Music and Mockingbirds

I really like music; in fact, I like it so much that I hardly have any. Let me explain.

There is a difference between a collector and a connoisseur, and I think I crossed the line at some point. A connoisseur's collection grows relatively slowly due to strict standards and discriminating taste. The artists listed in my profile are the only ones that have survived boot camp in my mp3 player. Most do not even gain admission.

I often wish my approach to music was simpler. I have friends who have very broad musical taste and I sometimes catch myself envying them. But there is no use, and so I resignedly go about making my little prison as comfortable as possible.

Speaking of prisons, you may be wondering what that cute little birdie-in-the-cage thingy on the sidebar is all about. And who is Derek Webb?

Derek Webb, a former member of Caedmon's Call, (a band I hope to talk more about soon,) is a bit of a CCM fluke. We are no longer in the current of the mainstream, and do not be surprised if things sound disturbingly unfamiliar at first. But beneath the honesty bordering on bad taste and the insight bordering on the inflammatory, there seems to be a heart that is passionate about both God and reality, a combination that is all too rare these days.

It may be best to allow Derek to speak for himself. In two recent interviews, one with Christianity Today and one as a guest on a podcast (scroll down to interview 2.2), he talks about his perspectives on things, defines what his music is and isn't and why, and tells parts of his story.

Derek has made his latest record, Mockingbird, available for free through the end of the year. This music is not for everyone, and there are several tracks that I rather dislike. But the message, if a little rough around the edges, is penetrating and powerful. There is an incisive music video for Track 2, A New Law, that will really make you think, (and blink.)

I'll admit that this is not a very safe place to start talking about music, which is usually touchy enough already. We may feel a little insecure, a little exposed. But sometimes the ragged edge of Christianity seems closer to the center than the rest of it.

"I don't want to know / if the answers aren't easy / so just bring it down / from the mountain to me / I want a new law..." -Derek Webb, A New Law