Music Review - Kim Hill - Brave Heart

Time for a retro review! Somehow my copy of Kim Hill’s Brave Heart went MIA but thanks to some friendly and completely legal web site out there, I have it back. It’s been nearly twenty years since I’ve heard the album and many times when I’ve dipped back I hear cheese and/or music that has not aged well. However in this case the music has held up remarkably. Brave Heart being her third album, Hill had proven her ability to sell records enough that the executives stopped trying to mold her into whatever flavor they thought she was and let her be herself. I’ve noticed this on many other Christian artists where the first two albums are bland and generic and if they survive the gauntlet they are finally allowed to fully express themselves on album three. Or maybe it’s that the Kirkpatrick-Kennedy writing team (who seemed to write 90% of the songs published by Word during that era) takes two albums to fully pick up a singers vibe. In any case, the album is a home run!
The album kicks off with “Words,” a solid rocker with enough slight twists to keep your attention but not so much as to offend radio fans. Lyrically this is an exhortation to watch your words. In fact, many of the albums from Word in this period are filled with such instruction for holiness. Then, mid-song, strings and horns enter and it’s a kind of parade. Different! And they’re the real deal instead of the midi-junk so you know the record company has high expectations and are willing to open their pockets a little. “Satisfied” is more relaxed with a tinge of country to go with artful evangelical lyrics. I think “Mysterious Ways” as the radio single but if it was it’s an odd choice. It’s very quiet, almost spooky, and very sparse. “Round and Round” follows this dark(ish) song and I had forgotten how much I like it. The song totally rocks and Tommy Simms goes all out with noodley bass parts. Plus they shake things up with the rhythm in the verse to keep things fun. The bridge of “It was in my head then / Its my heart now” sums up the song and the changes we go through. In hearing the chorus I’m realizing that the album is half over and I haven’t heard any mention of Jesus or Christ, just generic references like “Only your sweet love was gonna save me.” Hmmm. It was something I probably thought was “edgy” back then but the older me thinks that you should give credit where it’s due.
Side two. “Stop My Heart” is a great song about not giving your heart away with a cool drum pattern that I now realize was heavily influenced by “Time of the Season” by the Zombies. “Gotta stop my heart / Before it runs away with you / And takes me farther than I think I’d like to be” and “I thought that you were the one that I could give my love to / But now I’m not so sure” … great, encouraging stuff for any teen finding themselves sucked into a breakneck romance. “She’ll Come Around” is a semi-story song about a young woman building a wall of anger that can be torn down with a little love. But again, no mention of the source of said generic love. “Don’t Face The World Alone” has an 80s keyboard sound that is almost bagpipy but not distractingly so. “Even the bravest heart needs help sometimes” is the encouraging theme of this simple song that wisely was placed on side two, even if it is the “title track.” The final two tracks on the album are solid but not stellar.
Okay, so it's a wimpy ending but 2/3 of the songs are very strong.

My Political History

I have voted straight Republican from the age of 18. I voted in every election and every primary. I even dutifully held my nose voted for the “lesser of two evils”/party pick in the November elections. Now for some time-compressed internal dialogue:

1988: “Cool! George Bush won! He’s doing some things that don’t quite make sense but I’m only twenty. It’s just politics.”

1992: “Crap! Clinton won. He’s going to destroy the country.”

1996: “Double crap! I can’t believe how stupid the American people are to vote this obviously sleezy guy back into office. But what can you expect when your competition is Dole. But hey, at least now the Republicans have both sides of congress so at least they can stop any more damage… wait… what’s going on? Why aren’t they changing anything? Why are they caving?”

2000: “Well, looks like Bush Jr. won. His dad was real wishy washy but I have hope for this guy. All the Christian radio programs say that he’s a true believer. Plus we still have both sides of Congress. TIME TO FIX THIS MESS! Reduce the budget, shrink government and finally we’ll get Roe V. Wade overturned! Wait… what’s going on? Not only are they NOT doing what they promised to do but they’re actually doing the opposite! Sure, they’re not as bad as those horrible Democrats but they’re still moving in the same direction.”

2004: “Bush won again. I’m supposed to be happy but both sides stunk, like they were almost the same. It’s like I really didn’t have an option. The Republicans talk a good game when campaigning but once they’re in office most of them are just Democrat-lite.”

