Music Year In Review

The topic comes a little late (seeing as how it's 2009 now...) but I figured I'd give my rundown of my favorite new albums from 2008. These are new releases that came out this past year. The usual links, with a couple songs to take a look at follows:

Honorable Mention: Ever Stays Red - On The Brink Of It All
It's hard to say that a voice is distinctive, but this band certainly has a voice that does not seem to fall in the usual categories. Combine that with some inspired melodies, and some great hooks, and you've got yourself a great album. With 12 tracks of songs that will lead you to think along with some quality lyrics, you really can't go wrong.

Download: On The Brink Of It All, Can't Explain, Look To The Hills
Website: http://www.myspace.com/everstaysred

10) Jeremy Camp - Speaking Louder Than Before
Jeremy Camp has consistently been one of my favorite artists since his debut album in 2002. Now on his 5th studio album, he has managed to find a few new things to try out on his latest effort. While there are the mainstays of his power ballads (Capture Me), and a few rockers (Giving You All Control), he's also brought in a full choir (There Will Be A Day), and enlisted the help of his wife to add some depth to some of his most heart-felt worship (Surrender). Another solid effort.

Download: There Will Be A Day, Capture Me, Surrender
Website: http://www.myspace.com/jeremycamp

9) Sanctus Real - We Need Each Other
Having not really heard much of their music outside of the hit single "I'm Not Alright", I figured I would give their newest album a shot after hearing previews. I was rewarded with 10 tracks of thoughtful rock and worship. With an opening 1-2 punch of "Turn On The Lights" and "We Need Each Other", it's really hard to not be drawn in to the album, and worship highlights such as Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly) show what these guys really are all about. Plus, pick up the album anywhere, and get free access to two additional songs for download.

Download: Turn On The Lights, We Need Each Other, Sing
Website: http://www.myspace.com/sanctusreal

8) Tenth Avenue North - Over And Underneath
The first of 3 debut albums on my list this year, and we find the worship band Tenth Avenue North. While most of the songs fall in to the mid-tempo rocker range, there are a few deviations that occur, such as the high-energy "Break Me Down", and the acoustic-driven ballad "Times". In my opinion, the album could have used a few more up-tempo moments, but the thoughful lyrics, and the overall album theme that points to Christ which is extremely evident makes up for this.

Download: Love Is Here, By Your Side, Hallelujah
Website: http://www.myspace.com/tenthavenuenorth

7) Remedy Drive - Daylight Is Coming
What do you get when you have 4 brothers who all love music? You get Remedy Drive. The 4 Zach brothers have been playing as an indie band for the past 5 years, and have now released their debut full-length album. While a little on the short side (35 minutes), the album certainly doesn't leave you disappointed when you reach the end, except that you are probably wanting more. With an overall vision of hope for the future, Daylight Is Coming will certainly leave you feeling better than you did before you gave it a spin. A fantastic debut.

Download: Stand Up, Daylight
Website: http://www.myspace.com/remedydrive

6) Anberlin - New Surrender
What it year it has been for Anberlin. If you read my music year in review for 2007, you will see that they were my number 1 last year. The stellar success that they had with their previous indie label propelled them on to the radar for the major labels to come bidding for their services. Universal music won out, and just over 18 months after their last full length studio album, here we have New Surrender. A look at the track-listing will make you think twice, as a track from their sophomore album (Feel Good Track) seems to have been ported. It has, and yet it hasn't. There have been some changes, but nothing that takes away from the song, and in fact, the hook is even better in my opinion. The inclusion of this song was the band's decision, as they felt that it was not given enough prominence on the previous release.

The album as a whole, however, continues the strong work that Anberlin has been known for over the past 6 years. The opening song "The Resistance" immediately grabs you doesn't let you go for the rest of the album. Ballads such as "Retrace" and "Breathe" really highlight Christian's vocals, while rockers such as "Disappear" and straight-up pop as heard on "Haight St." show the band rocking with the best of them. The album closes with the epic 6 1/2 minute "Misearbile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)" which draws it's inspiration from Revelation, and is hautingly beautiful. Another fantastic effort, and a great step for a band as they continue to grow.

Download: Breaking, Breathe, Haight St.
Website: http://www.myspace.com/anberlin

5) Leeland - Opposite Way
For a young band, they really know what they're doing. These 11 tracks show a maturity and thoughtfulness that many cannot quite come close to. The intensity of the music on each of the tracks really plays in to the passion that they have, and the lyrical quality throughout is outstanding. After their critically acclaimed debut Sound of Melodies they really had their work cut out for them, but have come through the test with flying colors on their sophomore effort. With the theme of wanting to be going a different direction than the rest of the world permeating the disc, it's an uplifting disc to play through. Couple that with beautiful melodies, and a passion on display on each song, and you've got yourself a quality album. Wherever these guys are at now, look for it to only get better.

Download: Count Me In, Opposite Way, May Our Praise
Website: http://www.myspace.com/leelandmusic

4) Kutless - To Know That You're Alive
One of my favorite bands, and one of my most anticipated albums of 2008, these guys really know how to rock. I saw them live at Winterfest in Gatlinburg way back in January, and they played a preview of their new album back them, and got me excited to see what was on the way. 6 months later, in June, they released their album, and I was not disappointed. The opening 3 tracks (not including the extended-intro instrumental Sleeping City) just leap out and grab you, with the party-anthem "The Feeling", and the in your face rockers of "To Know That You're Alive" and "The Disease & The Cure". Ballads have been something Kutless has always done well, and tracks such as "Complete" and the minimalistic "You" highlight their ability to set a worshipful tone in the midst of the chaos. They also tread in to some rather dark territory on songs such as "To Know That You're Alive" and especially on "Promise You" about a woman that is being beaten. Kutless has frequently worked and helped raise money for battered women's shelters and similar types of orginizations, so you know that this is a song that really comes from their heart. In my opinion, probably their strongest album of the 6 they have released. If you don't have them in your collection and want to start, pick up this disc.

Download: To Know That You're Alive, Promise You, I Do Not Belong
Website: http://www.kutless.com, http://www.myspace.com/kutless

3) David Crowder Band - Remedy Club Tour Live
There probably isn't a more prominent worship band out there than the David Crowder Band. After their monster album A Collision they really have exploded in terms of popularity. Their 2007 release Remedy was another stellar entry in their library, and with the popularity of their albums, it was only a matter of time until a live compilation was released. Being a fan of live music, I'm always interested when an artist that I enjoy listening to is putting out a live cd/dvd album, as I feel like it really shows you the artist, much moreso than a studio album, if nothing because of the unpredictability of a live performance. Filmed in High Definition, the Remedy Club Tour Live CD/DVD album highlights the David Crowder Band in a live setting, with the album taken from two separate performances and edited together seamlessly to create a fantastic picture of what their live show is like. Their stage is covered in Macbooks which they use to play as instruments, and David Crowder even breaks out a guitar hero controller that has been programmed with the chord progressions and loops to play one of the songs with. With 90 minutes of music, worship, and rock, as well as tutorials, a behind the scences video, and instrument breakdowns for each and every song performed in the concert (for the guitar performer in you), there is plenty for music-loving individuals to pour over. The accompanying cd has all 16 songs performed from the dvd spit-shined to perfection. In all honesty, the superb technical performance from the band makes it hard to tell that it's a live album...at least until the audience kicks in. An excellent addition to anyone's live collection.

Download: The Glory Of It All, ...neverending..., Foreverandever Etc.
Website: http://www.myspace.com/davidcrowderband

2) Safetysuit - Life Left To Go
In one of my wanderings through Best Buy, I heard a song being played over the in-store radio that I actually really liked. I heard the name of the artist, and then did something that I rarely do, which is to make a purchase based on one song of an album. You know how this can end up most of the time; you like the one song that you heard, but the rest of the album is not at all like what you would have expected based on that song. Thankfully, this album was not at all like that, and turned out to be one of my favorites from this past year. The debut album from Safetysuit is an all-out pop record, but man do they know how to play. And I've been hard-pressed to find an album of 12 tracks that are as insanely catchy as these twelve. From the opening guitar hook of "Someone Like You", the repititious "whoa-oh" of "Apology", the vocal hook of "Something I Said", to the emotional closer "Life Left To Go", it's hard to find fault with the album. There is not a weak song on the album, and every song will have you singing along by the time the song is finishing, with the melody stuck in your head for days. The closer, "Life Left To Go" is perhaps their greatest song on the album, and also the one that is most different from anything else that they have on offer. The song tells the story of someone who wants to end their own life, and the call of someone who cares enough enough to tell this person that they matter to them. With a strong melody, and some vocal distortions that offer a different approach, it really stands out as an album highlight, and a fantastic choice for an album title. A sure winner, and well worth the purchase, this album has not been out of my player for the past 6 months.

Download: Someone Like You, Apology, Stay, Life Left To Go
Website: http://www.myspace.com/safetysuit

1) Disciple - Southern Hospitality

In the year 1992, I would have been 9 years old. I would have been playing AYSO soccer, piano, and attending elementary school in the 4th grade. In the year 1992, the band Disciple was formed. 16 years later, they are releasing their 8th full length studio album, titled Souther Hospitality. They have come a long way in their 16 years, with the jump to a major label about 3 years ago coinciding with the release of their self-titled album that has really brought them success. 2006's Scars Remain cemented their position as one of the most prominent hard-rockers in Christian music, with their song "Game On" being heard in sporting stadiums and highlight shows around the country. 2 years later, they return with their latest album, which also happens to be probaby their most melodic album ever. 12 songs inspired by their southern roots (they are local Knoxville, TN natives), the boys from Disciple have brought a different sound to their album, but still keep the rock coming.

