"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:
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Faith Comes With the Morning
I know the common phrase is "joy comes with the morning," but I think mornings are capable of variety. Or rather grace is capable of variety, especially in the morning.
Last night brought on a little bit of a breakdown. The mental efforts of teaching RCIA last night and sorting out what each individual needs as they prepare to enter the Church, piled onto tiredness from a string of late nights, piled onto the 14 more classes to write, piled onto the manuscript synopsis I have yet to complete, piled onto the fact that I haven't written any new pages in the new novel in several weeks, piled onto a little loneliness and a little "what the heck are you doing with my life, Lord?"... the layers set me up for a rough night. I just wanted to pull myself out. Remembering the shape of my life a few years ago, when I was still too new to the area and my church community to be very involved in anything, I had nothing to stop me from filling my hours with writing and reading and adequate hours of sleep. And I was happy; I was grateful. My spirit came alive in an entirely new way as I wrote my first book. I thought it would last. I thought, "this is what God had in store for me and I had no idea until now."
That life ebbed until it is all but gone and I'm left asking myself why I let it happen. Was it my own doing? Or did God ask me to sacrifice for the sake of serving in His Church? I don't know the answer. I fell asleep praying for renewed faith in God's directing hand. I awoke with the same questions on my mind but a seedling of bolstered faith taking hold beneath the troubled surface.
Last night brought on a little bit of a breakdown. The mental efforts of teaching RCIA last night and sorting out what each individual needs as they prepare to enter the Church, piled onto tiredness from a string of late nights, piled onto the 14 more classes to write, piled onto the manuscript synopsis I have yet to complete, piled onto the fact that I haven't written any new pages in the new novel in several weeks, piled onto a little loneliness and a little "what the heck are you doing with my life, Lord?"... the layers set me up for a rough night. I just wanted to pull myself out. Remembering the shape of my life a few years ago, when I was still too new to the area and my church community to be very involved in anything, I had nothing to stop me from filling my hours with writing and reading and adequate hours of sleep. And I was happy; I was grateful. My spirit came alive in an entirely new way as I wrote my first book. I thought it would last. I thought, "this is what God had in store for me and I had no idea until now."
That life ebbed until it is all but gone and I'm left asking myself why I let it happen. Was it my own doing? Or did God ask me to sacrifice for the sake of serving in His Church? I don't know the answer. I fell asleep praying for renewed faith in God's directing hand. I awoke with the same questions on my mind but a seedling of bolstered faith taking hold beneath the troubled surface.
But you, LORD, are a shield around me;
my glory, you keep my head high.
Whenever I cried out to the LORD,
Whenever I cried out to the LORD,
I was answered from the holy mountain.
Whenever I lay down and slept,
Whenever I lay down and slept,
the LORD preserved me to rise again.
Psalm 3:4-6
Friday, October 23, 2009
Autumn at the Basilica at Holy Hill
Last Sunday I took my passengers and myself on a detour on our drive home from Kenosha. These are pictures from Holy Hill, the Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians. It's not too far north of Milwaukee. Gorgeous sacred place. The day was so particularly beautiful, I'd have liked to stay all afternoon! I took some pics of the scenery and outside of the basilica, as well as a few inside but not many. I walked the outdoor Stations of the Cross rather quickly (must plan a time to return and pray them mediatively) and took photos just of the details that really struck me at the moment.
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