2008: “Well, this is it. My children will live in a very different country. I thought Hilary was bad but this guy who came out of nowhere, Obama, has scared the pants off me from day one. The Clintons would sell the country down the river as long as it made them money but this guy will sell us down the river on principle! That Ron Paul guy was making a lot of sense but it would just be throwing away my vote which is why I held my nose and voted for McCain even though he gives me the creeps. So it turns out that I threw away my vote anyway AND sacrificed my own principles.”

[Enough reading and research to minor in Political Science. I now have a firm grasp on economics and many of the things that used to confuse me (“Why is so-and-so doing that? It makes absolutely NO SENSE!”) now fit together like a logical jigsaw puzzle.]

2012: “Obama again. I’m a little surprised but not much. After Clinton got back in I no longer count on common sense of the general public. There sure seems to be a lot of detailed, credible allegations of voter fraud in alternative media. Would it have made sense if the Republicans put forth someone with a backbone? And after how the Republicans treated Ron Paul, they have lost me for good. Simply disgraceful and childish and definitely just as dirty as anything on the Democrat side. For the first time my vote wasn’t wasted… it was my divorce decree to the oligarchy.”

2016: “I’ll probably vote for the House and local elections but I’m no longer buying into the charade of national elections. I’ll submit a vote of ‘No Confidence’ by refusing to play their game.” I had a respected professor in college who said that in politics you ALWAYS vote for character. It doesn’t matter what they say but what they do and have done. If every two years your spouse went on a months-long tirad insisting they are faithful but then continually cheated on you and didn’t even try to hide it, would you stay with them?

A few more thoughts on concerts…

I wonder if perhaps the reason I don’t care much for live music is because it so rarely is worth the time. So rarely does it hit the mark and move me. But when it does… POW!

These few times include:

The first King’s X concert. This band is known for always being “on” and they nailed every song, every part.

The second King’s X concert. Again, the band was magical. They played a song (“Static”) off an album that I didn’t really care for. In fact, the entire album was humdrum. But that night they made this song charged with energy and passion. If they recorded that entire album live instead of how they did it who knows how good it would have been?

They Might Be Giants – Masters of showmanship! They were having fun and it caught with the audience.

Adrian Belew- I went not expecting much other than I had all his solo albums and had a chance to see him for free. He was playing with “two kids”, a brother and sister drum and bass duo. Two kids. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting much. But like King’s X, this trio infused life into a number of songs that I liked but didn’t quite love. These “kids” were early 20’s and simply astounding!

End of Summer

As summer nears to an end (to which my wife would say that it never really got hot enough for it to have begun) I'm nearing the end of my Miscellaneous Classical Music listening. I discovered some new favorites (Stravinsky's "Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra" comes to mind) and trudged through a few that were, well, mere drudgery. Right now, though, it's Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" so I'm happy. By September I'll be onto the next form and I'm sure all two of my readers are at the edge of their seats. I know I am, and not because there's some unknown stain at the back of my seat.

But on to other things.

This past Saturday I went with a guy from church and our collective daughters (no, we're not sister-husbands) to an outdoor Christian music festival. This led to a discussion on the drive up as to the concerts we had each been to. I was surprised at my own number, not that it was huge but because I don't really care for live music (too uncontrolled and often disappoints compared to a carefully crafted studio album). So upon our safe return I started writing them down. Here is my result. Feel free to make your own list and post it. Feel free to copy my list. Feel free to disregard everything I say.

I included artist name, album the tour supported (if I remembered), year I saw them and the venue. And finally, I put them in chronological order 'cause I'm just that way.

Van Halen - 5150 tour - 1986 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Alice Cooper - Constrictor - 1987 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Alice Cooper - Raise Your First and Yell - 1988 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Rich Mullins - 1988 - First Assembly

Steven Curtis Chapman - 1988/1989/1990 - First Assembly

Deliverance - 1989? - At Sunset Music Hall

Vengeance Rising - 1989? - At Sunset Music Hall

Amy Grant - Lead Me On - 1988/89 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Phil Keaggy - 1990? - At First Assembly - solo

Adam Again - Homeboys - 1990 - At Sunset Music Hall -- one other band also?

