The King Beetle...(more mewithoutYou discussion)

It's what the people want..........more mewithoutYou discussions (you know who you two are)

While spending 6-8 hours a day studying for my summer Biblical Greek class, I had plenty of time to listen to music. Of course, I listened to the new mewithoutYou album about 20 times. The song "The King Beetle on the Coconut Estate" has repeatedly caught my ear. Not only is it a great song musically, but the story is incredible. Here's a couple thoughts:

1. The whole scenario of a beetle colony seeking to figure out this "great light" is amazing. It's like we (the listener) are viewing the whole situation from a divine perspective. Us listeners know what the "great light" is. It's fire of course. We understand it and know what it is like. If the fire is a metaphor for God, then this story must be portrayed through the lens of the divine.

2. The first beetle who attempts to figure out what the "great light" is gives us a glimpse into what happens when we try to quantify God in finite, mathematical, or otherwise human terms. This professor tries to understand God through academia, but ends up with "neither a light nor a heat in his words". In his studying and quantifying, he lost his passion.

3. The militant beetle who tries next to figure out the "great light" has an equally difficult time. He attempts to conquer the fire with bravery and violence. But this is obviously not how we come to know the "great light".

4. The climax of the song comes when the Beetle King is "utterly changed into fire". He explains that our true father is "the life within all that you see." He is the provider, sustainer, and in order to know him, we must fly "headlong into the blazing unknown."

Beautiful.

Here's the full song lyrics:

As the Moon rose and the hour grew late, the day help on a Coconut estate raked up the dry leaves that fell dead from the Trees, which they burned in a pile by the lake.

The Beetle King summoned his men, and from the top of the Rhododendron stem: Calling all volunteers who can carry back here, the Great Mystery's been lit once again.

One Beetle emerged from the crowd in a fashionable abdomen shroud, said:
I'm a Professor, you see, that's no mystery to me...
I'll be back soon, successful and proud. But when the Beetle Professor returned he crawled on all six, as his wings had been burned, and described to the finest detail all he'd learned.
There was neither a light nor a heat in his words.

The deeply dissatisfied King climbed the same stem to announce the same thing, but in his second appeal sought to sweeten the deal with a silver Padparadscha ring.

The Lieutenant stepped out from the line as he lassoed his thorax with twine, thinking: I'm stronger and braver and I'll earn the King's favor.
One day all he has will be mine!
But for all the Lieutenant's conceit he, too, returned singed and admitting defeat: I had no choice, please believe, but retreat...
It was bright as the sun, but with ten times the heat!
And it cracked like the thunder and bloodshot my eyes, though smothered with sticks it advanced undeterred.
Carelessly cast an ash cloud to the sky, my Lord, like a flock of dark, vanishing birds.

The Beetle King slammed down his fist: Your flowery description's no better than his!
We sent for the Great Light and you bring us this?
We didn't ask what it seems like, we asked what it IS!

His Majesty's hour at last has drawn nigh!
The elegant Queen took her leave from his side, without understanding but without asking why, gathered their Kids to come bid their goodbyes.

And the father explained: You've been somewhat deceived...
We've all called me your dad, but your True Dad's not me.
I lay next to your mom and your forms were conceived, your Father is the Life within all that you see.
He fills up the ponds as He empties the clouds, holds without hands and He speaks without sounds, provides us with the Cow's waste and coconuts to eat, giving one that nice salt-taste and the other a sweet.
Sends the black carriage the day Death shows its face, thinning our numbers with Kindness and Grace.
And just as a Flower and its Fragrance are one so must each of you and your Father become.
Now distribute my scepter, my crown and my throne and all we've known as 'wealth' to the poor and alone...
Without further hesitation, without looking back home, the King flew headlong into the blazing unknown!

And as the Smoke King curled higher and higher, the troops, flying loops 'round the telephone wires, they said: Our Beloved's not dead, but His Highness instead has been utterly changed into Fire!!!

Why not be utterly changed into Fire?...

Oh Blog, It's Been A While

Well, I haven't posted anything on this blog for months. I have a good excuse: 1st, I wanted to leave my band's music video at the top of the page for a while so people would watch it. Now that I'm not in the band anymore, I feel ok pushing it down the page. 2nd, I have been preparing to move to Chicago. Now that I'm here, it's time to ramp up the blogging.

I've got a thought for those of you who love analyzing lyrics (you know who you are). I have been listening to mewithoutYou's new album It's All Crazy, It's All False, It's All A Dream, It's Alright and the closing line from the song "A Stick, A Carrot & String" really got me thinking. Here it goes: "The snake who held the world, a stick, a carrot, and a string, was crushed beneath the foot of your not wanting anything."

This line, in the context of the whole song, helps me understand how Jesus' actions defeated Satan's temptation to have earthly things. Jesus defeated evil by extending grace to us. I've got more thoughts on this, but it's time to sign off. Later!


