sidenote

also, i'm sorry for my religious rantings.
you really don't have to read it. (i didn't origionally write it to be read by other people)
i just posted it in case you care or you happen to find that sort of thing to be interesting.

i don't mean to offend anyone who has different views. (duh)
just yeah. pretty much, don't read it if you're easily offended by others' religious beliefs.

what i believe

*gasp* brianne is writing a blog that isn't related to music? i know, i know, you should be proud of me.

but anyway.

i've been thinking a lot about religion lately. i've noticed myself questioning some rules/practices of the church lately, so i decided it was a good time to try to iron out my beliefs. i basically just did a quick freewrite last night (yes, it actually only took me about a half hour to write all of this out). i wasn't sure if i was going to post it or not because it's pretty personal, but what the heck.

keep in mind. this is a freewrite. not edited or anything.




My Take on Religion

Why do people feel the need for religion?

People feel a need to live for something/someone. People need something/someone they can always count on. People feel the need to look to something/someone for guidance. People also need something to help them not fear death.



My Religion

I’m a Christian, but I don’t really consider that to be a “religion”.

I really hate the word "religion". When people think of religion (especially people that don't consider themselves to be "religious"), they generally think of a bunch of pointless rules. A religion seems to call for a set way of doing thing. I believe that there is no right or wrong way to follow Jesus. He died for our sins. All we have to do to get to heaven is believe in him; it says so in the Bible. So, does the trinity exist? Is baptism necessary? Should we pray to Mary? I don’t know the answers to any of those questions. Different sects of Christianity have come up with so many different rules and practices that we’ve all lost track of which rules/practices came out of the Bible and which ones some higher up in the church decided to put into place him or herself. No one takes the time to question the purpose of these rules/practices; everyone just accepts them as “God’s will”. The Bible tells us human beings are sinful by nature. Can we trust another human being to tell us which rules/practices are “God’s will” and which ones aren’t?

Christianity isn’t about following a bunch of rules. Christianity is about following Jesus’ example. I’ve been told by one of my friends that they don’t want to choose to follow a certain religion because it comes with too much baggage. They feel that if they decided to become a Christian they would have to start changing they’re life. They’d have to become anti-abortion, which would lead them to becoming a Republican, etc. The thing is, CHRISTIANITY HAS NO REQUIRMENTS! All you have to do is choose to follow Jesus. The idea is, after you accept him into your life, you’ll WANT to change. God doesn’t want to force you into believing anything; he allowed Satan to introduce sin into our world so we would be able to choose to do the right thing. You can choose to follow Jesus and still be pro-choice; you can follow him and be a Democrat; you can be for gay marriage; you can stand for whatever you want. Not all Christians are the white Republican dentists that live in the fancy housing developments and make phone calls to our Senators lobbying against gay rights. If after you become Christian, you decide to look into some of his beliefs, that’s your decision. Don’t let the church manipulate your beliefs.

Another thing is, you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian. You can worship God wherever you are. The problem with going to church is that it is very easy to choose the wrong one. You can find yourself surrounded by people who think entirely differently than you do. There are thousands of extremely conservative churches out there who think that everyone needs to vote the same way they do, believe they same thing they do, and act the way they pretend they do. Don’t write off all Christians because of these churches. For example, I usually go to services at Heartland Vineyard in Cedar Falls. Our pastor preaches about how Christianity is not about set rules but a relationship, just like I was talking about earlier. Sure, he sometimes says things I don’t agree with, but he also talks a lot about things I really do agree with. In fact, I’d say I agree with most of what he talks about. They’re also very compassionate and work hard to help out others in the community and around the world, which I think is important. It’s all about finding the right church for you.

Arcade Fire

The Arcade Fire is an indie rock band from Canada. The first of their songs I heard was Neighborhood 3 (Power Out). It's a really good song, you should check it out. When Jake gave me the album Neon Bible, I had pretty high expectations. Neon Bible didn't quite live up to those expectations, but I still liked some of the songs. After that, I "gave up" on Arcade Fire in a way. I mean, I still liked them, and I still loved the song Neighborhood 3, but I never really got into them. A little while later, Jake gave me the album Funeral. It's ten times better than Neon Bible, in my opinion. It's the album Neighborhood 3 is on [still one of my favorite Arcade Fire songs]. Worth listening too.

