Your Attention Please

Lyrics here. Sorry, no video.

Primrose was one of those songs that I didn't really "get" even after going over the lyrics. I wish I could find a link for you all to see, but I stumbled upon an interview where Jeremy lays out what he was thinking when he wrote this song.

It was somewhat of a response to Bill Clinton being elected in 1992. The way Jeremy put it, there was all this adulation coming from celebrities and everyone thinking that the country was going to be perfect now that he was elected (sound familiar?). Pent-up frustration led to an overflowing and outpouring of all hopes and dreams pinpointed on this one elected official.

I was only 15 during that election and I can remember that in a "straw poll" in art class I picked Ross Perot over Bush and Clinton. I didn't really follow politics at that time or any other time really over the next 10 years or so. It didn't interest me and it's probably why I couldn't pick up on the themes in this song. I didn't even really know the difference between right and left wing, Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives. But today I get it.

Relevant would be the key word to describe "Primrose" today. There is definitely more to this song than a right vs. left, our team is better than your team anthem. People still think that just getting the right person in office will solve all of our problems. But the key here is that "we will all face God someday" and not just our elected officials. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that by pinning our problems on a left-wing donkey or right-wing elephant that we have somehow absolved ourselves of any of the blame. Abdicating our responsibility is not we are called to do.

By the same token, elevating a single person to savior status is also unbecoming, to say the least. The primrose view can overtake us and we give up our responsibilities by saying, "It's OK. He/she will take care of everything." Even though "they" are telling everyone that everything is OK, what are we finding out for ourselves? More timeless lyrics from Mr. Post.

What about the music behind the lyrics? This song is fairly straightforward (for Sceva) in its structure although it does take an instrumental journey after the verses and choruses are sung. Everything sonically marches toward the point that this song is trying to make: "Look at whose looking glass you're looking through before the primrose view overtakes you." There is no doubt left about what they want you to take away from this song.

Find out for yourself!

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.