The Myth of Religious Tolerance

I recently had a friend express to me the hurt he felt that his Christian family did not accept his alternate religious beliefs.   He then went on to explain that his own religious views did not require everyone else to abandon their views in favor of his.  His consternation at the closed-mindedness of Christian proselytizing was clear.  The pain and distress experienced by my friend was real and evident, and I expressed my sincere sympathy with what they were going through.

So why can’t we all just get along?  I’m sure you’ve seen the “Coexist” bumper sticker before (see the image above): each of the letters are formed to represent a religious or other ideological view.  The implication is that these ideologies have not been doing a good job of peacefully coexisting, and that world would be better if we all just got along.  Is that a fair interpretation of the message being communicated here?  Isn’t this also the message expressed by my friend?

Still, though, the application of this is pretty unclear, isn’t it?  The devil’s in the details, as they say.  We can cry for peace all we wish, but it cannot be achieved through declaration or emotion alone.  There are two problematic assumptions I see with the “coexist” approach.  1. All paths are presumed to lead equally to God, and/or 2. Religion is considered a placebo.  But both of these assumptions are really condescending towards anyone who takes religion seriously, aren’t they?

Concerning “all paths lead equally to God,” most religions differ with every other religion (and I include atheism in this) over the big questions of life.  What happens to our consciousness upon death: reincarnation, absorption into the great spirit, heaven or hell, extinction?  What is the significance of mankind: God’s special creation, insignificant happenstance of evolution, insignificance of illusory existence? Who was Jesus: a deceiver, a lunatic, the son of God?  All religions could be false, but under no circumstances can they all be True (with a capital “T”).

In regards to religion as a placebo, I mean that it is an atheistic view which presumes from the outset that all other religious views are false, but that it has some positive psychological benefit for the believer, so it is OK for a person to believe.  At least, it is so long as they don’t take it so seriously that it starts to affect other people in any way.

In either of these cases, religion is reduced to an ice-cream parlor in which you choose your favorite flavor, mixing and matching components as it suits you, to pick what appeals to you, and in which it would be ridiculous for someone else to say your preference is wrong.  But is religion simply a matter of opinion, like ice cream flavors, or are does religion refer to absolute truths which are independent of our likes and preferences?  The only good reason to hold a religious (or any other) view is because it is objectively true, and accurately reflects reality, isn’t it?  This makes it rather important to thoroughly investigate and compare coherence, consistency, and completeness of the core claims of any religion being considered, and see if they accurately explain the world we in which we live.

At any rate, this view of religious tolerance self-destructs.  Reflecting back on the conversation with my friend, I wish I had asked him why, if trying to change others’ religious views was such a great moral crime, he was trying to change his Christian family and my religious views?  After all, Christianity is a missionary religion, and respectful persuasion is part of our core beliefs.

My Top 10 Musical Artists for 2012

Rank/Artist & tags/2012 plays

1		Ulrich Schnauss - ambient chillout electronic			275
2		Qntal - electronic medieval fusion			211
3		Armin van Buuren - electronic, progressive trance			162
4		Above & Beyond - electronic, vocal trance			108
5		Ladytron - synthpop electronic			107
6		Falling You - ethereal ambient, female vocals			103
7		Dean & Britta - dream pop			83
7		Sey Hollo - post-rock instrumental			83
9		Dash Berlin - electronic, vocal trance			75
10		Delerium - chillout electronic, female vocals			74

(source: http://www.last.fm/user/jkwood/charts)

I listen to music a lot.  Almost always I listen from my computer or phone, and since I have their client installed on these devices,  the tracks are noted in the Last.fm database.  So, I am able to see what kind of music I am listening to over time.  For an OCD person like myself, this is great.

Last year, three things happened that had a big impact on in the ways I listen to music, and allowed my access to music as never before.  Prior to then, most of the music I listened to was from my personally owned MP3 library of about 50 gb of music.  The effect of these things listed below is that my exposure to new artists and music, as well as old favorites, has been dramatically increased, and so the top 10 for 2012 is full of a lot of newcomers to my annual lists.

