I could list off a ton of different reasons for stopping, but mostly I think I lost what made it fun.  I’ve realized that one good rock-n-roll song really won’t change the world.  What used to be a fun way for me to get the word out on some seriously great artists has turned into work.  Everybody was asking me to review their stuff or comment on situations in the music industry or write an article about such-and-such a thing.  It wasn’t fun anymore and I was turning into an overly critical music snob, which I can’t stand.

I haven’t written in a month, and yesterday I realized that I’ve never felt better.  Though I’ll miss all the good friends and music, I do feel pretty good overall about letting the blog go.

Well, without sinking into too much depression and hopeless despair, thank you, fans, artists, and promoters, for making The Blah Blah a great little blog.  We’ve had some good times, heard some great music, made some awesome friendships, had some intriguing conversations, and discovered some incredible bands that I hope will one day go on to change the world with a good rock-n-roll song.  :)

For those of you who I’ve promised music reviews, articles, and interviews to, please accept my apologies.  I just can’t do it anymore.  For the rest of you readers, if you can’t live without your underground Christian music, check out the guys at The One21.  Let ‘em rock your world with their own style of music for a while.

In the words of Kip Dynamite… “Peace out.”

In their latest album (It’s all Crazy! It’s all False! It’s all a Dream! It’s Alright!), mewithoutYou boldly moves to new territory. At most it only hints at their earlier works, and if it doesn’t alienate you, it will entice you and hold you captive for weeks.

Is it right to say a Christian band has evolved? That’s the first word that comes to mind when I talk about mewithoutYou’s newly released album, It’s all Crazy! It’s all False! It’s all a Dream! It’s Alright!. If I may go on a bit, I’d like you to ask yourself if you really wanted this album to sound just like any of their past ones. After thinking about it, I realized that, no, regardless of how much I love Brother, Sister, I don’t want them to just repeat it. I don’t think anybody really wants that, wants mewithoutYou to turn into a formula band for prosperity’s sake. As such, they more or less closed the book of Brother, Sister and started a new one. That, I feel, is a far nobler task worthy of buying an album.

In all truth, it has none of the grit and rawness of A-B Life or Catch for us the Foxes, and only occasionally sounds like Brother, Sister, so just about everyone who listens to this album feels a bit of estrangement. I did, but soon I opened up to it, because it’s a great album on its own, regardless of its heritage.

It is a far more melodic and, well, happy-sounding (at times) album as a whole than any of their past works. One of the best examples of this joyful sound is in “A Stick, A Carrot & String”. It’s about Christ and in the opening of the song, at His birth, all the manger animals talk to him. One of my favorite lines in the entire album comes from here, and it goes: The donkey whispered in his ear / “Child, in thirty-some-odd years, / you’ll ride someone who looks like me.” / (untriumphantly)

There is good news for those of you expecting a little bit of Aaron screaming again, in the song “Bullet to Binary (Pt. Two)”. As you may recognize, this is a revival of the song from A-B Life, and it sounds like it. Granted, halfway through it gives you this wonderfully Arabic left-hook, but I dug it and I think many of y’all will too.

There is a wonderful theme of storytelling in this album. By that I mean that many of the songs tell stories, and it lends well to Aaron’s familiar style of complex lyrics thick with imagery. I liked it, but as a whole it was as if the album took a step away, into the third-person perspective while the earlier ones were much closer in, more personal. I liked it, though. In looking at the back of the jacket, it lists tracks two and ten as being inspired by tales by one M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, and it shows. Track two is “The Fox, the Crow and the Cookie”, and ten is my favorite “The Kind Beetle on a Coconut Estate”. According to wikipedia, “The Fig with a Bellyache” is also based on an Islamic folktale, but that’s wiki, so I dunno…

As a whole, though the lyrics are better than ever, and the storytelling theme helps keep them focused, with garden metaphors in “Bullet to Binary (Pt. Two)” and the dialog between king David and the angel of death in “The Angel of Death came to David’s Room”.

The one thing that’s really missing from this album, that was in their past ones, is the trance-esque sounds like in “The Sun and the Moon” or “Carousels”. Remember “In a Sweater Poorly Knit”? That level of complex orchestration is commonplace in It’s all Crazy! It’s all False! It’s all a Dream! It’s Alright!, and I liked it, but I’m sure there are those out there who won’t (not to judge!).

In short, buy this album. Then buy another and get all your friends to buy copies, too, because it’s that good and mewithoutYou is that worth it as a band. And who knows, maybe if they get enough sales from this album, they may stay together! You want mewithoutYou to stay together, right?

