Vos Virtual Network

Have you ever seen or heard the hang drum? I’m no expert on this instrument. In fact this is the first time I’ve seen it. I’ve just been thinking about the variety of instruments that you bang, blow, pluck, tap, hammer, etc. This is called a ‘hang drum’. As you can see, it is a very melodic drum.

The expert hang drummer featured in this video is Manu Delago.

The hang drum comes from Switzerland. It is similar to the steel drums often associated with Caribbean Island music, but is lighter; more responsive to being played by hand, rather than a mallet. Hang means hand - from the Germanic word for hand. This modern instrument was developed very recently (@ 2000) with acoustic and metallurgical innovations — that created a very melodious percussive instrument.

You can hit it with your hands; tap it with your fingers; even make it sing by rubbing gently, similar to playing crystal drinking glasses.

Tags: melody, music, percussion, video

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. I made sausage soufflé for breakfast. It was a recipe that I learned from my mother. She made it frequently at Christmas, or on Easter morning — to celebrate the resurrection.  I remember that Mom made a batch of sausage soufflé for breakfast the day that Jane and I got married. My mom died a few years ago, so I try to keep the tradition going. Maybe I’ll make sausage soufflé for breakfast on the morning the girls get married. It’s one of those recipes that you can prepare a day early.

I browned the sausage on Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning I got up early; whipped the eggs, and grated the extra-sharp cheddar cheese. While it baked in the oven, I wrote a short article about Bono.

Priscilla made some fruit salad. We had breakfast a little after 8:00AM. Jane and the girls enjoyed the breakfast.

We got to church early, and the girls practiced Let All Things Now Living on the violin, viola, and cello. (It’s sung to the old Welsh tune of Ash Grove.) Ralph talked about letting the little children come to Jesus, and the blessings of God’s covenant faithfulness.

We had chicken, potatoes and vegies for lunch. Then we watched City of Joy. It’s a great movie about a shanty town in Calcutta — filled with gangsters, slum dwellers, and people with leprosy. (People I could relate to.) Do you know the happiest part of the movie? The wedding celebration.

That was yesterday. It’s only a memory now. Yesterday was also a Beatles’ song. But that was yesterday, and I want to talk about Tomorrow. Smashing Pumpkins wrote a song called Today (which I don’t recommend), so let’s talk about Tomorrow.

My mother grew up in Ogilvie, Minnesota — which is a really small town along highway 23, north of the Twin Cities. Seems like a lot of kids growing up in Ogilvie felt trapped in that tiny town, and could not wait to grow up and get out of that “2 traffic-light town”. There were only a couple stores in Ogilvie, so lot’s of folks went to other towns nearby to do their shopping. To the north-east was a town called Mora, and to the south was a little town called Day. Seems like the town called Day was even smaller than Ogilvie, so maybe they went there just to get away from Ogilvie.

People in Ogilvie had a saying that was kind of funny and really makes you think about yesterday, today, and tomorrow. They would say:

“Today I’m going to Mora, and tomorrow I’m going to Day.”

Bono wrote a song about his mother’s funeral, called Tomorrow. His mom died when he was only 14, and I think that was one of the big events that set a trajectory for his life, and shaped several of his songs.

Tomorrow also talks about Jesus coming back. [ Tomorrow Lyrics - song by Bono/U2]

“Open up to the Lamb of God… To the love of He who made the blind to see … He’s coming back, I believe it, Jesus coming… I’m gonna be there.”

I know the Great Wedding Feast is coming Tomorrow, and I’m gonna be there too. Just wanted to encourage you to think about yesterday, today, and tomorrow, while it’s still today.

It’s always daytime where I’m going. It’s called it the marriage supper of the Lamb. I’m not sure if we’ll eat breakfast since there won’t be any night, but I’m sure there will be joy and feasting. No darkness. No night. Only light. Only day.

Today I’m only talking about Tomorrow, but Tomorrow I’m going to Day.

Tags: Bono, death, eternity, life, lyrics, mom, mother, music, poetry, song, U2

If your life is going too fast, maybe you should slow down and listen to this song by Trace Adkins. Or if you wish you could just grow up faster (and you think life is moving too slow) — you should listen to the song, too! You’re Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins. (This song was playing on my alarm clock this morning, and woke me up.)

Tags: music, song, video

Yesterday afternoon, it was cold and blustery by the river in downtown Detroit. Really cold and windy for the middle of May. The kind of cold that bites through your clothes and chills your bones. But things were hopping as I walked down Beubian St. on the way to catch the Smart bus home. Some people had put up posters everywhere for Fat Joe. Every pole had a sign for Fat Joe. Some poles had 3 signs proclaiming FAT JOE. As I walked past the Old Green Bar there were dozens of posters for Fat Joe. “I Won’t Tell Fat Joe there’s an Elephant in the Room”. In front of St. Andrews Hall (the indie music place) there were people all looking at the posters for Fat Joe and talking about Fat Joe coming to town.

Who is Fat Joe and why is he coming to Detroit? A bro with a big smile, colorful tee shirt and better dread-locks than Jimmy Hendrix, said that Fat Joe is some kind of hip-hop rap guy from the Bronx. Yep, it looks like Gangsta Rap at it’s finest (or baddest) …

Wikipedia’s got the skinny on Fat Joe:

Fat Joe’s album The Elephant in the Room was distributed by Imperial Records, a division of Capitol Records and Terror Squad Entertainment, and released on March 11, 2008; its lead single was “I Won’t Tell” featuring singer J. Holiday. The album debuted at the sixth position on the Billboard Hot 100.