The album is very emotional. Partially because many members of the band had deaths in their family during the writing/recording. The emotion is genuine. Maybe that's what makes the album so great.

Here are some of the reviews of Funeral:

Metacritic.com gave it a 90/100, while their users gave the album a 9.4/10.

Tiny Mix Tapes: 100/100 "One of the best albums of the year, hands down."

Drowned In Sound: 100/100 "Encompassing chamber pop melodies, angular art-rock, lavish orchestration and post-punk vocals, its sheer sonic size and ambition goes some way towards justifying the amount of gushing praise that's been heaped upon this album since its September release on Merge last year. The fact that the music is so paradoxically life-affirming and euphoric makes it much easier to write, what now feel like, trite hyperboles."

The Guardian: 100/100 "One of the year's best already, by a mile."

Dot Music: 100/100 "“Funeral” is the sort of perfectly-realised record you’d hope from a band at the top of their game. For a debut release it’s unmatched in recent years. Hearing it is to wake from a black and white slumber and to view the world in widescreen Technicolour. "

No Ripcord: 90/100 "Not only are the songs uniformly excellent, they also show a mastery of the art of controlled dynamics, of tension and release, that most young bands ignore to pursue the catharsis of sustained intensity. "

Village Voice: 90/100 "Funeral is a remarkable record, hard to hear at first, then hard to stop hearing."

cokemachineglow: 90/100 "Funeral... is a resounding success on all levels---the group clearly able to make something incredible out of the familiar, and something inexplicably moving out of one emotionally draining year. "

The New York Times: 80/100 "One of the year's best indie-rock albums."

The Onion (A.V. Club): 70/100 "Funeral's layering of sound and wide-eyed posing can be overly dense, and though the band utilizes nice melodies and lively arrangements, the nostalgia-steeped-indie-rock-orchestra pool was pretty much drained before The Arcade Fire dove in. "

The entire album consists of beautifully written lyrics. The song In The Backseat is the only song on the album that is sung entirely by their female vocalist, and the lyrics are as beautifully written as all of the others.

I like the peace

in the backseat,

I don't have to drive,

I don't have to speak,

I can watch the country side,

and I can fall asleep.

My family tree's

losing all its leaves,

crashing towards the driver's seat,

the lightning bolt made enough heat

to melt the street beneath your feet.

Alice died

in the night,

I've been learning to drive.

My whole life,

I've been learning.

I like the peace

in the backseat,

I don't have to drive,

I don't have to speak,

I can watch the country side

Alice died

in the night,
I've been learning to drive.
My whole life,
I've been learn----Oh....

Matt and Kim

A couple of months ago, Evan told me about a band called Matt and Kim. I decided to check them out, and I bought their newest album, Grand.

Matt and Kim according to wikipedia:

Matt and Kim is a punk/dance duo from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004 by Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums/vocals). The two met while attending the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and started playing local warehouse shows in Brooklyn. Their simple, dance style rhythms and energetic performances have gained them a substantial local following and a formidable online presence through social networking and media sites like YouTube and MySpace. The group released their first full-length, self-titled CD on record label and media group "Iheartcomix", in October, 2006. Matt & Kim is in the Summer 2007 line-up for the Siren Music Festival, a free music concert held in Brooklyn, on Coney Island, and in the Chicago fest Lollapalooza. They have appeared on MTV2 as program hosts. Their music video for "Yea, Yeah" has also been shown on the station, and the video for "5K" has been shown on MTV Europe but was said to be too violent for the US. Their second album Grand was released on January 20, 2009 on Fader Label. They have a DIY attitude towards their music. [1] They also have a wide-ranging musical taste, including top 40 hip hop. [2]

They're pretty fun and upbeat. They're definately not my favorite, but I think that has more to do with me preferring other music genres over this. They're worth a look.