But hey, if it is their last album ever, it’s a great way to go out: being utterly turned into fire!

Although these are not necessarily my favorites, enjoi them nonetheless and then buy the album:

Bullet to Binary (Pt. Two) - Download - Stream
A Stick, A Carrot & String - Download - Stream

Myspace: www.myspace.com/mewithoutyou
Website: www.mewithoutyou.com

Get MP3s from Amazon.com
Get CDs from Amazon.com

Note: All MP3s will be removed after two weeks

You know how they tell you blood and water don’t mix, well after this I have to disagree.  Blood and Water is a hybrid of genres and is unique like most other bands in its genre (If you get the oxymoron lol).

I’ve had Blood and Water in my mp3 player for a couple weeks now and on a mix CD to play while I’m driving.  The band out of good ol’ California, like quite a few other punk bands, has a nice fusion of Ska and Punk with some occasional other styles thrown in.

The band is made up of Brad Hagmann - guitar/vocals, Matt Hagmann - bass/vocals, Jason Barnes - drums, Tommy Wasson - stage guitar, and Matt Trettin - stage guitar.  There wasn’t a whole lot of biographical information to be found about them but they have recorded a couple EP’s and actually just put out their first music video.

When I first took a listen to them I could have listed 3 other bands with a ska punk sound and 15 other secular bands that sound like them, yet their lyrics are original and semi-funny like the song “The Government Stole my IPod”.  As I opened up to them, I realized there aren’t a ton of ska bands out anymore or kids that even know what it is, so I’m glad that someone is carrying the torch to the next generation.

While listening I could definitely hear the California punk roots coming out, much like in the rugged sound of Dogwood, and the guitar upstrokes kept it pumping like Five Iron.  I was a little surprised I didn’t hear any horns, or maybe they just blended in really well.

I will admit I made a fool of myself while listening to them.  As I’ve been quite out of touch with my ska kid days, before writing the review I put them in a playlist and began to skank like I did in High School :).

Although there’s a lot of potential in the band and they really will continue to grow, I have some criticism of the album - mainly the replay-ability of the songs.  I liked them and I’ve listened to them off and on to write the review, but I never went out of my way to listen to them.  Out of the 5 tracks that I had to listen to, I found I only listened to 3, the others I skipped.

Also, I’m normally not a radio-edit kinda guy.  If a song is good and has my attention, don’t cut it off at 2 minutes just because that’s the average airtime.  But on a couple of the songs I found myself bored right around 2:30 feeling like I had heard enough.

So as a final word…..CHECK THEM OUT.  They have some good vocal harmony and crazy good beats that make good skanking music and driving music, and if you’re like me and torn between the good and the not so good, keep checking up on them as I believe they have serious potential.  Hopefully we’ll be seeing some even better and more original music and lyrics coming from them in the future.

Here are the links and usual mp3’s as promised

Alone In My Principles - Download - Stream
The Government Stole My IPod - Download - Stream

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bw
Website: Bio on Sonic Bids

Download MP3s on Amazon
Purchase CDs from Indie Vision Music

Note: All MP3s will be removed after two weeks

It’s rare that I’ll like a band the first time I hear them.  It happened with Woven Hand.  It happened with Aaron Sprinkle.  It happened with Sufjan Stevens.  It happened recently with Willowfair.  And it’s happened again with Steal the Prize.

With a lo-fi, meandering classic garage rock sound that carries elements of blues, soul, and punk rock, Steal the Prize is quickly becoming one of my favorite new bands.

Good writing, fun instrumentation, and boat loads of energy.  This is a good band.

In a world of highly-polished Sufjan Stevens wannabes and over-produced pop-rock icons, good old fashioned rock and roll is hard to find.  The sound that made Big Joe Turner, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard famous wasn’t refined and trimmed down for a radio audience - it was loud, aggressive, passionate, and fresh.

I like Sufjan Stevens, and I like a lot of his wannabes, but there’s nothing like a good old rock and roll band.

Steal the Prize, out of Virginia, is Ben Delaurentis (guitar / vocals), Adam Rodgers (bass), Jon Fies (guitar), and Mark Cullen (drums).  About the band, they say, “I’ve lost my mind. At least my old one. We aren’t supposed to feel this much. We aren’t supposed to think this much. A switch has been flipped and I’m still working it all out…people don’t talk like this….people have better things to worry about than who they are or why they’re here. Either way, the switch is flipped, the cap is off, and now all I can do is feel.”

Cool.  A bit cryptic, but cool nonetheless.

