Somewhere Over the Rainbow

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" might be my favorite song. Or at least the song that has the deepest emotional effect on me.

Early this morning, while rocking my son to sleep, I found myself worshipping and praying to God - and listening to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". The song is on a CD of lullaby songs that we play for my infant son while he sleeps in his nursery.

Its easy to worship God while listening to music that was made for that purpose - songs about God's character, his Son, and what He's done for us through His sacrifice. But for some reason, I find it almost more geniune, when I find myself worshipping Him through means that might otherwise not have been meant for that purpose.

I liken it to the difference between "going to a church service" in order to worship God, as opposed to worshipping Him on a daily basis no matter the circumstances. A great many people never realize that this is not only possible, but preferable, as far as God is concerned. This is how Paul was able to stay positive, even joyful, in the face of trial and tribulation. This is why we've seen people pulled from the rubble in Haiti this week singing songs about faith.

I'm not exactly sure why "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" affects me so deeply - perhaps for a number of reasons. One - The Wizard of Oz definitely held some wistful meaning for me as a child. It was only on television once a year, which made it somewhat of a delicacy. Two - two of the most romantic movies that I know both end with this song during their climactic coupling - You've Got Mail and 50 First Dates.

But still, listening to the song while rocking my son to sleep this morning made me think of an even more probable reason. The song evokes a feeling that dreams are possible. That things will get better just around the next corner. That God has better things in store. That a wonderful world of color is beyond this world of black and white drabness and ugliness.

Or my wife's pregnancy hormones are getting to me and I just need to go back to sleep.


When all the world is a hopeless jumble
And the raindrops tumble all around,
Heaven opens a magic lane
When all the clouds darken up the skyway,
There's a rainbow highway to be found
Leading from your window pane
To a place behind the sun,
Just a step beyond the rain

Fieldy: 2nd Korn member to be Born Again

Fieldy, the bassist for Korn, is now the second member of the band to become a Christ Follower. His book, Got the Life, came out this month - describing his conversion.

Fieldy is the reason that I took up playing the bass guitar. And I would be remiss if I didn't say that Korn was probably the most important band in my musical upbringing. Its weird that two of the five of them are now Christians. Now, if only Kid Rock could give up the strippers and find Jesus, I'd be set.

Here is an excerpt of an article about Fieldy's conversion:

When one his oldest friends, Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, quit the band after finding religion, Fieldy scoffed.
He didn't listen when his father became terminally ill, and urged his boy one last time to give the Bible a shot.
But the night of the funeral, as his entourage kicked off its usual party, for once Fieldy didn't feel like throwing back beer after beer. Instead he found himself praying, asking for what he thought his father would have wanted: for Jesus to help him end the endless party.
The next morning, he flushed his pot down the toilet and says he never looked back, skipping rehab for religion in a single move.
"I didn't grow up with any of that, with prayer," he says of his first steps into Christianity. "I just opened my heart and said, 'I need help doing this.'"
He started to read the Bible. But, like many others, he also found his way to "The Purpose-Driven Life," the book that helped make Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, a national religious figure.
It was just a start. Though he had ideas to live a certain way, Fieldy – unlike his former bandmate Head – was seeking faith while still playing bass and otherwise performing with one of the biggest hard-rock acts in the world, Korn.
"When I made my change, I was thrown back into the pit of hell, on tour," he says. "There are dark things out there. And just because my band isn't partying" – Korn's core members all are sober now, he says – "doesn't mean it's not around you."
On tour, he says, he traded night for day. For the first time in years, he got up during the day on tour to sightsee in cities where he'd previously seen only the insides of arenas, hotels and strip clubs.
When temptations came near – and in that world temptation is a 24-hour business – Fieldy says he walked away.
The fridge outside his studio stocks Smartwater and Rockstar energy drinks, not wall-to-wall Coors Light as it once did.
On this day, Fieldy's 2-year-old son, Israel, plays upstairs, in the family room. Dena – who agreed to marry him even after he confessed all his sins against her – hangs out in the kitchen. Fieldy is just back from work; Korn is spending time in a Los Angeles studio, working on new songs, and Fieldy is able to stay at home. Every other weekend, Fieldy's daughters from an earlier marriage, Olivia, 10, and Sarina, 11, stay with him.
It's a common Orange County life – Dad at work, a blended family, financial comfort. But, Fieldy says, it takes him some extra work to stay right with God, and keep all this goodness around him. The Bible, he says, has replaced his bong as a way to start each day.
"It's like my morning workout. Start the day with something good, something uplifting.
"I'm in the book of Samuel right now, and it's so crazy!" Fieldy says, the rocker seeing a bit of heavy metal in the old epic tales. "People don't realize how dark and gory it is, but the whole story behind it is love. It's a trip how twisted up it is."
He hopes his own book, which he named after one of Korn's biggest hits, will reach people who might not otherwise be open to hearing about faith.
"I'd really like to reach people who look like myself," Fieldy says as he poses for a photographer with Israel in his heavily inked arms. "You never know, but the majority of the people (who read it), I hope they take the route I took.
"Maybe this can be that little bit of a seed I can plant out there."