One of my favorite songs off of the album was Lessons Learned. I couldn't find the lyrics online, but I did find a music video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlXDFGgMCL0

enjoy.

updates.

so. i realize my last couple posts have been song lyrics. i also realize that i rarely post even that.
i think i'm going to start regularly posting song lyrics, but i'll try to talk about the album/artist a little bit. i don't know how much any of you will enjoy it, but hopefully it will give you ideas for new music? and i'll have some fun with it. so yes.

i suppose this can be my first one.

I've been listening to a lot of Streetlight Manifesto lately. They play "ska punk" music.

This is how Wikipedia defines "ska punk"

Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. Ska punk achieved its greatest popularity in the United States in the late 1990s, although there has also been a following worldwide. Several ska punk bands achieved mainstream commercial success, which in some cases continued into the 2000s.
The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting genres. The more punk- influenced style often features faster tempos, guitar distortion, onbeat punk-style interludes (usually the chorus), and nasal, gruff or shouted vocals. The more ska-influenced style of ska punk features a more developed instrumentation and a cleaner vocal and musical sound. The common instrumentation includes electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, brass instruments (such as saxophones, trombones or trumpets), and sometimes an organ.

Don't let their definition scare you off. This is not screamo music. It's probably different than anything else you listen to, but I think you should definately try it. Obviously, I have some of their music, so let me know if you'd like to listen to them.

I've been mainly, if not only, listening to their first album, Everything Goes Numb. One of my favorite songs off of the album [I really like the lyrics] is A Moment of Silence.

A moment of silence, please, for those who never get the chance

They show up to the party, but they're never asked to dance

The losers, the liars, the bastards, the thieves

The cynicists, the pessimists, and those that don't believe in nothing

I never met a loser that I didn't see eye-to-eye with, I declare

I stare into your eyes

But you look right past me into the air

What's it like to stand in your shoes?

To have never felt the belt of somebody's abuse?

I take the bottle and I tip it to all my heroes that have passed

Alas, you have left us, but your stories they will last

Uninspired by the recruiting call

Independent we stand

Independent we fall

So tell me: how long do you think you can go before you lose it all?

Before they call you bluff and watch you fall?

I don't know, but I'd like to think I had control

At some point, but I let it go and lost my soul

Sit tight, but the revolution's years away

I'm losing faith and I'm running low on things to say

So, I guess I have no choice but to regurgitate

The tired anthem of a loser and a hypocrite

Oh! To have died that night, I realized it wouldn't last

Our days were numbered and the reaper tipped the hourglass

The final mayday of our sinking ship had come and passed

Oh! To the west, you don't know what it is you're running from

And everybody's laughing loud

Your last chance to make your mother and your father proud

Oh, oh, oh...

A moment of silence, please, for those who never get the chance

They show up to the party, but they're never asked to dance

The losers, the liars, the bastards, the thieves

The cynicists, the pessimists, and those that don't believe in nothing

They said "a pox,

Upon your house,

Upon your family and everyone you ever knew

And everyone you'll ever meet"

I bet they think we wish we joined when we could

But we do what we want, we don't do what we should

Now, everybody's laughing, 'cause they're thinking they're in on something I don't get

Don't forget

I connect and I read every word you said

Like a child who believes he was wronged

If you hate me so much, then stop singing my songs

So tell me: how long do you think you can go before you lose it all?

Before they call you bluff and watch you fall?

I don't know, but I'd like to think I had control

At some point, but I let it go and lost my soul

Sit tight, but the revolution's years away

I'm losing faith and I'm running low on things to say

So, I guess I have no choice but to regurgitate

The tired anthem of a loser and a hypocrite

Oh! To have died that night, I realized it wouldn't last

Our days were numbered and the reaper tipped the hourglass

The final mayday of our sinking ship had come and passed

Oh! To the west, you don't know what it is you're running from

And everybody's laughing loud

Your last chance to make your mother and your father proud

Oh, oh, oh...