Ben told me the band members “are definitely followers of Jesus,” and that they “just want to open people’s eyes to true christianity, to what Jesus was actually talking about.”  Their album I Want To Talk To God is really interesting in that respect. I’ll get into the music side of things later, but lyrically it’s really good, very interesting phrases and concepts, with intriguing glimpses of God throughout.

Check out these lyrics for “The Skeptics Were Right:”

If it’s all in my head it’s as real as the air we’re breathing.
If it’s all in my head it’s as real as the ground beneath me.
The skeptics were right. I should have known. Its why I’m alone.
I’ve seen every side and I can’t deny all I’ve been shown.
I’ve opened my mind, there’s no going back. I know what I know.
If it were all in my hands I’d wake half the world from sleeping.
If it were all in my hands, what would be to keep me from squeezing?
The skeptics were right. I should have known. Its why I’m alone.
I’ve seen every side and I can’t deny all I’ve been shown.
I’ve opened my eyes, there’s no way to know if I’m high or low.

I don’t quite get what’s going on here lyrically, but I think I like it.  The writing thoughout is very well-done if a bit cryptic at times.  And confusing once in a while.  Like “All the Pretty Ladies.” It seems to be about your standard girl-obsessed guy, but I suspect there’s more going on here than on the surface.  I don’t know.  Ultimately, it’s catchy, it’s got a fun beat, and I love what they do with the piano in it.  Real jazzy, fun stuff.

Man, there are a ton of great songs on this album.  It’s pretty lo-fi sounding, to be sure, but I loved almost every song here.  The writing, the energy of the music, the edgy vocals - I love it.  It was hard to pick only two songs to put up for download.  Album opener “Some Things Don’t Translate” sets the stage with dynamic shifts in tempo, hard-driving beats, Kurt Cobain-esque vocals, and extended instrumental sections.  This is a great song, one of my favorites.  Then it moves into “The Opposite of Space,” a trippy, hard-rockin’ palette of sound.  These are the kinds of songs Steal the Prize does the best at - the unpolished, loud, edge-of-your-seat soulful rock songs.

The album seems to be mostly these kinds of songs and a few slower, more thoughtful ballads.  The slower stuff is alright.  It retains the soulful bluesy feel of the album, but it loses out when put next to songs like “You Go Left I Go Righteous,” “Pledge Allegiance to the Earth,” or “Outrun the Sun.”  By far the worst song on the album is “You’re My Moment.”  The lyrics are fine, but the music just drags in this love song / ballad.  ”Let Me Know” is almost as bad, but it has enough variety going on in the music to keep it above the “worst song on the album” level.  And it does have a really cool part around 1:30 where the song kicks it up a notch for a while.

All in all, though the album is a bit rough at times, and I’d rather a song or two be left out, there’s a ton of great songs here worthy of your listening.  Even if it weren’t free (see below), I’d recommend picking this album up.  I can’t wait to see where these guys go from here.  They’ve got a great, distinct sound with a lot of energy and passion, drawing on some of the roots of rock and roll and fusing it with a more modern approach.  This is rock and roll, pure and simple rock and roll.

Here’s some songs for you to download, and go get the whole album over here for free if you like ‘em:

The Opposite of Space - Download - Stream
You Go Left I Go Righteous  - Download - Stream

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/stealtheprize

Download the entire album I Want to Talk to God for free

Note: All MP3s will be removed after two weeks

Sure, with their name, you would think this band would be either ska or Christian pop-punk, but that’s waaaaay off. I reviewed the Pinstripe 45s EP Studies in Timing and Coincidence, and found it to feel along the lines of a haunted fishing hole: spooky, yet catchy. It’s not for everybody, but I think their sound can definitely have an audience.

Imagine if James Taylor (famous for “Fire and Rain,” and other well-made songs) took an emotional nose-dive. Then, imagine he moved to a shed out int the middle of Pennsylvania, and that shed were haunted, then he wrote songs about the whole experience, and you’d get a pretty good feeling for what the Pinstripe 45s sound like.

I mean all that in a good way, too.

The Pinstripe 45s have a sound that isn’t like a lot out there right now, which is commendable, and promising of them as a band. Vocally, they have a nice harmonic technique in just about all their sounds that remind me of some Simon and Garfunkel, although higher in pitch than most of their works. This is where the haunted feeling comes from for me. I dig it, but not as much as I think a lot of other people will. In the end, only your ear will be the deciding factor, just be sure to give it a chance to grow on you.