First, I expanded my use of Spotify which, conveniently, has the last.fm client built-in.  (Spotify users: look for the links to the featured songs below, or listen to them all in this playlist.)  For me, Spotify is the greatest thing since sliced bread: most any song and album I can think of available on demand with no cost, other than being ad-supported (ad-free available with subscription).  In addition, Spotify has the ability to generate a radio station based on artist, song, or playlist.  I have used this quite a lot.

Second, late in 2011, I got a smart phone (Motorola’s Droid Bionic, to be specific).  Spotify has a client for Android (with last.fm built-in as well) which, while not allowing track-on-demand play unless subscribed, does allow radio for free users.  I have used this phone as my portable music player while away from my computer and in need of a music buzz.

Third, my use of Turntable.fm continued from 2011.  Turntable is a social music site which allows on-the-fly creation of rooms in which people can play music tracks for others in the room.  This site also allows connection with last.fm to track the songs you listen to.  These rooms often are genre-based, but can also be free-for-all, depending on what rules the room moderator (the room creator or designee) has established.  When using this site, I am most often in the Trance Out room, and #3, #4, and #9 in my top ten are a result of hanging around in this room.  A sense of how much I listened to Trance electronic music last year can be gained by considering that I mostly listened to trance in a radio-station format, rather than listening to albums, and even so, three of the top ten artists last year were trance.  Indeed, if my last.fm charts are sorted by tracks instead of artists, the top 14 songs I listened to the most in 2012 were all electronic trance.  If you are interested in hearing more great trance music, check out my Spotify Trance playlist.

So let’s talk about my top ten from 2012…

1.  Ulrich Schnauss - Emerging at the top of my list last year is a German composer whom I had recommended to me in the late part of 2011 (thanks, Ben!), Ulrich Schnauss.  If I recall correctly, the first song I heard by him, “…Passing By”  (video below), became an instant favorite.  Schnauss blends the feel of atmospheric ambient with harder-edged electronica, somewhat akin in feel to Vangelis’ “Blade Runner” to my ear.  Other standout tracks include “A Letter from Home,” “Coming Up for Air,” and “Clear Day.” 
2. Qntal – My second most listened to last year was a  longtime favorite German band.  Qntal blends electronic synth performed by Fil, classic medieval instruments played by Michael Popp, and the haunting vocals of Syrah to create music based on historical works such as Carmina Burana (“Ecce Gratum” and “Flamma“) The songs are mostly in Latin, medieval German, and other European languages, but I enjoy the music all the same (or perhaps because of this), as for me the vocals become one of the instruments of music and further draw the two seemingly incompatible styles of electronica and ancient music together into an entrancing, beautiful mix.  For more great tracks, try “Vedes Amigo Illuminate,” “Am Morgen Fruo,” and “Entre Moi Et Mon Amin.”
3. Armin van Buuren - And now, we start seeing the effects of my trance bingeing last year, as the number three spot goes to Armin van Buuren.  This Dutch-born progressive trance producer is a well-known and loved name in electronic music, having been experimenting with the genre for over two decades.  Armin enjoys much fame from remixing other artists, but also has won awards for his original work on albums “Shiver” and “Imagine.”  He also broadcasts a radio show “A State of Trance” with over 26 million listeners a week.  Standout tracks include “Birth of an Angel” (video below), and “J’ai Envie De Toi.”
4. Above & Beyond – Number four on my list is the British uplifting trance artist Above & Beyond.  Much of A&B’s music is light vocal trance with guest female vocalists, my favorite of whom is Zoë Johnston.  Above & Beyond also has a popular weekly radio show called “Trance Around the World.”  Great tracks by this artist and Johnston include “Good for Me” (video below), “Alchemy,” and “You Got to Go.”  
5. Ladytron – Moving up from number 9 in 2011, the British band Ladytron continued to impress and entertain me this year as I leveraged Spotify to listen to more of their tracks and further discover their sound.  Perhaps best described as new wave synthpop meets modern electronica, Ladytron delivers an appealing indie/80′s music feel without being too lo-fi gimmicky or kitschy.  Favorites of mine are the tracks “Tomorrow,” “Destroy Everything You Touch,” and “Ghosts.”  
6. Falling You – If you have read my previous years’ top ten lists, you get no points for guessing that this artist made my list this year.  Always on my top ten, Falling You continues year after year to be a source of soothing, inspiring music.  Featuring a varied cast of female guest vocalists and dark ambient-pop accompaniment, Falling You is my “comfort food” of music, being often what I fall back to when I am looking to relax and de-stress, and it does its job well.  As with 2011, their newest album “Adore” received the most of my attention (see my review of this album here).  My favorite tracks last year by them include “Firestorm,” “Song of Summer,” and “Moving One.”  
7. Dean & Britta – Tied for number seven is Dean & Britta, a band which I discovered through Turntable.fm, and was glad I did.  This group was another instant favorite, evoking dream pop acts such as Mazzy Star, Tearwave, and Cocteau Twins.  Favorite tracks include “Night Nurse,” “Moonshot,” and “I Deserve It.”  
8. Sey Hollo – Sharing the number seven spot is Sey Hollo, a one-man project by the Swedish artist Sebastian Larsson.  Sporting a rich, heavy, post-rock grunge reminiscent of early Starflyer 59, Sey Hollo is an instrumental act that achieves both beauty and power.  My least favorite part of my favorite tracks, are the last half minute or so of political sound bytes.  All the same, the music itself is so good that I don’t mind skipping the last bit of the song to go to the next.  Best tracks: “Growth,” “World Trade Center,” and “Eighty Five Percent” (warning, brief explicit language).  
9. Dash Berlin – The number nine spot belongs to Dash Berlin, of the Netherlands.  I first discovered this artist in the Trance Out room of Turntable.fm and have been consistently impressed with the clean melodic style of this uplifting/progressive trance artist.  Recommended songs: “Till the Sky Falls Down” (video below), “Never Cry Again,” and “Waiting.”  
10. Delerium – Wrapping up the top ten is Delerium, consisting (presently) of Bill Leeb from Skinny Puppy and Rhys Fulber of Conjure One (both also of Front Line Assembly fame).  Over time, the sound of Delerium has changed somewhat from a dark ambient to a mellow electronica.  Their newest album, “Music Box Opera” refines this style even more with some trip-hop influence, reminding me of Morcheeba and Massive Attack, especially in these suggested tracks, “Hammer” and “Sky.”  

