One Year, 52 Songs.

I've realized I have an incredible amount of backlog... I am about to flood the living crap out of this Tumblr for the next few weeks (maybe?)

Joe and I have like totally slacked off on this. Maybe we shouldn't? haha.

Blue Skies by joeday

Back in the saddle again! Feels good. Needless to say, the last month was a very busy one while I was working on putting together the Good Friday music for Mars Hill West Seattle. Hopefully, the recording from that will be available soon, it features two songs written in this blog in their full-band glory and I'm pretty stoked with how they came out. 

Nevertheless, here is Blue Skies, a song about creating. Some artists go through a very long season of inactivity or writers block before becoming madly prolific again. This song is about the transitional moment that occurs between those two seasons. 

I really like this song. I like how seemingly simple it is, how the harmonies come together on the chorus, and the lyrics. Specifically, there's one line that really sticks out to me:

You've spent seventeen years in a busy-ness spin But the heart doesn't care if there's dust on the pen

What I like about this is that creating is in many ways an act of remembering. You might think that if you've had a long period of inactivity (even decades) that your talent may have vanished or that there's no way you'd be able to pick it back up. Sure, you may be out of shape, but if that talent was there, it's there because you are created in the image of the Creator. My encouragement would be to start by remembering the Creator and see what happens to your heart. You'll not lack for creativity. 

As a songwriter, I've always been drawn to darker themes and sounds. This has always been a source of tension for me. I remember working on the last Mindhead album explaining it to my mom, how I was proud of the darker theme's it was exploring and her response, "But you're a Christian. What does dark have to do with light?" Touché, mother. Touché.

There is one place, however, in the Christian faith where darkness is not only appropriate, but needed. Good Friday. It needs to be dark, hopeless, and jarring because we must wrestle with the implications of a dead Christ. Paul says, "If Christ is not raised...your faith is in vain." Between Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, the disciples and followers of Jesus lived this reality. Imagine the broken hope. The confusion. The total devastation. 

That was where my mind was when I wrote the following version of In Christ Alone for this year's Good Friday service at Mars Hill West Seattle. 

In Christ alone my hope was found He was my light, my strength, my song This cornerstone, once thought was sound Crumbled and crushed and crucified. Was he a lie? What could this be? What has become of Israel's king? The comforter, now on a cross In Christ alone all has been lost

In Christ alone who took on flesh Torn from his back by barbs and hooks A crown of thorns he's made to wear Scorned by the ones he loved and healed Now on that cross, Jesus has died The Son of God now cast aside Wrapped in cloth, laid in stone Placed in a cave not on a throne

Here's some more lyrics written for The Battle of Midway. Song is titled "Widow's Walk".

More after the jump.

Widow's Walk

Here I stand My hands are sweating Clutching this rail held for life Watching your white sails Carry you out with the tide Your ship grows distant My voice calls your name to the wind Those beautiful white sails Reflect as they shimmer and fade And my heart beats for you So solid, pure, and new Sometimes I wish it wasn't true But what else can I do? Sunk now beyond my sight But I will stand here long into the night Journey on my love we both know This trip you take alone you must go dream of me my sweet amidst the raging sleet grow beyond the selfish and grow to complete selflessness The sun rises Will this be the day? Yet the danger of the sea Is that you might never return to me

First off, so stoked to see Jim's recent posts. Keep 'em coming Jim!

Secondly, some of you have pointed out I have missed the past two weeks. Gasp! Let me just say life has been ridiculously busy these past few weeks and at the end of the day my family wins. 

So tonight I sat and ran scales and just played randomly on the guitar while zoning out to Arrested Development. It felt good and it feels good having sore forearms again.

I've been having this recurring dream that I realized was about creativity and me not writing songs and being involved in music as much as I should.

Here's some lyrics I've written recently for my new band The Battle of Midway.

The title is, surprise surprise, Beset By Wolves. I don't really like to go into what my lyrics are about because I want people to infer their own meanings and I really don't like to wear my heart on my sleeve even to close friends. I blame it all on comic book heroes and horror movies growing up.

Lyrics after the jump.

Gethsemanes Prayer by joeday

Good Friday is coming in a few weeks. 52 Sundays per year, we focus on Jesus' life & resurrection, but one Friday night we remember his death; his bloody, violent, gruesome, murderous death. 

The best Good Friday service is the one that calls us to look deeply at fullness of what murdering Jesus means for us. Naturally, the general focus when it comes to worship songs is the Atonement & the resurrection because the great news is that we are made new because Jesus conquered death. But, before the gospel is Good News, it is terrible news: if you have sinned, you have driven the nails through his hands and his feet. You have nailed him on the cross. You have mocked him as he died. It was the sin of the world, past, present, and future that hung Jesus on the cross. You and I are to blame. How many songs put the hammer in our hands?

Another layer to this is the perspective of the disciples who misunderstood the role and meaning of the Messiah thinking primarily he would be a political savior. Imagine their confusion, disappointment, and hopelessness seeing their savior dead on a cross. Have you ever wondered what a dead Jesus means for your faith? If he's dead, your hope is also dead. Paul says that if he is not raised, your hope is in vain. How many songs place us in utter hopelessness?

It has long been my opinion that the church has a severe lack of Good Friday songs, and for good reason: we celebrate our risen savior 52 weeks of the year. But, for one important Friday, we remember what a dead Jesus would mean. Exploring his death widens the gap between hopelessness and the greatest news ever, leading to a deep, affectionate response when we celebrate Jesus resurrection on Easter Sunday. 

In short, we need more Good Friday songs that leave us there with the hammer in our hands, or in the shoes of the hopeless disciple. 

The Well by joeday

This song is a critique of the type of criticism prevalent in the church especially amongst my reformed brothers and sisters. There are moments where it seems natural to us to form tribes for the purpose of criticizing someone we disagree with. I've done it in many ways, whether over something theological or something musical. What is inside me that decides I need to always be right? Well, this song explores the carnage that results from those of us who have picked fights for the sake of being right. It's written from the perspective of an observer, and it has caused me to take a deep look at my own heart in the process. I hope it can do the same for you. 

Peace.

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There’s poison in the well You didn’t know the taste and had your fill And marched up on a hill Thought was a mountain 

Symptom of the disease Growing blind to similarities Confuse the enemy The fog descending 

We’d all do well to lay our weapons down for a spell The poison’s in the well 

Cold war theologies Fog descending over boundaries Unnamed anxiety Fear made blindness 

Among the mustard trees We miss the seeds, the seeds within the leaves Cold wind and autumn breeze The leaves are falling 

(chorus)

Through a door the righteous peek A theologian caught between the sheets All down a darkened street Is where you’ll find them

Mephistopiles by joeday

This is the song my band Mindhead debuted on Saturday night at the Showbox SoDo opening for Lifehouse. Since it was received so positively, I figured it'd be appropriate to make it the song of last week. 

February sun by joeday

February Sun is this week's plan-b. I was originally working on another song that has a very complex melody and needs a bit more care even for this project.

last Friday was one of the most beautiful winter days I can remember in all the years I've lived in Seattle. The odd thing about it is Thursday and Saturday we had nasty snowy weather, but Friday was sunny, epic, gorgeous like a winter oasis.