For those that are fans of their older albums, this is almost a complete departure, as their is hardly any screaming (with the excpetion of their new "Game On" titled "321"), and melody is really the forefront of each of their songs. Title track "Southern Hospitality" opens with a little groove from the guitar, and slowly builds in to an infectious rock track. "321" will undoubtedly be the new song in sports-arenas that get the fans and team pumped up, while a song like "Liar" comes from the heart of Kevin Young, the lead singer, who was struggling with forgiveness of another.

One of the things about Disciple that has always impressed me is their strong knowledge of the bible, and if you look at the liner notes with the lyrics, you will see countless references to scripture that permeate each of their songs. The song "Whatever Reason" is the story of the prodigal son, told in Luke 15:11-32, and serves as the entire inspiration for the song, and is written from the point of view of the father, or God. "Right There" takes it's inspiration from Deuteronomy 31:6, 8and Hebrews 13:5, with lyrics like "There's nothing that's been stolen that I can not replace (1 Peter 5:10); Fear is just a distant memory, when you find love surrounds you (1 John 4:18)". If you need inspiration, you need not go any farther than listening to and reading these lyrics that Disciple writes.

The album closes on probably my favorite song of the year, "Savior". In my opinion, it is essentially the band's view on Christ, and what he is capable of doing in the lives of someone who is hurting and broken. If someone thinks that you cannot worship with instruments, this would definately be one of my first exhibits to show them that you can. Moving, heart-felt, and honest, it really speaks to their belief and love for Christ, while showing everyone what is possible. Here are the lyrics, and the song is in the sidebar.

Laughter, that's so part of her
Is something that we haven't heard
in such a long, long time
Replaced with crying, long sleepless nights
She needs your power Lord (Psalm 145:11)
Pour it all over (Joel 2:28-29)
In her darkest hour Lord (Psalm 18:4-6)
Pour it all over

Chorus
'Cause I know You love her more than I could love her (Ephesians 3:18-19)
You've already given more than I could offer (1 John 5:11)
So I put my hope in You (Psalm 39:7)
'Cause I know You can save her (John 3:17)
Jesus, Savior (Matthew 1:21)

The problem hidden inside
Is screaming something's not right
And I would lay down my world
To reach out and fix what's broken in her

Deep within every stripe is the hope that I find within You (Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 2:24)

Piano Time

So this past week has been interesting. I got a call a week ago from a lady that works at the local YWCA. They were needing music for a benefit dinner that they were putting on, and the band that they originally had asked to come and play canceled on them. She happened to know some friends of ours from church in Oak Ridge, and I was recommended to them, so I got the call. In the end, both my brother and I went and played at the dinner for about 2 hours tonight while they were mingling around and eating. The dinner was a benefit for the YWCA where they honored local women in Oak Ridge in different fields that they thought had done outstanding service work to the community. It turned out to be a pretty decent evening, and we had dinner to boot.

(Seeing as how I'm editing this 3 weeks after I started...I'll just move on to the next post).

The Feeling

Dustin's graduated. It's pretty crazy to think that my brother has finished up his undergraduate college education. I spent this past weekend in Gainesville, Florida in order to attend his graduation ceremony. They split up the college of liberal arts, since it would have been about 2000 people total going in one ceremony, so we had the early session. Now, I don't know exactly how many people graduated at Harding during my walk, but I figured this had to be just about comparable, and I felt like my graduation took about 3 hours. Well, they defied my expectations...and managed to do everything they needed to do in 2 hours. I was impressed. I hadn't heard names read that quickly as students walked across the stage at any graduation I've been to before. The students all had a card with their name on it, getting rid of the need to have a specific list and order to go by, and they simply handed the card to the reader who would spout it off as quickly as possible and move on to the next one. The ceremony started at 2, and we were out the door by 4. I think more graduations should subscribe to the auctioneer style of reading off the names.

Today we drove back down to Atlanta to drop Dustin off for his final national frisbee tournament. He was flying out to Boulder for the week before college nationals kicks off next Friday. He won with Florida in 2006, but they lost last year at some point around the quaterfinals I believe. He's fairly certain that they've got a good shot again this year, but of course they'll have to play well as always. We'll see what happens when next weekend rolls around. Speaking of frisbee...I need to go and vote about captains for the team for the upcoming club sectionals...in September...since when did we do stuff early?

Since we were in the area, we went to the Georgia Aquarium, located in downtown Atlanta. This is the only aquarium in the world to hold whale sharks, and it has 4 of them. They are housed, along with a number of other fish and small sharks, in a tank that contains about 6.2 million gallons of water. The wall of glass holding this in is 2 feet thick, and consists of 6 panels about 50 feet high that were molded together by heat once they were brought on site. It really is a pretty spectacular place to go see. It was even featured on the Today show a number of months back, so if you're ever in the area, I would certainly recommend it. Plus, just across the street, you can go to the World of Coca-Cola if you so desire.

I'm fairly pumped about the next few months of music, as there will be a number of releases which I am looking forward to (in case you hadn't seen the ever-growing listing on the right). Right near the top of that list is the new Kutless cd which releases in about a month on June 24. They released a single for download for free on their website yesterday, so off I went to get it so I could get a little sneak-peak at the album. I'm a fan of it, so check it out if you've liked any of their stuff before. It'll take about 2.5 minutes of your time...or probably about as long as it took to read through what I've written today.

The European soccer season is quickly drawing to a close, with many of the final round games being played either this weekend or next weekend. In Spain, Real Madrid has already clinched the title, and they were applauded on to the field by the arch-rivals Barcelona. As if that were not humiliating enough, they were trounced 4-1, allowing Real to sweep them for the first time in about 20 years. Ouch. The English Premiership also has a day of tense games tomorrow, with the title and relegation teams being decided over the course of hours. Manchester United and Chelsea are tied on points, with United having the lead based on goal difference. Should United win, they will retain the title they won last year. Any other result would require Chelsea to not win in their final game. At the other end of the table, 3 teams are battling to keep from being relegated, or sent down a division. There are 2 more relegation spots left, with each team needing a win to keep from going down.

I would like to see something similar to this in American sports. There really isn't any drama at the end of a season, except for who will/will not make the post-season. Sure, it's disappointing if your team doesn't make the cut for the playoffs or whatever, but there's always next year. There's no threat of being sent down a league and having to play your way back up, you just are humiliated for a season at not advancing out of the regular season, and come back again next year on level terms with everyone. I know nothing like that would ever happen...but I think it does make for a better over-all season, knowing that every result counts, and that not getting the results can see you demoted.

At any rate, it's nice to be back home, as it's been an incredibly long week. It was non-stop at work from Monday at 7 through about Friday at 3:30 or so...and I'm just worn out. It's time to just kick back and relax for the night, which is quite an inviting proposition.

Say All I Need

It's been hectic. I've felt as if I should put something on here many times the past few weeks, but just haven't had the time/energy to do so. Work has been going exceptionally well. In the past 2 weeks I have learned how to use a plasma etcher, coat samples in carbon, prepare samples for viewing in a TEM (transmission electron microscope), prepare bulk samples of asbestos (which comes in a variety of sizes), get some basic introductory walk-throughs on using the TEM and the SEM (scanning em), basic training in working with hot (in the nuclear sense) materials, as well as some of the entry-level stuff of logging samples, and handling the paper-work. It has been action-packed almost every day...except on those days when they're working on the classified work they are contracted on...in which case there are some interesting articles on Google news, and some not-so-interesting articles that hold some special kind of appeal on those days. All in all though, it's been a lot of fun.

I had another company calling today wanting to talk with me about possibly working with them, and I've been trying to interface with them, but with being at MCL from 8-5, it's hard to find a time to contact them. We're working on setting up a phone interview I think, but given the relatively short amount of time before my trial period is over...I don't know what will happen exactly. But I guess it doesn't hurt to keep the options coming until I've got something firm. I feel like we're just about there though...

I'm signed on to once again coach the Cedar Bluff Middle School Giants Soccer Team. Man, that's a long school name. But if it's anything like last year, it should be a blast. The only difference being that this year I'm working at a real job, which I don't know if they'll allow me to take off at 3:30 on practice days...hopefully I can find some kind of schedule that will allow me to leave early on those 2 days of the week and let it work. If not...I guess I won't be able to coach. It would be a shame as well, since I really did have a lot of fun last year, and there will be a number of the same kids coming back to play since I think that we only had 3 8th graders. And we've apparently got some incoming 6th graders that are pretty good and have played competitive for a number of years...so we should hopefully have a very good pair of teams. I'll just need to find a way to bargain for my working hours.

