New Music Wednesday: The Killers

Posted on July 11, 2012 by awtraughber

SATURDAY IS MY USUAL DAY to post something about new music.  New music by The Killers just can’t wait that long.

I’ve been a fan of the band since Hot Fuss and the hooks of “Mr. Brightside” and “All These Things That I Have Done.”  Sam’s Town, for me, was an amazing movement to a more definite sound, a refined kind of modern Americana.  Day and Age, which peaked with “Dustland Fairy Tale” and “This is Your Life,” was more of the same.  I like them because their sound is big.  I like them because they seem to have personality (with many thanks to their lead singer, Brandon Flowers).

Here’s their newest song, “Runaways,” from their September-dropping new album, Battle Born.

Heads up for the new tune came from the folks at Grantland.  Staff writer Amos Barshad posted some interesting commentary with the song, including a good and honest appraisal at the band’s “affect” and their place in the current music pantheon (or lack thereof).  Good article to read here.

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Writing Advice from A Pro

Posted on July 10, 2012 by awtraughber

SUMMER BREAK FINALLY STARTS FOR ME once the final bell rings today.  Sure, I’ve got some tests to grade and some report cards to complete, but most of the work will be done.  Which leaves me two weeks to vacate.  Learning never ends, of course.  In light of that, I hope to get to some reading that I haven’t been able to these last few weeks.  One of the books I’m looking forward to is Nathan Englander’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.  It’s a book with strong buzz.  Plus it’s a collection of short stories, which makes it much easier to wade into.  Below is a talk Englander gives about one of the cornerstones of good writing: write what you know.  Something to learn from, even hear in the midst of a long, hot summer.

(Original link from The Daily Beast)

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New Song Saturday: The Avett Brothers

Posted on July 7, 2012 by awtraughber

I SHOWED UP LATE to the Avett Brothers bandwagon.  Not as late as I got to the Mumford & Sons bandwagon, mind you, but late enough.

So I’m pretty excited about the pending release of their next album, The Carpenter.  They’ve already debuted one song from the album, have already posted it on iTunes for your purchase.  Or you can listen to it thanks to the NPR Summer Music Preview.  Just click here and scroll down to the play button for “Live and Die” by the Avett Brothers.  I think you’ll be glad that you did.

(image courtesy of relix.com)

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“The Star Wars That I Used to Know”

Posted on July 1, 2012 by awtraughber

GOTYE’s “SOMEONE THAT I USED TO KNOW” was a great song for a while, was great until every station on the radio started playing it along with what seemed like endless remixes of the unique-sounding song.  So leave it to a Star Wars fan to come up with a “redo” that really gets you to thinking.

Here’s a “remake” video of the song titled “The Star Wars That I Used to Know.”  While the body paint angle is a little strange, the lyrics and second singer are well-rendered and spot-on.  Be sure to stay to the end of the video for the credits: seems like the creators of the video have a lot more up their sleeves.

(original source: relevantmagazine.com)

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The List, the Shortcut, and the Table (All from Godin)

Posted on June 29, 2012 by awtraughber

SETH GODIN HAS BEEN AT IT AGAIN, posting a number of quality thoughts on his blog.  I finished one of his older books, The Dip, over a week ago.  His perspective on marketing and sales seems spot-on, and that perspective can have interesting implications for other parts of life, vocation and all.

Godin’s take on “big work and small tables” really resonates in a culture of so much stuff and so little time to get it all done.  And yet, Godin asserts, “The obligation is to carve out time for the big work.”  How, then, do you reconcile the big and the small?  Check out those thoughts here.

I also like his recent comparison of shortcuts and direct paths.  This is a great example of truth that crosses disciplines and vocation.  Turns out that shortcuts aren’t as helpful as you think.  Check out that entry here.

Most recently, Godin posted some thoughts on an age-old self-help tool: the list.  In the world of education, checklists have been said to be the heir-apparent to our beloved rubrics.  What if there is a bigger, deeper list that isn’t so much a list of things to do as a list of reasons NOT to do the most important thing?  Could be true  . . . You can learn more about that kind of list here.

Once you get over to Godin’s blog, take some time to look around.  The man has lots of great thoughts floating around, slowly coalescing into books and things. It’s a great way to start your day, really.

(photo courtesy of ncvps.org)

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Feedback and The Newsroom (or “I am tired of stupid”)

Posted on June 27, 2012 by awtraughber

YESTERDAY my Communication Skills class started their second round of impromptu activities: news-casting.  The initial response was not positive.  It never has been, really.  Yet I persist in keeping it as an assignment.  There’s something challenging about it.  Really, there are many things challenging about it.  Speaking “off the cuff.”  Having a decent amount of background knowledge about the world beyond your Facebook news-feed.  Being able to connect the dots that many of us take for granted.

