One of my favorite comic strips is the usually funny and occasionally disturbing Pearls Before Swine. Yesterday the resident bad guy (aptly named Rat) is singing the John Denver song “Country Roads”. When asked what he is doing Rat answers that he is planting “earworms”. An earworm is a term for a portion of a song that becomes “stuck” in your head and you cannot get it out of your mind. Soon you are literally out of your mind. A survey of several hundred students came up with a list of the most insidious earworms. Chili’s “Baby Back Ribs” jingle (“I want my baby back, baby back, baby back…”) Who Let the Dogs Out (“Who let the dogs out…woof, woof, woof, woof…Who let the dogs out…woof, woof, woof, woof…”) Kit-Kat candy-bar jingle (“Gimme a Break …”) The Lion Sleeps Tonight (“We-de-de-de, de-de-de-de-de de, we-um-um-a-way – drum fill – We-de-de-de, de-de-de-de-de de, we-um-um-a-way…A wimoweh, a-wimoweh a-wimoweh, a wimoweh”) Note: That also makes your spell check go
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The group Casting Crowns is a consistent favorite of mine. One of my favorites from the group is a song is called “Stained Glass Masquerade”. The title says it all. This song speaks powerfully to the all too human desire to be phony at church so that the others (who are also acting phony) will not think less of us. To have an impact in this culture we have to be genuine, real, authentic. Young men and women have a phony detector that is tuned to pick up the smallest deceit. I am tired of the phoniness. I am tired of the masks we wear. Just reading the lyrics will not give you the total power of this song but it will give you a taste.  Is there anyone that failsIs there anyone that fallsAm I the only one in church today feelin’ so small Cause when I take a look aroundEverybody seems so strongI know they’ll soon discoverThat I don’t belong So I tuck
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The morning walk with dog friend Hannah and my trusty iPod generated some thoughts. A tune by Kenny Chesney is chock full of catchy rhythms and bad theology. The song is called Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven but the underlying theme is that nobody wants to go there right now. I think that is true for most of us. As long as God allows I want to live and serve here while I enjoy family and friends. But what caught my ear was the theology. I am aware that Kenny Chesney is not a theologian so I am not throwing him under his tour bus. I found it interesting because the song reflects the theology of many people and churches in this nation. It used to be mine. Preacher told me last Sunday mornin`Son, you better start livin` rightYou need to quit the women and whiskeyAnd carrying on all night My issues might not have been whiskey and carrying on
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A buddy sent me a link to an interesting site. You enter your birthdate and you find out what the number one song was on the day you were born. While my top rated tune was not exactly a song for the ages I do think it might have had some influence in my life. The number one song on April 6 in 1953 was….drumroll please…. “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?” by Patti Page. Hmmmmm. The lyrics are an amazing study in banality. How much is that doggie in the window? [Arf, arf] The one with the waggly tail How much is that doggie in the window? [Arf, arf] I do hope that doggie’s for sale I actually remember the fine contribution of the backup barkers that added the “arf, arf” to the chorus. “The one with the waggly tale” is one of the great lyrical moments in history. Right up there with the rock group America’s insights about the
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I am dismayed and disgusted with Democrats, Republicans, campaign spokespersons and spinpersons, the media and countless others in the current political race. I suspect I am not alone. The tone makes it nearly impossible to stay engaged. I wish I could hire Dr.Evil (played by Mike Myers) from the Austin Power movies. Whenever he was tired of the conversation he would employ this technique. Scott Evil: It’s no hassle… Dr. Evil: Sh! Scott Evil: But… Dr. Evil: Sh! Scott Evil: I’m… Dr. Evil: Sh! Scott Evil: All I’m say… Dr. Evil: Sh! Scott Evil: There gonna get a… Dr. Evil: Sh! Scott Evil: I’m… Dr. Evil: Sh! Scott Evil: I’m just… Dr. Evil: Sh! Scott Evil: Would… Dr. Evil: Sh!… Knock-knock. Scott Evil: Who’s there? Dr. Evil: Sh! To both campaigns that are engaged in attacks and half-truths and complete untruths I would love to be able to say to all of you. SH! I have had it. When you examine
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The current state of discourse in this nation makes me want to put on the Bose headsets and resurface in mid-November. The internet can be a wonderful tool but too many writers have chosen to use the tool only as a chainsaw or hammer. I wrote a piece pleading for grace in the debate. After grace my next biggest gripe is the lack of accuracy in the debate. This quote from George Eliot is not in the Beatitudes but Jesus might have thought about including it. “Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.” Might I add blessed is the man or woman who takes a moment to confirm as fact what they forward as fact. May I suggest that forwarded e-mails are not the greatest source of truth available to mankind. The automatic forwarding of e-mail warnings is a real pet peeve of mine. About every other week I have to
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A fitness challenged film producer said that Hurricane Gustav disrupting the Republican Convention was “proof that God has a sense of humor”. At that point we did not know how devastating the storm might become. I thought the remark was tasteless given the timing but I didn’t get too exorcised over the comment. Both sides of the aisle seem to try to enlist God’s judgment when it is appropriate to support their positions. But the question that always comes up when disaster strikes is a tough one. Is God judging America? I have a definite and authoritative biblical position on this issue. I don’t know. When Jesus was asked about some tragedies that occurred He did not establish blame… About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. Jesus responded, “Do you think those murdered Galileans were
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