I will lift my eyes

I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121

This psalm is very precious to me as it was a commissioning Psalm as I left my home churches to move continents.Two churches unknown to each other used the same verse. Last sunday I had to learn this song by Bebo Norman for a service.



I will lift my eyes to the Maker - Of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer - Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer - Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

Carrie doesn't live here

Cliff's 1980 hit Carrie is one of my favourite of his many years in the music business. It's in this era that fell in love more than once. All were musicians which didn't help.

Wonder

We all need a bit of wonder in our lives. Wonder has at least two meanings. "I wonder what will happen" has a sense of thinking about and hoping for something. The second meaning is seeing something often in a new way or for the first time. Little children look at something and are amazed. Adults look at the same thing and see nothing important. Things have not gone how I hoped for this school year and I have been disappointed. Yet I cannot say that there were no moments of wonder because there was wonder. The Electric Light Orchestra ELO a band with 2 cellos and a very unique sound and pictures form the Hubble Telescope in space. Twilight is the openning song for Densha Otoko - literally Trainman a romantic Japanese drama.

wishes

A few years ago Koji left me a few Japanese Cd's which got me into J-Pop and the first group were Le Couple. Such a sentimental person that I am this is probably my favourite song sung by Emi Fujita.

Let Go

I am a romantic and very sentimental guy. Cleaning in my apartment has been tough and difficult determining what to get rid of. Tuesday I laboured hard and removed a portable dishwasher which I was given 5 years ago. To do this I had to remove a hand rail and a door and hauled this heavy machine down the stairs and out of the front door. Frou Frou were unknown to me even though they are from the UK until I saw this music video taken from Nodame Cantabile. The strange thing is I'm more like Nodame the female character a bit sloppy, a bit untidy, don't like practicing, like to play music out of my emotions and searching for love. Chiaki is orderly taking all things very seriously. And yet I'm still really looking for my Nodame. I'm still a romantic but is it time to let go?.

The blessing

A few months ago I received a dream gift. My late honorary god-father left me money in his will. I was able to at last buy this exact instrument though I play it with a harness so I can walk around more like Marston Smith. This Frenchman demonstrates a wide range of possibilities.

Enchantment

For years now I have watched from a distance this cellist Marston Smith. Some months ago I heard someone use what I used to say when I was a choir conductor. The importance ot knowing "how to milk a melody" - how to squeeze everyounce of goodness out of a tune. From my favourite Japanese drama Nodame Cantabile how to enchant a listener. It is the movement of body and looking right,it is having passion and soul. Marston is what what you need to be an enchanter of audiences.

At the end of August I spoke at a conference and very much prayed that what I had to say would move people. I was wondering about everything this last week with disappointments and now I remember something important. I got feedback one evening from a couple talked to me and it was thrilling even now to see them move closer to God in a short time. Thank God.

My Past

I've listening to music from my teens recently and Caravan forms part of that era. This is Caravan a progressive folk Rock band that my freind Pete Matthews introduced me to. This is probably my favourite track and I love the melody lines. I am a sentimental guy and remember the special times and friends of the past. The crushes and loves of a teensager when life was complicated and awkward.

some more strange cello

I've been playing my cello with a guitar distortion pedal. I'm not as good as this guy but I've been having a little fun and realizing the pleasure of playing again. This incredible musician shows that actually it is much more soul than technique. He has both. Life has its ups and downs but I keep going and trying to enjoy the moments.

too long away

I haven't posted anything here for a while because I now have virtually only dialup connect at home. Here's an interesting cello group Break of Reality. They reflect a new encounter with music, I want more music in my life. In fact I need more music in my life so I'm trying to make time to play and practice cello. To do this I have to clean up and I am also trying to remove layers of things I have collected so my space at home will give me space in my life.

Golden Oldie - Julian Lloyd-Webber

Being a cello fan I prefer this to the electric violin piece played by Jenny Bae called Beethoven Virus. Paganinni somehow seems preferable to a more mediocre Beethoven. Sometimes new isn't necessarily better



Want to see what I'm comparing this to? (click here)

Put your money where your mouth is?

I came across a video of AP Bank fes 06 which looked fun and great outdoor music festival with many J-pop stars. Looking around I found out that the name stands for Artists’ Power or Alternative Power. Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kazutoshi Sakurai aka Gaku (from Mr Children) and Takeshi Kobayashi, a record producer, in 2003 founded and funded the nonprofit lending group, which finances eco-friendly projects. “When I thought about what I could do as an individual, the environment came up,” says Kobayashi, AP Bank’s president. “Money for the sake of money isn’t great, but money is a tool, and people can use it as a community.”

There's something I remember Jesus saying about the love of money, which this reminds me of.

This video brings a veteran singer Oda Kazumasa on stage and he shows his class as an artist.

Nuns and nun?

This song by Jake Thackray is pretty irreverent and funny song from my youth. I was amazed to find it on youtube. The subject of men disguised as nuns has been a subject for comedy for a long time. Nuns on the Run is a 1990 British comedy film, starring Robbie Coltrane and Eric Idle as a pair of bank robbers hiding in a convent which also takes an irreverent look at the subject.

Meal time hell?

There are time when you can have too much music!

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

Getting things together

Learning to work together can be really difficult and that's something that is starting to happen on campus as another full-time worker and a part-timer join me. This is a quite amazing example of resonance.

Taize and musicality

I've been remembering and thinking about my experiences with Taize and the European Pilgrimages in London and Paris. Thousands sitting on the floor in churches and cathedrals for 2-3 hours truly worshipping in a way sensitive to aesthetics, to beauty of form. In the end it is an encounter with the living God and this kindles a hunger for that encounter.

tapping guitar

I love the energy and technique of taking and playing to a new proficiency.

Left behind?

A really old song from my younger days. ELO, the Electric Light Orchestra, always fascinated me as a band. When were you born? How do you feel about it all? Sometimes I wish I was born later but then songs life this wouldn't be a part of me. I wouldn't be where I am now. But then again if I were 20 years younger maybe I would have found that life partner? (This is the theme music to a Japanese Drama called densha otoko)

Anri Kumaki

Sometimes I don't understand a song's lyrics and all I have is the arrangement, music, and my feelings. The last month has been crazy and I haven't put anything here in this blog. I had a conference and then turned up a week early for my yearly 2 week summer school. Fortunately it was on the same campus and I didn't travel anywhere. I'm now at the end of the summer school and feeling tired again. Some months ago I discovered Anri Kumaki and this song. It's a beautiful arrangement especially because of the cello part. It seems to say feelings I have at the moment. One of my internationals graduated this week with a lot of heartache and struggling - her pain I felt along the journey to graduation. The video seems to be about going back and remembering.

I'm still standing

This is one of those pop anthems which lingers in my ears after difficult times. Elton John regardless whether you like him or not, writes memorable songs. Notice the change in keys where the verses as declaration of survival are in major keys but the chorus remains in a minor key. "I'm still standing." After some real ups and downs I'm still standing.