Walking alone at eve and viewing the skies afar,
Bidding the darkness come to welcome each silver star;
I have a great delight in the wonderful scenes above,
God in His power and might is showing His truth and love.
O for a home with God, a place in His courts to rest,
Sure in a safe abode with Jesus and the blest;
Rest for a weary soul once redeemed by the Savior's love,
Where I'll be pure and whole and live with my God above!
Sitting alone at eve and dreaming the hours away,
Watching the shadows falling now at the close of day;
God in His mercy comes with His Word He is drawing near,
Spreading His love and truth around me and everywhere.
O for a home with God, a place in His courts to rest,
Sure in a safe abode with Jesus and the blest;
Rest for a weary soul once redeemed by the Savior's love,
Where I'll be pure and whole and live with my God above!
Closing my eyes at eve and thinking of heaven's grace,
Longing to see my Lord, yes, meeting Him face to face;
Trusting Him as my all where-so-ever my footsteps roam,
Pleading with Him to guide me on to the spirits' home!
O for a home with God, a place in His courts to rest,
Sure in a safe abode with Jesus and the blest;
Rest for a weary soul once redeemed by the Savior's love,
Where I'll be pure and whole and live with my God above!
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
My Work-Out Playlist
This will be interesting to no one.
About a year and a half ago, I was listening to some music while I was running at the Maryland Farms YMCA when Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning" came up on my mp3 player. I really like that song, so I perked up a bit. Suddenly, I realized that my steps were falling exactly to the rhythm of the song!
There have been a few moments of such epiphany in my life: a) my first kiss; b) the day I realized Excel could open web pages; c) the first time I tried hosting a website from my house and it worked; d) the day I downloaded autohotkey; e) the "Sunday Morning" moment. I remember each of these moments extremely vividly. Life changing. Seriously. Hey, stop laughing.
I'm focusing on "e" for right now, though each item on that list could be fodder for a long blog post.
When I got home from the Y, I listened to all of my favorite songs and tapped out the tempo for each of them. Sunday Morning turned out to be a 177, so that was my starting point. I sorted my work by bpm (thank you iTunes) and gathered the ones together that fell in the 160-210 range and grouped them by tens.
I immediately found that I could run about 75% farther than I was running - simply because I was running to the beat.
I've found that anything other than a 4/4 time signature doesn't really work for me, so after pruning 3/4 songs (etc) and ones that don't keep a steady tempo (live songs are bad about this), I settled into a nice playlist. Now each time I get a new album, I run it through my tempo filter to see if there are any additions. So after all this, here is my LONG list of workout songs. (Please don't read the whole list - I'm just putting it up here so I can look back at it later)
Here are the "highly recommended for running" ones
174 - Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega
177 - Rock Me Amedeus by Falco
177 - Sunday Morning by Maroon 5
183 - That Swing Song by Two Or More
185 - Zoot Suit Riot by Cherry Poppin' Daddies
185 - Aserejé by Las Ketchup
187 - Albuquerque by Weird Al Yankovic
188 - All That She Wants by Ace of Base
189 - The Remedy by Jason Mraz
The first half of the list
171 - Me and Becky by Chris Rice
172 - Waterfalls by TLC*
172 - Leave Me Alone (a cappella) by John McLemore
172 - Shiver by Maroon 5
173 - Death By Beauty by Sylvie Lewis
174 - Live High by Jason Mraz
174 - Voice of Truth by Won By One**
174 - Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega***
174 - God Is My Redeemer by Glad
175 - Good News by Chris Rice**
175 - I've Got News by Andrew Peterson
176 - Springs of Life by Ginny Owens
177 - Ramona by Randall Goodgame****
177 - Rock Me Amedeus by Falco***
177 - Sunday Morning by Maroon 5***
177 - He Restores My Soul by Kepano Green
178 - Secret by Maroon 5
178 - Pillar of Fire by Andrew Peterson
179 - You Found Me by FFH
179 - Hosea by Andrew Peterson
179 - The Difference by Rescue
180 - Shiloh by Andrew Peterson
--- - Love Handles by Sean Altman
181 - Sing To The Glory by Acappella
181 - Daisy Simone by Sean Altman
181 - Keeping the Faith by Billy Joel**
182 - Everything's OK by Chris Rice
183 - Rodeo Clowns by Jack Johnson
183 - Gloria by Glad
183 - Consume Me by DC Talk
183 - Free by Ginny Owens
183 - Love Enough by Andrew Peterson
183 - That Swing Song by Two Or More***
184 - Rocket by Andrew Peterson
185 - So Excited by Rescue
185 - Forgiven Not Forgotten by The Corrs**
185 - Next To You by Randall Goodgame
185 - Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkle
185 - Zoot Suit Riot by Cherry Poppin' Daddies***
185 - Aserejé by Las Ketchup***
185 - Africa by Toto
185 - Only Truth by Acappella
186 - Do Right by Take 6**
187 - Albuquerque by Weird Al Yankovic***
188 - All That She Wants by Ace of Base***
188 - The Rumor Weed Song by The W's
188 - Testify To Love by Avalon**
188 - Good to Be Free by FFH
189 - The Remedy by Jason Mraz***
Okay, this is getting ridiculous, so I'm going to stop. I'm still not sure why I'm blogging this, but oh well.
