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If there's a song greater than the Dandy Warhols' Not If You Were the Last Junkie On Earth, I've yet to hear it.
(On a related note, I've heard that if that music video and Requiem for a Dream are played at the same time, they will annihilate each other and trigger the Apocalypse. Don't do it.)
We're off to Ohio to visit some relatives over the weekend. Y'all have a great holiday!
Christianity Today has an excellent analysis of media coverage of the Bush commencement and accompanying protests at Calvin, my alma mater. Although I've followed this whole chain of events closely, I wanted to wait until the commencement had come and gone before commenting on it. Now that it's over, I have two observations.
First, while I disagreed with their views, I was deeply impressed by the attitude of the protesters as evidenced by the much-publicized ad they took out in the local paper:
We, the undersigned, respect your office, and we join the college in welcoming you to our campus. Like you, we recognize the importance of religious commitment in American political life. We seek open and honest dialogue about the Christian faith and how it is best expressed in the political sphere. While recognizing God as sovereign over individuals and institutions alike, we understand that no single political position should be identified with God's will, and we are conscious that this applies to our own views as well as those of others. At the same time we see conflicts between our understanding of what Christians are called to do and many of the policies of your administration.
This is, in my opinion, a rare thing of beauty in our world of nasty politics: an expression of both genuine respect and serious disagreement. I almost want to print out this historic document and frame it as a model for reasoned political discourse. To the crafters of this ad: I salute you, and am glad you're a part of the Calvin community.
My second observation is a bit harsher: at least one Calvin professor's public statements during this event were rude and inappropriate. This is Ken Pomykala, chair of Calvin's Department of Religion, quoted in the Washington Post:
Calvin is confessionally Reformed/Presbyterian (in other words, Calvinistic -- no surprise there, I guess), with a much more positive view of the intellect and participation in the broader culture than is characteristic of American evangelicalism, much of which is anti-intellectual (e.g. 'creation science') and escapist (e.g. the Left Behind series), not to mention morally barbaric (e.g. opposition to stem cell research; anti-gay).... As a faculty member, I'm required to attend commencement, but I plan on reading a book during the president's speech -- probably
My Pet Goat.
This is the most vicious, elitist, and insulting partisan comment to emerge from the entire affair. (While you're at it, read Bush's commencement address and then re-read Pomykala's comments above, and ask yourself: who is really guilty of using the commencement event as a platform for making partisan political statements?)
I have several extremely serious questions in the wake of Pomykala's statements. First, why is the chair of Calvin's religion department publically voicing such open disdain for a large swath of his brothers and sisters in Christ? Wouldn't the position of Religion department chair place upon its holder an extra responsibility to be tactful, discerning, and respectful of other beliefs, especially other Christian beliefs? Are conservative-leaning students in Mr. Pomykala's classes taught that it is "morally barbaric" to disagree with his views on ethically difficult issues like stem cell research?
Calvin is an amazing Christian institution of learning precisely because of its strong roots in and support from the evangelical community, conservative and liberal and everything in between. It is not an excellent institution because its "enlightened" views on political and theological issues have somehow elevated it above the huddled masses of evangelical Christendom.
It is true that politics brings out the worst in people. I'm glad that those disagreeing with Bush's presence at the commencement did so honorably and in a Christian manner. I am sorry that Calvin's religion department is chaired by somebody who holds me and millions of other evangelicals in contempt.
It's a good thing nothing important is going on in the world today:
May the gods have mercy on anyone who clicked on that headline. Gaze too long into the abyss...
Episode III rocks.
More later.
Episode III is almost here. I'm excited.
After the two prequels (I loved them, I hated them), I have managed to dispel my illusions about Lucas' storytelling abilities; with my somewhat lowered expectations, I'm hopeful that Episode III will be at least a mildly pleasant surprise. At worst, it'll be like the previous two, which I managed to love despite their many failings. At best, it'll actually be really good.