Addition: 8/3/09

Here's the full lyrics for the song:

the horse's hay beneath his head
our Lord was born to a manger bed
that all whose wells run dry
could drink of his supply

to keep him warm, the sheep drew near
so grateful for His coming here
come with news of grace
come to take my place
the donkey whispered in his ear
"child, in 30-some-odd years
you'll ride someone who looks like me
untriumphantly"

the cardinals warbled a joyful song
he'll make right what man made wrong
bringing low the hills
that the valleys might be filled

then "child", asked the birds
"well, aren't they lovely words we sing?"
the tiny baby layed there
without saying anything

at a distance stood a mangy goat
with the crooked teeth and a matted coat
weary eyes and worn
chipped and twisted horns

thinking "maybe I'll make friends someday
with the cows and the hens in the rambouillet
but for now, I'll keep away
I've got nothing smart to say"

there's a sign on the barn
in the cabbage town
"when the rain picks up
and the sun goes down
sinners, come inside
with no money, come and buy

no clever talk, nor a gift to bring
requires our lowly, lovely king
come now empty handed, you don't need anything"

and the night was cool
and clear as glass
with the sneaking snake in the garden grass
deep cried out to deep
the disciples fast asleep

and the snake perked up
when he heard You ask
"if you're willing that
this cup might pass
we could find our way back home
maybe start a family all our own"

"but does not the Father guide the Son?
not my will, but yours be done.
what else here to do?
what else me, but You?"

and the snake who'd held the world
a stick, a carrot and a string
was crushed beneath the foot
of your not wanting anything

"Do [correction: To] whatever makes me love You more"

First of all, I just tested the battery life of my new Macbook today: 6 hours! That's just word processing and web surfing, but still, 6 hours is a long time.

In other news, I have a line from a mewithoutYou song that I have been thinking about for a while now. It comes from the song "C-Minor" on the album Brother, Sister. The line is "do whatever makes me love You more"

Correction: per Robbie's comment, I have misquoted. The line is actually "to whatever makes me love you more." That's what I get for trying to quote someone without reading the liner notes.

In the context of this song, the writer is asking God to do whatever makes him love God more. I feel that this is one of the best descriptions of "God's will" I have heard. The writer is basically saying that no matter what happens in his life, he simply wants it to make him love God more. This is really what God's will is; a course of life that makes us love God more.

For more, see the comments...

Recently, I have also read another description of God's will in the book The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren. He writes, "The Greek word that lies beneath our English word will can also be translated wish. But to say, 'May your wish come true' sounds rather fairy-tale-ish and creates other problems. But I have found the idea of, 'the dream of God for creation' does the job quite nicely. 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven' could thus be rendered 'May all your dreams for creation come true.'"

So, to put these two ideas together I feel that a major aspect of the "dream of God" is for us to love him more; no matter the circumstance. Good times, bad times, things we don't understand, things we cannot change; we should desire to love God more no matter what. We must say, "do whatever makes me love you more" even if it means being challenged, transformed, or broken.

mewithoutYou

I realized why I like mewithoutYou so much. Aaron Weiss is not fake.

I was listening to a different band in my car today and I felt like this person was putting on a show. I didn't feel that they really meant it. I love the way mewithoutYou displays struggle, pain, heartache, and despair. These are real feelings and their music perfectly paints a picture of the struggle.

This makes me wonder about the music we sing at our churches every week. Is it real? Is it authentic? Do I actually feel the words that are being sung? I've stood there so many times and just sung because that's what I'm supposed to do. I think I mean the words I sing.

I know there are other musicians who are being real. MewithoutYou just slaps me around and allows me to be real.

(By the way, I posted this picture again because I like it a lot. It makes me feel like I'm at a concert.)

mewithoutYou at Slim's

I went to see mewithoutYou at Slim's in San Francisco last night. It was an amazing show. There were other bands there including The Snake The Cross The Crown and Manchester Orchestra. But the highlight was mewithoutYou.

This is the first time I had seen mewithoutYou live, and I guess I was struck by the raw emotion they put into their music. I could sense the tension, passion, and anguish as Aaron Weiss grabbed my soul and shook it around. I love the depth of the lyrics and the way they portray their struggles through music. It is so inspiring.

But today, I feel weird. I have this sense of "back to the daily routine" in me. I don't want the daily routine. I want specialness all the time. Also, there were a few guys at the show that I haven't really talked to in a while, but I was very unsocial. I've just had so many ideas, inspirations, and struggles and I want to talk to people who are experiencing the same thing. My questions/issues/hopes for the church, issues with my own lifestyle, and longing for something deeper have driven me to seek people who want to truely follow Jesus. People who notice the problems with this world and want to do something about it.

I love mewithoutYou.

mewithoutyou

I must say, these guys are awesome. I appreciate their creativity and I love the lyrics in their songs. In the song "The Dryness & The Rain" from their new album Brother, Sister there is a line in particular that I loved. It goes something like this:

"The fish swims in the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish. Oh, what am I to think what the writing of a thousand lifetimes could not explain if all the forests' trees were pens and all the oceans ink."

This is so beautiful.

Amazingly, I was talking to my dad about this particular lyric when he told me that he had already heard that in a song. He went on the sing to me an old hymn entitled "The Love of God". The third verse goes like this:

"Could we with ink the oceans fill and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill and every man on earth a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above would drain the oceans dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky."

Amazing!

May I quote Solomon: "There is nothing new under the sun!"

I then thought for a while about how the previous generations had similar metaphors and imagery to communicate the nature of God but in a different style. Today, our generation appreciates the same beauty, just in a different style. Interesting.

Also, I love the last track "In a Sweater Poorly Knit". Its like a dream.