Tangled up in Blue

What is it about blues music? Is it the unabashed masculinity of the slow beats, or the honesty of the words that shine a light on pain and loss, or maybe its the power of the bass and the singer's voice stripping life back to the basics?


For many I've spoken to, hearing songs flavoured with grief, regret, acceptance and a touch of hope is a relief from the sugary bubble-gum pop on the airwaves. Blues lyrics are written from experience, and tell of a life lived, as opposed to the fantasy world of pop divas.


For men, hearing the truths that they have lived through being voiced by other men is liberating. The feeling that we have a voice, and can be heard among all the overly sweet offerings of manufactured plastic pop strikes deep into our spirit.


Some people have told me that listening to blues music isn't wise, as I'm subject to depression and when it hits, it hits hard. All I know is, blues songs tell a story that is familiar to me, stories that I can own. I don't feel dragged down, I feel found, understood and accepted.


And yes, I'm speaking from a guy's point of view, knowing full well that blues is not gender specific, and women can claim their fair share of wonderful blues numbers, many of which I also enjoy. The voices of Etta James, Deborah Coleman, Erja Lyytinen, Eve Monsees, Geeshie Wiley, Irma Thomas, Jessie Hemphill and Joanna Connor are also voices of honesty and strength. 

Yet men need to hear from other men. Men need to hear straight truth, and need to know that they are not alone in troubles. 


So bring on the blues, they can actually lift your spirits :)

How small is God?

The conscious knowledge we have of the size and awesomeness of the universe affects our subconscious view of our place in the scheme of things. And when, like me, you grow up being told that God has a personal interest in you, yet you are learning how staggeringly vast the universe is, you begin to wonder, just who am I to a God who is so immense?

The most learned and quoted Bible verse, John 3:16, says "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This verse tells us that God can and does view and think about the whole world and all in it. We also learn, that God is able to centre on the individual, the 'whoever' that believes gains eternal life.

That's all well and good as far as theology goes, but how does that pan out in real life?

For that we need to look at 'the exact representation of God', Jesus Christ. 

If we look at the event of the crucifixion, we see amazing things happening. In Luke 23 we read "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: 'Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don't you fear God', he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong'. Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom'. Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise'."

Here was Jesus, fulfilling the plan to bring redemption to the world through becoming our sin on the cross, and some guy interrupts him with the request to gain God's favour! And the remarkable this is Jesus takes the time and effort to regard this one person even when He was dealing with the sin of the whole world! You can learn from this that Jesus is vitally interested in your salvation whenever you come to Him. He will never fob you off as being unimportant or a waste of His time.

Another amazing event that occurred during the crucifixion is seen in John 19. "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing near by, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son', and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother'. From that time on, this disciple took her into his home." 

In the middle of all His agony, Jesus looked to the practical needs of His people. Being a Christian isn't all about learning some set theology, or memorising set prayers by rote, it's all about your life. The whole of it. And Jesus showed He is interested in being allowed to help you in all areas, spiritual, physical, practical, emotional.. all of it. 

One of my favourite verses says "In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Jesus is to be Lord of all your life, not just some small compartment. 

Another lesson can be learnt after the resurrection, when Jesus had appeared several times to a variety of His followers. Thomas though, had missed out, and wouldn't take the word of the others that Jesus was alive. We all have doubts at times, and we sometimes need to have a personal experience of something before we can take it on board. Thomas had said (John 20), "Unless I see.. unless I feel..". Jesus sought Thomas out, and took the time to deal directly with the questions and doubts Thomas had. 

Jesus is directly aware and interested in how you are feeling and thinking, and He wants to answer your questions and doubts. Jesus at times wants us to believe in things that are yet to happen (such as our future with Him), but He never asked His followers to believe in the false or faulty. 

Jesus doesn't want brain-dead believers. He simply wants believers.

Through these events, we can see that Jesus is vitally interested in your salvation, you are very important to Him, and that is based on His love of you (For God SO LOVED the world)...