*Where I usually start these days
**Sometimes gets skipped
***Highly Recommend for running
****Where I used to start - I need to speed back up
About a year and a half ago, I was listening to some music while I was running at the Maryland Farms YMCA when Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning" came up on my mp3 player. I really like that song, so I perked up a bit. Suddenly, I realized that my steps were falling exactly to the rhythm of the song!
There have been a few moments of such epiphany in my life: a) my first kiss; b) the day I realized Excel could open web pages; c) the first time I tried hosting a website from my house and it worked; d) the day I downloaded autohotkey; e) the "Sunday Morning" moment. I remember each of these moments extremely vividly. Life changing. Seriously. Hey, stop laughing.
I'm focusing on "e" for right now, though each item on that list could be fodder for a long blog post.
When I got home from the Y, I listened to all of my favorite songs and tapped out the tempo for each of them. Sunday Morning turned out to be a 177, so that was my starting point. I sorted my work by bpm (thank you iTunes) and gathered the ones together that fell in the 160-210 range and grouped them by tens.
I immediately found that I could run about 75% farther than I was running - simply because I was running to the beat.
I've found that anything other than a 4/4 time signature doesn't really work for me, so after pruning 3/4 songs (etc) and ones that don't keep a steady tempo (live songs are bad about this), I settled into a nice playlist. Now each time I get a new album, I run it through my tempo filter to see if there are any additions. So after all this, here is my LONG list of workout songs. (Please don't read the whole list - I'm just putting it up here so I can look back at it later)
Here are the "highly recommended for running" ones
174 - Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega
177 - Rock Me Amedeus by Falco
177 - Sunday Morning by Maroon 5
183 - That Swing Song by Two Or More
185 - Zoot Suit Riot by Cherry Poppin' Daddies
185 - Aserejé by Las Ketchup
187 - Albuquerque by Weird Al Yankovic
188 - All That She Wants by Ace of Base
189 - The Remedy by Jason Mraz
The first half of the list
171 - Me and Becky by Chris Rice
172 - Waterfalls by TLC*
172 - Leave Me Alone (a cappella) by John McLemore
172 - Shiver by Maroon 5
173 - Death By Beauty by Sylvie Lewis
174 - Live High by Jason Mraz
174 - Voice of Truth by Won By One**
174 - Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega***
174 - God Is My Redeemer by Glad
175 - Good News by Chris Rice**
175 - I've Got News by Andrew Peterson
176 - Springs of Life by Ginny Owens
177 - Ramona by Randall Goodgame****
177 - Rock Me Amedeus by Falco***
177 - Sunday Morning by Maroon 5***
177 - He Restores My Soul by Kepano Green
178 - Secret by Maroon 5
178 - Pillar of Fire by Andrew Peterson
179 - You Found Me by FFH
179 - Hosea by Andrew Peterson
179 - The Difference by Rescue
180 - Shiloh by Andrew Peterson
--- - Love Handles by Sean Altman
181 - Sing To The Glory by Acappella
181 - Daisy Simone by Sean Altman
181 - Keeping the Faith by Billy Joel**
182 - Everything's OK by Chris Rice
183 - Rodeo Clowns by Jack Johnson
183 - Gloria by Glad
183 - Consume Me by DC Talk
183 - Free by Ginny Owens
183 - Love Enough by Andrew Peterson
183 - That Swing Song by Two Or More***
184 - Rocket by Andrew Peterson
185 - So Excited by Rescue
185 - Forgiven Not Forgotten by The Corrs**
185 - Next To You by Randall Goodgame
185 - Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkle
185 - Zoot Suit Riot by Cherry Poppin' Daddies***
185 - Aserejé by Las Ketchup***
185 - Africa by Toto
185 - Only Truth by Acappella
186 - Do Right by Take 6**
187 - Albuquerque by Weird Al Yankovic***
188 - All That She Wants by Ace of Base***
188 - The Rumor Weed Song by The W's
188 - Testify To Love by Avalon**
188 - Good to Be Free by FFH
189 - The Remedy by Jason Mraz***
Okay, this is getting ridiculous, so I'm going to stop. I'm still not sure why I'm blogging this, but oh well.