Of course, George Lucas seems to be almost frantically attempting to deflate my enthusiasm for this movie. The latest such effort is his Cannes revelation, in which we learn that the Star Wars prequels are actually ham-fisted critiques of the war in Iraq. You know what the Star Wars movies really needed, George? A clunky real-life political agenda!
Knowing Lucas' skill at writing sublimely nuanced dialogue, I can only imagine the subtlety with which these political sentiments will be expressed.
But you know what? If I can overlook midichlorians, "Greedo shoots first," Ewoks, the dance scene in Jabba's palace, the Picnic Scene, Gungans, poop jokes, midichlorians, and did I mention midichlorians, I think I can find it within me to overlook a bit of clumsily earnest politicking.
So I'm going to just ignore it. Lucas can try to provoke this Star Wars fan all he wants, but I won't give in to hate.
'Cause you know what else? I can't wait to see this movie.
I gingerly dropped the CD into the tray, put on my headphones, and pressed Play. This was a new album from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, which meant that I had absolutely no idea what was about to happen.
My first encounter with Nick Cave's music took place several years ago and is an experience I remember well. The song was "The Mercy Seat," and by the time it drew to a close--in a cacophany of strings, distortion, and tortured vocals--I felt emotionally exhausted. The song opens (as instruments are messily tuned and warmed up in the background) with a defiant declaration:
They came and took me from my room
And put me in Dead Row
(of which I am nearly wholly innocent).
And I say it again: I am not afraid to die.
I was instantly hooked. The song continued, building slowly in intensity, telling the story of a death-row inmate's scared but defiant mental journey to the electric chair. He insists he's innocent, but he knows he's lying to himself. He looks to the cross of Christ for mercy, but knows he cannot escape the all-seeing, judging eye of God. He yearns for the release of death, but is terrified at the prospect of dying. You, the listener, feel the terror and panic and relief of the long walk towards the Chair, the Mercy Seat.
It's an amazing, disturbing, glorious song.
Like I said, you never know what you're going to get with Nick Cave. Musically, he's what you'd get if you mixed rock, blues, and folk together and stirred in a healthy dose of Nine Inch Nails. He's an agnostic fire-and-brimstone preacher, he's a honey-tongued crooner, he's a murderous prophet of doom. He can pull off a love song that opens with this line:
I don't believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do.
...and somehow not sound completely ridiculous. (Actually, Nick Cave can be a bit ridiculous.)
So I wasn't sure what was going to come out of the headphone speakers. A ballad about murder? A tender love song? A tired and angry tirade about a broken world? What I actually got managed to catch me completely off guard: Cave as an electrifyingly earnest street preacher, his booming baritone shouting out an actual sermon, backed by cranked-up-to-11 guitar riffs and an honest-to-God gospel choir:
Get ready for love! Praise Him!
Get ready for love! Praise Him!Well, most of all nothing much ever really happens
And God rides high up in the ordinary sky
Until we find ourselves at our most distracted,
And the miracle that was promised creeps quietly by.Calling every boy and girl
Calling all around the world
Get ready for love! Praise Him!The mighty wave their hankies from their high-windowed palace
Sending grief and joy down in supportable doses
And we search high and low without mercy or malice
While the gate to the Kingdom swings shut and closes.Praise Him til you've forgotten what you're praising Him for;
Praise Him a little bit more.
Praise Him til you've forgotten what you're praising Him for;
Then praise Him a little bit more...Get ready for love! Praise Him!
I searched the seven seas and looked under the carpet
And browsed through the brochures that govern the skies
And I was just hanging around, doing nothing
And looked up to see His face burned in the retina of your eyes.
This is weird and wonderful and ludicrously catchy. I have no idea how serious Cave is being, or how many layers of irony I need to dig through before coming to the meaning and intent behind this tune. So I think I'll just turn up the volume, lean back, and enjoy it.
Preach it, brother Cave!
