When I was in college, my favorite singer-songwriter was a guy named Rich Mullins. If you aren’t a member of Gen X or a millennial, or if you didn’t grow up in the evangelical church, that name probably won’t ring any bells. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, Mullins composed staples of contemporary worship music like “Awesome God,”Continue reading “Derek Webb’s “Survival Songs” is a Pride-Themed Masterpiece for Our Time”
Tag Archives: Music Review
Beautiful Words: My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2024
One morning, at an old social work job of mine, I chatted with my friend and coworker, Will, about our mutual love of Bruce Springsteen’s music. Will told me that “Thunder Road” is the best song ever written, and I excitedly agreed with him: “It’s so good!” When Will mentioned that the song contained someContinue reading “Beautiful Words: My Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2024”
Ten Songs That Made Me
What makes a perfect song? In February of 2024, Rolling Stone published their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Sitting atop that list were stone-cold classics such as Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”Continue reading “Ten Songs That Made Me”
Sounds of Springtime: A Literary Analysis of Father of the Bride
I didn’t want it to be a cool photograph of the earth in space; I wanted it to have a little bit of that tension of being Mother Nature, the planet we live on, but also something border-line uncomfortable with the raw digital whiteness surrounding it. This was how Ezra Koenig described the cover ofContinue reading “Sounds of Springtime: A Literary Analysis of Father of the Bride“
Dark Night of the Soul: A Literary Analysis of Modern Vampires of the City
In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov, there’s a scene where two brothers, Ivan and Alyosha, are discussing religion in a tavern. Ivan is a skeptic, and he objects to God’s goodness on account of the world’s suffering. According to Ivan, the future “harmony” that believers long for, where all sorrows will be consoled andContinue reading “Dark Night of the Soul: A Literary Analysis of Modern Vampires of the City“
Words for Wayfarers 