There's This One Song

There's this one song, this one single song, that does everything for me that I could possibly need when I listen to it. It holds me like a lullaby. It serenades me like a lover. It moves me like a great work of art. It makes me smile and makes me sigh.

Is it not an incredible privilege that we are designed to experience art in such a manner? And not only that we can comprehend the beauty and genius in art while it inspires emotional reactions and provokes new thoughts, but also that we are each unique in our experiences of it. The song I speak of may have little effect on you. The painting or symphony or film you love dearly, I may not like. The favorite novel, the beloved play, the incredible sculpture, or the enthralling music - they are not the same from one to another. We each have our own "songs" that hold ineffable power over us.

Oh, the glory of such variety in both artists and recipients of art.

When I listen to that song I am thankful we are made in the image of the original Artist. We are His finest work, His masterpieces. In turn then every piece of beauty and creativity that comes forth from humanity is an offshoot of His artistry. I hope there is a piece of art, a reflection of His artwork, that has reached you like this song has me. We are each greater for the "songs" that reach our hearts.

Approaching From Another Side

Yesterday, in a half hour's time, I thoroughly rearranged the flow of chapter one of Full of Days. Mostly the same details and action, different order. I think I have improved it. I am never certain because no matter how many times I revise my book, I can always find more to change. It causes me to wonder how I will ever know when it is ready to be sent out alone into the big, scary world of manuscript submissions. This never ending journey known as Revision makes me laugh at the fact that I tried to find a publisher so soon after my first draft was completed all those years ago. Oh, innocent, naive Carrie Sue.

Every reader knows that the first pages of a book are critically important for creating a desire to read further. This is as true for publishers as it is for readers. So, no pressure on perfecting that first chapter, Ms. First Time Novelist. Nope, no pressure at all.

Chapter one's needs have hounded me. The feedback I've received from readers and my own experience as a reader made it clear that it has never quite been what it needs to be. I sit and stare at the lines of the pages and I am stuck. My brain locks into "I wrote it this way for a reason" mode and I can't seem to see how to make more than minor tweaks.

What inspired me to finally tackle the rearranging of the first chapter was some time spent listening to The Piano Guys. These immeasurably talented men gave me the perspective I needed. In addition to other beautiful pieces, they specialize in covering popular hit songs on pianos and cellos and more. Often the covers are composed as mash ups with gorgeous classical pieces. The result is incredible and I could listen for hours. Here's a favorite. Give it a listen and then come back to me.

See what I mean? A feast for the ears. Listening to them yesterday, song after song, I could not stop marveling at what they accomplished via a new approach. They take material already created, already well known in its first form, and approach it from a new direction. A new angle, a new order, a new combination, and, voila! A new creation.

Of course as I type up these thoughts, it becomes clear that this perspective applies to a whole lot in life. Yesterday though, I was simply grabbing hold of the inspiration to rewrite chapter one yet again.

Maybe that chapter is ready now. Maybe The Piano Guys led me to where I needed to be. Maybe there's still more to change. Time will tell. The lesson that a radially new approach to the same material can produce beautiful results is one I'll hang onto as I continue on my way.

Ok, here's another, just for fun.

Add To the Beauty

Recently, my favorite band released their latest album. It took until last week before I was able to pick up a copy of "Inland" by Jars of Clay, but the disc (yes, I bought the actual CD) has been on repeat in my minivan since then. Superb new music, especially by artists I've long enjoyed, is like comfort food - stimulating in its newness yet soothing in its familiarity.

My husband and I are both passionate about our favorite music. However, we could hardly be further from each other on the spectrum of musical taste. To be blunt, we do not enjoy each other's preferred music. I know he doesn't like the large majority of what I have playing in my car and he knows likewise about me. I think the reason it's not a source of real conflict is that we both respect the passion in each other. He knows what it feels like to have true favorites, to really get excited about new music from those artists, and so he can respect that I treasure that experience, too. And vice versa. In fact, his value of the experience is probably even greater than mine as he makes his own music as well. Which gives me even more reason to respect his desire to listen to his favorite songs. Of course, if we shared a car, I can't guarantee the peace would endure!

I think it's rather incredible, the range of artistic tastes you can find in the minds and hearts of people. Just within one family or one circle of friends, the variety of preferences can be quite wide. It makes sense of course, when God has created individuals in every generation with such a vast range of talents and artistic capablities. Why fill our world with such people and not also filll the world with folks to celebrate and experience the art that pours forth from them.

