David Bazan is currently my favourite lyricist.  His lyrics are hard-hitting, truthful and makes your mouth drop.  He also has come from a very similar background as me (religion and family) so I seem to resonate with his struggle with faith and life.  In anticipation of his new album coming out, there was a few excellent article written about him and his place in life and about the new album.  Back when I was 14, I remember everyone being so excited about seeing him with Pedro the Lion at the Encore tent at Cornerstone, so I went along.  He put me to sleep within five minutes.  I just couldn’t appreciate anything and I was tired from 5 days of rocking out.  Now, he’s one of my favourites.  We tried to host a house show when he was doing his tour, but Ontario was probably too out of the way.  We are going to see him in Detroit in October, he’ll also be in Toronto soon too!

The articles about him were well written.  You can read them below, but even better check out the lyrics to the new album.

Read the Paste Magazine Article here.

Read the Chicago Reader Article here.

Read the American Songwriter Article here.

Read the Day Trotter Article here.

Read the lyrics for Curse your Branches here.

ABC’s Amplified did a piece on him, but it’s pretty bad.  Crappy interviewer, crappy editing and overall just really poorly done but a lot of the same stuff comes out so if you’re not into reading I’ll post it anyway.

When We Fell
by David Bazan

with the threat of hell hanging over my head like a halo
i was made to believe in a couple of beautiful truths
that eventually had the effect of completely unraveling
the powerful curse put on me by you
when you set the table
and when you chose the scale
did you write a riddle
that you knew they would fail
did you make them tremble
so they would tell the tale
did you push us when when we fell
if my mother cries when i tell her what i have discovered
then i hope she remembers she taught me to follow my heart
and if you bully her like you’ve done me with fear of damnation
then i hope she can see you for what you are
what am i afraid of
whom did i betray
in what medieval kingdom does justice work this way
if you knew what would happen and made us just the same
then you , my lord, can take the blame

watch out
he is looking down again
searching for peace
while terrorizing those around him

he tramples the innocent
in his desperation to find his heart
swaying back and forth from regret to anger
trying to play his part

look at all my needs
they are so overwhelming
give me time to work on myself
so i can do what is right

today we are hopeful
we all see improvement
not really in his heart
but at least he isn’t hurting us

we settle now
we know its not fixed
we know we aren’t fixed
at least he isn’t hurting us

now i’m safe
from the man
who isnt like me
and my needs have been met

I grew up with a lot of older friends. I went to Cornerstone when I was 14 with a bunch of my friends that were almost 20. All of them loved Pedro the Lion, and I just never really connected. I remember one night we went to see him on the Encore stage where he could play all night long and I fell asleep after the first song. However, I think now I know why I didn’t care. It was all to over my head. I was still worried about trivial things and hadn’t really grown up yet. So now, I am finally starting to connect with Pedro the Lion, and wow, now I get it, now I know what all the fuss was about. His album called Control was rated the best album you’ll never here by Spin Magazine. I’m sure I’ll post more of his lyrics soon.

Have you ever seen an idealist
With grey hairs on his head
Or successful men who keep in touch
With unsuccessful friends?
You only think you do
I could have sworn I saw it too
But as it turns out,
It was just a clever ad for cigarettes

Cause if it isn’t making dollars
Then it isn’t making sense
If you aren’t moving units
Then you’re not worth the expense
If you really want to make it
You had best remember this
If it isn’t penetration
Then it isn’t worth a kiss

We’re so sorry, sir,
But you did not quite make the cut this time
We’d appriciate it if you’d get
Your stuff all out by five
Don’t take it personal
Everyone knows you did your best
If it makes it easier,
You should look at things from our perspective

Cause if it isn’t making dollars
Then it isn’t making sense
If you aren’t moving units
Then you’re not worth the expense
If you really want to make it
You had best remember this
If it isn’t penetration
Then it isn’t worth a kiss

At theStory we try to sing songs that are honest and real along with our songs of adoration and praise.  Sometimes the typical chorus’ that we tend to sing from Tomlin or Hillsongs just don’t cut it.  So we have gone through our music to find what we think are great songs to sing in church on a Sunday morning with our community.  These songs are written from people who I would consider poets (not just people who can put words together that rhyme cliche.  So I hope you like our collection and I’ll try to keep it updated as we ad to it.  All the songs I have listed here you can download for free and read the lyrics below.