I wish I could go back in time and show my class the premiere episode of HBO’s The Newsroom.  Granted, I wish the language of the episode was a little more private-school appropriate, too.  I finally caught the episode last night, and it was amazing.  True and very true: it’s an Aaron Sorkin show through and through.  There wasn’t an awful lot of walking, but there was a copious amount of talking.  And it was brilliant.  The show, which follows the reinvigoration of a news program and its news anchor, presents the best of what news can be.  I’m old enough that I had a time where the world news was important to me, that I had an opinion on who was a better world news anchor, even.  I miss that kind of thing, honestly.  This show reminds me why.  Sure, people in real life don’t talk from a Sorkin script (which is so unfortunate!), but it’s good to see some dialogue that elevates more than deflates.

Reviews of the show have been interesting.  The premiere pulled in over 2 million viewers, which isn’t bad for scripted cable.  Critics, of course, have not been kind.  Their criticisms are mostly based on predictable Sorkinisms, which I understand.  I’ve seen every TV show the guy has made, a good number of them multiple times.  And while he has his faults, the joys of watching his scripts brought to life outweigh any negatives.

If you get a chance, check out the pilot episode.  It’s available free for a while online.  You can check it out over at YouTube or view it as a podcast through iTunes.  Be warned: the language can get a little rough.

I do hope my students get a taste of the rush of reporting the news, even if it’s just through a simple impromptu activity.  And I hope The Newsroom is around for a good time to come.

(Photo courtesy of tv.nytimes.com)

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King and Kingdom: Thoughts on N. T. Wright

Posted on June 21, 2012 by awtraughber

LAST NIGHT AT CHURCH we sang Psalm 82, with one verse saying: “Arise, O God, and rule the earth, for you shall take all nations for your own.”  This psalm, I teach my sophomores, would be known as an enthronement or royal psalm, one that celebrates God as king, who rules over the earth of his creation.

That’s a key part in N. T. Wright’s thinking on Jesus as he is portrayed in the four Gospels.  And it’s a part that he suggests that most Christians have inadvertently missed or minimized in our conversations on the nature of God, Jesus, and the world around us.

Wright most recently articulated this line of thought in How God Became King, a book that dropped a few months ago, a book that I devoured over a few days.  Whatever your thoughts on Wright (and opinions and concerns vary wildly), there’s something so conservative about his approach to the biblical text and turn-of-history worldview that almost comes across as radical.  His assertions about the kingdom and kingship of Jesus are a great example of that.

The folks over at Patheos recently posted an interview with Wright done in connection with that most recent book.  It’s a good summary of things, a whetting of the whistle (so to speak) if you’re interested in some thought-provoking reading.  Even if you disagree with him, I think you’ll find the read worthwhile (article and book).  You can find the article here.  I’d love to hear your comments, too, so feel free to share.

(image courtesy of freewebs.com)

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Monsters (go to) University

Posted on June 20, 2012 by awtraughber

JUST IN TIME FOR this weekend’s release of Brave, Disney-Pixar has released a teaser trailer for Monsters University.  When Monsters Inc came out, I had no real sense of what the movie was to be about, and I was genuinely surprised by how much I loved the finished product.  Hopefully this sequel can do the same.

 

Thanks for the heads-up, aintitcoolnews.com.

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U2 and the Full-Circle Song

Posted on June 19, 2012 by awtraughber

MY FIRST REAL U2 ALBUM was 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind.  Years after my brother tortured me with his music (often with Rattle and Hum in his truck), I found a respect for the band and bought some albums but hadn’t the chance to buy one on its release.

And then came ATYCLB.  I still remember driving home from a Halloween party with a local radio station playing through the album for the first time: amazing.  The song that will be played forever, of course, is “Beautiful Day.”  (I’m sure it will get played again during the summer Olympics, really.)  But the song that always stood out to me, moved me in a deep way, was the song “Walk On.”  The verses, the chorus, the part at the end.  And then I found out its political bent: dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi, a major proponent for democracy in Myanmar who had been under house arrest for years and had been unable to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

Fast-forward to this week.  Just yesterday Bono was able to meet the subject of his song as she was able to receive her award and tour Europe.  Turns out that the song was written from the perspective of her husband, which I hadn’t quite realized.  You can read more about it from the NY Daily News here.

And you can check out a live version of “Walk On” below.  Watch it to the end, when they break in a wonderful and ancient chorus (which was also captured in the version of the song on the ep 7.

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New Song Saturday: Eric Peters

Posted on June 16, 2012 by awtraughber

LAST SATURDAY I posted a link to the latest song by Andrew Peterson.  Today I post a link to an artist known in Peterson’s circle but who is often just outside my own circle of listening: Eric Peters.

Eric Peters has been around for a while now, though until recently I had only downloaded a few of his songs.  He has an easy-to-listen-to voice, which is always a good thing.  His lyrics are thoughtful, perhaps a little more sparse than some of the artists I usually like.  His new album, Birds of Relocation is solid, one that I’ve already given several spins to.

You can listen to “No Stone Unturned,”one song from the album, here.  You can also get a bit of the songs history there, too.  Just click the link and scroll down to the ‘play’ button.  As always, thanks to the Rabbit Room for posting quality stuff.

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