Eschatology in Les Mis

Some time ago, I was fortunate enough to see Les Misérables at the Fox Theater. As wonderful as the theater (an old movie palace done up in a breath-taking Arabesque style) is, as amazing as the set design was, and as moving as the performance itself was, there is one thing that I cannot shake: the finale.

As the story draws to a close, we are shown a dying Jean ValJean as he is led to Heaven by Fantine and Éponine as all of the characters who died over the course of the narrative return to the stage to sing once more, "Do you hear the people sing?

This time, though, the lyrics are not about a political revolution. Instead, they sing of a world "beyond the barricade" where "the wretched of the earth" will find a "flame that never dies." It was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever seen on stage.

Taken in and of itself, this scene is a unique presentation of the eschatological hope in the Peaceable Kingdom. What makes the scene so moving, though, is just how awful the events leading up to it had been; Les Mis follows only behind the works of Shakespeare and the Greek tragedians in killing off as many characters in as many heart-wrenching ways as possible. Much like the early Church's expectation of Christ's imminent parousia in the context of Roman persecution, the events of the student revolution leave little hope for a happy ending. And yet we hear the people sing, though they are lost in the valley of the night. Their voices ascend as they are climbing to the light.

The darkest night will end.
Amen.

Rock on.

Kanye,

I'm happy for you and everything, and Imma let you finish, but Regina Spektor actually had one of the best videos of all time.
*shrug*

Yes, Kanye's a jerk, that's nothing new. And yes, this post is very late. But honestly, Regina Spektor has a history of interesting and creative videos, and those from her latest album are no exception.

Below is "Man of a Thousand Faces" from the new album Far.



Rock on.

POS

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Living in a college town means good radio, which means underground music.

As I was driving home from a midnight run to IHoP, UGA's own WUOG was doing their usual thing, and a truly amazing song came on.

It's POS's "Never Better", off of the album by the same name. Listen to it at Pitchfork, and be sure to check out the eponymous track fourteen and track one, "Let It Rattle".

I didn't like hip-hop when I was in high school, but after listening to a few alternative artists, it has really started to grow on me. POS does a pretty good job of it. Not to mention, he sampled from and toured with underOath.

Here's his video for Optimist.


Rock on.

I Just Want To Point Out...

...that David Bowie did play Nikola Tesla in The Prestige, so this actually makes perfect sense.

Anyway, in my quest to become the indiest kid ever, I have discovered something truly amazing.

Did you know that you can play music on Tesla coils? At first, I thought it was mere gimmickry -- the Imperial March, the Mario Brothers theme -- stuff like that.

But people are actually making unique music with coils.

Check it out their "Creepy Circus Song":


You can find out more about the band, ArcAttack, at their website, and here some of their original stuff at their MySpace page.

Rock on.

I Never Want to Hear Anything Again

I recently came across the most unwanted song ever.

It's over twenty minutes.

I'm at seven minutes, and will update when I finally give up.

See if you can beat me here.

Shalom,
Drew

Edit: I got through all twenty-one minutes and fifty-eight seconds of it. I'm going to go listen to nails on a chalkboard to force this abomination from my memory.

Edit 2: The Sequel: The most wanted song ever is not much better. It is highly reminiscent of something you'd hear on Delilah.

Thrice

I haven't posted any bands on here lately, and it makes me sad.

Thrice is a post-alternative-hardcore band (formerly em/screamo) from California. I started listening to them when they were on tour with UnderOath promoting their album Vheissu and Invisible Children*. The first Thrice song I heard was "Image of the Invisible"**.

During their earlier years, Thrice had a much more screamo feel, and, in my opinion, was probably one of the best bands in the genre. For example, take their song "Stare at the Sun" off of the album The Artist in the Ambulance.

