Psalm 3

This is one of my favorite pieces of literature, much less the Bible, ever. I liked it so much I wrote a song about. The language is so elegant, yet forceful at the same time. When troubles hit it's really comforting to think of Almighty God hearing your plea for help. To me, the sentiment is very important; so important I set this Psalm to one of my favorite melodies I've ever written.

1Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.

2Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

3But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

4I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

5I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.

6I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.

7Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

8Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

Blindsided...

The week hadn't been great, but I was getting by ok. I had gotten outside a bit, which makes life so much better. With warm weather and the sun out, I had become slightly more motivated and had finally begun to get more excited about things in my life. Monday night my wife and I went out and saw the band Cursive. We had such a great time and really just enjoyed the night. Yesterday I skipped class and bought the new Nick Cave album. Release days are so great for me. I literally mark my calendar for album release, so yesterday was great...

...then this morning my wife got a call. She sounded upset and told us that a friend of the family, a woman the same age as my parents, had died of cancer over the night. I knew she had been in poor health, so technically, It wasn't surprising. Still, I haven't had to deal with a whole lot of death and I still don't quite know what to make of it. I guess it's just that someone falls and keep going. It's jarring. That's all I can really say about it. I firmly believe there's something more, so it's not that part that bothers me. There has to be justice ultimately. Otherwise, why I am I getting up in the morning. This is where faith comes into play, and it's days like this that faith is tough.

Of every earthly plan that be known to man, He is unconcerned,
He's got plans of His own to set up His throne.
When He returns.

When all else fails...

It's spring break and I'm realizing how wore out I am. It's been a really interesting and fun winter, but I'm oh so ready for warm weather. I'm sick of politics, Illinois isn't in the NCAA tournament, and I really just want to get outside. This time of year I typically start really listening to music again and working on some of my own stuff. You'd think that winter would be the perfect time to write and listen to music, but there's nothing like taking an acoustic out on the front porch or going on a run with my shuffle (loaded with all the new music I've compiled over the winter but haven't really digested). Bob Dylan is my absolute favorite but after awhile you can tire of anything so I haven't listened to much Bob in like a year, but he's starting to come back into the rotation. I've always loved his gospel stuff and this song is one of my absolute favorites.

To the Hardwood...

This is my favorite time of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks are on the way, fall is here, and most importantly, College Basketball has begun. This will be first year as a member of the Orange Krush, the University of Illinois student section. So far the experience has been great and I'll be able to attend as many games in one season as I've seen my whole life.

So far, aside from a few upsets (Kentucky, I'm looking at you!) most of the games have been blowouts, but the competition should be amped up soon, and I can't wait. I don't know how I'll get any studying done this season, but I'll worry about that later.

Chrome Dreams II...

After a brief stint of insanity (Living With War) Neil Young has just released one of the best albums in quite awhile. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Prairie Wind. It's a beautiful album and has a few really nice songs on it. The slower ballads really get the job done, but the faster songs fall short. The overall sound of the album just seems worn out to me, which is certainly understandable given Neil's condition at the time.

Living With War was a whole other animal entirely. Although the vitality of it was invigorating and the quick internet release was exciting the songs sounded very much like they were written and recorded in a week. As bad as the songs were, the production was even worse. I don't blame Neil for the record. He wrote a record about something he was passionate about and put it out there. It just wasn't very good.

When I heard about Chrome Dreams II coming out I was excited but skeptical. Soon after hearing about the record, I discovered Neil was coming to the Fox Theater in St. Louis. That is a great venue, so I bought tickets and found out I would receive a free copy of Neil's new record with the purchase. I got the record a few days after the release date and put the disc in on the way to campus. I was stunned by the quality immeadiately. Aside from the "Dirty Old Man", the record blew me away. "Beautiful Bluebird" starts the record off with Neil continuing to master the slow ballad. The rest of the album experiments with Crazy Horseesque tracks such as "Spirit Road" as well as the awesome scrapped 80's song, "Ordinary People". The album is really good. I can't wait to see Neil this Sunday night.