Sticks and Snakes

Inspirational Omaha (And an Update)

Sorry I've been so absent from the blogosphere lately. I am still in Seattle, enjoying one more month with my family before heading out to Nebraska in late July. I'm not online much these days, in part because I have a so-so internet connection and also because I am trying to make the most of the time I have left in my hometown. But have no fear, as soon as I settle down in Omaha I will return to a more regular blogging schedule. 

I did want to report on the following, however. It seems that Pete Yorn has just released a new album called "Back & Fourth" (Columbia), which is getting incredible reviews. I am not a super-huge Pete Yorn fan, but I do think that the guy is really talented and I am always looking for something new to add to my iPod rotation. 

What excites me the most about "Back & Fourth," however, is the fact that Yorn recorded it in Omaha, where he worked with Rick Rubin and Mike Mogis (best known for producing Bright Eyes and Rilo Kiley). All of the reviews I have read cite Omaha as a major source of inspiration for the album, which is good press for the city I am about to move to. It's interesting to read what some people have to say about Yorn's unorthodox recording move from Los Angeles--where he lives--to Nebraska. For example:

• "He got his start in New Jersey and he built his career in California, but Pete Yorn found his heart in Nebraska." - Kevin O'Hare
  
• "For fun, Pete would check out local bands in Omaha and gamble on riverboats." - mvremix.com
• "The dusky calm of Omaha shows up in the music..." - Dan Caffrey 
• "Yorn says that the album was inspired by an escape from his everyday routine, and the change of pace between hometown Los Angeles and more rural Nebraska." - Press Release 

I don't want to be too critical, but Omaha isn't exactly rural. It's a city with a population of roughly half a million people, and I've never seen a riverboat there in my life, but whatever. I am glad that Pete Yorn found his inspiration there, just like I'm hoping to find mine. Check out the album if you get a chance and let me know what you think!

Great Idea

For the last two years I have been meeting a couple of times a month with a small group of other seminarians. We get together--sometimes with food, sometimes without--and check in about what has been going on in our lives and then share in a spiritual exercise of one kind or another. We take turns planning the group and we each bring our personal styles and spiritualities to our time together. The group has been an invaluable source of strength, friendship, and faithful accountability for me and I am going to miss the other members so much after graduation!

This morning our group met for the last time and my friend Richard organized our gathering. Last week he emailed all of us and asked us to submit the titles of a few of our favorite songs without telling the rest of the group what we we chose. He then downloaded all of the songs on iTunes and made a playlist out of them. 

When we arrived this morning, Richard gave us each a sheet of paper with the name of the song, the name of the artist, and then a blank space where we could write in a guess for who picked the song. After taking some time mulling over the list and making as many  guesses as possible, we sat around and listened to a portion of each song, trying to figure out who chose it. It was amazing how right we were most of the time--after three years of studying, worshipping, and just hanging out together, we have really come to know each other's tastes! After going through all the songs, Richard gave us each a CD with the entire playlist on it--a great way to commemorate our time together!

I thought that this was a great idea and it is one that I probably use in the future with other small groups, at retreats, or just with groups of friends. Music is a powerful insight into people's lives, imaginations, and souls, and sometimes a song can say more than we ever could. Also, now I have a whole bunch of new music to add to my library!

(And yes, that is the Virgin Mary on my iPod!)

Middle Cyclone

I just downloaded Neko Case's new album, "Middle Cyclone" on iTunes and I am so excited! Although I love, love, love her previous album, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood," I am pretty ready for a new rotation of songs on my stereo. "Cyclone" is similar to its predecessor in that it is carefully constructed, artfully produced, and beautifully written, containing a bevy of wonderfully visual songs that bring bizarre and sublime stories to life. Case's voice is strong and interesting, complimented by great harmonies and instrumentation. Although I love music I don't always understand it, so I tend to put more emphasis on lyrics than I do on melody. Case's lyrics are always creative and cool, and this album is no exception.

I have mentioned this before, but I first heard Neko Case while driving from Washington State to Nebraska last summer, so most of her songs--the ones I know already, that is--evoke images of winding roads, mountain passes, and really big animals in my imagination. The wildness and roughness of her songs remind me of the American west, which is perhaps why I love her so much. I am happy to report that this new album includes four or five songs about tornadoes! It's like it was written just for me...

Here is a video of Neko Case performing her song "People Got a Lot of Nerve" from "Middle Cyclone." Although it's not about a cyclone, I think it's a good example of her great style. Enjoy

"Everything's So Easy for Pauline..."