That's the thought, now that I've wandered up to it in this meandering reflection, that encourages me. There can be such fear in pursuing an art, in using your talents and acting on your passions. It's intimidating. It's unsettling. And it is all too easy to talk yourself out of trying. How wonderful then to be built up by this truth: that God not only pours a share of His own beauty into us, but also places us in a world filled with people desiring to experience that beauty in its multitude of forms!

Think of the art that has added to your life. The music, the books, the paintings, the architecture, the speeches - think what you have gained from them! Think what would be lacking if those artists had not endeavored to be co-creators sharing in the the work of the Creator, the Divine Artist!

It's easy, of course, to say this about the greats. The Bachs and the Monets and the Dostoeveskys. But you? Me? Oh, I don't know... the hesitation sets in as soon as the comparisons start. Then I remember my favorite band. A few midwestern boys who encountered each other at college and bonded over a mutual appreciation of Toad the Wet Sproket. One saw another wearing that band's t-shirt and offered up a "Dude... Toad...," and the rest is history. Think of your favorite band, or author, or any manner of artist. They had a beginning; a beginning without guarantees of what would come after.

You do not know to what extent you can add to the beauty of the lives being lived on this earth - both while you're here and after you're gone. But just like we need to be generous with our love, and trust God will use that offering for the good of any who receive it, we ought to be generous with the art He has placed in us.

Honor Him by refusing to leave it in a mere state of potential. Honor yourself by believing that someone, somewhere, at sometime will be better for encountering your art. Honor your brothers and sisters of this world by offering to them a taste of God's beauty - which in all truth, is the only beauty all of us are searching for from birth to death. What a privilege that we can pour it into the waiting spaces of each other's worlds.

Maybe I'm Old Fashioned

After a recent viewing of the Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth film, "You Were Never Lovelier," I had a new love: the song, "I'm Old Fashioned." The film was an enjoyable but forgettable bit of fun but the song has stuck with me. What a joy it was to find then that one of my favorite songstresses, Ella Fitzgerald, performed the tune!

"Sighing sighs, holding hands; these my heart understands..."

It's a Jars of Clay Christmas!

A very enjoyable, Advent-y blessing was the chance to attend the Christmas concert with Jars of Clay and Bebo Norman. Call me a silly fan but I felt kind of privileged to see the show considering there were only five shows on the tour! How Oconomowoc, WI ended up as one of the five, I don't know but I'm glad it did!

Also, what on earth is up with the Armadillo?!

Loving This

It's a beautiful world, with beautiful music.

Missing Nickel Creek

"Others have excuses but I have my reasons why..."

Nickel Creek has been popping up on my Pandora mix. The songs are creating a nostalgic ache in me. How I miss them! I hope you won't mind if I write a little ode to the band and their gorgeous music. I well remember the first time I discovered Nickel Creek. Channel flipping in the 4th floor lounge of the college dormitory, the sound I heard when I reached CMT (which used to play music videos most of the day instead of inane reality television) made me put down the remote. On the screen were three kids... well, not really kids. They looked to be my age. A guy with a guitar, a girl with a violin, and a guy with a mandolin. There they were, harmonizing on "When You Come Back Down," and there I was, riveted. The sound created by their voices and instruments struck me as thrilling and soothing at the same time. I had to hear more! Based on half a music video, I bought their album. I knew every word by heart in a matter of days. I couldn't get enough.

While falling in love with their music, I fell out of love with a lot of formerly enjoyable music. It dawned on me that musicians could do so much better; that songs could be more genuine, more clever; that I didn't need to settle for the clear cut categories of 'pop' and 'country' that the radio stations hailed as all the best music. Listening to Nickel Creek at 19 years old changed the way I have listened to music ever since and it changed what sort of music I wanted to hear. I'd love to thank them for that.

The band turned out to consist of brother and sister, Sean and Sara Watkins and friend, Chris Thile. Before they wrapped up their Nickel Creek life, I saw them in concert four times, fell in love with each of their albums and introduced a wide range of folks to their music. Each album (only 3, sadly, not counting the hits collection or their pre-major label album) is astoundingly unique. Each stands on its own as a strong piece of art, carrying in it the band's sound - bluegrass, folk, americana... a single name is not enough - as well as a particular style that shapes that whole album, and only that album. Songs with Chris in the lead, Sara in the lead, Sean in the lead; songs featuring Sean's incredible guitar skills or Sara's emotionally alive fiddle performances or Chris's mandolin that he managed to make sound like a whole collection of mandolins playing together. And the harmonies! Needless to say, the concerts are among the best concerts I've every been privileged to enjoy. My first one, at Northwestern in Evanston, and the third one, in Green Bay at the Meyer Theater, are right up at the top with my favorite experiences in life.

