There is joy here on earth. There is joy in every handful of dirt. With these words, Coco Love Alcorn opens up her song Wonderland. It is a reminder that I often need to hear. All too often, I fail to see the beauty in life, in love, in my relationships. This month, I have…Read more There is joy here on earth
Music
Reading New Boy? Check out the soundtrack.
New Boy, the soundtrack: Let Roberta Flack, The Jackson Five and Three Dog Night transport you to 1974. Tracy Chevalier, author of nine brilliant novels, has created a soulful playlist to accompany New Boy, a retelling of Shakespeare’s Othello. Check out other playlists, including one for Chevalier's novel At the end of the Orchard.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day
Who says Canadians aren't romantic? CBC Radio has released Northern Love, an epic list of Canadian love songs that will prove those naysayers wrong. From mainstream classics sung by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan and Leonard Cohen to alt rock hits penned by superstars like Ron Sexsmith, Daniel Lanois and The Weakerthans, this…Read more Just in time for Valentine’s Day
Let the music play v.2
When I started co-facilitating a group that discusses spiritual concepts like invitation, blessing and creation, I found myself compiling a soundtrack of sorts.
A Movement Needs A Song by Esther Nelson
On the eve of Martin Luther King day, I wrote about the power of music to shatter us. I was thinking about the role that music played in the civil rights movement and discussed the genesis of Duke Ellington’s song “Come Sunday” during those turbulent days.
A few days later, I stumbled across this guest post by Esther Nelson on the feminismandreligion blog. It reminded me of Duke Ellington and of Emma Goldman, who said: “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution”.
I’m back in Las Cruces, New Mexico, spending the break between semesters in the spot where I plan to eventually retire. When I was here last summer (2016), I visited the Unitarian Universalist Church so decided to join the people gathered there on Christmas Day. Not many showed up—about twenty or so. The service was abbreviated. The emphasis was on singing Christmas carols from the hymnal. Unitarian Universalists, it appears, love to sing.
Inside the bulletin on a separate sheet of paper, Catherine Massey, the Director of Music, wrote an essay titled “Sunday Music Notes.” She asks, “How can music help us respond to the needs around us?” She listed several ways we can benefit from singing and chanting. One way is calming the self, enabling us to better cope with life’s struggles. Singing can also bring comfort to the sick and/or dying as well as to their families. She…
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Listening to “Come Sunday” on the eve of Martin Luther King Day
"Come Sunday" was written by Duke Ellington in the blistering heat of the civil rights era, in 1965, and his song bears the terrible weight of history as he--and his people--were living it.
Let the music play
I was born in the 70s. K-Tel Records–As Seen on TV–provided the soundtrack for my early years. Growing up, I wanted to be the person who produced those classic collections.