Last night was fairly interesting. As I think I've mentioned before, I've been playing basketball fairly regularly (at least once a week) with some people from church and elsewhere that play in a 3-on-3 league. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am absolutely awful at basketball. I have managed, however, to see some signs of improvement. Yesterday was a fairly significant step forward, as I managed to score about 10-15 points per game (we played 4 on 4 full court to 50), and was fairly consistent at hitting my lay-ups off of steals and quick breaks. You may laugh, but those lay-ups were pretty dang hard to hit...when I was all by myself...standing still beneath the basket...and had about 3 attempts before someone caught up to me...yeah... But last night I was actually making them on the dribble, and I even got my 3-pointers to go in. Now, I have a terrible shooting technique, since I shoot from my shoulder. I think Mandi told me that I shoot like a girl...and I probably do. But I make it work, and nobody outside of brother has blocked me yet, which is strange since he's the shortest person that I've played against. At any rate, my "signature shot" is dribbling across the top of the arc from left to right and putting up my shoulder-level shot which banks in off the backboard. I guess it's pretty unconventional, but I get it to work about half the time. That's about what MJ shot from behind the arc, right? I actually have no idea on that one... At any rate, it is turning out to be a lot of fun, now that I can actually contribute in some way besides turning the ball over after missing easy shots.

I'll try and update the rest of the stuff on the page over the next couple days as it is fairly dated, but for now, I've said all that I need to say. Enjoy the new song by OneRepublic.

Music Year In Review Pt. 2

We now move on to the conclusion of the two-part music series. As before, a brief description with a few download-worthy tracks, all for your future listening pleasure.

Honorable Mentions (Part 2):
Rush of Fools - Rush of Fools
Another debut CD (I think I got a number of these this year apparently...), with a lot of potential. It's hard to appreciate how quickly things moved for the guys in this band, and they are all still quite young, from what I know. But seeing the results gives them a solid stepping-stone for future work. Mostly worship-oriented, the guys do a solid, if not spectacular, job, with a couple gems thrown in the middle of everything. Another group to keep an eye on in the future.
Download: Undo; When Our Hearts Sing; Already

Fuel - Angels & Devils
They've been out of the picture for a while, and after their lead singer quit the band, they went on a long hunt of finding a replacement, with a well-known decline from American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry. In the end, they finally found a singer, and with the songs already written, went right in to the studio. I liked this album better than the previous releases, if only because the production seemed to be cleaner, giving a better feel for the melody. Again, many of the lyrics are throw-aways...but what do you expect these days? For some solid rock sound, though, it's works fairly well.
Download: Gone; Wasted Time; Scars In The Making

Relient K - Five Score And Seven Years Ago
For a band that's been around for a long time, I hadn't ever really heard of anything until this album was set to come out. It makes for an enjoyable listen, with a number of catchy tunes, and a fair amount of wit within some of the lyrics. Even so, you can still see the message that they are trying to convey. This is a band that I can see growing on me, and maybe one day I'll pick up some of their previous albums.
Download: Must Have Done Something Right; Come Right Out And Say It; Devastation And Reform

5) 12 Stones - Anthem For The Underdog
When Mandi first put in one of their albums one of our caravaning trips back home from Harding, I basically had the same thoughts that she did. They can write some good stuff, but there's too much screaming and pointless overly heavy stuff in there. Fast forward about 5 years, and you've got their latest release, which has effectively eliminated the screaming, and replaced it with some solid songwriting and hooks. This album hardly bears any resemblance to their debut effort, and is the better for it. It's hard to find a weak spot in this album, as each song is performed well.
Download: Lie To Me; Broken Road; This Dark Day

4) Matchbox Twenty - Exile On Mainstream
This is probably more from personal bias than anything, because who would think that a compilation album would be a top album of the year? At any rate, this was one of my most anticipated releases for this past year as they are a band that I've always liked since I first heard them. Many will remember their singles Push and 3 AM from the late 90's, and from that fame, they held a high degree of popularity for the years to come. Even after 5 years, and no subsequent releases, this greatest hits package still came out at #3 on the Billboard best-sellers the week of it's release. For anyone that's been a fan, the main draw is the 6 new songs, while anyone that hasn't gotten any of their previous albums can get all 11 of the radio hits that this band put out over the past 10 years. If the 6 new songs are any indication, the next full length album they put out will be some of their best work yet.
Download: How Far We've Come; These Hard Times; All Your Reasons; Push; 3AM; Unwell

3) Mainstay - Become Who You Are
This band was an exceptionally pleasant surprise when their debut CD came out last year, so it was somewhat unexpected when I learned that they were going to be putting out their sophomore disc this year. When it did come out, I ran out and got it practically the next day. This album differs quite a bit from the first in terms of the material used in the writing process. This one is a much more personal album from the perspective of the writer and lead singer. There are songs about his family, his thoughts, and his personal beliefs, praises and struggles. It's mellow for the most part, and just an all-around good listen for a bit of praise and encouragement.
Download: Become Who You Are; Where Your Heart Belongs; Island; When You Come Down

2) Dizmas - Tension
Their debut was a disc that I personally could have cared less for. It was all screaming, not very melodic in my opinion, and just didn't seem like the type of band that I would come to appreciate. With their second release, however, I was surprised (as were many others, no doubt) by the change in their direction, and the level of musicianship that immediately became noticeable; what had been obscured by the screaming in their first release came to the front. What came out of it was 12 songs with infectious hooks and strong melodies. While some of the lyrical content can be vague, and sometimes plain silly (Dance, Shake It Off), there are just as many that have excellent meaning with a little thought. Again, for those long trips at night, or the late-night study/work session, you can't go wrong with Dizmas' Tension.
Download: Play It Safe; This Is A Warning; Sun

1) Anberlin - Cities/Lost Songs
I'm cheating here and including 2 CD's that were not released at the same time, but they make a solid double-album impression, and given their overall stellar quality, I felt they both merited an inclusion. When I first heard Anberlin earlier this year, I had no idea about them. They were simply a band name that I had seen, looked at the back of the CD, and read some of the names and saw that they were associated with a number of bands that I am a fan of. I went back, and listened to the most recent album they had put out (Never Take Friendship Personal), and was immediately hooked. Here is a band consisting of Christians that is able to make music that is open for everyone, without completely bashing the listener with theology. They have toured extensively with a number of well known mainstream bands including Fall Out Boy, which allowed them to share the message of Jesus over the course of the tour with them.

Back to the music, though. Cities is an impressive 12 songs, ranging from infectious (A Whisper & A Clamor) to epic (*Fin - which runs almost 8 minutes in length). It's a solid rock record, and while some of the lyrics will make you wonder, there are just as many that will make you think. This has constantly been in my player since I got it back in February, and it's one that I have yet to tire of. Lost Songs, on the other hand, is a collection of rare and unreleased tracks that have been compiled to finish contractual obligations before they move on to a major label this coming year. There are a number of B-sides from each of their CD's, acoustic cuts that are probably the most impressive, some fun covers off of bands that I don't really know, and a couple demos that don't really vary that much from the album cuts. Even with these demos, the album is surprisingly strong for a compilation CD of rejected cuts, with some stand-out tracks that make you wonder how they weren't initially included with the CD they were written for. All in all, for some solid pop/rock with strong melodies and excellent overall quality, you really can't go wrong with these guys. Look for their next full-length album of new material in the middle of 2008.
Download: Cities - A Whisper & A Clamor; Inevitable; The Unwinding Cable Car; Dismantle. Repair.
Lost Songs - The Haunting; Dismantle. Repair. (acoustic); Naive Orleans (acoustic), Uncanny

So there you have it. My top 10+ albums that I've gotten this year. Get you some. Oh, and a Merry Christmas to all...(if I don't post again soon).

Music Year In Review Pt. 1

And now for your reading pleasure, the first in a two part series. Being that I am certainly someone who loves music, and loves listening to music, I'm once again giving some of my top album purchases from over the past year, as well as a few that I found on the side or through other people. I figured I'd do a top 10, with a little review of each individual album, along with some honorable mentions. I'll also list a couple of the tracks I would recommend for downloading if the artist appeals to you. If you like anything that I've had in the player the past year, then most of these songs will be coming off of those albums. Of course, I know that not everyone has the same musical taste as me, so this is probably more for my own personal benefit than yours...but I'll do it anyway. So here we go. My personal top 10 albums of 2007 (with a few bonus cuts).

Honorable Mentions (Part 1):
The Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum Soundtracks - John Powell
Composer John Powell did some excellent work in these two films, providing an exciting musical score to go along with the frenetic action shown on the screen. The Bourne theme (instantly recognizable in 'The Drop' on the Bourne Supremacy) is followed throughout on both discs in many different variations. When I watched the Bourne Ultimatum, I was as stoked about the music accompanying the scenes as I was about the non-stop action. That's saying something.
Download: Supremacy - The Drop; Berlin Foot Chase
Ultimatum - Tangiers; Waterloo

Barenaked Ladies Are Men - Barenaked Ladies
In disc 2 of a two part presentation (Are Me and Are Men), we find the Ladies back to some of their wittiest, most fun pop/rock. In my opinion, this is the stronger disc of the two, with their lyrical goofiness and touch for a melody supremely evident. After their mis-step (in my opinion) on their album before these 2, this shows them back to their best. For me, any band that can put out 30 quality tracks in 5 months has more going for them than simply the ability to craft a catchy tune or two.
Download: Angry People; Maybe Not; Why Say Anything Nice?

Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long
This one is almost like a guilty pleasure. After their smash debut, they took 5 years to record their sophomore album. It's the same approach, with Adam Levine's smooth voice going over groovy beats, mixed in with some songs that up the ante. Granted, most of the lyrics are throw-aways, and some of the songs just really don't do much for the album (Kiwi, anyone?), but it's hard not to get caught up in the beat and groove of the other songs. When the lyrics don't take away from the song, there is a good, easy melody to ease you through the day, and I would challenge you not to be tapping along by the end of the disc.
Download: Nothing Lasts Forever; Goodnight Goodnight; Back At Your Door; Makes Me Wonder (Clean)

Alter Bridge - Blackbird
You would think that a band composed of 3/4 of Creed wouldn't really be anything worth talking about. But Alter Bridge, with the addition of Myles Kennedy as the lead singer, is anything besides Creed 2.0. Their sophomore album follows in the vein of their debut, with melodic rock that's nothing more, and nothing less. With some slick guitar solos and great melodies, as well as some fairly insightful lyrics, you get a new band that has gone and made everyone forget what band they used to be in.
Download: Brand New Start; Before Tomorrow Comes; Blackbird; Watch Over You

10) Thousand Foot Krutch - The Flame In All Of Us
This is one of those bands that I didn't really think I would like all that much the first time I heard them. They were too much of a rap-rock, almost screamo type band, of which I have a hard time appreciating. However, with each release, they have transformed from the rap-rock they used to pursue to more of a simply hard rock vein. And while I am not huge on ultra-heavy rock, these guys manage to make it fun, and even have good melodies to go along with their lyrics describing their spiritual journeys and thoughts. And even though they are known as a hard rock band, I am always a fan of their ballads that are, to me, incredibly insightful and sincere. An excellent way to keep you awake if you're making a late-night drive, and almost impossible not to sing along with.
Download: Falls Apart; What Do We Know?; My Home; Wish You Well

9) OneRepublic - Dreaming Out Loud
For a debut CD, these guys have been around for a while. They are one of the most popular bands on MySpace, and they had a hit single when Timbaland remixed their song 'Apologize' early on in 2007, except that they didn't have an album out to take advantage of their new-found popularity. Dreaming Out Loud remedies that problem, giving 12 tracks of melodic, piano-driven pop/rock. It's a testament to them that 'Apologize' in it's original form fares far better than the remix version, although if you pick up the disc you will get both and be able to decide for yourself. While very reminiscent of The Fray and Coldplay, they do just enough to be their own band, while crafting a number of memorable songs. Look for this group of Christian guys to do big things over the next few years.
Download: Apologize; All We Are; Say (All I Need); Goodbye, Apathy

8) Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light
This band has been around for a while, yet they didn't make it big until 2001 when 'The Middle' hit airwaves. After the last album's mostly dark approach, things are brightened up again for this 11 song journey. Described as emo (does anyone really know what that means?), the majority of the songs focus on relationships. Then again, what songs don't focus on relationships? Jimmy Eat World still knows how write a hook, and on practically every song you get drawn in immediately from the get-go. Ranging from the fun of Electable (Give It Up), to the huge album closer Dizzy, there is a little something for everyone in this one.
Download: Carry You; Here It Goes; Chase This Light; Dizzy

7) 33Miles - 33Miles
It's not often that you get a band that has more than a taste of country in the Christian Music scene. 33Miles, hailing from Nashville, changes that with a record that is more or less country, right down to the fact that the majority of the songs are ballads. The lead singer does not possess any type of twang or drawl (which I appreciate), but the musical arrangements will definitely remind you of some of the more contemporary country artists out there. For a debut CD, this is a solid effort, and there is certainly potential, as their musicianship really shows throughout in outstanding melodies and excellent harmonization. Throw in strong lyrics, and you've got a great disc. Look for more from these guys in the future.
Download: What Could Be Better; Stand Amazed; I Can't Deny; When I Get Where I'm Going

6) Lifehouse - Who We Are
They've gone through quite a few changes since they first came on the scene with that song that you couldn't get away from back in 2000. It was called "Hanging By A Moment" if you've forgotten. However, the past 7 years have seen numerous changes in the make-up of the band, with lead singer/songwriter Jason Wade remaining as just about the only focal point of the band since then. The past 2 releases have seen Lifehouse moving from the more grunge inspired rock of No Name Face to a more piano-driven sound. In my opinion, it's an improvement as this has allowed the song-writing of Wade to shine through. The melodies are clearer, the hooks are better, and the lack of all the guitars has given a cleaner sound to everything. With Who We Are, I think they've found a balanced mix of guitar-driven songs with the more laid back ballads. This album also contains one of my favorite songs of the year in Storm.
Download: Disarray; Whatever It Takes; Broken; Storm

Part 2 will follow in the next few days. There has been a development on the job hunt front...so hopefully there will be good news to talk about soon.

House-sitting

The weekend provided an unexpected getaway with me house, or rather, dog-sitting for some friends from church that were going to be gone for Saturday night and would need someone to look after him so they wouldn't have to put him in a kennel for the entire weekend. I obliged, and it was nice to just have some time to myself and everything yesterday. I also got to spend some time working on my Guitar Hero abilities in practice for the New Year's Party that our small group will be having replete with XBOX and Wii. Should be good times when it comes around. But there's lots of stuff in the meantime, such as our impending trip to Charleston this weekend. I'm looking forward to it.

Of course, when you think about Christmas, one of the things that always comes to my mind at least is snow. I love it when it snows. It's all sorts of fun to play in, it cancels anything that you're obligated to be doing for the day, it's just all around good news. One of my most vivid memories around the holidays was during the "Blizzard of '93" where we got all sorts of snow here in East Tennessee, and I think that schools and everything else were closed for over a week. Now, for some people, that probably doesn't sound like much, but for Oak Ridge schools, that was huge since we were usually the only ones going to school when everyone else was out with some frost on the grass. At any rate, we were back at the house, and with a huge hill and a steep driveway directly next door, it became logical to start sledding down this driveway.

Across the circle that we live at the end of is a bunch of forest area with large trees, and a fairly substantial drop-off (especially when you're 10). But at any rate, that didn't really concern us. As most boys will do, we (my brother and I) decided that it would be spectacular to create a ramp in the circle that we would attempt to hit and go flying off in the wild blue yonder. So off we go constructing our ramp, and proceeding to go even higher up on the hill before attempting to hit it as fast as we can. Over the course of however long we were out there, the snow was gradually turning to ice due to our constant sliding down it. As we continued on, we figured out that you go faster if you're both on the sled. As we careen down the hill, which was essentially packed ice now, we start to think that it might not have been best idea. Once we hit the ramp, we know it wasn't a good idea. I'm pretty sure that Dustin flew off the sled in mid-air and landed somewhere in a snowdrift up against a tree, and I proceeded to fly down in to the ditch and in to a tree myself, cutting myself right above the eye. We got some nice air on the jump, but, needless to say, we got quite a scolding from mom when we came back in later.

The possibility of snow is not looking all that promising given that it is currently 73 degrees outside. I'll keep holding out for it though. Hopefully at some point it will actually feel like winter and there might be a chance at some snow. Given the overall hatred of the Little Drummer Boy, perhaps I'll fare a little better with the 12 Days of Christmas? Here's hoping.

Party Time!

So tonight is Mandi's company Christmas party. I'm not entirely sure what to expect, and I don't think she does either, but all I know is that there is lots of alcohol and some food or something. Oh, and a dance floor, although I'm not sure how many of the drunk co-workers will be able to dance. I don't think she's all that excited about going as she felt more obligated to go since she's on the event planning board rather than specifically wanting to. But at the least, we'll be able to sit around and mock all the people that are making fools of themselves, and Mandi will have some laughter throughout the year whenever she sees any of them at work. Apparently it's going to be a relatively small group this year due to the fact that it's not at a hotel, which means people can't get quite as trashed since they'll have to drive home instead of getting a room with 3 or 4 other couples...which apparently happens to save money or something...

As I mentioned in the last post, I'm a big fan of the Little Drummer Boy. Well, at least of the song. I think probably every kid at some point or another had to sing that song in some Christmas play or skit...in my case, I had to play it on the piano at some recital. But it's always been a tune that I've enjoyed. Of course, I don't know where Pa rum pum pum pum came from in terms of lyrics...but what can you say? It's been around for close to 40 years, along with a number of the other songs that people can't really get through Christmas without hearing. I've got a version by Jars of Clay in the player that I've grown to like quite a bit over the past week or so while listening to Christmas music off and on. I would suggest that you have a listen, and while you do that, I'll be getting ready to laugh at a bunch of people making complete idiots out of themselves. Should be good times.

A Guide To Marine Life

The weekend at Searcy turned out to be quite a bit better than I had thought it would be. I had an enjoyable time, even though I didn't really play all that much frisbee. I got to see Doc, which hadn't happened for a while, and also see his two daughters (he didn't have any when I left). He was doing well, and he's going to be moving soon. Crazy stuff. I spent Saturday playing on and off with a team from Little Rock that Jordan and Brett play on, and in between watched Mandi play with the girls team, and got myself a haircut so that I can look professional when I (hopefully) go in for an interview or two in the coming days. Sunday was spent watching and talking with people for the most part...at least until one of the torrential downpours that Arkansas is known for decided to hit Searcy. Now, on it's own that wouldn't have been all that bad, but once we started on our way home, it decided to follow us. So for 9 hours, we drove through pouring rain. I think it had to be one of my worst weather condition drives home from Searcy in all of the times that I've made that trip. In the future, when attempting long trips, check the weather, and if it's possible to not be driving in a hurricane by leaving a little earlier...make sure you do that. But we made it home, even with all the rain, and were certainly glad that we had made the trip out there.