(view last year’s top 10 here: http://jkw00d.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/my-top-10-1-musical-artists-2011/)

America’s Choice

Following the results of this year’s Presidential elections, I’ve been feeling depressed off and on throughout the days since, and have been trying to determine the real cause.  Was it because my candidate did not win?  No, not exactly.  As a libertarian-minded conservative, I have been backing candidates this year with little to no chance of winning, so the results of the election were no surprise on that score.  The surprise was that Obama was reelected at all, after the economic and foreign events that have occurred, and the positions for which Obama has stood for in the last four years.

It seems amazing and unprecedented to me that America would choose him.  I’ve heard rumblings of voter fraud and intimidation, in favor of Obama, but I have no way I trust to verify or refute these.  I suspect there would be an equal number of cries of similar electoral shenanigans were the election to have gone in favor of Romney (indeed, even before noon on voting day, I saw articles about concerns for Republicans “stealing” Ohio).  America chose.  And what are we to make of this choice?  The choice was made in favor of increased debt, of further acceptance of abortions and gay marriages, of larger, nanny-state government, of class warfare and redistribution of wealth, and of socialized healthcare.

I’m so tired of the phrase “the lesser of two evils,” and frustrated that this has characterized the election choices of the last two cycles (or more, but I’ve only recently become politically aware enough to care).  Would Romney have been better?  I say marginally, but I’d rather see a completely different direction, instead of picking between flavors of statism.  Romney would have been a reprieve from the spiritual and economic collapse that seems impending, but only a temporary one at best.

So I’ve been grieving.  Grieving for the America we have lost – for the freedoms we have given away with our popular votes and for those taken bit by bit.  I grieve for the loss of Christian morals in our nation that no longer have a majority assent, however grudgingly given.  But I am late for the funeral; the Christian worldview as a dominant position has been dead for a while.  I am just now noticing that the corpse is dead, and no longer animated Weekend-At-Bernie’s-style.  As with grief, it hits me out of nowhere at various times of my day; as with depression, the brightest fall colors and bluest sky seem dim, like I am viewing them through an oily film.  But, also like grief, I can see a gradual lessening as my perspective begins to change.