Update: I re-posted a few more songs here, so there might be some more on there that might be on interest to you.  Leave a comment if you have any songs that are particularly of interest to you, we’re always open to trying new ones.

Jesus by Page France | MP3

I will sing a song to you
And you will shake the ground for me
And the birds and bees and old fruit trees
Will spit out songs like gushing streams

And Jesus will come through the ground so dirty
With worms in his hair and a hand so sturdy
To call us his magic we call him worthy
Jesus came up through the ground do dirty

I will sing a song for to you
And you will stomp your feet for me
And the bears and bees and banana trees
Will play kazoos and tambourines

And Jesus will dance while we drink his wine
With soldiers and thieves and a sword in his side
And we will be joy and we will be right
Jesus will dance while we drink his wine

Jesus will come through the ground so dirty
With worms in his hair and a hand so sturdy
To call us his magic we call him worthy
Jesus came up through the ground so dirty
Jesus came up through the ground so dirty
Jesus came up through the ground so dirty
Jesus came up through the ground so dirty

———————–

Thrice – Come all you Weary | MP3

Come all you weary with your heavy loads
Lay down your burdens find rest for your souls
Cause my yoke is easy and my burden is kind
I’ll take yours upon me and you can take mine

Come all you weary, move through the earth,
You’ve been spurned at fine restaurants and kicked out of church;
I’ve got a couple of loaves, so sit down at my feet,
lend me your ears and we’ll break bread and eat

Come all you weary
Come gather round near me
Find rest for your souls

Come all you weary, crippled you lay
I’ll help you along you can lay down your canes
We’ve got a long way to go but we’ll travel as friends
The lights growing bright further up, further in

Come all you weary
Come gather round near me
Find rest for your souls

Rest for your souls

Come all you weary
Come gather round near me
Come all you weary
Come gather round near me
Find rest for your souls
Rest for your souls
Rest for your souls

———————–

Braddigan – City on a Hill | MP3

Will you come quick upon the hill
We”ll break some bread and we’ll all take our fill
We have the greatest reason of all
We’ll build a city or we’ll fall

Haven’t you heard that we are free?
Haven’t you traced the steps back from Calvary?
We have the greatest reason of all
We’ll build a city or we’ll fall
We’ll build a city without walls

So bring all your hammers, your nails, and your tools
Bring all you can spare and what you might use
And now loose your grip; we’ll not need our hands today
We’ll build a city as we pray

So bring all your hammers, your nails, and your tools
Bring all you can spare and what you might use
And now loose your grip; we’ll not need our hands today
We’ll build a city as we pray

———————–

Consider the Ravens by Dustine Kensrue | MP3

I’ve got bills to pay
Taxman on my tail
Just keep prayin’ that
the check’s in the mail

There are times it seems
when everything’s lost
and I’m moaning, I’m tossed
and I see..

between the river and the ravens I’m fed
between oblivion and the blazes I’m led
So father give me faith, providence and grace
Between the river and ravens I’m fed
Sweet deliver, oh you lift up my head
and lead me in your way

I’ve grown sick and tired
of trying to stand still
I’ve learned to let the wind
pull me where it will

Throw myself into
the will of the wait
I can never be great
’til we’re free

between the river and the ravens I’m fed
between oblivion and the blazes I’m led
So father give me faith, providence and grace
Between the river and ravens I’m fed
Sweet deliver, oh you lift up my head
and lead me in your way

Although I’m walking through
the valley of the shadow of death
evils all around
It’s coming from the right and the left

Trust that I will see
the glory above
Oh, your banner of love
flies over me

between the river and the ravens I’m fed
between oblivion and the blazes I’m led
So father give me faith, providence and grace
Between the river and ravens I’m fed
Sweet deliver, oh you lift up my head
and lead me in your way

———————–

To Be Alone with You by Sufjan Stevens | MP3

I’d swim across lake Michigan
I’d sell my shoes
I’d give my body to be back again
In the rest of the room