On the job front, I've talked today with the guy from AGT in one of those initial phone-screenings, so hopefully once he's talked with a few other people they'll decide to bring me in for an interview at their company. I'm cautiously optimistic on at least getting that far. I'm still waiting to hear back from Aerotek regarding the position that they've submitted me for. Given the lady's stringent policy on what she's looking for, I'm not as hopeful for that one...but you never know what will happen. At some point, everyone has to hire for the positions that they need. I'm just hoping one of those will end up being me.

Today it kind of clicked in to being Christmas. My dad and I put the lights up on our tree, which I always enjoy looking at when it's dark outside and seeing the lights on in the living room. It's cool, just going through that each year, and having this massive temporary decoration in the middle of the house. I'm sure if I googled or wikipedied the origins of putting up trees at Christmas I'd learn something new. It's neat though, to look back through the trees that we have put up. There have been smaller ones, bigger ones, some bizarre shaped ones, but they've all looked nice by the time they're all decorated. And of course, there are always the favorite ornaments that you always look for once you've got them all put up. At my grandparents house, it was always a game when they first put the tree up to go and look for the ornaments that played music. They had 3 specific ones that all played songs when you pulled the strings, and we'd come in and immediately go and look for them, and not do anything else until we found them. In fact...I still do that. At our house, there was a bizarre light on one of the strands that we'd hunt for. It really looked like an ice cream cone covered in sprinkles almost. And then there was a musical one hidden away somewhere.

There is also the requisite Christmas music. I've always liked the Little Drummer Boy, Do You Hear What I Hear, and of course, the 12 Days of Christmas. I'll put up the Relient K version in a while when we get closer to actual Christmas time. Christmas also signaled the year-end Christmas Recital for piano, where we'd play some songs for our parents and any other students parents. There was usually some standard classical fare, and then some fun Christmas stuff mixed in with some sing-along material. I generally liked this recital the best out of the yearly ones, I guess just because it was more laid back and mostly about having fun rather than putting on a good performance. And besides, how can you be nervous when you're thinking about having a holiday, and presents, and food? I think pretty soon I'm going to have to go find our Christmas music books and bust out some songs.

But here it begins, the countdown to yet another year. The theme for the rest of my posts this year will probably be recollections from the past year. And Mandi, no comments about my inability to remember things.

Strangeness...

I'm sitting here in Stone and Whitey's apartment dining room, and it's really just kind of strange. Brett and G-Dub are here as well...and while it's not like when I was big on the frisbee team, but it's almost the same. We've just been sitting around chatting and laughing and everything, and now they've got the TV on, so I figured I'd do a little typing and check all my emails and such. I think there will be more people coming back, like Jake Beveridge and Luke Dockery, so it should be good times. I don't really even know if I'll be playing tomorrow, as I don't want to play on the Harding team since they have their own thing going on and I don't really want to interfere with that. There might even be enough to sort of form an alumni team...but we'll just have to see at some point.

There's been a number of things that have changed in the past year since I got here. The construction that was going on as soon as you got off Interstate 55 was finished, with a 4 lane road going on for about 4 or 5 miles once you first get off the interstate. There's a new Burger King across the street from the McDonald's on Beebe Caps and there's an IHOP next to the Wal-mart. That's about all the changes that I can remember right off the top of my head. I've been here for about 6 hours or so, and the first bit of it was spent just lounging around. I went with Brett to a concert in the Benson with a singer that I've never heard of before. She was pretty good, and it was mostly just mellow, bluesy, piano-driven ballads. We only stayed for about 4 or 5 songs, and then went for Sonic.

The drive down was really enjoyable, as I finally got to spend some time with Mandi and talk with her for more than a few minutes at a time or on the phone. It was good times, and probably one of the quickest drives down here to Searcy from Knoxville in a long time. It's really been a long time since Mandi and I were able to spend some time together like that, so it was really a good thing. After this weekend, back home for a couple, and then off to Charleston.

There has been some movement on the job front. I've been called by a company in Knoxville called AGT (Atmospheric Glow Technologies), and they were wanting to talk with me about a position that I applied to on Sept. 3. I haven't actually gotten a hold of anyone to talk with them yet, but I should on Monday, so maybe something good will come out of that. Just have to wait and see. I think it would be pretty cool, although I don't know if I really qualify as a Senior Technician...but maybe they'll have something that I can jump in with.

Last night was excellent. I didn't really know what to expect from the concert, but Keith Urban puts on quite the good show. He's one of those people that knows how to engage an entire arena. I had a good time there, and I'm pretty sure that Mandi did as well. As that was only my second concert, I'd have to say that I've been to 2 excellent, if rather different, concerts. Maybe I'll be able to go to a few more in the coming years if I can get myself a job and make some money.

I just realized that it's already 1:00 AM. And we got up way to early this morning after our late night...and all that driving...I'm out.

These Hard Times

It's been a rough day. Mandi has had bad news about her car, and I believe that I pulled my hamstring tonight playing frisbee in an attempt at a D. At the moment it doesn't feel too terrible, but I have a feeling that tomorrow will be quite a bit worse. For the moment, though, it's sleeping with it elevated, and putting ice packs on it and attempting to stretch it. I've never really had a pulled muscle in all my years of sports, which is quite surprising because I am certainly not a very flexible individual. I've had all sorts of problems with cramping, but never a pull. I guess I just don't really know what to do, but we'll see how it goes. Maybe it'll turn out that I just tweaked it a little, and I'll be good as new tomorrow. One can only hope.

Being one of the 3 shows that I watch on TV on a regular basis, I was remiss in not inviting all who read this (I'm sorry if you're among those...) that House started again on Fox last Tuesday. Seeing as how it is once again a Tuesday, the second episode of the season aired tonight. It started quite promisingly last week, and for those of you (Paul) who failed to see the end of last season, you'll probably be confused at what is going on (but rest assured when you get back I'll hopefully have all the episodes from where you left off). But it looks like it's going to be a good season, and who can really not love the character of House anyway. Hugh Laurie is quite the actor, and I'm inclined to think that I should maybe see some of the other things that he's been in. If you're new to the show, let it be known that he's British, and if you hear him speak on the show, you'd never guess. In addition to being a talented musician, he's a skilled actor who really makes that show tick. Catch it if you have the time.

The UEFA Champions League continues with Matchday 2 today and tomorrow. It's unfortunate that ESPN2 has been stuck with some pretty boring games the past 3 broadcasts. Not that it's their fault, as Manchester United is a potent attacking force with some brilliant players, but they have failed to spark the imagination this term, and has led to some rather slow games. Tomorrow is Liverpool vs. Marseille, but I don't know if it will be much better given Liverpool's previous outing. Of more interest are the games on ESPN Classic that air at 5 ET that show Barcelona and Real Madrid playing. It is still early in the season, so it can only get better from here though.

In music news, today was the release of the matchbox twenty retrospective album "Exile On Mainstream". This is exciting for me since they were the first band that I actually bought an album of, and the fact that I like their music, and they haven't done anything new for 5 years (their last release was in November of 2002). If you head to their web-page you will get to hear the 6 new tracks that they've written for the album (including the track for the title of today's post). Of the 6, I probably like All Your Reasons the best, but all 6 are good. They are certainly different compared to their earlier songs, mainly due to the fact that the band as a whole is writing the songs, rather than their lead singer Rob Thomas writing everything on his own. I think the collaboration does the band well, especially since Thomas has a successful solo career as well after his 2005 release. At any rate, I'm excited about the new songs, and looking forward to what they do in the next couple years.

I got to see one of the funniest Sonic commercials to have come out for a while last night. It was the husband-wife team, with them enjoying the new ice latte's I believe. So they're drinking them, and the wife says, "Ha! I've got a mustache!" The guy casually continues drinking his while saying, "You can only see it in direct sunlight." The wife glares. And I can't stop laughing. Classic.

My Home

For the next 3 weeks, I have the house. It's just me and the cat running the whole place. I'm sure my mom is terrified. She kept telling me that she wanted it all to look the same as it did when she left...I don't know why she's personally so worried about it. It's not like I'll be calling up all sorts of people to have wild parties out here and everything over the next few days...or will I?

That reminds me of a classic story from the days of 1106 where the Murphy's and some other good friends lived for a year. It involved the "Shaggin' Wagon", a Friday evening, and some girls at Harding. Seeing as the 1106 guys were taking it easy on this particular Friday evening, they decided to go out and about in Paul's affectionately remembered minivan. It was amazing how long that van ran for them. I think it's still going somewhere. At any rate, they all piled in to the van and went driving around. I think some of them might have even had some goodwill suits on (although I might be confusing that with another story). As they were driving, they happened across the girls laundromat on campus, and seeing as there were a number of women inside doing their laundry (on a friday night?), they thought they might go in and ask them if they'd like to go and hang out for a while. How serious they were about this proposition, I don't really know, but it elicited a classic Harding response. After the question was asked if any of them would like to go out and party and have some fun, one of the girls said, "We don't party here". Dejected, the guys in the shaggin' wagon had to spend the rest of the evening by themselves. At least, that's how I remember it being told. You'd have to ask P-Murphy himself for the actual account. Mandi and I frequently joke about "not partying" in mockery of that whole story. I mean, I know sometimes you just have to get the laundry done...but really. And who wouldn't want to hang out with the guys from 1106 anyway? Well, maybe not the present occupants, but the ones from 2 years ago were certainly top-notch.