This election is a wake-up call for Christians.  It’s no call to “take back America” – I submit it was never “ours.”  America is no theocracy, and we are best not to try to make it one; God got out of the human theocracy business when Israel crowned Saul king, and he won’t be back to take over until the end.  Besides, any human-led theocratic government could just as easily become Muslim theocracy, and that certainly isn’t desirable.  So what is this a call to?  It is a call for we Christians to arise from the laziness we are used to and be disciples and salt and light, instead of leaving it to our “Christian” presidents and our pastors and prominent ministry leaders .  I don’t think we can consider our duty done only with the few dollars we drop into the offering plate.

I feel the weight and urgency of the work we ought to be doing, but aren’t.  And by “we,” I mostly mean me.  But you, too.  There are organizations out doing the work that we need to involve ourselves in.  In fact, I feel rather overwhelmed and impotent in the face of it all.  We don’t have to go to Africa or Asia or the Middle East to do mission work.  America is part of the mission field, and there are real needs and issues that should be addressed, such as sex trafficking, abortion, homelessness and addictions of all sorts.  Relating the love of Christ to others through works of social justice is vital, but we must also couple the acts with the knowledge of God.  ”Social justice without spiritual justice is not justice at all.” – Chris Hodges

Please Christian, open yourselves to big, specific dreams of ministry and teaching here in our country.  It may be that we are at an end to a chapter of American history.  If economic collapse occurs, it might even mean major political changes as well.  But if this is what it takes to get more of us awake and involved, then let it not be in vain.  Let’s show America something worth choosing.

Love

What love isn’t:  ”I love me, and I want you to make me as happy as I can be.  If you can continue to make me as happy as I can be, then I will continue in this relationship.”

What love should be: “Love is a commitment you make to act in someone else’s best interest.  True love can only be known by the actions that it prompts.”

“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

-from Godspace by Doug Pollock

Affirmation

 

 

Christ loves and died for all mankind -

 

Red and Yellow, Black and White;

 

Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians,

 

Socialists, Fascists, Anarchists;

 

Heterosexual, Homosexual, Transsexual;

 

Fornicators, Thieves, Liars;

 

Christian, Atheist, Agnostic:

 

Created in God’s image, He chose to love them all.

 

Who am I to do otherwise?

 

Gratitude and the Pursuit of Happiness

(Part 1 of the word studies related to the Wood Family Covenant.  These notes written to organize my thoughts, but will be largely rephrased for kids’ understanding, or so it is to be hoped!   This is also a partial answer to an earlier blog, Longing, beyond.)

My family’s childrens’ dictionary defines “happy” as “a feeling of joy or pleasure.” But “happy” is also defined elsewhere as “contentment,” and it is this the definition that one should strive towards. Happiness, as an extended state of bliss, is simply not attainable.

If one were to map out the high and low points of one’s day, or life, it would be a series of ups and downs. If everything was an “up”, it would be a flat line, or “normal” and expected. To have a “high” from there would require an increased level of pleasure beyond the current state. Thus the pursuit of happiness becomes a ratcheting upward climb towards stronger, higher and different pleasures, which in the end is a treadmill of running to stand still.  Addictions are an example of this law of diminishing returns.

Thus the importance of gratitude: by living in a sense of thankfulness, one is more able to appreciate the “goods” and pleasures in one’s life, big or small, and remain longer satisfied at the current “plateau” level of happiness. This is contentment.

The fact that we have an appetite for a larger, more fulfilling “good” than we can find through selfish pursuits is an indicator that we ought to pursue a higher good, namely God. He has created each of us with that sense of longing for something beyond what we can find on earth through possessions, sensual pleasures, and horizontal relationships.  When we try to fill the God-shaped-hole with anything but God, it is idolatry and will be ultimately unsatisfying.