The Evolution of Radio

Terrestrial Radio - When you've got no other choice, you've got no other choice. Hey, at least terrestrial radio is free. But it's value, thanks to companies like Clear Channel, has definitely fallen over the years. Clear Channel answers to the almighty dollar and radio programming has suffered because of it. I'm reminded of this most often by bands like the Foo Fighters, Daughtry, and Nickelback - bands that I would probably dig if the radio didn't drive them right down into the ground by overplaying them.

Satellite Radio - You've got two choices: Sirius and XM. Of course, they're about to merge and you'll be left with no choice (the almighty dollar strikes again). Also, you've got more than a hundred stations available, but someone is still programming those stations. I get really annoyed by the channel names in Satellite Radio - like Squizz, Fred, Ethel, and Boneyard. Would it kill them to give the channels names that are actually descriptive rather than cute and meaningless. HAVE I MENTIONED THAT YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY NOT ONLY FOR THE SATELLITE RADIOS THEMSELVES BUT A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION AS WELL? I'm sorry if I don't get too excited about paying to listen to Fred and Ethel.

The iPod Solution - You can plug your MP3 player into just about any radio these days - in your car and in your home. You can make an endless variety of playlists only hampered by the size of your music catalog. I, myself, have a pretty big music catalog and I've spent time putting together some decent playlists. But it still doesn't quite replace the experience of radio programming. There are no surprises when you're listening to your own catalog. Not to mention that you'll drop a dime on the music as well as the music player.

Enter Pandora - I've built about a dozen stations on Pandora - with names like 80's Rock, Metal, 80's Pop, and Blues. Pandora takes my input and expands upon it with music that is either unfamiliar to me or just music that I would have never thought of adding (this is its great advantage over the iPod). If I don't like a song, I can simply skip it and go to the next song (this is its great advantage over satellite radio). Pandora continually "tweaks" the station based on my input. If the mood strikes me, I can actually combine stations for a mega mix station (like 80's Pop/80's Rock/Old Skool Hip Hop). Have I mentioned that Pandora is FREE?

Here is the only drawback I've found with Pandora - I have not yet figured out how to get it in the car. Some entrepreneurial computer genius out there needs to figure this one out. Pandora streams to AT&T and Sprint phones, unfortunately, I don't have either. Sooner or later, they're going to have to figure out how to stream it to a car. When they do, I'll be first in line.

Rock Band: the death of Guitar Hero and free time as we know it.

I've heard the complaints about Guitar Hero and I've agreed with them. Why spend the time and money on Guitar Hero when you could spend that same time and money on learning to play a real guitar? Well, reports have shown that the popularity of Guitar Hero has actually increased the incidence of guitar lessons. Reports have even shown an increase in the purchase of sheet music for those songs which are featured in Guitar Hero. So I guess the naysayers, myself included, were wrong.