The song that's in the player now reminds me, however, that my home is not this earthly place that we inhabit at the moment. Our home is with God and Christ, and that one day we will be reunited with him. It's essentially the same theme as the classic hymn "This World Is Not My Home" but...rockified? And different lyrics. Here they are:

This place is many things, but I'd never call it home,
It's just a building in a city, everywhere I go
This place is many things, but I can't call it home,
Home is the place you are and I just wanna let you know

And I've done a few things I wasn't proud of,
I've said a few things that hurt you,
But you're still the only one who fills me up,
And every night spent alone, was worth it

You are my home, you are my everything, when I feel so alone,
You are my home, you are my shelter, when all my hope is gone

And I've seen many things, but they don't look like home,
They're just the bright lights from a city glowing all night long,
And I've seen many faces, but they all look the same,
Home is the place you are, and I just wanna let you know

That I've done a few things I wasn't proud of,
I've said a few things that hurt you
But you're still the only one who fills me up
And all the tears that we've shared were worth it

You are my home, you are my everything, when I feel so alone,
You are my home, you are my shelter, when all my hope is gone
You are my home, you are my everything, when I feel so alone,
You are my heart, you are the one, when it all comes undone
When it all comes undone, when it all comes undone

At times it's difficult to remember that we are supposed to be in the world but not of the world. My home, for eternity, is with Christ. Mandi, I hope the title made more sense to you this time around.

To Know My Self, Pt. 1

Well, as the old adage goes, there is never a time when you stop revising a paper. Or is that even an adage? I don't know, but it's true. Exactly 2 weeks ago, I defended my thesis. For the past 2 hours tonight, I have been analyzing more data to add to it. It kinda seems like that's a little backwards. It's almost like a director going back, and after the movie has been released in theaters, shooting more footage and adding it to his own personal copy. Or an author writing a book, having it published, and then adding a whole extra chapter just for himself. Oh well. At some point, my supervisors say that this stuff will be published in some journal. Should be pretty cool once we get to that point. So, to take a break from the monotonous clicking that I've been going through, I will work on my Q & A that Luke asked me to do. Sorry if it seems disjointed, but I'll just be jumping back and forth as questions form in my head and my tolerance for my data analysis lessens.

Question One: What is your favorite verse from the bible, and why?

While at church tonight, our speaker was talking about tasting the word of God, or in other words, having a personal, intimate relationship with him that is not dependent on others spoon-feeding us, or with us expectantly waiting to be told everything we need to know about the bible. A question that he had on his handout was to discuss your favorite/most meaningful verse for us. For me, Jeremiah 29:11 has always been one of my personal favorites:

'11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD...'

If that verse is not one that can give someone confidence in times of dire need, then I don't know what else I could say. Of course, it's not simply God that is doing something here, but it is also his people. God is saying that he will be there for us when we earnestly and whole-heartedly seek him. He won't be in hiding, He won't be holding back on us, He will be there. All we need to do is look to Him, and declare to Him that we are looking for Him with all of our hearts. What a promise.

Question Two: What possessed you to pursue a major in physics?

Sometimes, I found myself asking the exact same question. I would say, "Self, why are you doing this?" And from there, the answers would vary. My initial reasoning was my interest in astronomy (not astrology, there's a big difference). I'd always enjoyed learning about the universe, and I still do in fact. It's sad in some respects that my degree really has absolutely nothing to do with that, but at the same time, I'm thrilled to have what I do. At other times, however, I was not so thrilled. In fact, were it not for Dr. Murray at Harding, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near this far in terms of pursuing physics. My first semester of physics was really quite awful, and I had failed the first couple exams. He stepped in, tutored me, and got me back on the right track.

I guess my main reasoning for doing physics was that it was something that I was interested in, and when placed against all the other options those early years in college, seemed like the one that would offer the most challenge, and be the most rewarding in terms of learning. I'd considered chemistry, as I had enjoyed every chemistry class I'd ever taken, but didn't feel right doing it for a major. I could have slept through a music major with the piano, would have been bored out of my mind, and probably hated the piano by the time it was said and done. In the end, I wanted something that I would have to work for. After all, it's never any fun when something is just handed to you, is it?

Question Three: You seem to really enjoy music. Why is that, and what types particularly appeal to you?

It is true that I do enjoy music. I've attempted to add a little music to this actual page with the player at the side, although I don't exactly know how much of a success that has been (or whether it works on any other computer besides mine). I would not consider myself to be anywhere near the level of a musical expert. I have a fairly extensive catalogue, although in terms of recent stuff, it only reaches back to about 1998. And even then, it's limited to what I like. But I guess that's the case for everyone's music collection. My first album that I bought with my own money was Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty, and ever since they've been one of my favorite bands. (They have new stuff coming out in October after 5 years, amazingly enough). I also enjoy classical music, both from having played it, and the fact that it can be incredibly relaxing to have on. One of the first cd's that I would play on repeat was Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony. If you want to hear something that is truly spectacular, find a recording of that. It is indeed true art.

Why is it that I like music so much? I'm not entirely sure. It's just something that I grew up with. For as long as I can remember, I've listened to music or been playing music. There's something about it that can take you out of time and space, and just let you kind of be. That's especially true when I play the piano, as it just transports you out of where you are. I'm thinking that those particular sentiments are true of anyone that is engrossed in something creatively and actively.

Perhaps the main reason I enjoy music is that I just love a good melody. Mandi criticizes me sometimes for song selections because of what they are singing about within a song, or a message that may be taken from it. I guess, in my mind at least, I don't particularly pay attention to those lyrics. I'm engrossed in the melodies and the harmonies. I'm listening for how the voice goes with the music, or how the soloist interacts with the accompaniment. I love hearing how a composer can move idea throughout a piece, recalling themes at different points, and blending them all together. I'm partial to acoustic arrangements of popular songs. Not because I don't like hearing something heavier or anything, but because it generally breaks the song down to it's basics. All you have is a melody, harmony and some accompaniment. To me, that's what music is. It's not all about loud drumming, excessive electric guitar, and especially not simply screaming over some random chords. There's an art for creating a memorable melody and being artistically able to transport it from the page to the instrument.

Question Four: Here's the usual question for guys about sports. What sports do you enjoy, which of those do you actually play, and what is your favorite memory from them?

Boy, self. Did you have to ask a sports question? Yes, I did. The list of sports that I enjoy is really quite small. First and foremost, I like soccer. I also like ultimate frisbee. I like rugby for the simple reason that it makes every player in the NFL look like a pansy with all their pads and helmets when the rugby players are getting hit just as hard with no protection. I don't really follow it though. Now, since ultimate is obviously not televised, the only sport that I will watch of my own accord with consistency is soccer. While I can respect the ability to hit a golf ball 350 yards down the fairway, or to hit a fastball with a wooden bat, or to repeatedly run in to 400 pound men, it doesn't mean that I won't be bored out of my mind watching them. And I am, so I don't.

I play both soccer and ultimate. In high school, I would have considered myself a good soccer player. Maybe good enough to play on a small college team. Certainly good enough to have played at Harding. Obviously, after 4 years of not playing soccer, my skills are seriously lacking, although having played in the Knoxville Adult League the past 2 years has shown me that I didn't lose everything. I'm by no means anywhere near my skill level as a senior in high school, but I'm not at at a complete loss out there either. As for ultimate, that was taken up once I got to college, and one Paul Murphy said that I should go play. I was horrible as I couldn't throw a frisbee, but I made up for it initially with an ability to read the disc and see where people were looking to throw. Hence, the 'Beast From The East' nickname was born. Or so I like to think it happened. Others might have a different story. At any rate, skill level increased, and I eventually came to think myself a fairly decent frisbee player. I think that skill level probably would have doubled if I could have ever learned how to dive correctly.

My favorite memory from each of these? Let's see. For frisbee, at least on the field, it was at College Regionals in 2005 when all the graduating seniors played once it got to game point in the final game for the other team. I think we ended up scoring about 3 times before they finally beat us. Playing with those guys for one last time, though, was amazing. In my years at UT, I've missed nothing more from Harding than Ultimate with all the guys. So that's why I kept going to wherever Harding was playing and playing with them anyway. So I guess I never really quit. Yet. As for soccer, it would either have to be making my first competitive team (when I still wasn't all that good, honestly), or when I got to play my senior year with my brother on the high school team. I ended up being injured fairly frequently that year, so I didn't play as much as I would have liked, but we did play our last game of the season together, and it was fun being on the same team as him for that year.

Alright, I've now given up on my data for the night. And given how long this post is, I'll continue with part 2, and the final 4 questions tomorrow.

Vanity

Something that I have a difficult time understanding are people that find it necessary to constantly show off. It doesn't really matter what it is that they are showing off about, whether it's musical, mental, physical, whatever. Just anything that they are obviously doing just to draw attention to themselves. Especially if they are doing it constantly. And even more so when they are clearly not all that good at whatever they are doing. Take, for instance, this guy that I didn't ever meet out at Harding. Now, for a while the cafeteria had a piano in it, for whatever reason. And everyday when I'd go to lunch or dinner, this guy would be sitting there, playing around on it, playing the same song or two over and over and over. Having played piano for a number of years, I would get quite annoyed listening to this guy showing off for anyone and everyone in the cafeteria, whether they wanted to hear it or not. Of course, there were always a couple girls that would go over and faun over him, which I'm sure was his main objective to begin with. In my mind, it doesn't make any sense why you would feel the need to just go over and start drawing attention to yourself about some ability that you really don't possess. Or even if you did, why you would want to just have people come over and start telling you how good you are.

