I love music. Being born and reared in the South, I am partial to Southern rock bands. Growing up my favorite band was Lynyrd Skynyrd. I also liked the Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, Atlanta Rhythm Section, and Molly Hatchet.
Below are a couple of songs from Southern bands that every apostate should like. The first is by R.E.M., the biggest band to ever come out of the Athens, Georgia music scene (apologies to the B-52's and Widespread Panic). The second is by Driving and Crying who I am going to be fortunate enough to see live in July.
Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
The Jesus That I Know and I'm Going Straight to Hell by Kevin Kinney of Driving and Crying
I suspect that DM is miserable fellow in real life. I have to wonder what atheist beat him out in that job promotion or otherwise left him so bitter toward atheists.
ReplyDeleteGood list of songs, Ken. You might also take a look at XTC's "Dear God" if you haven't already, though I'd be quite surprised if you haven't. I enjoyed the video of Drivin n' Cryin's song, which I'd heard on the radio some time ago.
I can't help pointing out that I just learned from taking a quick look at Drivin n' Cryin's wikipedia page that they're from Atlanta, where I'm currently calling home. I'll have to see if they're performing locally any time soon.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteThey are performing at The Vines in Loganville on July 16th. Its about 2 miles from where I live
My Christian friends prefer "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey :)
ReplyDeleteHi Ken and everyone on the blog. I want to wish all of those in the U.S. a happy 4th of July. If you live elsewhere, isn't every day a reason to celebrate?
ReplyDeleteKen--We've got similar tastes in music. Lynyrd Skynrd were great--still have the original albumn "Street Survivors" with the flames on the cover, but never got to see them in concert. (Did get to see 38 Special live, which was close) Also saw Molly Hatchet, Allman Brothers, Dicky Betts--(the heart of the Allman Brothers), and Atlanta Rhythm Section.
"The Jesus that I Know" has very poignant lyrics. It was easy to hear them, but I could not find them on the web. Could someone post them?
I had a hard time hearing the lyrics for "I'm Going Straight to Hell" so I am adding them here. (They came from a search, and don't match the live version.) This song comes across as a standard bar song to me.
STRAIGHT TO HELL
By: Drivin n Cryin
I grew up just west of the tracks
holding me to hold you back,
around your door she's calling out my name
She said son won't you go outside,
I've got a man coming over tonight
the seventh one in seven days
So I walk on down to the parking lot,
hang around with all my friends,
and roam the streets til dawn breaks again
I come in at five a.m. and she is waiting for me
She said where have you been, I said I was out,
She said you're no good cause you're running without love
Chorus:
Cause I'm going straight to hell
Just like my momma said
I'm going straight to hell
I'm going straight to hell
Just like my momma said
I'm going straight to hell
The black widow and the ladies man
Met down at the laundromat and tried to make me understand
The neighbors were all in a stir
about what they might have heard
and running down and shouted out it seemed
Next door a girl she lives about the same age as me
and asked me to come upstairs for a see
Just then her mother burst in said your
that son of a bitch in the wind
Get out of my house and hit the road
and I kept fallin like a Rolling Stones song
Repeat Chorus
The stars came out and warned me so
As I walked on down the road
Fifty bucks and a suitcase steered me clear
She took my hand as we walked into the sun
A new days promise had begun
We'll make it alone whether you like it or not
I turned around and shouted help me mother
Repeat Chorus
I got long-winded again and have to do this in two posts.
ReplyDeleteBecause I live in the Northwest, I haven't been keeping up on the posts because our 50 days of good weather per year are upon us and there ain't nothin' like sitting outside at this time. (A man's gotta know his priorities!!!!)
Anyway, have fun with this post, and I hope to post something serious in the future when it starts raining again.
Can't go without this joke, though. (I think God has a sense of humor, but if this is offensive, please just ignore it. I saw it on the web the other day, and since this post is about music...Yes, even Christian's have a sense of humor too. (A little levity lightens the whole loaf.) You may insert any political or other figure when appropriate as you read this. Enjoy!!
Original Pink Floyd front man Syd Barrett passed away last year. Apparently, he was crazy as a loon, and spent most of his life in an asylum. Luckily, as a rock star, he was treated pretty well, and had a nice set of rooms in the tower, decorated with velvet pillows and tapestries.
He maintained correspondence with many of his rock star peers, including Jimmy Page, who taught him about Aleister Crowley and the occult. Well, Syd Barrett became obsessed with Aleister Crowley and satanism. He lined his mahogany bookshelves with occult tomes, and hung eerie paintings on the walls. He thought the voices in his head were demons telling him how to live. He studied and studied, and had himself sworn in as a shaman of the Church of Satan.
One of the voices told him that he shouldn't eat anything that had a soul, including plants, bugs, animals, and even fungi. As you can imagine, he started to waste away. The asylum director, who had befriended Syd over the years, tried to entice him with the asylum food; unfortunately, the asylum cook only knew how to prepare gruel. They tried fried gruel; gruel with strawberries; gruel with a side of gruel. Nothing worked.
The asylum director didn't want to force feed him, so he came up with a last gasp idea: he would take him to the 5-star restaurant that Syd used to eat at in his heyday. The Pig's Inn was full of other celebrities: Tony Blair, Elton John, Dick Cheney, and even Posh Spice.
Syd was calm and sure; there was nothing that could tempt him. The chef prepared a thick cut of filet mignon, medium rare, with just a dash of salt and pepper. The asparagus was bathed in a wine-butter sauce. Syd pushed the plate away.
Next, they brought out a rich chocolate cake with almond slivers and creme fraiche. Syd turned his nose up.
The duck medalions in sherry barely got a glance.
The asylum director and chef stood to the side scratching their heads. What could possibly tempt Syd Barrett?
All of a sudden, there was a commotion across the restaurant. Dick Cheney had keeled over and died suddenly of a heart attack. The ambulance came, but they couldn't do anything. He was dead.
After the body was taken away, the rest of the restaurant settled back into their meals, somewhat shaken, but still determined to make the best of the evening.
A short while later, the chef comes out with a fragrant roast pork loin, covered with a cognac reduction. Syd Barrett looks annoyed, and says, "Why do you keep bringing these dishes out for me? You know I won't eat anything that had a soul!" The chef leans down and whispers something in Syd's ear.
Suddenly, Syd digs into the pork. With a crazy look, he rips chunks off and devours them with gusto. He can't get enough! The asylum director is amazed, and asks the chef what he said to him to get him to eat.
"I told him there's no soul in this--it's Dick Cheney's rump."
The Asylum Director smiles with relief and yells, "Dine on, you crazy Shaman!"