Michael Card - 1990 - Anderson Unversity

The Choir - Wide-Eyed Wonder - 1990 - At Mainstream

King's X - Faith Hope Love - 1991 - Elkhart

Eric Gales Band - 1991 - w/ King's X

John Fisher - 1991 - Fort Wayne Bible College

Rich Mullins - 1991/1992 - First Assembly

Lost Dogs - Scenic Route - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

77's - 1992- Cornerstone Music Festival

Adam Again - Dig - 1992 - At Cornerstone

At The Foot of the Cross - 1992- Cornerstone Music Festival

Phil Keaggy - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

Kemper Crabb - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

Margaret Becker - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

Dig Hay Zoose - 1992 - Cornerstone Music Festival

The Choir - Circle Slide - 1992 - Cornerstone Festival

The Choir - Circle Slide - 1992 - At Heartland Church

Adam Again - Dig - 1992 - At Heartland Church

Raspberry Jam - 1992 - At Heartland Church

Phil Keaggy - Crimson and Blue - 1993 - At Taylor University - full band

Phil & John - 1993 - At Taylor University

Galactic Cowboys - Space in Your Face - July 4, 1993 - Pier's

They Might Be Giants - Back to Skull - 1994? - Vogue in Indy

Rich Mullins - Brother's Keeper - 1995 - At Ft. Wayne Memorial Colesium

Daniel Amos - 2000 - Cornerstone Music Festival

77's - 2000 - Cornerstone Music Festival

Terry Taylor - Avocado Faultline - 2000 - in Indy

Phil Madeira - 3 Horse Shoes - 2000 - in Indy

They Might Be Giants - early 2000s - Wooden Nickel In-Store show

King's X - Manic Moonlight? - 2002 - Piere's

Dio - 2002 - Piere's - w/ King's X

PFR - Disappear - 2002 - At Anchor Room

Alice Cooper - 2002 - At Verizon Music Center

Terry Taylor - 2009 - my living room

Adrian Belew - e - 2009 - At Sweetwater

Mike Roe - We All Gonna Face the Rising Sun- 2010 - Pint & Slice

Alice Cooper - 2013 - At Embassy

Switchfoot - 2013 - At Pulse Festival

Audio Adrenaline - 2013 - At Pulse Festival

Review - Parthenon Huxley - Thank You Bethesda

Like any skill, songwriting takes work. The good ones make it look so effortless and easy that any schmoe thinks he can string three chords together and have a hit. But to consistently put together memorable songs album after album, year after year? That takes moxie! Although not widely known, Parthenon Huxley has the touch. He honed his skills writing songs for other artists and now spends his time writing solo albums and filling the shoes of Jeff Lynne in the touring version of E.L.O. alongside many original members. Back in the day he formed a band with Rusty Anderson, now Paul McCartney’s long-time touring guitarist. The man had pedigree.

His latest album is Thank You Bethesda and it does not disappoint. Style-wise there’s a bit of Beatles and a bit of E.L.O. but also a whole lot of positive, high-energy rock sprinkled with lyrics of wisdom and humor. The title track teases us with mellotron flutes before a spongy bass takes the lead on a high octane tour, leaving you to breathlessly fix your windblown hair. “Angeleno” is a playful swipe at the fame-obsessed culture of Los Angeles with lyrics of “Sign here for your major motion picture / Sign here on the standard release form.” Though intentionally cheesy background vocals mock the entertainment capital it’s done with such playful panache that the cowbell fits right in. “Buddha, Buddha” takes an easier pace, giving band members room to lay down noodling guitar and keyboard solos, distracting you while the chorus worms its way into your brain. The sizzling “Love Is The Greatest Thing” is classic rock at its best, featuring some simply drop-dead gorgeous guitar tones while Huxley sings “I wanna believe The Beatles / They mean so much to me / I wanna believe that love / Love is the greatest thing.”

In addition to the rockers Parthnon writes a mean ballad. “Long Way To Go” takes a look back on life with lyrics of “I’ve been playing the show / And it’s taken me place I would never have known: / Albert Hall to Pucon” but still he “Can’t love my baby when I’m stuck on the road.” “Beautiful” is a masterpiece, a wonderful love song that any women would be thrilled to receive (“I wish you could see see yourself like I do / I know that you would love the view”) that packs perfection into three minutes.

