that matures with age.
Buy it internationally here
May 28, 2005
recommend: fat freddys drop
after initial dislike, "based on a true story," by fat freddy drop, is growing on me. i still think they are better live, but that is a reflection of how good they are live, rather than the album.
December 04, 2004
how to dismantle an atomic bomb
Sometimes you can't make it on your own; makes me cry, because I love my dad, and he's not in the best health.
Love and peace or else; has got this great big fat base-line that begs to be played loud.
City of blinding lights; is classic U2 that affirms the Edge as the Original of the lead guitar species.
October 19, 2004
designer U2
I love the simple yet bold effect of the U2 Vertigo/itunes sample. (Download from here). When I see work like this, I am re-affirmed in my awareness that I am not a graffic designer .....
July 02, 2004
u2 go home
Just found U2 Go home DVD cheap
(At the Warehouse, for all the NZ U2 groupies).
It's not many bands that in one concert, both protest arms dealing and conclude singing
hallelujah
hallelujah
Dear God,
please may U2 lead worship at my celestial pad.
June 15, 2004
love is blindness: u2 all sweet pain
reading this reminded me of being at the feelers concert last week. they did a fantastic rendition of U2's Love is Blindness, a perfect mix of loud, angry guitar and plaintiff sweet vocals, which captures the pain of loving, the risk of giving, the sweetness of hoping.
Love is clockworks
And cold steel
Fingers too numb to feel
Squeeze the handle
Blow out the candle
Love is blindness
May 27, 2004
Kid A
Today is a Kid A day. This week has been a Kid A week.
Everything
in its right place
sort of bleakly beautiful,
on repeat.
that mix of soulful hope,
I'm it.