Wood Family Covenant

My Top 10 (+1) Musical Artists: 2011

Rank/Artist & tags/2011 plays

1		Falling You – ethereal ambient, female vocals			341
2		Within Temptation – symphonic metal, female vocals			325
3		Shiva in Exile – ethnic electronic, female vocals			304
4		Burial – ambient dubstep electronic			172
5		Irfan – ethereal ethnic, female vocals			161
6		Conjure One – chillout electronic, female vocals			97
7		Solace – ethnic/world rhythms			93
8		Amethystium – ambient ethereal electronic			89
9		Ladytron – synthpop electronic			68
10		Lycia – ethereal darkwave, female vocals			62
11		Shiny Toy Guns – alternative electronic			54

(source: http://www.last.fm/user/jkwood/charts)

1. Falling You– always a favorite, been in my overall top 10 for years.  This music is great for relaxing, and I use it often for that purpose.  Most of 2011’s plays came from the new album, Adore. (Falling You’s Magnatune page)  
2. Within Temptation– While I’ve been a mostly casual fan of Within Temptation for a few years, the release of their album The Unforgiving in March 2011 excited me about this band, as I think this is their best album yet.  The symphonic metal style is a little out of place within this top 10, but this album is really more rock and symphony than metal, in my opinion.
3. Shiva in Exile– Another Magnatune artist (as is Falling You), this is a new band for me this year.  I have been growing in recent years in my appreciation for ethnic music, particularly middle eastern influences.  SIE has heavy influences of middle east fused with modern electronic music, creating a very catchy and unusual sound.
4. Burial – another new artist for me.  I discovered the music of Burial through the social music site www.turntable.fm (as I did #9 Ladytron, #11 Shiny Toy Guns, and many others), after which I purchased their two albums, Burial and Untrue.  With a dark ambient sound, heavy electronic processing and vocal sampling, I found myself attracted to this music, listening to the albums on repeat several days in a row.
5. Irfan – This is one of the original sources of interest to me of middle-eastern/Arabic-influenced music.  I finally bought their albums Irfan (http://www.last.fm/music/Irfan/IRFAN) and Seraphim (http://www.last.fm/music/Irfan/Seraphim).  I have not been disappointed!
6. Conjure One – Continuing an apparent trend in this year’s top music, I have also discovered this mellow electronic side project of Rhys Fulber (of Delirium and Front Line Assembly fame).  Also of no surprise to those that know my music taste (or who glanced at the tags in the list above), most of my favorite music features female vocalists, and while there is no permanent vocalist, Conjure One has many featured female singers (Falling You has a similar rotation of guest vocals.).  These singers have a variety of styles and sounds that compliment the accompaniment well.
7. Solace – Still on my new music search this year, Solace popped up on my radar during my subscription to Magnatune (www.magnatune.com, home also of Falling You and Shiva in Exile from this list) as an artist similar to Shiva in Exile that I might like.  As I would consider this a less “westernized” Arab/Middle-eastern style, it may appeal less to some than does Shiva or Irfan.  Indeed, even though it is in my top artists, I must admit that there are no real standout tracks for me to recommend.
8. Amethystium – Another longtime favorite, Amethystium is one of those artists I default to when I need something light in the background for reading, studying, or working.  Not that this is elevator music, by any means.  A variety of world music sounds combine with electronica and New Age styles to make many interesting and different-sounding tracks.
9. Ladytron – Having been exposed to Ladytron through www.turntable.fm, my appreciation grew over time as I recognized that my foot tapped to this female-fronted electronic (another trend for me this year) music each time it came up.  Spotify and Turntable account for the many plays on this list in 2011.
10. Lycia – A steady favorite throughout the years, Lycia has throughout their albums kept my eager interest as the sound morphed from droning guitars and low-key vocals to female-fronted ethereal and experimental when Tara Vanflower came on board.  This group steadily stays in top rotation.
11. Shiny Toy Guns – Yet another www.turntable.fm discovery for me, I’ve grown to appreciate the style of this group which I was initially inclined to dismiss as another pretentious indie garage band.  I’m glad to be wrong; I find that this band has a catchy pop appeal with strong electronica/dance values underneath.  A quick favorite (once I gave them a chance!)  My expectation of further growth in my esteem earns them an honorary place in the top 10.