Be warned: the music of Parthenon Huxley isn’t for everyone. Fans of One Direction, for instance, probably won’t get it. But for those of us who have a few decades under our belts and are tired of hearing songs by Boston played ad nauseum and perhaps yearn for the kind of quality in music that used to be so plentiful, well then, step right up and let the melodies of Thank You Bethesda fulfill your musical sweet tooth.

Beethoven Bites Me

Years ago, when I was but a young lad and the digital format was new, I enrolled in the Time-Life Beethoven club. Each month they sent me two CDs of his music and each month I sent them a check. I was fairly new to classical music and knew that I liked what I had heard of Beethoven so I figured that they, being the experts, would sift through the classical world and would send me great recordings of some great pieces. And for the most part they did and I learned more and more about this form of music. But one day I received a letter that the Beethoven club was being discontinued. What? I had only received thirty-eight CDs and was missing a few piano sonatas and violin sonatas and whatnots. I had put in my time and my money thinking that I would eventually have a full set -o- Beethoven but it was not to be. Eventually I picked up a box set of piano sonatas and a few other important pieces and continued on my merry way.

It wasn't until only recently as I've been enjoying my stroll through classical lane that it dawned on me to use this here internets to find out more about the Time-Life series. It turns out that while the gang at Time-Life released a massive eighty-five record set on the bicentennial of of Beethoven's birth (creatively titled The Beethoven Bicentennial Collection) the current CD set only contained forty CDs. So what did I miss? His opera, Fidelio. Me and opera aren't on the best of terms (as I think the music usually takes a back seat so that those with Lead Singer Syndrome can showboat) so it was not big shakes.

Then I remembered that I still have all of the payment stubs for this series. Egads! Being the reformed packrat that I am these promptly went into the trash after being photographed. I should note that I also still had the very first pay stub (Symphonies 1 for the low introductory payment of $9.99! Plus shipping and handling) but I was not motivated enough to go back inside and intrude upon the kitchen where my wife was making dinner.

A couple of things I noted. First, they charged sales tax on shipping. That just ain't right! Second, I am a major dork. Third, I paid a whopping $476.34 for these CDs. This was the very late 80s so in today's moolah that's about $968, using the fictitious gubbermint inflation rate of 3% per year. WAS I INSANE?!?!?! Of course back in those days there was no Amazon where you could get the entire collection (and I mean just about every single little thing the man composed on paper, parchment or wallpaper) for a mere $104, even less when it's on sale. But still, it was money well spent, something I looked forward to each month and enjoyed. Well, usually enjoyed. Some of the music wasn't exactly Symphony #9 caliber but Beethoven on a bad day is better than Ratt on a good one.

Just Another Evening in May

Last night I noticed that the chemtrail planes were flyin' mighty low so I grabbed my camera and...

Chemtrail Plane1_1
Chemtrail Plane1_2
Chemtrail Plane 2_1
Chemtrail Plane 2_2
Chemtrail Plane 2_3
Chemtrail Plane 2_4
Chemtrail Plane 3_1
Chemtrail Plane 4_1
Chemtrail Plane 5_1
Chemtrail Plane 5_2
Chemtrail Plane 5_3
Chemtrail Plane 5_4
Chemtrail Plane 5_4 - crop

Turns out there were at least five different planes. My city is very lucky, indeed.

Most of them weren't spraying anything, just flying across the sky over and over and over and over again.* By the red tail I was able to find out that these are most likely 979 Supertankers built by Evergreen, though the ones I've seen online have a blue and green stripe down their sides. Perhaps these lines are overwhelmed by the white sides from the ground. The patent on these is for putting out forest fires though one has yet to be used for this purpose.

* A bit of time to consider this and I wonder, as it was between eight and nine in the evening, if perhaps these were different chemtrail jets returning to their base for the night along a similar flightpath. However as they were flying north-east over Fort Wayne and there is no army base to the NE of our city, I wonder if perhaps they were heading for Canada? The Borden military base, home of the Royal Canadian Air Force? So why are these giant tankers flying from Canada over U.S. airspace each and every day (saw 'em against last night- same bat time). Where's the fire?