A friend of mine got Rock Band for his PS3 last week. Our first night playing together as a four-piece band was awesome. We lost track of time and rocked out until almost 4 in the morning. The idea of sitting in front of a television by myself with a fake guitar never appealed to me. As a matter of fact, I am really not that much of a gamer. We own a PS2, but we rarely use it. According to the gamers, Guitar Hero doesn't hold a candle to Rock Band. I haven't played Guitar Hero, but I can say that playing Rock Band was one of the most fun times we've had.

It certainly didn't hurt that my wife and I both have musical backgrounds. She is a drummer, so that made it that much easier for her to get the hang of the drum kit. Take my word for it, drumming is not easy. I can belt out a vocal and I've also played bass, so I was prepped as well.

I don't care who you are or what you think, this game was awesome. Unlike most games that have you competing against each other, the cooperation needed for this game makes it truly unique. When everyone in the band is in the groove together, it is a great feeling. And you never know what it might lead to. I still have my bass. And my wife would love to buy another drum set. When we moved to South Florida, we lived in an apartment for 4 years. She tried to rock out on the drum set once and had 3 people call the cops, so we sold the set (a 7 piece Tama with a double bass pedal). She has regretted it ever since.

In the meantime, we'll keep faking it at our friend's house.

Pandora - The Music Genome Project

I am hooked on Pandora. Its kind of hard to explain. Pandora is kind of like an online radio station based on the research done by the Music Genome Project. First, you are prompted to name a favorite artist or song, and then Pandora builds a streaming radio station based on your preferences. You can add multiple songs and artists to each station and Pandora will extrapolate the necessary data in order to custom build each station.

If that sounds confusing, it's my fault. Just go to Pandora and check it out. It is free, and definitely worthwhile if you are a music lover like myself.

I've got a handful of stations built (Jack Johnson, stoner rock, grunge, bluegrass, romantic piano, Frank Sinatra), but I have a couple of Blues stations that have become worth their weight in gold as far as I'm concerned. They're loaded with Stevie Ray Vaughn, Hendrix, Clapton, Elmor James, John Lee Hooker, and many more. I really wish that I had discovered Pandora sooner.

Jack Johnson

My good friend Bethany turned me on to Jack Johnson about two years ago as I was helping her and Matt pack up for their move to North Carolina. I recognized many of Johnson's songs even though I had never actually heard his name before.

I've since become thoroughly addicted to Jack Johnson - I've got just about everything he's done. My wife's complaint is a valid one: "Most of his songs sound the same". True. But it is his upbeat nature that I enjoy most. I like Santana and Marley, but it is the upbeat, yet somehow still mellow sound of Johnson that has enthralled me for these past two years.

In my old age, the musical releases that actually hold some interest for me are becoming fewer and fewer. So I relish the release of an album that I might actually enjoy for more than a cursory listen.

Without further ado, I am pleased to inform you that Mr. Johnson, a surfer from Hawaii, has released his latest effort this week: Sleep Through the Static.

I'm enjoying it.

Miami City Ballet

Lest you think me a single-facet dolt of a metalhead, I thought I'd add that we spent the evening yesterday at the Miami City Ballet. It was quite nice.

Christmas Greetings and Wishes....

Truth be told. I am one of those people who'd just as soon avoid church during Christmas and Easter. The idea of being part of that mob of people who pop in to pay their respects twice a year has always made me a bit queasy. So, rather than leave you with a sappy video of Linus explaining to us all the true meaning of Christmas - quite simply, that it is Jesus' Birthday, I'd much rather leave you with some videos that are more educational and in tune with my personal taste. So without further ado, Have yourself a Merry Metal Christmas - five of my favorite Metal videos:

Shadow's Fall - This dude, at one time, had dreadlocks down to his knees. Way cool.



Clutch - The working man's band.


Downset - Metalcore at its finest. I'd give anything to see them again.



Rage Against the Machine - "Know Your Enemy" - their best song.



KoRn - this is one of the greatest videos of all time. if you are a hip-hop enthusiast, you need to watch this video. Come on, a KoRn video that stars Snoop, Xhibit, David Banner, and Lil Jon - you can't top that.

