thebemusedphotog.com

My most highly recommended CD of the year…

Jars of Clay - Greatest Hits

I know Jars of Clay is an old band. I know most of these songs aren’t new. And, I know you’re only getting 14 songs for the price of the CD. This is just a compilation of some (not all) of their best songs. A great little pick-me-up album to rediscover the magic of Jars of Clay.

Track Listing:

1. Flood
2. Love Song for a Savior
3. Like a Child
4. Worlds Apart
5. Crazy Times
6. Frail
7. Unforgetful You
8. I Need You
9. Show You Love
10. Amazing Grace
11. God Will Lift Up Your Head
12. Dead Man (Carry Me)
13. Work
14. Love Is the Protest

It has the classic “Flood”, and the pop cult favourites “Love Song for a Saviour” and “I Need You”. Some of my new favourites include “Worlds Apart”, “Crazy Times”, “Frail”, and “Show You Love”. “Love is the Protest” is the only new song in the album, and it’s a great rocking song.

You’re probably wondering why I picked this band out of all the popular worship bands (read: Hillsong), and how it saved my soul.

[For the people who are gonna fault me for blaspheming my christian faith saying "Christ saved your soul! Not some band!!" Yes, I know that... I'm using the phrase as a figure of speech.]

At about the time I found this album, I was getting fatigued by the razzle dazzle worship songs of said popular worship bands. The worship experience was always great, all that jumping around, cheering, getting a high. But I felt dry. Empty. Lonely. I didn’t feel like the high flying, holy-moley christian that these bands portrayed and celebrated. And yet, I wasn’t going to throw in the towel. I just needed something else.

So I started looking for other bands. Bands that I felt would sing about secular things, or real things. Bands that struggled in their faith, the way I struggled in my faith. Bands that still chose to sing about God’s greatness, trust in His Faithfulness even when they could not see Him, hear Him, or feel Him. Bands that knew their God.

And I found this album.

“Worlds Apart” was the answer I was looking for. Jars of Clay was the struggling band, straddling both the mainstream music scene, and the christian music scene. The frontman himself admitted his own weaknesses and struggles in their website. And I found music I could finally identify with.

It wasn’t just their forthcoming and honest lyrics that I liked. Jars of Clay were famous among my non-christian musician friends for their beautiful acoustic guitar riffs. I remember atheist friends passing along chords for Jars of Clay songs and trying to teach them to me. With this album, I finally realized why they were so intrigued.

So yes, if you’re interested in trying something out of the usual Hillsong fare, get this album.

Or you can come borrow this from me. Whichever.

I discovered a cool new type of metal… Gun metal

And yes, it comes in the form of a cool watch too.

*drool*

I’ve loved the Mont Blanc diamond ever since it came into existence. Not because I’m a Mont Blanc fan (which i’m not), nor because it’s expensive (which it is), but because someone somewhere ingeniously managed to cut a diamond into the shape of the Mont Blanc flower. It’s terribly clever.

It’s a pity though. Mont Blanc has never come up with a line of jewellery, featuring this diamond, that I’ve actually liked. The diamond always looks like an after-thought, either too tiny, or sticking out like a sore thumb. Nothing that makes me go, “Ooo, I gotta have that!”

So for now, I’m just gonna admire this flower shaped diamond by itself. And call it a “ya ya”, the way my niece says “flower”.

a thousand apologies to the avid readers of tbp.com

yes, I’m still alive, albeit a wee bit busy with actually having a life and more importantly… a job.

will start updating this place soon. i have tons of stories to write about, and pictures to upload and to distribute to friends and colleagues. (and yes, many of them have already given up on ever seeing their pictures.)

till then… ~cheers

p.s. why DO people end with “cheers” in every corporate email? i dun geddit. it’s like you wanna be seen as a serious drinker, always with a beer mug or wine glass in hand…