10 favorite albums of 2010 - #7: Small Craft on a Milk Sea by Brian Eno

What's that? You haven't yet discovered the music of Brian Eno? I hate to break it to you, pal, but you're about 40 years late. Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (actual name) has been making great music since the 70s, and his latest album is just beautiful.

Small Craft on a Milk Sea is an album you feel. "What does it make you feel, Deric?" I hear your question, but I've not any good response. The opening track, "Emerald and Lime," for example, makes me feel a strange mix of nostalgia and adventure, as if I'm catching the faintest trace of a scent from my childhood.

"Complex Heaven," makes me feel both sad and stealthy.

Realize that this album is open to myriad emotional interpretations. For me, a strange intense excitement underlies almost every track. Every listener might agree that, whatever this album makes you feel, it's sure to be complex.

Don't let the brevity of the first four tracks fool you. They play out as a series of distinct, interesting ideas. Close your eyes and let this music really affect you.

All in all, this album has direction. Listen to it and feel yourself being taken on a journey. Where is this journey taking you? Is it a place you want to be going? Are you prepared? What would you do if you found yourself aboard a small craft on a milk sea?

Comments

How Many Will Enter Heaven?

Check out this quote I found online: "[C]onsider this fact: fewer than 20% of people actually think they are going to hell. And yet, in answering that question, Jesus says in Matthew 7 that FEW pass through the gate that leads to eternal life. 80% doesn't sound like few to me... do some of us have the wrong idea?" There are a number of problems with this quote. First of all, you it is assuming that "few" refers to the current ratio of professing Christians to non-Christians. What's to say that Jesus isn't referring to the entire population of all the earth over all time? In that case, it's entirely plausible that 80% of people now are really Christians, as long as there are still few total Christians when all is said and done. Maybe it applies only to the people in the crowd listening to Jesus. Or, it could refer to something else entirely (as I believe). Jesus was talking to a specific people living in a specific time. We cannot decontextualize his ...

Older Posts »

Sunny California

I'm settled into a church family's house here in Valencia, and boy is it great. I like listening to my pastor talk about theology. He is also a wonderful counselor, and has been helping me work with some of my personal problems (yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I do have problems). Here is his blog site, if anybody is interested: The Craw . Also, here is the website of my church, along with its blog: Saint Andrew's Community Church , The Chronicles of Saint Andrews . In the meantime, I have been reading The Shape of Sola Scriptura by Mathison, who also wrote Given For You . Both of these books have had an enourmous impact on me, and I strongly encourage all of you to get out and read The Shape of Sola Scriptura , particularly if you've ever struggled with the authority of the Bible, and how it squares away with church tradition. The thesis is that most evangelicals treat the issue of the Bible and tradition wrongly, particularly those in radically reformed chu...

Older Posts »

On the Biblical Mandate to Respect Authority

The SC choir chaplain brought up a passage in 1 Peter at the beginning of this week regarding submission to authority. It led to interesting conversation, and I'd like to reiterate part of that conversation here. 1) It is important to remember that the early churches who passed around these letters had a very practical use for them. The early church could have easily been stomped out had the early Christians been too anti-government. True, the church was persecuted. True, the church did get into trouble with the government. However, remember that the persecution happened for short bursts of time (historically speaking) and only in isolated areas. It was by no means universal persecution. Additionally, when you look at other early Christian documents, you see more injunctions to work with the rulers. And why not? The early church needed all the support it could get, while not compromising, of course. If they were all outspoken government radicals, they would not have lasted long. 2)...

Older Posts »

And death i think is no parenthesis

Search This Blog