(view last year’s here: http://jkw00d.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/my-top-10-musical-artists-2010/)

Book Review: BIAS, by Bernard Goldberg

Image via Wikipedia

Liberal bias in the media: does it exist?  Or is this a misconception born of a persecution complex on the part of the right?  Or worse, is it a weapon in the arsenal of the “vast right-wing conspiracy” used to attempt to discredit moderate or liberal voices?  Perhaps bias does exist in the news networks, but so what, one might say, FOX is just as biased in the other direction, so it is no big deal.  Is liberal bias in the media existent, and if so, how would we spot it, and why should we care?

These are the questions that  Bernard Goldberg addresses in his book BIAS.  In 1996, Goldberg wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal in which he accused the major television network news programs of a liberal bias in their reporting of news.  This article, critical of his employers among others, was impolite and imprudent, Goldberg admits, yet it needed to be written since his internal efforts to bring this to light had been ignored.

This bias is nothing conspiratorial; according to Goldberg, “we don’t sit around in dark corners and plan strategies on how we’re going to slant the news.  We don’t have to.  It comes naturally to most reporters” (from the op-ed article linked above).  This bias is simply denied as being existent, that the views being expressed are balanced and neutral and ought to be acceptable to every normal American.  If they are indeed being presented in a balanced and neutral fashion, then the charges are without merit; if, however, it can be shown that bias in favor of certain political interests consistently exists in the delivery of the news, it should be recognized by the network executives, reporters, and the general public as coloring the ability or willingness of these agencies to report the unfiltered truth.  As it turned out, these news networks, who pride themselves on prying into everyone else’s business and ferreting out dirty laundry, did not appreciate Goldberg’s accusation and exposure.  He soon found himself out of a job and ostracized by his former friends and associates at CBS who proceeded to label him a right-wing ideologue, simply by having raised the question and proposed the accusation.

After describing his ousting from CBS and the vindictiveness with which he was treated, Goldberg describes the television report which raised Goldberg’s own awareness of this bias and compelled him to write the article.  The bias was expressed in the February 8, 1996 CBS Evening News segment “Reality Check” in phrases such as “flat-tax scheme,” “economic elixir,” and “wackiest flat-tax promise” in describing Steve Forbes flat-tax proposals that year.  The reporter, Eric Engberg, then interviewed three economists who all opposed the flat tax.  There was no representative of the affirmative side; this seemed like a rather large imbalance to Goldberg.  He rightly points out the uproar if a network reporter had referred to Hillary Clinton’s health care program as “wacky.”

Further, according to Goldberg, this sort of double standard is rampant.  He cites as another example, the coverage of the Clinton impeachment trial in 1999, when the senators were signing their names in an oath book, swearing impartiality and fairness.  As each came forward, Peter Jennings identified each, taking care to label each conservative senator, but only mentioning the names of the liberal ones, as if the viewing public needed to have them identified and warned of dangerous views.  Liberal politicians and organizations (such as NOW) do not need to be labelled because, Goldberg contends, the media elites do not view them as liberal, but as reasonable,middle of the road moderates, the same as themselves.

Goldberg gives many other examples of one-sided reporting and liberal slant, but the overarching conclusion seems to be that the big problem may not be that there is bias, but that it is denied and presented as a balanced view.

I found this book to be fairly compelling in its presentation and in the examples cited.  As I do not have the resources to fact-check his research, I presume them to be correct.  Does this acceptance of Goldberg’s contentions of liberal bias definitionally make me a ultra-right-wing conspiracist?  Well, I don’t have on a tin-foil hat yet; besides, as it is said, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you, right?

(BIAS, A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News, by Bernard Goldberg, Perennial Publishing, 2003.)

Music Review: “Adore” by Falling You

“Adore” by Falling You

Released last week by musical project Falling You, the new album “Adore” can be listened to and purchased (currently, only) through Magnatune. In their four previous albums, Falling You has cultivated an ethereal, dark ambient, sometimes trip-hop sound characterized by haunting female vocals and echoing electronic music and percussion.  From their bio page on Last.fm:
“Falling You is instrumentalist and producer, John Michael Zorko, with a revolving cast of guest vocalists including Suzanne Perry (of Melodyguild and Love Spirals Downwards), Dru Allen (of Mirabilis and This Ascension), Victoria Lloyd (of Claire Voyant and Mono Chrome), Aimee Page (of Vishnu’s Secret), Anji Bee (of Lovespirals), Kirsty Hawkshaw, Sara Ayers, Erica Mulkey (AKA Unwoman), Amanda Kramer (of The Golden Palominos), Shikhee (of Android Lust), Krista Tortora (of Full Blown Kirk), and Jennifer McPeak (the original band vocalist from Mercy). They are known for haunting, ethereal, emotive ambient-pop, best heard when the moon is high and the atmosphere serene. “