The downside to the singing style is that it de-emphasizes the lyrics, leaving them hard to follow (for me, anyway), in exchange for their sound. That’s not really a bad thing, but if you’re the type that likes to follow lyrics and extract meaning from them, you probably won’t find much from these guys. The end result is that you hear the repeated phrases, the catches, but not much else. Most any music you hear on the radio is like that, anyway, so it’s something forgiveable.

One song I really thought worked out well is “Times Like These.” I’ll give it to you below. In it, you really get a sense of what the Pinstripe 45s’ sound is capable of, with the haunting vocals, heavy acoustic guitar with some instrumental backing lending it a nice weight and depth otherwise not present in their other songs.

Enjoi the free stuff:

Times Like These - Download - Stream
Follow Me Down - Download - Stream

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/pinstripe45s

Get MP3s from Nimbit

Note: All MP3s will be removed after two weeks

Disclaimer: Since we normally post about Christian artists, we feel obligated to let you know that, to the best of our knowledge, the Pinstripe 45s make no claims to being Christ-followers.  We just liked their music enough to include them on The Blah Blah anyway.

There are things in life more important than crystal clear sound delivered straight to my music-thirsty ear drums, but right now I could care less what they might be.

Why?  Because I now have in my possession a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones.  And I got ‘em at half the normal price (click here).

I’ve always wanted a really good pair of headphones, but I never really cared to dish out the cash for a set until a few weeks ago.  I was out doing evangelism with a group of guys.  We had prayed beforehand and asked God where we should go and who we should keep our eyes open to talk with, and He led us to Target.

And there, God (OK, not God, just our Y chromosomes) led us to the electronics department, where I (of course) felt led to try out a pair of really expensive Bose headphones.

For a guy who’s never spent more than $10 on a set of headphones, these things blew me away.

And that’s when I began my quest to actually get me some awesome headphones.  My quest led me eventually to this list of some of the best headphones ever created.  And, eventually, I stumbled onto this Ebay store that was selling pairs of Audio-Technica ATH-M50s for half the normal price.

How could I resist?

Now all I want to do is listen to music on my new headphones all day.  My home stereo, which everybody I have over thinks is completely awesome, now sounds simply decent.  My car stereo, which sounded pretty much just OK, now sounds like crap.  Audio-Technica, what have you done to me?

These are the clearest sounding, most comfortable pair of headphones I’ve ever owned.  Aradhna’s hand drums are so clear you can almost hear the individual fingers hitting the drum heads.  Solomon Jabby’s bass is so booming it sounds like a little subwoofer in my ears.  Aaron Strumpel’s acoustic guitar is so clear you can hear the little buzzes and mistakes.  The cello and violyn of the Psalters is so perfect that you can pick out the sound of the reed rubbing against the strings, not just the note it creates.  Piano sounds like real piano keys hitting real strings.  It’s amazing.

So far, everything sounds awesome on these headphones, but the songs that blew my mind the most are those with dominant acoustic guitar, bass, and vocals.  Oh, and techno is in a league of its own.  David Crowder’s Sunsets and Sushi is incredible.

Well, to sum it up, I never expected to own a $200 pair of headphones, but now that I do, I think you all should get yourselves some.  And you should definitely get ‘em from here half-price.

This is going to be one of my semi-usual posts that is way late in coming.  Sometimes, I wait really long to do a post because the music completely sucks.  So I wait in the hopes that it’ll grow on me.

Such is definitely not the case with The Rest’s album Everyone All At Once.  This is one of the freshest, coolest, hippest albums I’ve heard in a while.  I’ve been enjoying it ever since the guys in the band sent it to me.

I feel bad that I’ve had it for… oh 2 months or more and haven’t shared it with you all.  So today, I’m freeing myself from all that piled-up emotional guilt.  After this post is up, I’ll be able to sleep again.

What exactly held me back so long?  I don’t know, and that’s what annoys me more than anything.  This is an incredible album that I should have put up here the day I first heard it.

Well enough of my deep confessions.  The Rest is made up of Adam Bentley, Anna Jarvis, Blake Bowman, Dwayne Brydon, Jordan Mitchell, Matty Buzanko, Steve Jones.  It’s a huge band with an equally huge sound.  At times, there are so many instruments playing different parts that they sound like a full-fledged orchestra.  At other times, they’re subdued and laid back with a dreamy 60s folk vibe.

Man, there are so many good songs on this album.  You know how when you listen to an album, there are normally a few songs you just don’t like?  On this album, there are only lines and musical phrases I don’t like.