We also learn that Jesus is interested in helping us in the whole of our lives, including the day-to-day practical boring or troublesome stuff. 

And we learn that Jesus wants to answer our doubts, questions and queries we have.

What are you waiting for?....

Peace, man....

One thing we need in life that dissolves stress, anxiety, depression and doubt is an overwhelming sense of peace.

When we are at peace with each other, understanding, care, compassion and practical help blossoms. Imagine the benefits of being at peace with God! Self doubt, self judgement, soul-deep anxiety and stress would melt away, replaced by a calmness and relief that would change you from the inside out.

In Paul's letter to the church at Philippi (Philippians) he has some wonderful practical advice on how to attain that peace. Bear in mind he is writing to people who have already become believers and followers of Jesus.

In chapter 4 he sets the scene with expressions of love and care - 'my brothers', 'you whom I love and long for', 'my joy and crown', 'dear friends'. Paul knew the power of speaking the truth with love.

In verse 2 he deals with interpersonal bickering - 'I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.' Paul doesn't take sides, but appeals to both parties to come to agreement and peace. He then calls on his trusted friend to smooth the way for this reconciliation. It is good to end divisions and restore friendships amicably. 

In verse 4 he reminds us of the bigger picture, our standing in Christ, and our response should be to naturally 'rejoice in the Lord always', rather than concentrate on petty differences among ourselves.

'Let your gentleness be evident to all' (v5), this is an outflowing from loving treatment of each other, where people see and note the way we interact.

'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.' (v6). Paul reminds us that we are dealing with and relying on the God of creation, the Lord of all, and our everyday lives are in His hand and under His care. Our stresses are self induced, we are to 'let go and let God'. Whatever you are worried about, you are to present to God to take care of, and when you hand over your worries, thanksgiving will flow from the joy of relief. We are not to bottle up our cares and concerns, but to share them with our loving Father, so they don't fester and burden us.

The direct result of this is an attainment of peace that comes from living in the will of God (v7). This peace is of such power that it permeates our hearts and minds. Our emotions, fears, yearnings, thoughts, beliefs and desires are all infused with peace. What a wonderful way to live! All by dealing with the day to day interactions of ourselves with others, making sure we heal differences, looking to our Lord in happiness out of what He has accomplished for us, treating each other with dignity, respect and love, and 'casting all your cares upon Him'.

But wait, there's more! Maintaining that outlook of inner peace in our hearts and minds is important. We don't just want a 'one-off' experience... So Paul gives us some advise on how to keep living in that peace.

'Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.' What do you feed your mind with? What words and images do you digest? It is good to choose to listen to songs and speech that uplifts yourself and others. It is good to contemplate scenes that are positive rather than denigrating or destructive. There are many things we have the power of choice over each day, and we would be wise to filter out the depressive and demeaning to concentrate on the affirming and uplifting.

Practice peace, and rejoice in the God of love.

Pass the Post

I've been posting all my blogs here on "Point & Shoot", whether they be about aspects of photography, previews of my classical music radio show, or whatever is fizzling through my brain at the time. And now it's time to give my followers of classical music a dedicated blog!

Each week I will be posting news and previews of "Roll Over Beethoven" on www.classical991.blogspot.com with write-ups of the composers being featured, and a heads-up on the Goon Show of the week.

You will be able to check out beforehand what will be happening on my Thursday evening radio show, and tune in to hear it from 9 pm to midnight only on Yarra Valley FM 99.1


The blog will also allow you to leave comments, click a 'quick tick' box, and even share it on your facebook page or twitter it to your friends.

Thanks too to my readers who encourage and support me in bringing some great classical music and news to them. Keep the comments coming and let me know what you are thinking.

Featured :)

It's nice to wake up to a pleasant surprise....


I cranked up the internet this morning, opened the usual pages (my blogs, my facebook and my photo sites) and found I had a ream of messages congratulating me on a photo that I took of an old railway carriage at Maldon Railway station. It had been featured on the front page of Red Bubble.

