Songs of Hope, Honesty, and Healing

MUSIC NOTES Mark Fisher

in the month prior to their demise; over half of all suicides are committed by men aged 25-65. The wonderful folks at Visionary Concepts have set out to aid the cause of suicide awareness by compiling an album’s worth of poignant, often uplifting songs that reach out to the listener through the instruments and voices of well-known musicians, independent Hope, Volume One Of the many compilation albums that icons, and emerging new artists, includcome out each year, few are important for ing Ken Andrews (Failure), Charlotte any reason other than marketing a record Martin, Joanne and Johnny Cash, Lisa label or a management company’s artists. Loeb, Katy Rose, and Kevin Max (DC Hope, Volume One counts itself among Talk), among others. Unlike many compilations, for the the important. Much like the Take Action! compilation series, Hope,Volume One was most part this one flows like a proper assembled to help raise awareness and album. Both the selection and placement funds for the cause of suicide prevention, of the songs are excellent. Charlotte in this case through Suicide Awareness Martin and Lisa Loeb kick off the album with their always intriguing and intimate, Voices of Education (SAVE.org). According to the press release from slightly-left-of-center sounds. It had been managing label Visionary Concepts years since I’d heard Lisa Loeb’s voice (visionary-concepts.net), “The mission of (fans of the late ’90s girls-with-guitars SAVE is to prevent suicide through public invasion may remember her), and she awareness and education, to reduce stigma, sounds better than ever. “Come Back and to serve as a resource to those touched Home” is a touching song that contrasts by suicide.” Suicide claims the lives of well with Martin’s atmospheric opener, 30,000 Americans each year, affecting all “Crimson Sky.” 5th PROJEKT’s age groups, yet most of us are under- “Resistance” is another highlight with informed about both its victims and its its droning, Starflyer 59 sound and softprevalence. For example, among people spoken female vocals. Other highlights aged 15-24 suicide is the third leading include the Kevin Max anthem “Your cause of death; 75 percent of elderly Beautiful Mind” (a gentle reminder that persons who commit suicide visit a doctor unique is beautiful and that normal simply does not exist), Ken Andrew’s modern rock classic “Up or Down,” and Katy Rose’s simple but fun “Cool Whip.” The most striking moment is when Joanne Cash joins her brother posthumously for a rendition of “Softly & Tenderly” that is so raw it will certainly make your eyes well up. Overall this is a great album with an even greater cause behind it. A must-have album for so many reasons, Hope, Volume One should be near the top of your “to purchase” list.

PRISM 2009

Ken Block’s Drift Since the late-’90s, Sister Hazel has been one of the most instantly recognizable (and most consistently overlooked by the media) bands on the music scene. Bursting into the mainstream with their massive hit, “All for You,” in 1997, the band has evolved into far more than simple pop radio fodder, delivering a string of albums that are both musically pristine and lyrically powerful. The short pitch here is that if you haven’t paid attention to this band since their “big hit,” you really should catch up. You won’t regret it, especially since following their groundbreaking path will ultimately lead you to Blockville. You think we’re broken/what if we’re just a little cracked?/I know we’re choking on the little things that seem to come with time… So begins the intimate sound of Drift (Rock Ridge Music, 2008), the debut solo album from Sister Hazel vocalist Ken Block and the key to Blockville.With these simple words, Block lays the foundation for a community of songs that find few peers in today’s music scene.The music ranges from country-tinged alt-rock to folk to simple acoustic pieces that fall away in the wake of the artist’s striking, intimate voice. Drift possesses a gritty, realist attitude throughout that will surely interest many fans of poetic forms of music. Tackling issues of artistry, his own personal demons, and the need to find peace and balance

in his life, Block speaks honestly here at every turn. As good as the music is, the lyrics are what will keep you revisiting this album again and again. Amongst the hard issues, Block exhibits a quiet optimism that is instantly appealing. A case in point is the track “Completely Wasted,” written about a time in Block’s life when his first son was born while he was still dealing with the loss of his younger brother to cancer. At the time, Sister Hazel was in the throes of wild success and Block was living the stereotypical rock star life. As his son entered the world, feelings over his inevi-

table failure to protect his younger brother from the disease showed themselves in force.Wondering how he could possibly protect his son shook his stability and Block soon found himself in rehab, thanks to friends and family. But it’s not all despair on Drift.“So Far” speaks to the need for balance in our lives, recounting what he doesn’t need to be and thus defining what kind of man he is. The more electric “You and Me” takes listeners through the thought process of a painful breakup, declaring boldly, “The best part of us was me,” without even a hint of vocal bitterness.The album’s intro-

duction,“Blue to a Blind Man,” is another wonderful moment, examining the mutuality that all good relationships require. Ken Block lays it all out in Drift, and the results are remarkable. From the musical variety to the personalized universalism of the lyrics, you simply cannot go wrong with this album if you enjoy introspective and artistic approaches to music. Learn more at Blockville.com and LyricsforLife.org. Mark Fisher is a freelance reviewer and music enthusiast. He resides in West Virginia with his two sons and an extremely patient wife.

Where Your Treasure Is continued from page 21. However, I want to raise what I view as two important caveats about the simple lifestyle.The simple lifestyle is a good benchmark, but too simple a lifestyle can actually make life more complicated and stressful. For example, our family has made a decision to live with just one (10-year-old) car. But that is because my wife is able to walk three blocks to where she works at our church as the worship music director. We could easily be in a situation in which trying to live with just one car would either make life very complicated or not allow either my wife or me to pursue our vocation.The second caveat: If you don’t have anything, it’s harder to share. Personally, I’m a fan of big houses if they are consistently used for hospitality and as a blessing to people without big houses of their own. That’s why we have one. Material goods do not buy happiness, and if you have mistakenly come to believe so, unfortunately you are in for a disappointing life. If you have trouble trusting what the Bible says about this issue, I refer you to a voluminous literature of empirical research which solidly backs up this idea. Instead, it is through a loving and committed relationship with God and other people that higher-order needs for love, significance, and meaning will be filled. n Bruce Wydick is a professor of economics at the University of San Francisco and the author of Games in Economic Development (Cambridge University Press., 2008).

order needs will be met. We can choose to meet them either by following the ads in our consumer culture or by following the way of Christ. Numerous and powerful messages are promoting the former: The New York Times reported recently that a market research firm has estimated that people in urban areas today view on average 5,000 advertisements a day, up from 2,000 just 30 years ago. That’s a lot of competition for the countercultural voice of the gospel, and it’s almost impossible to avoid having some commercial culture sink in. One of the best ways is to continually refill our minds, literally re-mind ourselves that our real treasure is in Christ, in family, in community, and in being his outstretched hands and feet to an aching world. As Christians we should strive to develop a simple lifestyle, purposefully restraining our material consumption.There are two approaches to this. First, we can spend less so that we have more money to give away. Second, we can work less, meaning that we will have less money to spend on consumer goods in the first place, but more time to give away. We should also develop a skeptical attitude toward materialism and use anti-materialism as a platform for witness. Nothing grabs people’s attention more than someone who is naturally content with who they are and what they have (especially in our culture). We need to deprogram ourselves away from the 5,000 ads we see every day, follow Jesus’ example, and try to travel light.

PRISM 2009