The album opens with the eery and powerful “Coughing Blood.”  This is one of my favorite songs on the album.  It starts with slow and moody cello, which fades out and allows an equally moody acoustic guitar to take center stage.  After some plaintive cries, the music builds in intensity as drums, more guitars, and other instruments are added to the mix.  Finally, at about 4:38, the song reaches its climax and then slowly fades out again.  It’s like the best parts of Arcade Fire, Explosions in the Sky, Flowers of Hell, and Sufjan Stevens all collided together for this song.

A lot of the songs on the album have that Arcade Fire / Flowers of Hell feel, and that’s definitely not a bad thing.  Just listen to “Modern Time Travel” or “Walk on Water”.  Though they flow in a similar vein to “Coughing Blood,” they each have their place in the album.  ”Modern Time Travel” is somewhat more peaceful and dreamy, and “Walk on Water” is a frenetic jaunt of intense musical variety.  In the middle of the song, there’s a sudden musical shift for about 30 seconds, and the whole song is a swirling maze of sounds.

Besides the intense orchestral songs, there’s the sweet and innocent “Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing,” the musically schizophrenic “Phonetically, Phonetically,” and the sad and haunting “Drinking Again.”  There’s the almost whimsical “Blossom Babies Part Two” and the catchy and singable “Everything All At Once.”

All in all, this is an outstanding album.  The songs are similar enough to each other to resist the scattered feel that many albums have.  The album feels like a single unit and not just a collection of various odds and ends.  The album flows amazingly well and feels very mature in its sound.

If you’re in the mood for something new and completely awesome, give this album a look.  I think you’ll like it.

I do have to make one disclaimer, since I usually post music by Christian artists here.  The guys of The Rest make no claims to being Christians, and while I didn’t hear any offensive lyrics, you never know.  Chances are, though, if you like to read my blog, you’re used to being offended.  Or you don’t care.

Well, either way, this album is definitely worth checking out.

Hope you dig these two tracks of The Rest’s new album Everyone All At Once:

Coughing Blood - Download - Stream
The Lady Vanishes - Download - Stream

Myspace: www.myspace.com/therestband
Website: www.therestmusic.com

Buy CDs from the band

Note: All MP3s will be removed after two weeks

It was very difficult for me to put together this mix CD.  For starters, I like things to be organized, and, when I make a mix CD, I try to bring order to it.  I like to have a theme and arrange the songs so as to best portray that theme.  But… this mix CD has no theme and the songs are all in random order.

Why did I do that?  Because this mix CD is supposed to be a sort of representation of me, and I don’t really have a theme.  My life is sometimes out of order.  My tastes vary greatly, changing from day to day and spanning across many genres.

So you get this mix CD, featuring some of my favorite artists and music in no particular order because usually I’m playing my songs on random in iTunes anyhow.  It’s quite random, so beware!

1. “Return of Da Stomp” by Laromlab (Download or Stream)
I got this off of a Paste sampler CD, and couldn’t stop listening to it.  The beat is catchy, unique, and features multiple levels of instrumentation.  Play this sucker long enough, and you can’t help but feel happier… and a bit more like Mario.

2. “Scarf Dance” by Psalters (Download or Stream)
Psalters is by far my favorite crazy, Christian gypsy/hippy/tribal band out there, and I love the wild beats in Scarf Dance.

3. “Leviathan, Bound” by Shearwater (Download or Stream)
I first stumbled on Shearwater while browsing eMusic looking for something different and new.  I like this song even if it’s about a scene from the Discovery Channel.

4. “Sanctuary” by The Echoing Green (Download or Stream)
I like electronica, and The Echoing Green has some good stuff.  I especially love the thought of how Jesus defines “the line between human and divine.”  Cool line from the song.

5. “Firebreather” by Thrice (Download or Stream)
Ah, nothing like good ol’ heavy distortion and screaming.  It’s a song about courage, but you’d never guess that ’cause you can’t hear what they’re saying.  This is the kind of screamo I like, though.

6. “Kiss Your Feet” by John Mark McMillan (Download or Stream)
This is my favorite song by John Mark McMillan.  What a great line:  I dreamed I kissed your feet between the cigarette butts on the side of fourteenth street.  The heart and lyrics of this song are great!

7. “Buffalo Jump” by Dougie MacLean (Download or Stream)
There’s nothing quite so cool as a Scottish man singing a song about Native Americans while in the background an australian didgeridoo plays.  The mix of cultures grabbed my attention.  Check out Dougie MacLean’s work for some beautiful but simple acoustic guitar work.