The album Vheissu marked the turning point for Thrice's sound and lyrics, taking on philosophical and religious content, and interesting intros for songs (my favorite might be "Music Box", as simple as it is). The album probes ideas of inherent human worth, consumerism, God, and makes allusions to the teachings of Jesus, the story of Jonah, and overcoming the trials and tribulations of the world. The last song, "Red Sky", takes its name from the old maritime saying, "Red sky at night, sailors' delight; / Red sky in morning, sailors take warning," which is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 16.

Thrice recently released a four-part concept album, The Alchemy Indexs, Vols. I-IV. The album is a series of four six-track EPs, each corresponding to one of the classical elements, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Each of the six songs for each element are somehow related, and the style is meant to reflect the element. And in a very interesting motif, each volume ends with a sonnet in the Shakesperean style***. Volume I - Fire has a much harder sound, often with screamed vocals and distorted guitars. Volume II - Water has a electronica vibe, featuring synthesizers. Volume III - Air has a slower pace, with very simple instrumentation. Volume IV - Earth is almost entirely acoustic, with the exception of one song, "The Earth Isn't Humming", originally written by another band. And, perhaps not of any importance to anyone but me, the album art was drawn by the lead singer, and is in a very Medieval style, reminiscent of European woodcut prints.

"Digital Sea" - The Alchemy Index, Volume II - Water


"Come All You Weary" - The Alchemy Index, Volume IV - Earth


As mentioned earlier, Thrice is heavily involved in Invisible Children, and front man Dustin Kensrue recently recorded an interview with IC, along with Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou and Jon Foreman of Switchfoot.


Rock on.

*This, incidentally, is how I got involved with Invisible Children.
**Unfortunately, Universal Music Group has disable embedding on all songs to which they hold the copyright. They can still be viewed on YouTube, and I have linked the song names to the videos. The videos I have posted were released on Vagrant Records, and thus, can be embedded.
***If it's been a while since you've taken an English class, Shakespearean sonnets have three quattrains and a rhyming couplet and are written in iambic pentameter.

mewithoutYou

I first started listening to mewithoutYou my senior year of high school. It was a period during which I would buy and listen to pretty much any album released by Tooth and Nail records. As a result, I have a lot of really crappy CDs (Does anybody want my copy of Hawk Nelson's Letters to the President? I've been trying to ditch that thing for two years now...)

mewithoutYou's three albums, though, are the highlight of that period.

Falling somewhere between modern Sufi music (lead singer Aaron Weiss's mother was a Sufi) and post-alternative-hardcore (a catch-all category for music that is beyond simple classification) with elements of Roma/Eastern European folk music, mwY is one of those bands that has a very distinct style, but avoids the trap of repeatedly making the same album.

The first album of theirs I bought was [A->B] Life, which is much closer to their hardcore roots. Their second LP, Catch for Us the Foxes might be my favorite (the videos posted below are both from Foxes), though Brother, Sister - their third release - is what got me through freshman year of college.

"January 1979"


"Disaster Tourism"


I was fortunate enough to see mwY in concert at the 40 Watt, but I've already written about that.

As far as musicians go, the guys from mewithoutYou are out there; Aaron Weiss has taken vows of poverty and chastity, and the bus is run off of used vegetable oil. But for all of their eccentricities, or perhaps because of, their music stands out in a world where rock is finally starting to become innovative again.

Rock on.

Simone White

College towns - not only do they offer interesting programming on NPR, but they also usually have a student-run station. In Athens, we have WUOG, which features music of every genre, most of it "underground" or "indie".

On Tuesday, they played White's song "Roses Are Not Red", a moody little piece that would seem at home in a smokey blues lounge. Unfortunately, there is no official video for this song, so I have linked to the Last.FM page.

White does, though, have a YouTube page. Her music videos are low-budget and minimalistic - a nice change of pace, if I do say so myself. Below is the title track from her new album I Am the Man.


Rock on.

Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman is incredibly well-known, even if you don't know him by name. He's most famous for his work with Tim Burton. Elfman has, to the best of my knowledge, scored every Burton movie with the exceptions of Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd.

Elfman is also responsible for the now-famous opening piece on The Simpsons.