I've been a member of Red Bubble for a couple of years now, and like it because:
It's Australian, though it has a worldwide reputation for quality
It's easy to use
You can post large files of your images on it
You can market and sell your images in a host of different formats, from postcards to posters to t-shirts...
It's growing in popularity
It allows comments on your works


The recognition and exposure of being featured gives a nice 'warm fuzzy' feeling, and I'll take all of that that I can get!


So have a visit to my Red Bubble site, check out the photos, leave some comments, and remember - they make great gifts :)

Live and Local

We have a very special program lined up for Thursday night on "Roll Over Beethoven".

During the week I was able to catch up with two musicians who will be holding a concert of Bach music soon (details at the end of this post).

Andrew Blackburn and Jean Penny live in the Dandenongs, and are both experienced classical musicians.

Andrew Blackburn is an organist, harpsichordist, music technologist, composer and conductor. His performances have included concertos with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, concerts and recordings for the ABC, the Victorian Arts Centre Trust and many concerts both in Australia and abroad (England, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Denmark). He is organist at Toorak Uniting Church and founding director of the Arts Centre.

In 2005, he released a critically acclaimed recording of Handel’s Op 6 Organ Concertos performed on the historic Fincham Organ in Richmond Uniting Church.
In December 2009, Andrew presented at CreateWorld09, and in January 2010, with Jean Penny presented a concert of music for organ - both with realtime dsp and acoustic organ works at the acclaimed Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields Festival.

Jean Penny’s career as flautist, researcher and educator stretches across a wide compendium of styles and arenas. Her work currently focuses on contemporary performance practices, specifically flute with electronics.

In 2009 she completed doctoral studies in music for flute and electronics at the Queensland Conservatorium – The Extended Flautist: Techniques, Technologies and Performer Perceptions in Music for Flute and Electronics.

As I was interviewing them, we covered a lot of ground, and the whole interview can be heard on Thursday night during the show. I will play some of their music during the interview breaks.

And remember, the Goon Show will be on at 10 pm - this week: 'Under Two Floorboards'.

Listen in on Yarra Valley FM 99.1 Thursday from 9 pm to midnight.

CONCERT

Andrew and Jean will be presenting 'Bach by Candlelight', music for flute and harpsichord, on Sunday August 1 from 5 pm at the Kennon Memorial Uniting Church, 6 Clarkmont Rd Sassafras.
Tickets are $30 & $20 concession. Enquiries phone 9754 6039

Beat This

It was a time rich in exploring the unconscious thoughts of a nation. A time for poets, writers and wanderers to explore the psyche of a western world going through great change.

It was America, post WW11, post modernist philosophy, and with the wide open spaces ahead that new choices bring.

Change was all around. Europe was being reshaped, old political partners were becoming the new enemy, and the Left and Right were testing just how far each could go.

And to capture the new vistas that were opening up to the American people, a new generation of poets and visionaries threw away the rules of prose and paved the world with a new way with words.

They would become known as Beat Poets.

The likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S Burroughs and Hunter S Thompson became known as the nations new voice.

They were not working in isolation, influence came from earlier wordsmiths, such as Blake, Shelley, Thoreau, Emerson, Poe and Melville, as well as the artworld of Dadaism and Surrealism.

They in turn, influenced up-coming musicians. Among songwriters around the world, many have acknowledged the influence of the Beat Poets: The Beatles (McCartney even played on one of Ginsberg's albums), Dylan (Ginsberg toured with him in 1975), Jim Morrison (The Doors), The Grateful Dead, Mick Jagger, Patti Smith and Lou Reed. Tom Waits, The Clash, R.E.M., Kurt Cobain, Sonic Youth, Laurie Anderson and even Bono cite the Beat Poets as inspiration.

Tune in to Yarra Valley FM 99.1 on Monday night from 9 pm to catch the words and music of the Beat Era.