8. “Hospital Beds” by Cold War Kids (Download or Stream)
This is the song that made me like Cold War Kids.  I don’t know exactly what’s going on in this hospital, but I keep listening to the song to find out the story behind it all.

9. “Sanctitatis” by Future of Forestry (Download or Stream)
This isn’t Future of Forestry’s best song out there, but it’s the one I played on repeat for about an hour while driving to Green Bay last year.  I love how they use an old Latin prayer.

10. “Scarecrow” by Skillet (Download or Stream)
Despite their not-so-blatant Christianity and sometimes even downright gloominess, I still really like Skillet.  This old song of theirs reminds me of my true calling to be a scarecrow.

11. “Chop Suey!” by System of a Down (Download or Stream)
When I first listened to this song, I thought it was by a Christian band.  Ha ha!  I don’t know what old Serj was intending, but he paints here a great picture of Jesus on the cross and mankind’s refusal to follow him.

12. “Glance” by Misty Edwards (Download or Stream)
Misty has songs I like better musically than this, but the message of this song always hits me hard.  I wish my heart would always be so passionate for God, but I’m still growing.

13. “The Building” by Mekons (Download or Stream)
Mekons has lots of great songs, and they’re all incredibly different, ranging from old school punk to folk to nearly tribal.  I like this one.  It’s hard to even classify it as a song, but the vocals are awesome… in their own way.  Just listen to it.  You’ll understand.

14. “On With the Show” by Destroy Nate Allen (Download or Stream)
This is probably my favorite Destroy Nate Allen song out there.  It’s fairly simple, but the story the song tells is quite deep and forces me to think whenever I listen to it.

15. “Wake Me Up” by Merchant Band (Download or Stream)
Merchant Band has a lot of stuff out there now, most of it pretty CCM-ish.  Though I’m not so anti-CCM as many out there, I like this song for its discordant feel and use of distortion in ways no other worship music uses it.

16. “Grace of God Go I” by Flogging Molly (Download or Stream)
There are other songs by Flogging Molly that I like better musically, but the tone and message of this song is great.  If not for God’s grace on me, I’d be a mess.

17. “Once Beautiful” by The Last Dance (Download or Stream)
I listened to this song during my 8.5 hour drive south from Michigan last summer.  This isn’t a “Christian” song (per se), but it always makes me think about how God makes us beautiful again.

18. “Send Your Rain” by Brenton Brown (Download or Stream)
This simple song always gets my heart focused on the one thing that really matters:  getting the rain of God’s presence in our lives, our communities, and our world.  We need his presence so badly and we don’t even know it…

19. “Tambourines” by Enter the Worship Circle (Download or Stream)
I like the simplicity of this song and also the unusual focus on the tambourine.  It’s not too often that a song’s main instrument is a tambourine.

Enjoy the downloads, and grab the whole thing here in one humongous zip file if you want!

Note: all MP3s will be removed after 2 weeks.

If you’re on Derek’s mailing list, you got this cryptic message from him last week:

friends-
i haven’t sent many personal emails to this email list but we’re in a situation that has gotten a little out of control and it’s time to fill you in.  as some of you may know, i’ve been working for months on my new record, ’stockholm syndrome’, which i’ve recently finished and turned in to the record label.  they’ve been very supportive over the years, but this time we didn’t get the response we expected.  it seems i’ve finally found the line beyond which my label can support me, and apparently i’ve crossed it.

i consider this my most important record and am adamant about all of you hearing it.  we had originally hoped to have ’stockholm syndrome’ out this month (next week even), but at this point we’re not sure when the record will come out and in what form.  the majority of the controversy is surrounding one song, which i consider to be among the most important songs on the record.  so we’ve decided it’s an appropriate time to break the rules.

but because of various legal/publishing issues we’re having to be rather careful with how we do what we’re going to do next.  that’s really all i can say for now and i’ve probably said too much.

we have a plan and we’re moving ahead, but we’re not sure what kind of trouble we might be getting into.  we’ll let you know as soon as we know our next move-
derek

I am not on Derek’s mailing list, but Arthur (the) Pope is and sent this my way.

My first thought was, “Oh, sweet, Derek Webb’s gonna really start preaching on this album.  Is he calling out sin?  Is he rebuking lazy church-goers for not sharing the gospel? Is he calling down fire on the hypocritical worship leaders, porn addicted youth pastors, and wishy-washy emergent church theologians?”

I thought maybe Christian music would finally get a backbone again.

