Video: Wrong Worship

While we're doing videos…

This one is also very funny, and very pointed in its message.

Video: Sunday Morning (on liturgy)

Here is the video I mentioned in my opening illustration yesterday. It's been around for a while, but I'm still surprised at both how well-done and funny it is, as well as how many people HAVEN'T seen it!

Family Man (repost)

A great song by Andrew Peterson, wonderfully-made visual…

Come awake!

In anticipation of Easter tomorrow...

On foolishness and rash statements

In case you're wondering…

I have no public statement about Pat Robertson's recent comments, other than to say: pastors make foolish and rash statements often. All of us. This is why the Bereans were commended. Pat Robertson is no exception.

Why "The Sing-Off" is the best reality competition talent show

We've watched our share of reality shows on TV. Over the years, we've watched Survivor (several seasons, though we dropped it last year and didn't miss it a bit); Big Brother (maybe half a season… not so much); Last Comic Standing (loved it, but it's inconsistently scheduled); America's Got Talent (we catch this one fairly regularly, though we tire quickly of the bickering and prating between the judges); The Voice (a newcomer that we enjoyed, though it was pretty predictable toward the end); and The Sing-Off (I think we've seen every episode of this one). I've also seen episodes of American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance?, Fear Factor, and probably a couple of others. I'm sure there are a lot of these that I/we haven't even heard of, and more that are on the way. It seems TV producers have devised a fairly inexpensive genre of programming that sells.

Of these, my favorite by far is The Sing-Off. It is musical talent competition show, wherein the singing groups are all a cappella— that is, they sing with no accompaniment other than their voices and bodies, and each other. It is hosted by Nick Lachey (from the boy-band, 98 Degrees, so even the host is a group-harmony singer), and the judges are Ben Folds (formerly of Ben Folds Five, a spookily-smart and highly-trained musician), Nicole Scherzinger (lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls), and Shawn Stockman (one of the boyz in Boyz II Men). All of the production staff are also people with a cappella backgrounds. Compared to the other talent-oriented competition reality shows, I think The Sing-Off is the best, by far.

So, why do I think The Sing-Off is the best talent-styled show going? Here's a handful of reasons:

• No embarrassing auditions. In so many of the other shows, part of the popularity— perhaps even the main draw for some— are the early audition episodes, wherein someone who hopes to be a viable contender is mercilessly exposed to be far less talented than is necessary. While I recognize and understand the morbid way that this is entertaining ("like watching a train wreck" is the accurate expression, I believe), I am always disappointed and dismayed at how much we love to revel in the embarrassment of others (and/or the cruel treatment they inevitably receive from one or more of the judges). Some will say, "they NEED to be told that they stink" which may be true, and it's too bad they didn't have a friend who loved them enough to keep them from the embarrassment of national TV— but while they may "need" it, we don't "need" to see it. The Sing-Off clearly has held auditions of some sort, and there are references made to them on occasion, but we are spared them; instead, they simply present the top performers from the auditions, which still leaves plenty of room for favorites to emerge and healthy competition to arise.
• No rude judges. Again, it seems like the "hook" for many of the talent shows is the showcase of a single brash, know-it-all judge (often British!) who is give free reign to be as merciless to the contestants as he wants to be. This summer's America's Got Talent is the epitome of this, so much that the rude one has become the target of vitriolic distaste from not only the contestants, but the other judges and even the host. On The Sing-Off, to the contrary, the judges are all polite and strive to find something to affirm in every act, even when they have words of critique. They also clearly enjoy one another's company, which only helps the general tenor of the show. (To its credit, The Voice also demonstrated this, as well as the next one.)
• No pointless judges. Most of the shows I've watched seem to have a judge whose purpose is uncertain. They aren't recognized authorities in the talent industry, but perhaps are there as a pretty face; alternatively, they may actually be someone who has "made it" talent-wise, yet their "judging" seldom, if ever, approaches anything of real substance. At best, they serve as the counter-balance to the jerk-judge, providing the always-affirming, over-considerate voice that loves everyone simply for exercising the bravery to audition. The Sing-Off has a balanced panel of judges— all three are accomplished musicians who are quick to offer intelligent insight into what worked and what didn't in the performances they see. There are almost always words of criticism, but they are presented gently and considerately; there are also always words of affirmation and encouragement. Each judge has their own style and personality that comes through in their judging, but none of them are rude OR pointless.
• No divas. I don't think I've ever seen a group win one of the other competition shows— even if there have been groups competing. It has always been a single, solo act that wins the show (unless you count the ventriloquist dummy in 2008's America's Got Talent). Maybe I'm wrong; let me know in the comments if you know of a group that has won one of these. Of course, a solo act cannot win The Sing-Off, because everyone competing is part of a group. This is refreshing, because it displays a dependence on teams and groups that is noticeably absent in most of American culture apart from elite professional athletics (and even there we might tend to follow individual stars and players rather than the whole team).
• Fair competition. I don't have a problem with the fact that a radio-pop styled singer (almost) always wins American Idol— but I feel like the country singer or the folk musician who wants to enter that competition doesn't get a fair shake. Likewise, when America's Got Talent's host turns the voting to the public and says, "who has the most talent?" I need to know what the criteria are to pick between a dance group, a classical/opera-styled singer, a performance artist, and a guitar-playing folk-rock singer. Is it fair to say that one of these has "more talent" than the others, because they got the most votes? With The Sing-Off, it is a single style of singing (yet it transcends genre), which means it is far easier to know what the criteria are. It's simply a fair competition.