Mandi has made the solid point to me that talents, such as playing the piano (or whatever the talent happens to be for whoever happens to possess it), is a God-given talent and that it shouldn't be kept from other people as it can bring joy to them. I understand her point, and realize that I do have a talent in terms of my piano-playing ability that God has given me, and that I should be willing to share that talent and ability with other people. But where do you draw the line between doing something for the glory of God and doing something to bring recognition to yourself? Or is there even a line there to be drawn? Is having a talent always going to bring personal recognition, and from that allow other people to recognize God through my ability?

It's something that I have a tremendous difficulty dealing with. I, for one, hate having people ask me to play the piano, especially in public places, because I do not want people coming up and telling me what they think of my playing, whether it be good or bad. I don't want to appear as conceited and vain like others that find it necessary to just go out and proclaim to the world how amazing they think they are at something (this applies to practically every young guitarist I've ever walked past). I don't want to make other people think like I do 99% o the time that I hear/see someone doing something to draw attention to themselves and get annoyed at them trying to get 15 minutes of fame whenever they can. I also realize, however, the my playing does make people happy and that some people enjoy listening to it, as it is a talent, and not something that everyone can do well. I would like to think that not everyone that plays does it simply to see how many girls (or guys) they can get to pay attention to them for a couple minutes. But how do you make the distinction between seeking recognition and giving glory? How can you keep it from being a matter of personal pride? How do you ensure that people see your action as one of praise to God, and not as a show of vanity?

Already

Well...how about a late-night post, huh. I've been hunting around on the net for some stuff that Mandi might be interested in doing after work that relates to service projects or just getting involved in some form or fashion with some people that would need it. Sadly, I haven't been able to really find any information at all on anything like that. I guess we'll just need to do some more digging.

Another thing that would be helpful, is if anyone has any ideas about how to spice up the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den, Mandi and I would be quite appreciative. We're teaching the class on that story during one night of our upcoming Vacation Bible School. The main emphasis is on prayer, obviously, and we're trying to come up with ways to emphasize that point, as well as to try and make it somewhat fun for the kids. Mandi's a huge fan of having me dress up as a lion and attack the kids at random and have them start praying and have that cause me to back away from them. I think she likes the idea mostly cause she thinks it would be amusing to see me running around in a lion's costume...Any help would be beneficial though, if there are any thoughts.

It's strange, how quickly time can pass. I don't really know where all that time went, thinking back to January when this past semester was just getting started, and thinking of all the time that I had to get things finished for the master's degree and everything. Now, it's already June 1st, and I've got about 5 weeks to finish my paper, create a powerpoint presentation, and take care of the business stuff that UT requires me to have completed. Things are moving along, although my first draft of my paper was decidedly a very, very rough draft. I've gotten most of the corrections taken care of, and now I'm waiting on the 3rd guy to go through all the data and see what he says about it. Last I checked, he didn't know what to do say about it, and if the guy that's been studying superconductivity for 30 years doesn't know what to say, I'm sure as heck not going to know what say about it. Unless I'm a genius...

Something that I've started doing in the past couple months of posting on here (and sporadically from the beginning) is to start using song titles as the title for my posts. They are usually just what I've been listening to either at the time of the post or that got me thinking about whatever random thoughts I put down for that day. Some of the time, the song content doesn't even relate to what I end up rambling about, and sometimes it coincides quite nicely. It's really interesting some of the inspiration you can get from a song title, regardless of the genre that the particular song comes from.

With that in mind, today's song title comes from a new band called Rush of Fools. I guess with looking at how quickly the past 5 months of this year have passed, it seemed fitting to use this particular word, especially given the constricted time frame I will soon be dealing with. The song deals with the idea that God has already taken care of anything and everything. There's nothing left for us to do but accept Him and do His will. He already loves us, He already has taken care of us, He already did everything that was necessary on His part to bring us to Him. For me, especially in a time when I'm feeling as if I have to work hard in order to have anything work out correctly, it's comforting to know that, for this aspect of my life, all the "work" has been done. All I've got to do is step up and accept what's on offer. Once I'm to that point, it shouldn't be all that hard to go out and do His will, should it? After all, the hard part has already been done.

Real Men Of Genius

I recently discovered one of the catchiest tunes that I've heard in quite a while by the band Relient K. They've been around for a number of years, but I've never really listened to anything by them. They put out a new album this past week, so after reading a review of it, I decided to give it a listen on Rhapsody. The album as a whole is pretty good, but the one song which does happen to be their lead single is pretty infectious. The title is "Must Have Done Something Right", and it just kinda jumps in to your head and stays there. Head here to see the video and hear the song: http://music.yahoo.com/ar-297583-videos--Relient-K. After just now watching it, it even has soccer involved. What more could you ask for?

Congrats to Lauren on correctly deducing the answer to yesterday's riddle. I wouldn't say correctly guessing, because since it's supposed to be a logical answer, there is no guessing involved. It's like those Sudoku puzzles that everyone works now. You can't guess on it, get it right, and claim to be good at them. Everything has a logical reasoning for why it works. Random ramblings. Today's brian teaser is a good one...or at least I think so. Here it is, entitled Hunting:

Everything that you catch, you throw away, but everything you don't catch, you keep. What are you hunting?

Do you remember the Bud Light commercials that ran some years ago highlighting those "true American geniuses"? They were 60 second spots essentially mocking some of cultures weirdest types of men, or "glorifying" jobs that many wouldn't think twice about. I had a friend of mine from church that played a few on a trip to his parents house, and it got me to thinking about how many I had heard, and that number turned out to be quite low. So I went hunting and found a whole slew of them...I hadn't realized that they'd made that many. Some of them are throw-a-ways, but there are a couple of them that are true gems. Of the many that I found, my favorites would have to be Mr. Used Car Lot Auto Salesman, Mr. 80 SPF Sunblock Wearer, Mr. Restroom Toilet Paper Refiller, Mr. Foot Long Hot Dog Maker, and Mr. Outside the Stadium Peanut Seller. I would put up a transcript of sorts to them...but I'd get in trouble. They are quite amusing though, with the awful background singing, and the pitch-perfect dead-pan delivery from the speaker. If you heard them, you'd remember.

I bring this up, because today I discovered that I might in fact be able to catch some Euro 2008 qualifying games live, on tv, for free. Quite the discovery. My brother alerted me to these programs called TVU player and TVAnt which are free programs that stream tv over the internet. And I happened across a site today that hosts different soccer games from around the world, including these qualifying games that are playing tomorrow. So perhaps, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to get it to work and maybe watch Germany vs. Czech Republic or England vs. Israel or something. It should be an exciting day. Real men of genius indeed.

Winds of Change

Well done to those that answered the riddle posed from yesterday. It is true that a year is in fact shorter than a day on Venus. So go for the year and make $2 million. If you're looking for a direct deposit on your prize money, just send me your bank account number and I'll deposit it for you.

Tonight's new riddle is called "The Pope Has It". Here it is: The Pope has it but he does not use it. Your father has it but your mother uses it. Nuns do not need it. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a big one, Michael J. Fox's is quite small. What is it?

One of the things that I enjoy doing from time to time is what I guess I'll term "Bible Hunting". Now, this isn't me going around trying to see where I can find bibles, but rather, taking something and seeing what I can find in the bible that relates to it. Being the fan of music that I am (I'm listening to some right at this moment as I type this), I like to take some of the Christian bands that I frequently listen to, take some of their lyrics, and see if I can find any of them within the bible. Some of them help me out and give the references for where they got the inspiration for certain songs. Others do not. Tonight I felt like doing some bible hunting.

I pulled a band that is extremely impressive in terms of taking something directly from the bible and incorporating it in to a song that they write. The song that they wrote they titled "Dive" and referenced Isaiah 40:31 which says, "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint". If you look to the rest of that particular chapter, it is essentially God telling his people not to worry because He is there for them and looking out for them. It tells of how God is in control over everything, and that there is nothing that is able to overcome the Him. It really is powerful reassurance.

The song, for me, that came to mind when I read that verse, however, is a completely different one, which is where the title of this post comes from. The group is Kutless. Here are the lyrics:

Can you feel the pains in life?
Wrapped Around you like they're chains
Restricting all your dreams
Do you wonder if there is a way?
A way to set you free, set you free

Chorus:
So tell me all your dreams
Tell me all your fears and what you're longing for the most
It's not another way that'll end up the same
For it's under my control

Do you feel the winds of change?
Soon this weight will fall away
And take you to a place
Only found through these winds of change
A breeze that's new and free, new and free

I'll be the one who you can cry to
The one who will give you wings
I will give wings, someday we'll sail away
Mounted up on wings like eagles
We will run and will not fade away

Given my relatively young age, verses like the one preceding the one I quoted, which states that youths grow weary and young men stumble and fall, is a good reminder to me that, regardless of how I might feel on any particular day, I can not survive all of life's trials on my own. Everyone, at some point in their lives, will have times when they will need more than their own abilities and strengths to get by. And regardless of the situation that you encounter here on Earth, everyone can know that God is there for them. "He will not grow tired or weary...He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak" is what we're told in verses 28 and 29. And if one cannot take comfort knowing that God will empower us whenever we are weak or weary, then we are missing part of the nature of God, as well as misunderstanding the nature of being weak.