But, no, it looks like all the battle is about is that Derek uses the word “shit” in one of his songs (see here for the theory). Way to pick a battle!  Way to stand your ground for your principles!  Way to be a radical man of God who refuses to cater to the quaint moralisms of The Man! (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

Is this the full extent of our radical nature in the church?  That we make a stand to be able to use our favorite four-letter word for poop?!

I have no real issue with the fact that Derek wants to say “shit” in his song.  I don’t get off on it and I think it goes against Ephesians 4:29, but I understand it’s got a bit more edge to it than the word “poopy” or “turd”.  But, really, in the grand scheme of things, don’t you think there are more worthy hills to die on than Shit Mountain?

Since when did any of this become what Christianity is all about?

——————————————————

Update: So I got another e-mail from Arthur with this final, even more cryptic, message from Derek:

friends-
this is turning into a bigger deal than we expected.  as a result, we’re having to temporarily _pull everything online down (can’t explain now).  and to be on the s_afe side, i’m going to pe_rsonally go offline while we sort this out.  i re_ally shouldn’t use my twitter account for now either so _don’t expect any updates there.

make no m_istake, our trouble with the label over content i_s very real, and not as simple as one word; we’re back_ed into a corner.  but we have applied all of our creative resources to th_is, working furiou_sly to create something that we believe not only subverts any leg_al issues but should also be a _pretty wild ride.

so this will be the l_ast email for a while.  we’ll t_ry to lea_k information via a new tw_itter account.  you’re o_n your own so start payin_g attention.  i’l_l see you _on the o_ther side-
derek

Hmmm…  Perhaps he’s fighting for more than the right to swear in his recordings.  Only time will tell I suppose.

The Blah Blah: Who are you, in as many words and descriptives as you’d like to use?

Michael Blair: A Hundred Miles is an original alternative modern folk rock band. The sound has remained the same as it was in Michael Blair Project,but the name has changed.

TBB: What have you been doing since the days of Madison Greene?

MB: Musically speaking I have been practicing/developing the sound of A Hundred Miles (called Michael Blair Project until earlier this year). I also lead worship in the grade school age class at one of the churches that I attend.

TBB: Is Madison Greene still going?

MB: Good question. In a practical sense the band is not active at this point. The last show we played under the MG moniker was in 2006. We have never had an official “the band has finally retired” moment. There is still a possibility that MG will perform again, maybe at a festival of some sort. But nothing specific is planned at this time.

TBB: What do we have to look forward to from A Hundred Miles?

MB: Lord willing, A Hundred Miles would like to release a record sometime in the next twelve months. We would also like to begin playing regionally at some point.

TBB: What is the song “Dispensation” about? [Editor's note: this is where it gets annoying and I ask Michael what all my favorite songs are about.  Bear with me...]

MB: Dispensation was written around 2002/2003. A lot of topics were combined into one over-arching theme: letting go of what we hold dear so that God can bring something better into our lives, Himself through His Son.

My cousin went home to be with the Lord that year. He was in his early thirties and had a young faithful wife and two beautiful children. His physical body died of cancer, but he was given a season to prepare for his earthly death. I tried to see him as often as I could in those days, in between Madison Green trips.

It was an emotionally sad but spiritually encouraging time. He knows Jesus, and he was willing to let go of his mortality in a peaceful, trusting way. And his wife (my cousin in-law) was a genuine example of how those of us who know Christ “do not grieve as those who have not hope”.

We only have a rough live recording of that song. Did I sell that to you on a CD? You probably deserve a refund.

TBB: One of my favorite of your songs is “Little Pill”. What’s that song about?

MB: That song is a first-person perspective of something that I have never actually experienced myself, drug addiction. Ultimately the theme can be applied to any fallen person. We tend to become miserable slaves to the very things we think will make us happy. 

TBB: How about “Peace To You”?

MB: Peace to you began as a rebellious attitude on my part toward what God was leading me to do, but ended up being a redemptive realization that I had to turn away from a part of myself, the part that was clinging to this romantic notion of loneliness and depression. In the olden times acting on those attitudes would have been labeled “slothfullness”. Nowadays people are told that depression is not their fault and that all they really need is just more medication. Either way, the person who I am saying goodbye to in the song is that part of me that was keeping me from becoming what God wants me to be (someday).

TBB: While I’m on a roll, what about “The Other Side of May” and “Repentance in C”?

MB: Why not? “The Other Side of May” is about knowing when to let go of a person whom you love because you realize that it would be an un-loving act to remain in the same relationship with them. “Repentance in C” is a prayer of repentance put to music (the key of C). Ryan Evans (our bassist) wrote the arrangement for that song, along with the chord structure. He chose the key of C. Had he chosen the key of D, the song would probably be called “Repentance in D”.

