Tonight at dinner the subject of bands that always deliver was brought up. Some of the bands mentioned were Led Zeppelin, Rush, James Brown, Prince, CCR, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles.
Some bands that don’t always deliver were The Rolling Stones, U2, John Fogerty (solo not with CCR) and Coldplay.
I thought of some more artists that always deliver: Cocteau Twins, The Smiths and Aimee Mann.
Who did we forget in either category?
Bob Lefsetz has been writing a lot about Steely Dan lately. This summer the Dan has been performing their albums, in their entirety, in different cities. They did come through Atlanta but we weren’t privy to the multiple dates.
I forwarded Lefsetz’s e-mails to the 2 true Steely Dan fans I know. I’ve also been enjoying Steely Dan’s music as well, going through another phase. I have some on vinyl and I think that’s the best way to hear them.
Anyways, I watched this clip before. It features Steely Dan’s current drummer, Keith Carlock. The guy is a beast. Go straight to 7:25 to see Carlock shred his solo on, “Aja.” The solo was originally done by Steve Gadd on the record. However I think Carlock’s solo may top Gadd’s.
NOTE: I’m making an effort to get JamSmooth.com back on track and having a least one or two (hopefully more) posts a week from now on. I got a extraordinary e-mail from a reader this week which gave me a new fire.
I wrote about how great it is that I can watch TV whenever and wherever we want. However is what I’m watching helping me? Does it fill my mind with crap, negativity, lust and envy? Is what I’m watching the best use of my time?
I watch shows like Entourage, True Blood, Party Down, Mad Men, Californication and Arrested Development. These shows make me laugh at loud which is saying something. I’m pretty jaded. However most of them frequently have female nudity, swearing and characters portraying decidedly Non Christ-Like behaviors like infidelity, doing drugs, getting drunk, not encouraging one another and lots of insecurity. These behaviors lead to great comedy but at what expense? Would Jesus watch these shows? Should I stop watching them? Are these shows having a negative affect on my spiritual life? Are they wasting my time? As a follower of Christ I am called to higher state.
Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Watching those shows is definitely not thinking about pure things. I’m watching others commit sin after sin.
You could say, “Well Jam, it’s just entertainment. Are you doing the things depicted in the shows? Are you wanting to be like the characters? Why are you being so uptight?” Valid questions. Honestly I can say that I haven’t felt the Spirit telling me I should stop. I don’t feel like watching these shows is affecting my relationship with Christ. Yet am I missing it? Is there a hidden, subconscious effect?
Sometimes I ask the question not what would Jesus do, but what would Andy Stanley do? Andy Stanley is my pastor and leads 30,000 people in Atlanta. I doubt that Andy watches these shows. You could say, “Well Andy has a family and doesn’t have as much time as you. Plus he leads a huge organization.”
True but Andy is no better than I. Andy is called to the same level as a follower that I am. I think it all comes down to this, are you attached to things of the world or things from above. Think about these verses, 1 Corinthians 10:31-33, ” So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”
If others know I am a follower and watch these types of shows they’ll think it’s ok, right? What if someone else watches these shows and it does cause them to sin? Am I at fault? It doesn’t matter if I’m leading a huge church. If I cause one person to stumble I’m going against God’s commands clearly.
Again I feel confident that these shows are not affecting me. It’s entertainment for me. Now I’ve told you all about these shows. You may watch them. What if watching them causes you to sin? For that reason alone should I stop?
I can’t remember the last time I intentionally sat down in front of the TV and flipped through channels. I can’t remember the last time I listened to terrestrial radio.
I realize that adverts are what drive television but that’s the main reason I choose not to watch. I hate the constant interruptions to the story. Not only are they so annoying they last for 3 to 4 minutes at a time.
My break from TV started a while back when a former roommate introduced me to watchtvsitcoms.com. Last time I checked that site was down. The legality of that site was questionable at best. Then came Hulu.com. Hulu gave me a huge selection of shows with only 2 or 3, 30 second commercial breaks during an episode. Not only that, I can watch the shows when I want to watch them. Tivo has been around for years but for those without that we were forced to use, gasp, VCRs!
Those days are gone. Anyone with an Internet connection can watch any show whenever they want either through Hulu or other nefarious means. Increasingly even live sporting events are being broadcast on the Internet. There are products like Apple TV and Boxee which give you even more options for watching what you want, when you want. I love it. Today’s technology is all about controlling the content you want.
Sure I still have a TV for watching films and live sports. When it comes to scripted programming the user says when they’ll watch it and on what format: mobile phone, laptop or TV. These options give producers more options for their shows. As bandwidth increases we’ll be able to watch any live event or show without cable. I’m all for it.
Waiting has been in a big part of my life for many years. I know it will continue to be as long as I’m here. There are so many things I’m waiting on: a wife, a job, the house to sell, a move, answers to so many prayers.
I keep waiting and waiting. Most of the time I deal with it ok. I send up a prayer and ask God to get me through this moment. Other times I feel like an impatient 2 year old crying and throwing a tantrum.
Lately I hear God saying, “Wait some more, it’s not time.” Recently we wrapped up a great series at church called The Waiting Room. In the series Jeff Henderson talked about how Abraham and Sarah waited for years and years for God’s promise of a son to be fulfilled. Then Jeff challenged us to remember the times when God has been faithful in the past. Lastly Jeff challenged us to remember it’s not what or when we should put our hope, but who. That who is God.
This is personal stuff but I know we’re all waiting for something. We’re all waiting for answers. So many of us are hurting right now. We just want to know when will it be over? When will we get a break? How do we deal with all the pain, the questions, the irritability and the monotony? Sure it’s easy to say, “I put my trust and hope in Jesus.” Seriously what does that look like?
I think it looks like us doing our best each day. We get up, pray, call our contacts, pray, eat, pray, help someone else, pray, send an e-mail, pray, watch a movie, pray, exercise, pray…you get the idea. We do what we’d normally do but just pray a whole lot.
I have times where I doubt. I’ll be at work and I wonder how much longer? When will it rain again?
Call it faith, hope or wishful thinking but I know that it won’t always be this way. There will be a time when I look back on 2009 and remember all the challenges I faced. I’m not perfect. Could I pray more? Yes. Could I spend my time more wisely. Yes. However, I’m leaning on the everlasting arms for now. One day I won’t be waiting on a wife, a job or a move. Something else will replace them. Could be waiting on a baby to born or waiting for healing. I know there will be something.
For those that will, lift me up. Ask God to give me patience, to wait for His plan. The last thing I want is get in the way and stop what He has planned. I’ve been waiting a long time so I can wait some more.
NOTE: Jeff Henderson referenced Tom Petty’s song, “The Waiting,” in his series and then at the end of the service as we left they played that song. I love when Buckhead Church does that.