Show Me How to Live

When I visited Calvary Fellowship in Miami Lakes, I noted their "rockin edge" as well as the intro video they created. Bob has recently posted the video on his blog. Now you can see what I'm talking about:

Ozzfest 2007

Ozzfest tickets were free this year, I just had to jump through a couple hoops to get them; I scored three. I have never actually been to Ozzfest before. Cost was usually a factor, as well as the lineup just never seemed that outstanding to me. Unfortunately, I'd say that the lineup this year is the worst yet, but considering the cost of the tickets, I'm not surprised.

I am looking forward to seeing Lamb of God and their Wall of Death without actually financially supporting their endeavours. I'm sure that I will also enjoy Static-X, as well as Lordi (a distant cousin of Gwar). The rest of the bands are a bunch of no-namers that will suffice as background music as I enjoy observing and interacting with the crowd. At events like this, the crowd is usually more entertaining than the show itself, with somewhat of a carnival atmosphere.

I've already seen Ozzy once, about 10 years ago with Korn & the Deftones, and I don't really care to see him again. He's old, funny to watch him hobble about yelling at the crowd, but he's old. I'll use that to my advantage to leave early and beat the traffic.

Girl Talk - Night Ripper

A friend of mine, Victor over at My Living Mind, gave me a CD this week called Night Ripper by a DJ named Girl Talk. Apparently this guy, his real name is Greg Gillis, takes a bunch of different songs, and mashes them up into a new song. He uses at least a dozen songs for each one of the tracks. I don't know if what he is doing is legal, probably not (because the rich always get richer), but I loved it. This type of "music" was made for me. He deftly crossed the boundaries of both genre and time, covering the last three decades worth of hip-hop, dance, pop, rock, retro, grunge, etc. I popped it in for the first time and listened to it all the way through.

"Rock & Roll Jesus"

As a sign of my age, I'm not procuring albums at the high rate that I used to. Now, as a 30-something, I've narrowed my selections down to those that I can trust to put forth a good effort every time. (This same reasoning goes for concert attendance as well, as Kid Rock, Clutch, and Toby Mac have accounted for 9 of the last 12 concerts I've been to in the last few years.)

So I've been anticipating the new album from Kid Rock for some time now. He has titled it, "Rock & Roll Jesus". I don't even want to know. Seriously, I don't want to know. In my book, Kid Rock can do no wrong, so I'm ready.

Oh, and I also can't wait to see him again, he gets better every time.

Save Me From Myself

My wife and I have been fans of Korn for 13 years now, since 1994's first album blew our minds. We've enjoyed every album since, and my wife and I have seen them live at least a dozen times - first in 1994, and most recently last year. (I'm hoping to catch them again next week, as their live show has only improved with the years.)

As can be expected, I was intrigued when Brian "Head" Welch became a christian and left Korn to pursue a new life and purpose. I've been waiting patiently for his new album, "It's Time for Religion to Die", and I wasted no time getting my hands on his new book, "Save Me from Myself."

This book was an excellent read, and it only took me 3 hours to tear through it. Brian gives an excellent testimony of his conversion to Christianity, as well as a myriad of details concerning the genesis, history, and backstage debauchery of Korn. He also tells of his life since his conversion and the ways that God has used him to reach others for Jesus. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether a fan of Korn or not. It was fast-paced, entertaining, there was plenty that I could identify with, and it even left me in tears once or twice. (yes, I know that'll cost me a man-card.)

Welcome To Jamrock

Welcome To Jamrock

Apparently, I must be part Jamaican, because I can't seem to shake the reggae music. Though I did manage to shake the ganja.
Unfortunately, I've been hiding under a rock for the past two years, because I somehow missed Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and his album, Welcome to Jamrock. I was in a club last week, and the title track caught my ear. I haven't been able to remove it from my head since.
I'm a big fan of reggae, but have never been a fan of dance hall, its faster paced cousin. I really dig Jr. Gong because he manages to update reggae into the modern era without feeling the need to speed it up.

Linkin Park - What I've Done

i like to use the expression "that'll preach" anytime i see Biblical truth expressed in the secular world.