Awesome

I'm going to stop making promises I can't keep. No more "soon"...... Instead here's something else.
Found by someone on beelerspace, the beginning of this video is hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlRGNk31myY

All Apologies

What else can I say? Jesus is the way! (hahaha...a little DC Talk humor for you there)

Sorry there haven't been any updates for the past...oh..7 months. It's coming. Soon.

Primrose by Black Eyed Sceva is next, I believe.

I'm also redoing most of the videos and moving them to YouTube. I didn't know it was going to blow up or I would have started there first! And there's a chat in the sidebar I'm testing out. So...there ya go.


-Joe W.

"It's (a month past) Father's Day

....and everybody celebrates but me....."

Lyrics here. Video here. The man here? (last post)

I used to think that this song didn't apply to me. Well, directly anyway. It's a great and painful song about how a son is coping with his absent earthly father. He gets a letter that his mom has been saving for years that has some generic advice from his father that doesn't really help much. Thankfully Jeremy comes to the conclusion that his fallible father has been replaced by his heavenly Father. (Which is a sermon I've heard many times....how you see your earthly father translates into how you view your heavenly Father....God doesn't not make mistakes like your dad may have..and all that).

What stuck in my mind, though, was always the last line of the song. "Sometimes I wonder if I will ever grow to look anything like him." It's a completely honest question and, when I examined it closely, I realized that it had me worried. You see, when I was 9 or 10 my parents let me know that my father was not my biological father. My mother had me when she was 18 and met my dad just a few months later. I kind of knew this story growing up, but it never really clicked with me (I was a kid...you don't ponder the deep questions). My dad was the only dad I ever knew and, though my parents were kind of nervous in telling me, I never had any intention of being angry at them or running away to find my "real dad." Never knew him, never will.

But that last line started ringing in my ear. What if I'm walking around some day and I see someone who looks like me...only 17 years older? What would happen? Am I just ignoring a deeper problem? Should I go seek him out? Now, this didn't last very long, but it's something I still think about when I hear this song. As far as I'm concerned, the dad I knew was my "real" dad. I got many good qualities from him. There was no reason to look any further on earth for someone to replace him.

One thing I forgot to mention....My dad passed away in 1993 at the ripe old age of 39. When I first heard this song in 1995 it struck me that I didn't "celebrate" father's day anymore the way I used to. It was a tough song to hear in the beginning. But, in 1996 my mom was remarried and in 1998 I got married myself. Then, by Father's Day 1999, I was a father as well!

So again I find a BES song that has applied to many stages of my life and can continually have new meaning for me. How does he do it???

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

Back in 1995-96 a camera crew (was it just one man?) traveled around the world with Black Eyed Sceva and gave us something hilariously wonderful. I know there's much more I could say about it, but I'll let it speak for itself.
Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the wonder that is the Way Before The Flood longform video.

Justified Music Video

Finally got a working version online. My first two tries failed miserably. I don't know what my deal is.
Anyway, check it out: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3308644069799927656
I ripped it from my VHS copy and you can see the little vhs line at the bottom of the video...such is life.
And thanks to Dave for giving me his version. Unfortunately that was my first failure...but it spurred me on to keep trying!

What you believe in

Cleverness lyrics here & video here.

Back in the day (10 years ago or so) I had this drummer friend (who I am currently trying to reconnect with) who claimed that Cleverness was his favorite song by BES. He liked the time signature (and how quietly the drums began their crescendo) and how different it was. Another friend of mine who was a guitarist loved the fact that the solo in this song seemed separate from the rest of it in terms of timing and melody. And yet it all fits. My bassist friend liked watching the video and seeing Jeremy and Brad so synchronized as to their instrument playing and vocals. Watch and it's like they are tied together somehow. Very fun! Something the whole band can enjoy...

This song still speaks volumes to me about how to conduct myself in a discussion. How to listen to the other person's viewpoint and not continually formulate my response without hearing anything else. You know...what are we really arguing over?

I used to (and still do sometimes) tell myself that I never wanted to get into a discussion until I knew absolutely everything for my "side." I wanted to have all the clever witticisms and be ready for anything. But there's much more than just being clever. Witty sayings don't always mean you're intelligent. And that line - "what you believe in too often depends on what you want to be good for you" - convicting! Do you believe what you believe because it's comfortable or right? Or both?

This song is very similar to "Ecumenical" off of the 50,000 miles davis CD. That also has funky timing and a message that has you looking for common ground instead of what divides us all.

I Heard Him Say I

Mudhouse lyrics here. Live video here. Bible reference here and here.

This song instantly became my favorite song off the album. It is very simply about the dangers of premarital sex. However it is really something more. It doesn't just say "Don't do it" or "Wait until marriage." The song really delves into the human component. The emotions represented in Erik are everything I felt.

When I heard this song I was 19 and a sophomore in college. I can't remember if I had even had a girlfriend by this time. I thought this song gave a good message, but would never really apply to me. That all changed after graduation. I found the girl I was going to marry. She still had a few years of college left and I was living 2 hours away working at my first "real" job. The morning after one romantic summer night, I was all of a sudden living out this song. Each line was my experience.

She went off for fall semester and I was still working, but she kept telling me she felt sick. She took a pregnancy test and it was immediately positive. She went to the doctor and I got a phone call: "I heard the heartbeat." Instantly I knew that I could not escape. My house was built on shifting sand...mud. I knew the word of the Lord, yet didn't put it into practice. I knew what was right and still disobeyed. And it caused someone I love to drop out of school.

About 3 weeks later, we got married. 6 months after that, we had our first child. 14 months after that we had our second! So, within 2 1/2 years of even knowing each other, we were married with 2 kids and only 24 years old. This is not something I recommend to everyone. Those first few years were a little rough, but it's good that we were young. We didn't know that it was supposed to be a lot tougher than it was. We just went with the flow. Yes, there were plenty of tears and why-me's and how do I deal with 2 screaming kids while you're at work....but also my wife persevered and finished college online. I was very proud.

We're doing great 8 years later. We have a happy home and I wouldn't change a thing. How can you imagine living without your kids?

But this isn't about me, it's about the song! There were many times, before I knew the final outcome, that I prayed and said "I wish I would have waited." And Jeremy singing that over and over again with his emotion just gets me every time. It's a mini-sermonette about not wanting to live with regret. It's a warning, but it's just reality. And I never thought it could happen to me