Kenotic.netA month or so ago I ran across a song by John Mark McMillan, listened to it, and loved what I heard. Anyway, one of the songs off his last record is called “How He Loves.” John actually breaks down while singing the song at the end of the recording. It’s very beautiful; give it a listen.
[audio:https://kenotic.net/wordpress/audio/HowHeLoves.mp3]A few days ago, John posted a video explaining what the song is all about. It’s worth watching.
I found this video today over on Balmorhea’s MySpace page and thought it was pretty cool. If you like neo-classical music with an experimental edge, then you’ll probably like Balmorhea. If you’re not sure, give them a listen. Listening to them makes me feel like i’m in some sort of movie set in an old west Texas town. It’s beautiful stuff.
So now, without further ado, Balmorhea:
Balmorhea – Remembrance Acoustic session from valerie toumayan / I Love Sweden on Vimeo.
Your imprint lingers
October, oh October
Crisp air, crunching leaves
Last December I had the opportunity to watch Andrew Peterson and a bunch of his friends perform his album Behold the Lamb of God live from start to finish in Richmond. Andrew has been touring this album every December for the past 4-5 years all across the country, and I hope he continues to for many years to come.
Watching this group of people play together is such a treat; the lineup is heavy on talent, including the likes of Andrew Osenga, Jill Phillips, Andy Gullahorn, Ben Shive, Pierce Pettis, and multi–instrumentalist Gabe Scott. All in one room. All creating something beautiful together.
Suffice to say, this was one of the highlights of my December.
Anyway, a while back I ran across a video someone had compiled for the Behold the Lamb of God performance at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington, KY. It’s really well put together and gives a good preview of what it is like to attend one of these concerts. Take a look at the video below (be sure to click “HQ” to view it in high quality!) and prepare to block out an evening or two this coming December to go watch them play.
httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A62FE2925410EF7F&ap=%2526fmt%3D18
If you don’t already own it, you can purchase Behold the Lamb of God in the store over at The Rabbit Room. It’s one of my favorite albums, and I could listen to it all year long.
(Yeah, I know it’s August, but I was unable to find an embeddable version of this video before now. It’s still worth watching. 🙂 )
Here’s a poem I read yesterday that reminded me of Ron Block, the banjo player for Alison Krauss and Union Station and a frequent poster / commentator over at The Rabbit Room. Thought I’d share:
The Grain of Sound
A banjo maker in the mountains,
when looking out for wood to carve
an instrument, will walk among
the trees and knock on trunks. He’ll hit
the bark and listen for a note.
A hickory makes the brightest sound;
the poplar has a mellow ease.
But only straightest grain will keep
the purity of tone, the sought-
for depth that makes the licks sparkle.
A banjo has a shining shiver.
Its twangs will glitter like the light
on splashing water, even though
its face is just a drum of hide
of cow, or cat, or even skunk.
The hide will magnify the note,
the sad of honest pain, the chill
blood-song, lament, confession, haunt,
as tree will sing again from root
and vein and sap and twig in wind
and cat will moan as hand plucks nerve,
picks bone and skin and gut and pricks
the heart as blood will answer blood
and love begins to knock along the grain.– Robert Morgan