Physical weakness, while easily understood and recognized, does not (usually) bring one to the point of realizing that more than just the individual is needed to succeed. Spiritual brokenness brings true understanding of what God is seeking in us each and every day, and this is what will bring us into a better relationship with Him. If we can realize that we cannot succeed on our own and that we desperately need God to get us through, he will be there in an instant, since all we need to do is ask for help. God has the power to bring that second wind, to give that extra energy, to be the one urging us on. And no matter how much He has to help, and no matter how many times he has to help us pick ourselves up, He will never grow tired or weary. Once that recognition occurs, things can only get better. The winds will indeed change, and we will soar like eagles.

The Prestige

Today ended up being a good day. The interview went extremely well, I've been able to get some rest and relaxation, and I didn't have to drive 50 miles in and out of Oak Ridge. All excellent indications of a good day in my book.

On one of my usual thoughts about music, I've recently discovered a band called Anberlin who are really pretty good. They've been around for a number of years, but I didn't know much about them. They are Christians, but they're music is more pop/rock and not really so much what you would consider Christian music. In other words, they aren't like groups such as Casting Crowns, Kutless, or Skillet, but they have good music in the sense of the word without preaching to the choir as some would put it. They just released a new album called Cities which is excellent throughout, with my personal favorites being the tracks "The Unwinding Cable Car", "Alexithymia", and "Dismantle. Repair." Check them out if you've got the chance.

I've been a fan of magic for quite a long time. I can remember growing up watching the yearly David Copperfield TV special that would air, and the time period when magic shows were kind of a cultural phenomenon and they would have 2 hour specials at random times throughout the year. There is just something interesting about watching someone do something that just seems impossible to all of your senses, but they are right there in front of you doing it. Copperfield actually came here to Knoxville back last fall, and my parents and I went to the show. He's done some pretty impressive stuff, such as making a train car disappear in mid-air, flying, and walking through the Great Wall of China. My favorite trick when I saw him live was where he took 13 audience members, sat them down inside a box, closed it, made them all disappear and then re-appear in the back of the auditorium. Cool stuff. I wonder what it's like to be involved on stage with that. How does it feel? I think it'd be cool to find out at some point.

I got on to this magic thing because tonight I watched The Prestige, the story of two magicians that were once friends, but because of an event in their lives became enemies that spend their lives attempting out-do the other in the world of stage illusion. It's directed by Christoper Nolan, who recently did Batman Begins, and has also done the much talked about movie Memento, which I haven't seen. The Prestige is a really well-done movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The title stems from a description given at the start. It says that there are 3 parts/acts to a magic trick. The first is The Pledge, where something ordinary is taken and shown to be normal, at least from the audience point of view. The second part is The Turn, where the ordinary piece does something...extraordinary. At this point, you don't quite know what to make of what just happened, but you're waiting to see how everything turns out. The final part, is the Prestige. This is where the reveal occurs. The object is returned to normal, the thing that disappeared comes back in to view, what seemed wrong and impossible, is shown to somehow be possible.

I wonder if people around in Jesus' time might have felt like they were a part of something similar to this type of description. I wonder what would happen if we had our view of magic in their time what we would make of something like this. Obviously this is a poor comparison, but I do think that it holds on some levels. They were given the pledge, where Jesus came down from heaven and became a man, saying that anyone who followed him would have eternal life. To those on the earth, he was viewed as a prophet, and by some as the Christ. The turn comes, and suddenly the one we were calling the Christ is hanging from the cross dying. We don't know what to make of the situation, and what we viewed as our reality is falling apart. Finally, the prestige comes, and what a prestige it is. Not only is the tomb empty, but Jesus is alive, and he has ascended to the right hand of God to intercede for us. When everything seemed lost, and it didn't seem possible, it is shown to be a reality. The pledge really was true.

I guess that I like to think that God has a sense of humor, or at least a wit about him that enjoys seeing us go through our lives. I'd like to think that he laughs at our jokes, or cracks a smile when we do something silly or make complete fools of ourselves. Obviously sending his son was not an easy task, and he was incredibly pained at the separation he had to endure. But, like all great illusionists, he knew the true nature of the event. His sleight of hand fooled evil in to thinking that it had triumphed, when all along, God knew the secret. He knew...the prestige.

The End Is Near

As I stated yesterday, I thought that I might just throw together a few of the cd's that I thought turned out to be quite decent offerings. Now, these aren't necessarily the ones that only came out this year, but they are the ones that I found this year and have come to appreciate. They are not in any particular order, although if I do have a strong preference for a particular one, I will star it. So here we go:

Album /Artist /Genre / Favorite Track Title

1) Beauty in the Broken / Starfield / Contemporary Christian / Shipwreck
2) Beyond Measure* / Jeremy Camp / Contemporary Christian / When You Are Near
3) Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing / Keith Urban / Country / Stupid Boy
4) The Chronicles of Narnia: LWW / Harry Gregson-Williams /Film Score / The Battle
5) Comatose* / Skillet / Hard Rock, Christian / Better Than Drugs
6) End of Grey* / Decyfer Down / Hard Rock, Christian / Here To You
7) Hearts of the Innocent* / Kutless / Hard Rock, Christian / Winds of Change
8) Learning To Lose* / The Turning / Contemporary Christian / Escape
9) Music Inspired by Narnia /Various /Contemporary Christian /Turkish Delight
10) The Open Door* / Evanescence / Rock / Good Enough
11) Scars Remain / Disciple / Hard Rock, Christian / Dive
12) Well Meaning Fiction* / Mainstay / Contemporary Christian /Yesterday
13) Move Along / The All-American Rejects / Rock / Move Along
14) Phobia / Breaking Benjamin / Hard Rock / You
15) Over The Rooftops / Sevenglory / Contemporary Christian / Waiting For You
16) Exit Lights / Falling Up / Christian Rock / Fearless
17) End of the Spear / Ronald Owen / Film Score / River Requiem
18) The Da Vinci Code / Hanz Zimmer / Film Score / Chevaliers de Sangreal
19) Me And My Gang / Rascal Flatts / Country / Backwards
20) Good Monsters / Jars of Clay / Christian Rock / Surprise

There we have it. Some of my personal choices for some of the better albums that I have listened to during the course of this year. Check some of them out if you feel like you're in the need for some new music.

And in continuing yesterday's newly started game that will last for the next several posts (and depending how often I get around to it during the Christmas holiday, possibly next month), here are a few more of those mind-benders to get your brains thinking. I think they'll pose a little more of a challenge today...they certainly did for me. Except maybe the first one. As a note, the letters in parenthesis are designed to assist you in figuring out the meaning of the letters. For instance, should I put 65 is the S L (in A), you would write 65 is the Speed Limit ( in Arkansas). I know, bad example, but it gets the point across.

6) 39 B of the O T
7) 5 T on a F
8) 52 C in a P (W J)
9) 3 B M (S H T R)
10) 32 is the T in D F at which W F

Good luck!

No End At All

In case you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm a big fan of music. I've been playing/listening to music since a very early age (at least age 4 for playing, listening was surely before), and it's something that really gets me through a lot of days to keep me from going crazy. I'm one of those people that needs some kind of noise to get work done. For my noise, I prefer to have some music going, whether that be some classical orchestration, hard rock, or some quiet acoustic stuff. People that have lived with me, or been around me for any appreciable length of time, can attest to that.

It's funny how there are times when a song can really speak to an individual, and it's amazing how many times people can relate to a song when they are going through a hard time or needing something to say the words that they can't say themselves, or simply going through their day. Of course, the music doesn't even need to have words to make an impact. I can still remember a song that I had playing when I was reading The Hobbit what seems like forever ago when I was still in middle school. The "New World Symphony" by Antonin Dvorak was playing while I was reading a section of that novel, and now whenever I re-read that book or see something that reminds of it, I can think of that song playing while I was reading it. They've essentially merged in my mind. It's the soundtrack to that part of my life.

There have been many other instances for me personally. Matchbox Twenty's "Mad Season" was the first album that I bought with my own money. Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony 3rd Movement is perhaps some of the most gorgeous music ever composed, and most heart-breaking if you listen to it under sad circumstances. My favorite piece of all time to play for an audience is the Mephisto Waltz by Franz Liszt. The favorite piece to play for myself is something much slower, the Barcarolle by Frederic Chopin. I woke up to a song affectionately called "The Butterfly Song" by one Josh Murphy for an entire semester my sophomore year. When I make a CD mix I like to start it with a rocker, and end with a slow, introspective song. My first impression of a movie is usually based on the soundtrack. If I'm needing to create a slide-show or some other presentation that can use music, I probably spend more time picking what I deem to be the perfect song than I do putting the show together. I guess it's just how I'm wired.

So all that build up to get to the point of saying that I recently got a new album (for $5 actually) by a Christian group called Disciple. One of the really cool things that they do, is in the liner notes where they put the lyrics for their songs, they place scripture references for each of their songs that show where they got the inspiration for the message of that song. For this particular song (the title of this post), they referenced Romans 8:38-39 that says "38)For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39)neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." The lyrics for the chorus go like this:

Feel this grace shining in, There's nowhere that you've not
Walked with me on, carried me on
There is nowhere I can go,
Even in the depths of the sea, You're not too far away
When I wake, when I sleep, You are capturing me
With a love that knows no end at all.

It's a good reminder in times when it's easy to forget. Everything of this world is short-lived. It only lasts for an instant. God's love, however, will last forever. In times when things feel like they're never going to end, just remember that everything in this world will end. What matters is what doesn't.