His filmography is extensive and includes work with Sam Raimi and, alledgedly, the forthcoming remake of horror-classic The Wolf-Man.


Elfman's music can best be summed up as a season - Autumn. The dark nature is best accompanied by a chilly, clear night with light cloud cover and a deep, misty wood.

To hear one of his lesser-known compositions, check out the video in this post, featuring the score from Black Beauty.

In 2006, Elfman branched out from movies, penning Serenada Schizophrana, his first major compostion not to be written as a soundtrack, though it was later featured in the IMAX movie Deep Sea 3D. Below is the track "I Forget" - the only track with vocals, all of which are in Spanish.


Rock on.

Alu

An anonymous tipster has pointed out that Alu (mentioned in my last post) is now on YouTube.

Cool.

The best way I can think of to describe Alu is some combination of gypsy alt rock. Or, as mentioned in my previous post, "Alice in Wonderland in hell".
This is "Circus Cosmos" off her album Lobotomy Sessions.


Rock on.

Post Script: NPR's Echoes is one of the best programs on radio today. I've been turned on to several groups, including Alu, through them. Check your local affiliate's listings.

Regina Spektor

Over the summer, I lived with my friend Evander. Evander has weird taste in music.

By weird, I mean he listens to a lot of jazz. And video game music. And N*Sync. And Christmas music. Oh, and choral pieces. As I said, weird - or, at least, unexpected.

Anyway, he and I usually end up either reminiscing about 90s one-hit-wonder alt-rock bands or giving each other new CDs to listen to.

I introduced him to piano-rock group Mae. He introduced me to Regina Spektor.

He let me borrow her first CD, and I listened to it at least every day for two weeks. So now, I pass this musical addiction on to you:

This is her song "Samson"


And this is one of my favorite music videos ever, "Us"


Rock on.

Post Script: I was going to write about a artist I discovered on NPR's Echoes about a month a go. The artist's name is Alu, and while she was introduced to me as "Alice in Wonderland in hell", she manages to avoid YouTube - an impressive feat. Anyway, check her out at www.alumusic.com

Saint-Saëns and Babe

Last semester, I discovered French composer Saint-Saëns' piece "Danse Macabre" - a wonderfully dark tune that reminds me of the large carvings in medieval cathedrals. This piece was the first I had ever heard of Saint-Saëns, and my immediate reaction was one of wonder - mostly wondering about why nobody had introduced me to the "French Beethoven" before college.

Luckily for me, NPR was on the ball - about a week after my discovery, the UGA NPR affiliate was broadcasting a special from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. One of the pieces performed was Saint-Saëns' third symphony, the "Organ Symphony". But before the orhcestra performed, the commentator mentioned one of the defining movies of my childhood - Babe. In the scene, Farmer Hoggett* sings to Babe, then does a little dance.

Of course, this scene was mentioned because the tune comes from one of the greatest parts of the third symphony - the performing organist that night said he loves playing this opus because it gives him a chance to play without holding back. To see just what in the world I'm talking about, just click the video link.


That'll do, reader. That'll do.
Rock on.

*Arthur Hoggett is played by professional Hollywood "That Guy" James Cromwell, perhaps better known to Trekkies as Zephraim Chochrane. Or to Aasimov fans as Dr. Robert Lanning. Or to Oliver Stone fans for his upcoming role as George H. W. Bush. Or...yeah. That Guy.

Monday Graph Jam #3 - Ruby Tusedsay II - Now with 100% more Tuesday

I suck at getting posts up on time.

Make with the graphs....and we are all together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Graph Jam. I own neither Simon nor Garfunkel. And I especially don't own the Beatles, lest I earn the wrath of Yoko.

And now for something completely different...

I give you a break from my thoughts on China, Tibet, Iraq, the Olympics, the C PT, and all of those things that are somehow connected in my jumbled head. Instead, I leave you with how I spent my morning off from German class.

TOTO!!!!


And Men at Work:


Both of these bands found me because of the show Scrubs.