*Where I usually start these days
**Sometimes gets skipped
***Highly Recommend for running
****Where I used to start - I need to speed back up
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Resurrection Letters, Volume 2
I just wanted to write a little something about an album I just on iTunes. It's been out for over a year, but hey I'm a little behind the times.
It's Andrew Peterson's "Resurrection Letters, Volume 2." To answer the first, obvious question, this is from the liner notes: "These songs are bound together by the theme of resurrection in our lives and in the world around us. It wasn't until we were recording the album that I knew I wanted to tell a bigger story, and that this would be part two. Part one is Christ's resurrection, which made a way for ours; it was the turning point in the Great Story. I'm currently working on the songs that will comprise Resurrection Letters, Vol I." -A.P.
Now that that's out of the way, I will try to express how this poet has touched my life through this album. The beauty of his myriad poetic and musical tools is surpassed only by the message they convey. The message I've received so far from this album is this: "For better or worse, God is Love. What's more, he wants you to experience His love. Yes, you. No really, you!"
From the first lines ("Come broken and weary / Come battered and bruised / My Jesus makes all things new.") to the Celtic end of the album there is a humble acceptance of all who'd claim the love of God.
His clever rhyming schemes and his use of the natural percussive rhythm of the lyrics combine to bring a smile to my face. It's clear that these works were carefully and purposefully crafted.
My current favorite track is "Rocket" - but I'll probably over-play it and eventually pick a new favorite. Fortunately, there are plenty of gems from which to choose. Possible usurpers would be "Hosanna", "Love is a Good Thing" or "All You'll Ever Need."
I don't know what the motivation behind "Hosanna" was, but I'd like to speculate. The song sounds like something you'll hear in every contemporary Baptist church every Sunday morning: a happy-clappy, up-tempo praise song. The difference is in the verses' lyrics: "I have lied to everyone who trusts me. I have tried to fall when I could stand. I have only loved the ones who loved me. Hosanna!" The verses confess a lifestyle of sin and the chorus announces the triumph. Brilliant!
Please listen to "Love is a Good Thing." Even with the limited versions of love that I have experienced in my life, I found it throat-lumpingly true and beautiful.
This post is becoming too long, so I'll just leave you with the last line of "All You'll Ever Need": "The blood of Jesus, it is like the widow's oil: when it's all you have it's all you'll ever need."
Andrew, thank you for this album.
It's Andrew Peterson's "Resurrection Letters, Volume 2." To answer the first, obvious question, this is from the liner notes: "These songs are bound together by the theme of resurrection in our lives and in the world around us. It wasn't until we were recording the album that I knew I wanted to tell a bigger story, and that this would be part two. Part one is Christ's resurrection, which made a way for ours; it was the turning point in the Great Story. I'm currently working on the songs that will comprise Resurrection Letters, Vol I." -A.P.
Now that that's out of the way, I will try to express how this poet has touched my life through this album. The beauty of his myriad poetic and musical tools is surpassed only by the message they convey. The message I've received so far from this album is this: "For better or worse, God is Love. What's more, he wants you to experience His love. Yes, you. No really, you!"
From the first lines ("Come broken and weary / Come battered and bruised / My Jesus makes all things new.") to the Celtic end of the album there is a humble acceptance of all who'd claim the love of God.
His clever rhyming schemes and his use of the natural percussive rhythm of the lyrics combine to bring a smile to my face. It's clear that these works were carefully and purposefully crafted.
My current favorite track is "Rocket" - but I'll probably over-play it and eventually pick a new favorite. Fortunately, there are plenty of gems from which to choose. Possible usurpers would be "Hosanna", "Love is a Good Thing" or "All You'll Ever Need."
I don't know what the motivation behind "Hosanna" was, but I'd like to speculate. The song sounds like something you'll hear in every contemporary Baptist church every Sunday morning: a happy-clappy, up-tempo praise song. The difference is in the verses' lyrics: "I have lied to everyone who trusts me. I have tried to fall when I could stand. I have only loved the ones who loved me. Hosanna!" The verses confess a lifestyle of sin and the chorus announces the triumph. Brilliant!
Please listen to "Love is a Good Thing." Even with the limited versions of love that I have experienced in my life, I found it throat-lumpingly true and beautiful.
This post is becoming too long, so I'll just leave you with the last line of "All You'll Ever Need": "The blood of Jesus, it is like the widow's oil: when it's all you have it's all you'll ever need."
Andrew, thank you for this album.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Music
I love playing guitar. Not like I love baseball or love going to the pub. It is a romantic love - like being in love. On my way home from work, I daydream about playing - I can't wait to get there. When I'm finally there - just me and my inanimate friend making music together - I feel less lonely - like the angels are gathering to watch another creation. Love and music (and probably other things I haven't experienced) are like that - there's something entirely "otherly" about them that is a beneficial addiction. I really can't get enough.
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