To be alone with you
To be alone with you
To be alone with you
To be alone with you

You gave your body to the lonely
They took your clothes
You gave up a wife and a family
You gave your goals

To be alone with me
To be alone with me
To be alone with me
You went up on a tree

To be alone with me you went up on the tree

I’ll never know the man who loved me
———————–

Oh God Where Are You Now by Sufjan Stevens | MP3 (coming)

Oh God, hold me now
Oh Lord, hold me now
There’s no other man who could raise the dead
So do what you can to anoint my head

Oh God, where are you now?
Oh Lord, say somehow
The devil is hard on my face again
The world is a hundred to one again

Would the righteous still remain?
Would my body stay the same?

Oh God, hold me now
Oh God, touch me now
There’s no other man who could save the dead
There’s no other God to place our head

Would the righteous still remain?
Would my body stay the same?

There’s no other man who could raise the dead
So do what you can to anoint my head

Oh God, hold me now
Oh Lord, touch me now

God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Saviour
was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
when we were gone astray

Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy

After Thanksgiving our folks
unpacked the manger scene
With Mary, Joseph, shepherds and
Three kings on bended knee
But left the manger empty
til we slept on christmas eve

And now my wife and child dream
of gifts beneath the tree
While I place in the manger
baby Jesus figurine
Sipping Christmas whiskey
wondering if I still believe…

[youtube]dfpV8vKPsto[/youtube]

Click here to download the MP3

This song, a live rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by David Bazan with the first part of his song Harmless Sparks, has captivated me this Christmas. David Bazan is a prophet in most senses of the word. There is something about that last section that has resonated with me all this month as I struggle through my beliefs of Jesus, consumerism and culture. I spent a total of 25 minutes or so in stores to get a few items to put Rachel’s present together, and that was enough to get me irritated at what Christmas has turned into.

At theStory this year we set up installations all around the space to inspire different reactions toward the season. Some were positive and others were negative. My favourite one was a wall splattered with Christmas store flyers with the message “Please take the Christ out of Christmas Now” on it taken from this post by Stupid Church People. We did have the whole post up there, but we thought it would be more poignant for just the one line. Joe did a post here with all the installations at Thinker Labs.

I’ve tried to respond properly through the last few weeks. In the end, Christmas day was great this year. Spent time with my family, taught them Settlers of Catan, and ate great food. Rachel and I made each other the exact same Christmas gift as each other without knowing it two years in a row. Our family Christmas with Rachel’s side of the family is going to be on Saturday so I’m looking forward to all the great things, games, food and family. I could do this every Christmas over and over again, and just include more and more people all day long, I can’t get enough of it. The more Christmas’ I can have that are filled with those things, I think the more I’ll be able to cheer up a bit more during this season. It reminds me that there is still good in this world, and that there is hope. It reminds me of Jesus and that he came into a messed up world of greed, selfishness, murder and still loved us.

I’ve had about three real dating relationships in my life. One through my grade twelve year, one through my year off and I am in one right now that I’m not planning on leaving. This is a post that fits into the Reflected Pages category that I talked about a few posts back where I am talking about art forms that have impacted me.

With every relationship ending comes its share of heart aches. This isn’t just true of boy-girl relationships but with all relationships that come to a close. When my first girlfriend and I first broke up it was one of the worst periods of my life. After the break-up it turned out that her and my best friend started hooking up also. All is forgiven now and we can talk about it openly and there are no hard feelings between any of us. At the time though, I was a complete wreck. On top of all this, one of my good friends Phil was leaving to university. Joe was leaving Sarnia to go to Calgary. Dom was leaving in a few months. Darryl was also leaving in a few months. In a matter of 3 months I had lost the four closest people to me. It all came down on me at once and I wasn’t prepared to handle it.

A song by Stretch Arm Strong called When Sorrows Fall was able to reach somewhere that no words or hugs could. I’m not sure why, but it still to this day is one of my favourite songs. So when I was driving around by myself or sitting in my room I would play this song over and over again on repeat.

Click Here to Download the Song. (right click and choose ’save target as’ to download it)