Remember, I'm speaking strictly of talent competition shows, so Survivor and others don't fit into this comparison. And, to be fair, there are other shows that fit most of the above (Last Comic Standing comes to mind), though not all of them.

One more disclaimer: The Sing-Off has, for the first two "seasons," been on for only a matter of weeks (around Thanksgiving and Christmas, generally). They've announced that it will show for season three starting in September— much earlier than they have begun in the past. So, we may see some of these erode (like the auditions aspect) this year. But I hope not.

Generosity and temperance

Here's a great story of a generous kid whose fanaticism is well-tempered:

A few thoughts about Netflix

So, Netflix-- the DVD-in-your-mailbox service (OR the "stream-movies-and-TV-shows-online service) announced that they are raising their rates-- six whole dollars a month! Really, six dollars isn't really that much, but it does represent a 60% increase for the same level of service. Here are some thoughts about it:

• First, they aren't so much "raising" their rates as they are exploding the current offering of plans, and replacing them entirely. A typical Netflix plan (the one WE have, for example) allowed one DVD at a time by mail, plus unlimited streaming content. No such plan is available any longer; now, if you want both, you sign up for two separate plans-- one DVD-by-mail, and one streaming.
• These rate increases are realistic-- in fact, you could (and should) think of it as Netflix finally catching up to where they should have been on rates. While Netflix was started at the end of the last century(!), as recently as three years ago one could sign up for a $5/month plan for 2 DVDs by mail per month-- OR, an $8/month plan for unlimited DVDs per month. These prices did two things (one inadvertent, the other, um, advertent?): it caused the market to become complacent about very low prices for DVD rental, and it drove the existing competition out of business. (Blockbuster Video, the absolute dominant force in video rental through the 90s, is laughably irrelevant now.) Now Netflix is the victim of their own success, as customers are balking at prices that are, frankly, quite reasonable: if you had suggested in 1995 that someone could watch a nearly-endless amount of movies and archived TV episodes, in their own home, without having to even visit a brick-and-mortar store, for the price of three Blockbuster rentals per month, they would have said, "where do I sign up?" But now-- 15+ years and plenty of inflation later-- we expect to get all of that, for much less.
• I'm no insider, but I suspect this is the real reason behind the rate increases: contract renewals and internet costs. First, contracts. There's a company called Liberty Starz (previously Starz Entertainment) that basically controls all of the market for movies when they are "broadcast" in any form. Netflix contracted with them in 2008, when streaming was still relegated to low-quality YouTube videos; it was difficult to predict then how soon high-quality streaming would be available, and impossible to foresee how easily one could get devices to watch streaming content on your TV. Starz probably undercharged them, figuring that streaming wouldn't catch on-- who wants to sit at their computer to watch a whole movie? That contract was set to expire sometime in 2011, from what I understand. Thus, one part of the rate increases are likely due to a contract renegotiation, or at least in anticipation of one: surely the Netflix execs are thinking, "it's been a good run, but Starz is going to ream us for streaming content the next time around."
• Second, internet costs. Netflix single-handedly accounts for almost 25% of ALL internet content. This represents a huge and growing cost in server capacity and usage. I can't imagine that this is coming cheap, nor that their costs here are dropping. If anything, that kind of bandwidth is only increasing in cost, at the same time that usage is in an always-increasing pattern. Perhaps the change in plan structure is an effort both to better cover these growing costs, as well as to stem the increase of bandwidth demand a bit.

Grand Rapids rocks American Pie

So, apparently Newsweek listed Grand Rapids, Michigan, on one of those lists that cities don't like to land on-- 10 most declining cities, or 10 worst places to live, or 10 cities that smell funny, or whatever.

