October 2006

Wow.

Tonight, on the way back from Clarion, Carrie and I were listening to Derek Webb’s newest release Mockingbird. Which was recommended by a friend of ours that we met on Summer Project(s), when she recommended it she sent an email that said something along the lines of, “I really think you’ll like this!”

She was right. I don’t know why I had put off listening to this til now; probably because I keep thinking he’ll sound like his old band Caedmon’s Call, who were good in their own right but just aren’t where my ears want to be lately – well he doesn’t much, but is excellent as well. On the way back I was tired and fell asleep as Carrie drove, but was vaguely aware of some of the words to some of the songs. I woke up as a truck swerved a bit in front of us which made Carrie brake and I heard

…but nothing unifies like a common enemy
and we’ve got one, sure as hell
but he may be living in your house
he may be raising up your kids
he may be sleeping with your wife
oh no, he may not look like you think

I knew that he’s been writing some stuff that has struck a chord with people, some a very good chord and some toes that have been stepped on. Seriously though, I figured out why my friend sent it to me… Derek’s an honest-to-God liberal who is really honest to God! Look at some of his lyrics from this thing

A King & A Kingdom

there are two great lies that i’ve heard:
‘the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die’
and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican
and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him

my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man,
my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
it’s to a king & a kingdom

My Enemies Are Like Me

peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication
it’s like telling someone murder is wrong and then showing them by way of execution

Love Is Not Against The Law

are we defending life when we just pick and choose
lives acceptable to lose and which ones to defend

A New Law

don’t teach me about moderation and liberty, i prefer a shot of grape juice

Rich Young Ruler

come on and follow Me, but sell your house, sell your suv,
sell your stocks, sell your security
and give it to the poor

Yes. Yes. Yes. YES! Amen!

Serously, I don’t know why it took me this long to discover this guy. I mean, I remember being in college and singing one of Caedmon’s Calls’s (is that correct punctuation of a band’s name with an apostrophe in it?) songs during a worship service and being very moved by the honest difficulty that it took to really sing the lyrics and mean them.

If this has piqued your interest at all, go to FreeDerekWebb.com and download the WHOLE cd for free. It really is amazing.

…I am thankful.

On a completely separate topic, the new Internet Explorer 7 release is out. And, while I consider IE only for those that are… less than computer savvy and think that it is inferior to Firefox and the vast majority of other browsers it has moved toward displaying CSS better, which is not the same as perfect. So, I’ve reinstated my style to the page. If it doesn’t look correct now you need to download the new browser, or better yet get Firefox… you only have yourself to blame.