A couple years ago, the members of Nickel Creek decided to call it a day. Who can blame them? Only in their mid to late 20s, the band had already been performing together for the majority of their lives. They've each continued making music through a variety of projects (Sean's collaboration with Jon Foreman as "Fiction Family" and his solo "Blinders On", Sara's solo record released this year, and both "Deceiver" and "How to Grow a Woman From the Ground" by Chris are all ridiculously good) but I can't deny that there are days that pop up when I only wish for new music from Nickel Creek. After the amazing album that was "Why Should the Fire Die," I am fascinated by the question of what they'd have managed to do next!

The one that started it for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwkpihGwSj0

The one that's in my head presently: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lyZQB1H_Zw

A couple from the final album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylslcF-fUeE and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzJc_TrJN3U

And just because it's loads of fun, Nickel Creek covers Britney Spears:

The Pope Gets It

Adding to my appreciation of Pope Benedict XVI (which is already at a significant level), this is from an address he gave after a recent piano concert.

"This concert has, once again, permitted us to taste the beauty of music, a spiritual and therefore universal language, a vehicle so importantly suited to understanding and union between persons and peoples. Music is a part of all cultures and, we might say, accompanies every human experience, from pain to pleasure, from hatred to love, from sadness to joy, from death to life. We see how, over the course of the centuries and millennia, music has always been used to give a form to that which we are not able to speak in words, because it awakens emotions that are difficult to communicate otherwise. So it is not by chance that every civilization has placed such importance and value on music in its various forms and expressions.

Music, great music, gives the spirit repose, awakens profound sentiments and almost naturally invites us to lift up our mind and heart to God in every situation, whether joyous or sad, of human existence. Music can become prayer."

You can read the whole address here.

Alive Again!

It's new music Tuesday, ladies and gents. While I'm glad to see David Gray has a new release that I'll be sure to check out, what really has me dancing in my chair is the arrival of Matt Maher's new album, "Alive Again."

Matt Maher inspires me to do all sorts of things, like get up to watch the sunrise more often, write my second book, believe that I'll be published one day, sing at the top of my lungs in the car, read the Bible more frequently, humble myself, be authentically Catholic in every circumstance, declare my love... you know, things like that. He is a beautiful, holy instrument of Christ and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't wishing to sneak out of the office and drive directly to Family Christian Stores to buy "Alive Again." This afternoon will be a small lesson in patience.

Here's a superb video of Matt expressing the heart of the new album. (I think superb is my new word of choice. That's usage number two today.)

Brooke Fraser

Very recently I began listening to Brooke Fraser's music. She's out of New Zealand, a Christian singer/songwriter, by American standards but in her country they don't categorize the music so much so she's played on all the radio stations and music channels. Anyone who can convert C. S. Lewis's weighty words into such a lyrical verse has my attention. Here are a few samples in case you want to check her out.

How Beautiful Is This Song?!

I'm admittedly biased because I love Sean, but really, how beautiful is this song!

Have a Listen

Another great one from Jake. This is a truly good song, not to mention that I'm a sucker for a sweet piano tune.

Despite The Snow

The sight outside my window when I woke this morning put me in a momentarily pouty mood. Snow again. It's sick. I spent the first twenty minutes of my day wondering yet again where I would rather live instead of Wisconsin. Then I got over it. This day refuses to be brought down by it's shameful beginning. No, its goodness will prevail.

You see, today is the release day for Jars of Clay's new album, "The Long Fall Back to Earth." That fact alone is enough to bless me with a good week, not merely a good day. You can be sure that the first order of business on my lunch break will be driving to the nearby Christian book store to pick up that album. The second order of business will be to free it from its plastic wrapper and insert it into my car stereo. And third, to listen with great enjoyment.

So my favorite band has determined for months that I would have a good day today, on this twenty-first day of April. Yet, there's more. I did manage to finish my editing last night. I went to sleep way too late with a happy smile on my face. There is a weight gone from my shoulders - a weight I did not mind bearing but am relieved to be free of nonetheless. Even with the transfer of the revisions from paper to computer left to do, I am rejoicing. Months ago, I laid down a rule for myself: No writing the new novel, The Mercy Hour, until the Full of Days editing is complete. Guess what! It's complete! Idea after idea has rolled around in my head and was jotted down on a dozen different sheets of paper, but I've refrained thus far from converting the ideas into paragraphs or chapters. No more! I feel as if a long awaited departure date for a new adventure has arrived. It's going to be a mighty fine adventure.