TBB: For a little background on you as an artist, how did you get started making music?

MB: My mom first introduced me to the guitar when I was a kid. She would play it now and then, and that is where the interest began. I started to get serious about writing songs when I went on a mission trip to Russian in 1993. I was 16 years old and was made to perform everyday with the musical / drama group that I was traveling with. We would sing worship songs in public outdoor squares, engaging in activity that could have put people in prison just a few years before.

TBB: What do you do when you’re not making music?

MB: I am currently involved in two churches and work full-time managing an all-ages music venue near Detroit. 

TBB: Describe your process of writing songs. Where do most of your lyrics come from?

MB: I usually pray, and then the Holy Spirit graciously begins to bring experiences and his Word to my mind. Then I start to write down phrases that fit in with whatever chord progression I am playing at the time. 

TBB: Can you describe your journey with God, where you’ve come from, where you hope to head, etc.?

MB: I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was little. Since then I have been continually challenged with surrendering attitudes and perspectives to him all of the time. It is easy to surrender in the areas that seem the most obvious to us, or on the days when our circumstances suit our temperaments. But it is unnatural for us in our fleshly states to surrender when we start to get to the end of ourselves emotionally, spiritually, physically. I am hoping that God will perfect that submission to Him in me before I leave this earth.

TBB: I work with high school students, so I’m interested in this next question - what were you like in High School?

MB: In 10th grade I rededicated my life to Christ. I had the opportunity to share my faith with a number of people throughout high school. Some people were interested, others mocked me. It was a good introduction to experiencing, on a small scale in my mind, being persecuted for the gospel. I regret not being more disciplined in my studies…

TBB: What’s your goal as a musician?

MB: To honor Jesus Christ with the gift that he has given me.

TBB: If you could have any one of your songs heard throughout the world, which would you pick?

MB: Good question. Smart question. Has anyone ever told you that you’re smart, Jake? Answer: “Peace To You”

TBB: What artists are you currently listening to?

MB: Iron and Wine, David Crowder, Sufijan Stevens, Chris Tomlin, and (never too far from the rotation) Patty Griffin. To name a few.

TBB: Which artists are on your recommend listening list?

MB: Tree By Leaf, Kelly Jean Caldwell, Bad Faces Clan (all on myspace)

TBB: What books are you reading?

MB: Romans, 1 Thessalonians (from the Bible), the biography of George Mueller, and My Utmost For His Highest (Oswald Chambers).

TBB: What do you think of the MP3 downloading revolution? Bad for artists or good?

MB: Good.

TBB: I’ve been trying to make sense of this whole “Christian music” thing lately. What does the term mean to you? Like it, hate it, or don’t even think about it?

MB: This topic has challenged me in a good way over the years. I could write about this at length, but for the sake of the interview I would prefer to make it short: Attempting to identify music as “christian” or “not christian”, I personally believe, is a lot like trying to define an ocean as “christian” or a forest as “christian” or the moon on Christmas Eve as “christian”. The Bible, which I believe to be an absolutely trustworthy source of teaching from which we can formulate our beliefs concerning any topic that we ever consider, clearly teaches that all of these things, all of creation, all of music, all of our ability to express anything already belongs to God. In the case of those of us who are able to express ourselves through music we ultimately make one of two choices: either we use our abilities in a way that honors the Creator who gave us those abilities in the first place or we don’t. 

TBB: Any final thoughts?

MB: May the God of Peace bless those of you who read this interview with spiritual blessing that does not fade out or grow cold. Know that the gospel of God is simple; He sent His Son, His only Son, to die on the cross so that the sins of the people on earth would be paid for in full. To embrace His Son Jesus Christ with a repentant heart and to receive the forgiveness that He alone has won for you is to find eternal life. Even though your earthly body may die, your soul will be forever at peace in the presence of God together with all of His people.

To reject Jesus, the Son of God, is to reject the salvation that God has planned for you since the beginning of time. Know that Jesus Christ himself has warned us that to reject Him will result in your soul existing in eternal punishment, never at peace and never at rest.

Consider the salvation that God has given you in his Son Jesus. Repent of your sins, trust in Jesus Christ to forgive you and be saved forever. After this, ask God to direct you to the church that he wants you to be in community with. Then trust in him to train and direct you to go and tell other people of His glorious and merciful plan of salvation. Amen.

Amen.  Thank you, Michael Blair, for this interview, and may God continue to use you to transform lives for Him!