Fat Joe got in a fight with Papoose in North Carolina recently, and 50 Cent says Fat Joe’s career is already dead. So Fat Joe is coming to Detroit … and I just hope nobody gets hurt.

In June 2007, the Reverend Michael Pfleger targeted Fat Joe as among several rappers he believed promoted misogyny in his billboard campaign “Stop Listening to Trash”.

There is a lot of angry music in Detroit. On the bus ride home, one guy was really angry about the price of gas being $3.69. [Note: It went up to $3.89 two days later.] Then he started yelling: “Did Bush find the weapons of mass destruction yet?” Another guy was talking about the recent Police brutality (allegations) in Philly and said, it was so bad.. made Rodney King look like a walk in the park, compared to that. If things are bad in the City of Brotherly Love (Philly)… must be even worse in Detroit… someone else started complaining about Kwame…

Then the man who was talking the loudest said “I wish God would come back”. “Really! I hope God comes back to stop all this bull-sh__ [injustice]“. “I hope God comes back soon.” Another black gentleman, more soft-spoken (and not as angry) said he “hoped God did not come back too soon, because some people are not ready yet.” That made me think of what my friend Ralph (the preacher) said: “God is patient in His Holy Anger against corruption, injustice, oppression, sin and wickedness. God is patient and slow to anger. God is not willing that any should perish.”

When God comes back to town… he will not come into town like Fat Joe. It will be be a lot worse, but a lot better… all at the same time.

I listened to the conversations and tried to understand what makes people angry. The bus stopped a few times. A few people got off the bus, and others got on. The bus grew quieter. While a few people drifted off to sleep, I read another chapter in Blue Like Jazz.

Tags: anger, hip hop, music, rap

I had never heard this song before this morning, but when my alarm clock went off at 4:00 AM, this song started up, and the guy kept singing the chorus: “Small Town Southern Man”. So the chorus kept echoing in my mind and I had to look it up. Where did this song come from? Who was singing? Maybe I can find it on google… So waddya know… it’s Alan Jackson singing Small Town Southern Man (click the link to watch the whole music video) from his new album called “Good Time”.

Here’s a short clip where Alan Jackson talks about writing the song. (There’s a bunch of negative comments about the music video on YouTube, but I think that just goes to prove that the Small Town Southern Man really is a rare person; a lost treasure; a dying breed; perhaps he really is Gone With the Wind.)

Really the best way to listen to the song (to “really hear the music”) is at 4:00 AM with the lights out as you start the day. That’s how it grabbed me.

Many of Alan Jackson’s songs tell a story, and the story is what draws people in. Is that song like my life story? Where is my life going? Remember When causes people to reflect on the story of their life. Will it have a happy ending? The lyrics tell a simple message, accompanied by a simple melody. Sometimes all the video stuff distracts from the simple message, and to really appreciate the song, you might need to close your eyes. Listen to all the little improvisations coming from the fiddle, piano, bass; subtle harmonies, and counter melodies. Did you catch that pause near the end, where you think the song is over, and then it continues a little while longer… This morning, I shed a tear for the Little Man. I guess you could say those Alan Jackson lyrics struck a chord with me. Maybe God was pulling on my heart strings — even though I’m a Big City Northern Man.

Tags: Alan Jackson, music, video

I first discovered the Soweto Gospel Choir back in December of 2005. I was stunned and captivated by photographs of the singers at the time, and had not yet heard their music. (See amazing high res photos)

“Bursting with colour” - The Courier Mail Brisbane, Australia
“Nothing can really prepare you for the riot of exuberance and depth of emotion” - The Scotsman
“Meticulous and unstoppable …spirited and spectacular” - The New York Times
“A truly otherworldly sound that literally takes the breath away …dazzling” - Edinburgh Review

After winning 2 Grammy awards, they are becoming more well known around the world.

I was reminded of them again, when my daughter Priscilla spent 6 months working in an orphanage last year in Johannesburg, near Soweto. So I began exploring their music more deeply. One of the first things you might notice is the colorful clothing. Suddenly, as they begin singing you become deeply aware of how powerful, colorful, joyful and beautiful this gospel music can be. (Gospel means “good news”.) The traditional melodies and incredible harmonies, combine with exuberant and contagious smiles that often stun stoical western audiences. The power of the music comes from an inner joy — the joy of a people filled with optimism and hope — after decades of oppression, struggle, sorrow, and sadness — the music explodes with the power of Good News.

In an Independent News (UK) interview the choir’s music director Lucas Deon Bok talked about the difference between his choir and others, like Ladysmith Black Mambazo:

“We have brought a new sound, the sound of liberation, joy, optimism and hope,” he says. “It’s the [joyful] sound of post-apartheid South Africa. Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s message was about struggle, and it sought to bring awareness about our situation to the outside world. It was the music of protest. We are singing out of triumph and gratitude…”

Tags: gospel, music, video

Steven Delopoulos (from Burlap to Cashmere) put out a new album called Straightjacket, and here’s a video that goes along with one of the new songs.

This one is called Ruin of the Beast.   You can also check out Steven’s mySpace page and listen to more music. The video was created by Portland Studios.

Keely Noel reviewed Straightjacket and said:

“Delopoulos surprises the senses... he seems unafraid to expose vulnerability through his poetic, although sometimes cryptic, lyrics. His words leave vivid pictures that remain long after the song has ended, and the longer you find yourself simmering in the lyrics the better the reward.”

What do think is happening in the story/song/video - Ruin of the Beast? Please share your ideas and comments…

Tags: eschatology, music, poetry, song, video