Enjoy. Now I'm off to the library to spend a few hours researching the Nephilim. Whee!

Shalom,
Drew

Edit: If you don't get the reference in the title, may the Lord have mercy on your soul.

Music and Holy Week

Last year, I went to a music-based Tenebrae service at Church of the Resurrection UMC in Kansas City. This year, after the Maundy Thursday service at Athens First UMC, I went to the UGA music school's performance of G. Mahler's Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection"), a powerful piece of work from the turn of the Twentieth Century, which tells of a man thinking about life at a friend's funeral. The conclusion, the fifth movement, ends with the man witnessing the Resurrection and the glory and love of God.

During this performance, I thought about music. Though not very skilled at making it, I certainly do enjoy it and am often moved by it. From hymns to old slave spirituals, a well-written song can change your outlook on an entire day. Beethoven's Fifth and Ninth Symphonies, Howard Shore's music for the Lord of the Rings, and even modern bands such as UnderOath and mewithoutYou all have the ability to change everything in the span of one line.

The best scene in the movie The Shawshank Redemption is when Andy (Tim Robbins) plays an opera album over the prison's loud speakers. Red (Morgan Freeman) narrates that he still doesn't know what "that lady" was singing about and doesn't want to know. He likes to think that it is something so poetic that talking about it just won't express it.

It must be no coincidence, then, that some of the best religious pieces deal with the Crucifixion. Songs like "Where You There" serve when normal words do not do justice to the sorrow, pain, beauty, and love of the Cross.

Rock on.

Fences and Good CDs

For those who haven't heard, congress approved the building of a seven hundred mile long fence along the Mexican border. It reminds me of an old joke. A Frenchman and an Englishman find a genie, who grants them one wish. The Frenchman asks for a ten-mile high wall surrounding France. He doesn't want anything to be able to get in or out. The genie grants it, then turns to the Englishman. "Nothing can get in or out?" he asks. The genie says, "That is correct." "And there are no gaps in the wall anywhere?" the Englishman continues his inquiry. "That is also correct," the genie replies.
"Well, in that case, I want the wall to be filled with water."


Building a wall is possibly the biggest waste of tax money ever. Should we contact the builders they used in Berlin?

Also, everybody go out and get the new mewithoutYou ablum, Brother, Sister. It's amazing.

Shalom

Lessons Learned While Rocking Out at the Light

Saturday (9/3/05), I had the opportunity to attend an awesome concert. The strange thing about it is that despite the fact that it was the weekend, I actually learned some things.

I learned that people often make the mistake that Christian rock is not as heavy as secular rock. This is simply not true. One of my friends was working at a concession stand at the concert. I went up to buy some lunch and started talking about an awesome mosh pit I had been in. He kinda stared and said, "At Rock the Light?" His tone said, "At a Christian concert?" It seems that people still have Christian music set as a guy with a guitar singing praise songs and hymns. However, Christian rock concerts have mosh pits. I will let some of my readers (I very much doubt that I have many) pick their jaws up off of the floor. I have been told that Christian rock gets no respect because it has no musical merit and that it cannot possibly be heavy. Christian rock is still rock. It is very heavy, very energetic, and verily, verily, I say unto thee, it is very good. And the cool thing about it is that the heaviness comes straight from God. For interested in checking out some artists, you don't have to go very far. UnderOath, Relient K, Norma Jean, Blindside, MxPx, Emery, and Mae are all readily available and run the gammit from skater punk to indie to metal.

Another lesson is how little some people care for others. There was a striking contrast between the people who would actually stop dead in the middle of a mosh pit to help someone up and the people who would yell, "Get on with the show!" when a rep from World Vision was on stage pooring her heart out about the devastation of AIDS in Africa. What is even more shocking is that those yelling at the rep were the often the ones who would scream, "I love Jesus!" when prompted to do so. The "modern" Christian: faithful when it's fun (aka when a musician was on stage singing), not when it actually requirers something, such as doing "unto the least of these". Gee, I wonder who told us to do that.

Rock on.