RockOm

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• A Talk With Regina Spektor: Jay-Z, Her Beloved New Musical, and Spirituality on Far - "Some of your listeners have said that your latest album, Far, had too many religious undertones for their liking, and some have even called it 'preachy'. As a listener myself, I feel your references are just drawn from your philosophies, maybe related to your background or to myths and stories that you enjoy. What are your thoughts on this? (consequenceofsound.net.com)

• Holy headbangers - "Hellish images fly out the window when you hear Celestial Portal screaming about 'breaking free' and 'choosing the light'. Blood Covenant looks like it walked right out of LaVey's The Satanic Bible but actually growls about the New Testament."(timesofindia.com)

• Creed Comes Back: Who Still Believes? - "Lyrically, Creed resembles a platitudinous version of U2, indulging in spiritual, religious themes. Sometimes those lyrics get spectacularly vapid..." (kansascity.com)

• Exclusive: Cory Chisel On His Breakout Album - A very cool article and interview with last week's RockOm Featured Track of the Week artist, Cory Chisel (huffingtonpost.com)

by Needtobreathe

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The term "Southern Gospel" conjures up thoughts of small ensembles singing songs about heaven in Baptist churches. In the case of South Carolina's Needtobreathe, the term could be used to describe the band's sound... though it might be better described as "Southern Rock + Gospel."

On their latest album, The Outsiders, Needtobreathe has truly come into their own, seamlessly blending ambient, arena-ready soundscapes with a decidedly Southern sensibility. "The 'Southern thing' is very scary to some people," [vocalist/guitarist] Bear Rinehart laughs. "But for us, it's not so much a sound than a feeling. It's just about having some soul in the words you write, the music that you play. And it's something that just comes naturally to us."

Featured Track: "Lay 'Em Down"

Lyric Excerpt: "Come down to the river / Come and let yourself in / Make good on a promise / To never hurt again / If you're lost and lonely / You're broken down / Bring all of your troubles come lay 'em down"

Bear Rinehart: "['Lay 'Em Down'] is really about [how] everybody has to leave their past behind and what makes them them. At some point they need to say, 'Ok, I don't care if I'm right or that other person is right.' Everybody has to come to God with that kind of spirit." (Source)

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RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• KJ52 offers gospel music in a loud rap - "KJ52's music has been praised as the music Eminem would be making if he became a Christian. KJ has [even] written a letter to Eminem in song form, 'Dear Slim.'" (al.com)
• Grammy-winner Bryson to bring soulful vocals to jazz festival - "Two-time Grammy winner Peabo Bryson believes in the power of music. 'Music is spiritual... Every moment of our lives is marked to some kind of music,' Bryson said. 'There’s not a soul on this earth that’s not used music to try to make themselves feel better in some way, shape or form,' he said during a phone interview last week from his home in Atlanta. 'We use it to celebrate. We search it to find answers. It’s like, there’s the Bible, and then there’s music; it’s whatever you believe in, and then there’s music.'" (thecamarilloacorn.com)
• Bob Dylan's Christmas album to benefit charity - "Dylan's 'Christmas in the Heart' album is due out on October 13, nearly six months after the release of his last studio album, 'Together Through Life,' which topped the charts." (news.yahoo.com)
• Bulgaria's church deplores Madonna concert - "Orthodox Church officials are urging Bulgarians to keep away from a planned Madonna concert this weekend, accusing the pop singer of showing disrespect to Christianity." (news.yahoo.com)

You may recall that several years ago guitarist Brian "Head" Welch left the Grammy Award-winning rock band Korn due in large part to his newfound faith in Jesus Christ and desire to stay off of drugs. In fact, RockOm had an interview with Head back in Februrary where he talked about his faith and new album.

Now, according to this article and interview with Beliefnet.com, "another member of the band, bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu has come out publicly as a Christian and has co-authored a book, 'Got the Life: My Journey of Addiction, Faith, Recovery, and Korn.'"

As the article mentions, Fieldy has taken a different route in that his plans are to stay with the band.

"It's somewhat like peace, but it's not like you become a Christian and [your] problems go away. I still have my everyday struggles of life and situations that come my way. But I found the difference now is when difficult situations come my way, I'm on a strong foundation and I know how to handle the situation. I don't know how, but following and walking with Christ, He shows me how." (Fieldy)

Beliefnet entertainment editor Dena Ross spoke with Fieldy about "what brought him to embrace Christianity, how he plans to stay sober, and Korn's response to his conversion."

See the entire interview, "From Korn to Christ--Part 2: Interview with Fieldy," HERE at Beliefnet.com.

Or check out Fieldy's book on AMAZON.COM.

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• Hasidic star Matisyahu saving reggae with new disc - "Even though the new album is called 'Light,' Matisyahu taps into darker subjects, like death and suffering. 'You get to a certain point where you realize it's not eternal, you're not going to be around forever,' he said. 'You start to deal with that concept and what it means. For me, what it's meant, in terms of putting a positive spin on this, is just an appreciation of life.'" (reuters.com)
• Mind and Meaning - "Daniel Levitin runs McGill University's Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition and Expertise. He's also a musician, record producer and author, most recently of 'The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature.' He talks with Jim Fleming about music's pivotal role in human evolution." (publicbroadcasting.net)
• Collin Raye: Making the move from Country to Christian music - "By the mid-90s, though, when Raye wanted to do an album of contemporary Christian music, things had changed. His label initially gave the go ahead, but at the last minute balked, citing concerns over radio's willingness to play blatantly Christian songs. They didn't want him to get labeled as part of something they called the God Squad.' 'I’m like, What's wrong with that?' Raye laughs now." (examiner.com)