In this, their fifth full length album release, Falling You expands their sound towards a slightly harder edge.  Their sound is still recognizable, yet adds a more structured feel that may be more casually accessible to new listeners.  From this album’s page on Magnatune:

“Adore finds ‘Falling You’ exploring a more optimistic, rock-oriented motif. Though the ethereal / ambient base is still there, the music ranges from ambient, to jangly shoegaze, to melodic space-rock, to dream-pop and finally back to ambient. The concept is a simple one – life is a varied and wonderful thing, and though it’s trials can weigh heavily on us, it’s tribulations can lift our hearts. ‘Adore’ is about exploring the more optimistic side of emotional music and this gift called life.”

Before listening to the album, upon reading this description, I confess to feeling a bit disappointed, as the floating, dreamy soundscapes created by the haunting vocals and minimal accompaniment of their previous releases were what I treasured about their music.  I was concerned that expanded instrumental support would change the feel and appeal of the music.  However, based on prior experience, I was more than willing to give it a listen; indeed, if Magnatune had not had the album streaming for preview, I would probably still have bought it unheard. Tentative as I was, “Adore” hooked me from the first sampling, and it has grown on me steadily these ten or twelve times which I have since listened through.  It seems more that the heavier instrumental accompaniment make the music more rich and lush and enhance rather than obscure or detract from the vocals.  Some of my favorite tracks so far are “Firestorm,” “Adore,” “Song of Summer,” and “Moving One.”

If the descriptions of the music style or of this album have interested you, I recommend you sample their music and support this artist!  You can also listen to this album (and their others) on Spotify: <iframe src=”https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:album:6nPR6Dq0xKySbWH5gkSpkf&#8221; width=”300″ height=”380″ frameborder=”0″ allowtransparency=”true”>

Movie Review: “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”

Neil Patrick Harris stars in ”Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” a tongue-in-cheek, superhero/villain, writer’s-strike-born, musical comedy, originally released in three (roughly) 15-minute acts on the internet in 2008.  Created by Joss Whedon of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly” fame, this movie shows Dr. Horrible’s (Harris) efforts to earn a coveted place among the Evil League of Evil, win the affections of girl-next-door Penny (Felicia Day), and defeat his nemesis, Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion).

First, the music: the actors each display a surprisingly good voice talent in this movie whose plot is largely driven by song.  The songs are well written, funny, and delivered to great comedic and/or dramatic effect to advance the plot in a way that dialog alone could not have achieved so well.  Of special enjoyment were “My Freeze Ray,” “Brand New Day,” and “Everything You Ever.”

The acting: Harris and Fillion especially display a great sense of comedic timing in the delivery of their lines and songs, and their physical acting and body language really contribute to the fun of this movie.  Felicia Day also puts in a good performance as Penny, and her interaction with Horrible’s bumbling alter-ego “Billy” is both sweet and funny.  But it is mostly in the interaction between struggling villain Dr. Horrible and over-the-top “good guy” Captain Hammer that the comedic glory of this movie shines.

The production: Hey, this is a low-budget film.  Still, it looks great for what it is, and the props and locations are used to good effect.  (Trivia fact: according to IMDB, several props from “Firefly” are used in this film.) The movie is 45 minutes, so is shorter than most feature films; I wanted more!  However, the editing is concise and effective; there is no filler dialog or useless shots.  The story moves along in a flowing current up to the climactic showdown between Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer.

Watch this film, not looking for something deep and insightful, but as a fun satire on heroes and villains super; you might find something deeper all the same.  When I watch this, I am moved to think of the emptiness of blind ambition, achievement of one’s goals at the price of that which is more important in life.  After I catch my breath from laughter, that is.

I give this fun movie 4.5 of 5 stars.