Last night I attended the City Arts and Lectures "Talking Music" program with Neko Case at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco. "Talking Music" is a great public radio series where artists are interviewed on stage and then invited to play a few songs in a very simple, stripped-down setting. This medium was perfect for Neko Case, who is not only a wonderful musician but also a very interesting and fun person. After listening to her interview, I was thoroughly convinced that she and I should be best friends. 

I had never heard of Case until this Summer, when my friend  Hannah introduced me to her somewhere on our way from Seattle to Omaha. Hannah gave me the CD, "Fox Confessor  Brings the Flood," as a parting gift before she headed home, and it literally did not leave my car stereo for the entire length of the season. As a result, Case's haunting and evocative lyrics and melodies always conjure up images of thunderstorms, winding roads, and hospital deaths for me--the events of my summer. 

Perhaps most interesting about last night's interview were the few occasions when Case described her inspiration for certain songs. Known for very image-centered song-writing, all of Case's songs present little movies for the mind, and after listening to them for months straight, I had become pretty wedded to exactly what I thought was going on in particular songs. In many cases, I was wrong with my assumptions, but Case's explanation of how the songs came about were even more compelling than I could have imagined. A great example is her song "Dirty Knife," which is full of disturbing and beautiful images about madness. I was never quite sure what the story-line of the song was, but last night Case explained that it was based on a story that her grandmother used to tell about a family that all went simultaneously crazy as a result of lead poisoning in their well. Wow. How she gets from initial inspiration to final, beautiful, song is amazing. 

Here are the lyrics to "Dirty Knife." So creepy, poetic, and beautiful.

So suddenly the madness came
With its whiskered, wolven, ether pangs
He locked the door
And shut the blinds
He laid down on the floor and he slept like iron
While the dirty knife worked deep
Into his spine
The blood runs crazy
The blood runs crazy

Cascading letters pool on the stairs
The grass is high, the cats are wild
You can't even touch the tip of their tails
And the blood runs crazy with giant strides

He sang nursery rhymes to paralyze
The wolves that eddy out the corner of his eyes
But they squared him frozen where he stood
In the glow of the furniture piled high for firewood

And the blood runs crazy with giant strides
And the woodsman failed to breech those fangs in time
So they dragged him through the underbrush
Wearing three winter coats and a dirty knife 

Not all of Case's songs are violent or disturbing like that, but they all seem to be equally creative and innovative. On top of this wonderful song-writing is her stunning, strong voice, which tells the story equally as well as the words and melodies do. If you haven't already, check her out!

photo courtesy wikipedia

What I'm Listening To

My summer job has me spending a lot time in my car, driving from home to hospital to other places to home again. I haven't driven this much in  years, and I have rediscovered the importance of listening to good music while  driving. There are many times  when my time going to the  hospital and coming home from it afford the only real moments of still reflection in my whole day, so driving with a good soundtrack is incredibly important. Somewhere on our  way across the country Hannah introduced me to Neko Case's "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood," a lovely album full of haunting lyrics and  stunning melodies. When Hannah left Omaha  she  gave me the CD as a gift and it has not left my car ever since. I highly recommend this gem to you, especially if you appreciate a good wordsmith. One of my favorite tracks, "Margaret vs. Pauline," ends with this unbelievably perfect line: 

Two girls ride the blue line
Two girls walk down the same street
One left her sweater sittin' on the train
The other lost three fingers at the cannery...

Now that's poetry. 

Fun Things to do in Omaha #1: The Saddle Creek Compound

As many of you already know, CPE can make for an intense and emotional summer. I am loving the work that I have been doing at the hospital and in our group sessions, but I want to make sure that I have the opportunity to continue having a life while I am here in Omaha. Lucky for me, Omaha is a pretty cool town, a realization that I made while living here a few years ago. 

A nice new addition to the city since I was last here is the Saddle Creek "compound." Now, I am calling it a compound because that's what it seems like to me, but I haven't heard anyone else use that term. Nevertheless, this beautiful space on 15th and Cuming (in the neighborhood recently dubbed "NODO" because of its location north of downtown) you will find the offices of Saddle Creek Records, an excellent bar/performance space called Slowdown, a great independent movie theater called Film Steams, and a variety of retail stores. A coffee shop is forthcoming. A collection of lovely and pricey condominiums have also come up, if you really want the cred. Otherwise, the "compound" is pretty close to most any place worth living (in my opinion--don't hate me West Omaha!) in the city. 

I am very impressed by the community feeling that has been built around this little piece of property, as there is always a lot going on and very comfy vibe. In typical fashion, I am already thinking about how well an emerging church would fit into the compound, but I guess that's not up to me to decide!!