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• Lady Gaga Tones Image Down In Israel For 'Spiritual Experience' - "Nine-time MTV Video Music Award nominee Lady Gaga isn't one to keep her fashion choices muted nor her hyper-honest, often provocative statements to herself. But when the songstress touched down in the Holy Land, she seemed to have a change of heart." (mtv.com)
• Remixing Mother India for a new generation - "A distilled version of [the 1957 classic film] Mother India, rescored by a DJ, was screened in London on Saturday to mark the 62nd anniversary of India's independence." (guardian.co.uk)
• Christian Musicians Remember Guitar Legend Les Paul - "With the news last week that guitar legend Les Paul passed away at age 94, I asked a couple of Christian musicians to share some thoughts on the man who changed the music industry..." (beliefnet.com)

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• O.A.R. breaks the mold - Reggae/Rock band O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) says, "I certainly refer to God at some points in time. I don't mean that for any certain religion. When I feel close to something, I refer to it as God. Maybe a lot of people connect to that. But I'm certainly no preacher." (baltimoresun.com)
• Christian band Skillet seeking mainstream fans - "I do find that to be the hardest thing," [vocalist John] Cooper says, "because I've always wanted to have a message to my music. I've never wanted to compromise that and I don't want to let my Christian music fans down... In the end I thought, 'OK, I'm just going to have to write with my heart.'" (reuters.com)
• Morrison revisits his "Astral Glory" - A review of a recent Van Morrison performance where he "reclaimed Astral Glory's themes of rebirth and awakening in a manner that dispelled criticisms he has endured over the years for seeming uninterested." (boston.com)
• One blessed voice - "Onkar Singh puts all his soul into singing Sikh devotional hymns, which will soothe any ears... 'Spirituality to me is being able to rise above the day-to-day stresses of life and see the bigger picture,' Singh says from his home in Brantford, 'to be able to put situations and circumstances in a perspective which allows you to remain in a state of bliss, regardless of what is happening around you.'" (torontosun.com)

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• Say Namaste! Party by Night, Downward Dog by Day - "The lithe-bodied audience had gathered here for Wanderlust, a new festival that blends indie rock and yoga. From Friday to Sunday, visitors could study self-massage and meditation early each morning and hear groups like Broken Social Scene, Girl Talk and Spoon at night." (NYTimes.com)
• Vic Juris: Tension and Release - Vic Juris is one of the premier jazz guitarists in the business today. In this interview he shares (among other things) about his spirituality and life philosophy (allaboutjazz.com)
• Shaken but not stirred by stadium-rock spirituality - "The promise of awesome worship. That’s what got me rocking up to a Planetshakers meeting. And I wasn’t disappointed. They said ‘awesome' 20 times. Planetshakers is a megachurch, which is like a spiritual mega-meal deal." (theage.com.au)
• The golden periods of the Sikh religious music - "We the members of the Sikh community are passing through a very difficult phase of our existence. Our moral and spiritual values are going down the drain." (worldsikhnews.com)
• Street kid turns to rap, then finds faith - "I began writing Christian music and let the other music go that was sending the wrong message. 'I want my Christian rap to inspire the youth of today...'" (floridatoday.com)

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• Musicians' country gathering results in "Glory" - Several top Christian artists "gathered in the rural setting to write and record the old-fashioned way. There's no studio clock ticking, no label executives stopping by, just camaraderie and a sense of creative adventure." The result was Glory Revealed II: The Word of God in Worship. (Billboard)
• Rob Thomas' new album explores darker themes - "Rob Thomas' new CD, Cradlesong, reveals a more complex side of the singer: themes of despair, and even death, are explored in various songs." (Yahoo! News)
• Bridge to Zimbabwe: Music gives insight into African culture - "The music of Shona culture is more important than its notes or the rhythms, it is a spiritual device. 'Music is the framework for how you want to worship,' Murungu said. 'It has healing properties and the affect of bringing peace.'" (WickedLocal.com)
• Band spotlight: South Africa's Civil Twilight - A spotlight on the band Civil Twilight whose spiritual lyrics "weave a tale of hope, longing, love and more and are like thought provoking poems set to music." (examiner.com)

By Trevor Harden, trevor@rockom.net

A témpo: A directive to return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation. (Source: Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary)

A témpo is written into sheet music to instruct the performer to resume the tempo (or speed) from the piece's beginning or previous section. It is a returning, a pressing of the Reset button, an alignment with what previously was.

Reading this definition, I was reminded of a strikingly similar corresponding spiritual or theological concept.

"A directive to return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation." This sounds remarkably like the true definition of the word repentance. Repentance is not - as common wisdom would have us believe - "feeling really, really sorry for your sins." As Oregon State University professor Marcus Borg puts it, "The biblical meaning of repentance is quite different from an apology. In the Jewish Bible, the Christian Old Testament, repentance means 'to return' - that is, to return from exile, to return to life in the presence of God, to a life centered in God."

No matter what your faith background or your views on the word sin, it would not be totally out of bounds to say that everyone understands the idea of "deliberate deviation." There are times when we purposefully choose the lesser road, the easy way out, the cheap shot - and this isn't to make judgment that there's anything "wrong" with that. It is what it is.

But one must also consider what author Anne Lamott has suggested - "We are not punished for the sin, but by the sin." This is could also be understood in the popular understanding of Karma or in the phrase "you reap what you sew." When we choose to make deliberate bad choices, we are not struck down by a cosmic deity dishing out discipline and correction for our "deviations" - we simply have to often pay (in one way or another) for our poor choices.

When we're ready to stop cleaning up our messes from willful bad decisions or taking the self-imposed lashings from stubbornly heading the wrong direction, let us consider writing A témpo at the top of our life's page. Doing so would be a true repentance, a return to a more healthy path, a return to God, a return to one's true self. Why? Not because we "should," but because we choose to - for our sake, and the sake of others.