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Playlist: Good Vibrations

Playlist: Good Vibrations

I’ll be the first to admit that this playlist didn’t have the same thought and consideration put into it as Driving or Resistance – it was more about throwing some happy-sounding songs together. I still like it though. Good Vibrations (The Beach Boys) Rewrite the Stars (from The Greatest Showman) Moonlight Shadow (Mike Oldfield) Karma Chameleon (Boy George) Fields of Gold (Sting) Honey, Honey (ABBA) Take it Easy (The Eagles) You’re so Vain (Carly Simon) Diamonds and Rust (Joan Baez)…

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Christianity in Runrig’s music

Christianity in Runrig’s music

One of my favourite bands is the Scottish folk/rock band Runrig. They primarily sing songs about Scotland, occasionally with an overtly nationalist bent but more typically about the Scottish landscape, history, people and culture; they also sometimes cover other themes. However, it was only after I’d been listening to them for about eight years that I realised some of their songs were explicitly Christian. Now, by ‘explicitly Christian’ I mean in the sense that some of U2’s songs are Christian,…

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Two Misunderstood Works

Two Misunderstood Works

This post examines the way Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ and Kipling’s ‘The Ballad of East and West’ are often misinterpreted through a literal reading of their most famous lines – when in fact their message is almost the diametrical opposite. Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen) A link here. One of Springsteen’s greatest hits, taken at face value from the chorus, the song is a simple, even jingoistic, celebration of America. But listening to the lyrics more closely tells…

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Five Questions Meme

Five Questions Meme

With thanks to liv for posting the meme and for setting me the questions below. For those not familiar, the way it works is that anyone who would like questions can ask for them; they then get set five questions – potentially about anything at all – that the original poster thinks they would find interesting to answer and others would find interesting to read. So without further ado, the questions I was set: 1. Would you rather be notable…

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On the Categorisation of Hymns

On the Categorisation of Hymns

NB: This is intended to be a light-hearted and not entirely serious piece. I do not consider the classification below to be based on far reaching principles or to have great explanatory power. Hymns(1) are often categorised according to their style of music: old or new, upbeat or staid, intended to be played by organ or by guitar. However, by focusing on the lyrics, an alternative categorisation appears. Theological. The principal feature of these hymns is that they fit in…

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Driving Music

Driving Music

A driving playlist I created a few weeks ago. I was doing a lot of motorway driving at the time, so this primarily consists of upbeat, energetic tracks; the sort of music you want blasting out loudly as you roar along at 70mph. 1. Freedom (Michael W Smith). An instrumental piece that deserves to be the sound-track of an epic film, this sets the tone for the playlist from its opening drumbeats to its final crescendoing theme. 2. Baba Yetu…

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