In response, the mayor of Grand Rapids and the people of the city set out to rehabilitate the city's reputation. How? They did a city-wide lip-syncing video (called a "lip-dub"), using Don McLean's "American Pie" (a live version, no less) as the music. It set a world record for the largest lip-dub, and Roger Ebert called it the "greatest music video ever made."

I'm not sure I would quite agree with Ebert's effusive assessment, but it's well-done, meticulously coordinated, and a lot of fun. It certainly makes you think well of Grand Rapids, I think.

Have a look:

Grad school? Maybe too close to home...

Here's an unvarnished look at why many, I suppose, opt for grad school (HT: Paul):

"What does it really mean to be a pastor?"

Now this is worth a look. Here's a great, though too-brief, interview with Eugene Peterson, on PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly:

Watch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

May 21, 2011

Good tunes transcend genre

I've mentioned before that I think good pop songs translate into bluegrass well. I think this might be a more broadly-applicable truism: good songs (or tunes, in the example below) will carry over well into different genres pretty easily.

Witness, for example, this song from acoustic guitar genius Andy McKee:

Now, here's the same tune performed in a heavy metal style:

Pretty good either way, right? Aside from the fact that it took the heavy metal guy three tracks (rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and a drum track-- I can't tell for sure if there's a bass track, but I don't think so) to do what Andy does single-handedly-- or, well, double-handedly-- I'm impressed either way.

Say, maybe this explains why Darius Rucker has been able to make the transition to country music!

The latest from "Lutheran Satire"

Here's the latest from the Lutheran Satire guy-- this time, taking on the "myth" of the resurrection.

Facebook folks: go to the blog to see the video.

eBooks survey

Very clever

HT to Jon for pointing me to this:

(Facebook folks, check it out on the blog.)

Merciful Jesus

I attended a conference on worship in St. Louis last week; the whole thing was great, and I simply drank in the content-- salve to my soul.

The highlight of the conference, though (apart from my dear old friend Greg Thompson blowing us all away with his excellent lecture on "liturgy") was the Communion Meal on Wednesday evening. We gathered in the fellowship hall of Memorial Presbyterian Church (a beautiful space) and found our seats. I spotted a friend and classmate from Covenant Seminary to sit beside, and having settled in found myself across from Nickolas Wolterstorff-- one of the speakers for the week, and also a philosopher whom I have long admired and read.

An opening hymn followed by a brief liturgy gave way to a meditation on Scripture, and then we were invited to break bread and serve wine to one another as a celebration of the Sacrament. This was my share of the Lord's Supper meal:

While we partook of Communion together, two of the musicians who earlier had led our hymn sang. The soprano accompanied them on a harp, and the alto simply sang. They did Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu" (from his Requiem) which means, "merciful Jesus." That song-- and that moment-- have been playing through my head for most of the week since then.

We broke bread and passed it, poured one another wine, and shared in the peace of our merciful Savior as we had a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb. Then we had a four-course meal, which-- as far as any of us were concerned-- may also have been a similar foretaste.

It was delightful. If I saw you there, I was so glad to do so. If you missed that, then I pray we will share in a similar feast together in glory!

The ongoing advance of eBooks

I have a strong interest in books, eBooks, writing, and publishing (which I mention just in case it isn't self-evident!). Not only as a reader and bibliophile, but also as a writer and publisher, I continue to find books to be some of the most compelling media and certainly some of the best ways to communicate ideas broadly.

As I pointed out in a recent post, eBooks are here to stay. What may surprise you is that eBooks have a 40-year history! Here's a useful and interesting infographic describing that history (Facebook readers, visit the blog to see the graphic):

via ebookfriend.ly

Do you read eBooks? What platform(s) do you prefer to read them with?

Tom Hanks on children

Tom Hanks is hilarious, and obviously very talented. In this video, he manages to poke fun at himself and the "show business" world, while also exposing how ridiculous some parents act about their kids. Worth a watch (HT: Jonathan):

St. Patrick's Day videos

More videos, this time in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

Let's start with some Muppets doing "Danny Boy":

Those "Leprechaun Brothers" remind me of this leprechaun in Alabama:


Which reminds me of this scene from Wayne's World:


That brings us to the (pretty awful) string of Leprechaun movies-- NOT one of Jennifer Aniston's career highlights:


And we'll finish up with John Mayer -- oddly enough, also not one of Jennifer Aniston's career highlights-- singing "St. Patrick's Day":



Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

(Facebook folks, watch these videos on my blog: pastorblog.hickorywithepc.org.)