Halfway where?

It's late at night (well relatively) as I'm writing this and I'm thinking about the few precious seconds I have right now to be able to type this.

They're pretty good seconds, the last 1800 of the 26th of May 2013. It's been a pretty good day overall, filled with failed jams, moments of boredom, and plenty of laughter. Could say it's been a typical day in the life then. Well kind of.
As I sit here typing about it I'm still buzzing about how good life is. But also at the same time I'm thinking what's next? It's something I seem to do a lot. I either think about the past, or wonder about the future. I find it hard to live in the moment, to be there and not thinking about time and how it slips away so, so fast.

Right now:

• I'm sniffing my tea. Green, with mandarin and lemongrass. Mmmmm. Tea's actually so good!
• Using the dictionary function on my computer to spellcheck "mandarin". WHY IS SPELLING SO DIFFICULT?!!!
• Thinking about how long it's been since I last blogged, and also about how there's a bullet point function on blogger which I'm currently using which I'd never noticed before but is actually pretty cool. 
• Oh look I have 5 facebook notifications. Gotta love tabs. :D
• I'm listening to Ben Howard. This guy is actually my new favorite musician! There's going to be a new CD in my collection soon. Just saying. 

While all that's going on in the background, I have to say I'm still so excited about what happened today! My friend Sarah got baptised at church tonight and it was like the coolest thing ever. Not only was it awesome to see that she's come that far in her faith, it was awesome to think that they're probably throwing the biggest party in heaven, something way better than our celebrations down here. And that's pretty legit.

So while I'm stoking over that because it is such good news, I know that next weeks looming. Only a few minutes away in fact. Weekends end, and (unfortunately) people can't get baptised every day. With exams in the distance, it looks set to be another rollercoaster of a week. One where things most probably won't always go as planned. And I'll find once again that living life to the full on a Monday is a lot harder than it seems on Sunday evening. Times going by so fast, I can't believe the fact that it's nearly June and the year is almost halfway over. Despite things have changing in my life and yet not a lot of the last five months has been spent moving in any direction, despite whatever the future has for me, right now I think of my friend and her decision and realise this one thing.

"Life: it's only a moment. 
 BUT that moment can be defining."

Blessings,

Jordan

A bit of an update, and some AWESOME news!

Wow, it has been some time since I blogged last! Been crazy busy at university as all my assignments/ tests start snowballing into one rather hectic schedule. Although with the rate I procrastinate I probably could have finished them all and written 3 blog posts! But oh well, we all know that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Anyway, seeing as it's been a while since I posted, I thought I'd give you a rundown on whats been going on. I'm going to have to break this into sections haha.

Study

What is this study you speak of? Apart from the fact that I'm still not very motivated about it, I'm quite enjoying university at the moment. I seem to be doing ok too - got my first lot of results back the other day. C+, B+ and an A-. How very alphabetical.

Probably the best thing about uni this year, other than getting to watch Bollywood films in Media studies (favourite paper!) and meeting some cool new people was my last academic writing assignment. We had to pick a journal article for it to write about, which in itself isn't terribly interesting. However my article was actually awesome cos it properly introduced me to the Kinks, who are now one of my favourite bands. It really is a shame these guys never aspired to the heights of the Beatles or the Rolling Stones because if you ask me the Kinks give them a run for their money, and at times even better them! Don't believe me? Go listen to "Misfits" and then try telling me that isn't one of the most well-crafted songs you've ever heard.

Life

I've become addicted to walnuts and milo and skating. Though Not all at the same time. 

Oh and I (finally) bought a new guitar! As seen above. It is one meeeeeeean axe, plays somewhat similar to my brothers Epiphone Les Paul Special but I got it for a fraction of the price. Well, half. Either way it was a sweet deal because this is such a nice guitar. Real grunty, and roars incredibly when you shove it through some overdrive. Just needs a set of new strings and I'm set to crank the metal! (Well, try). No but seriously though, I'm so excited about this. It's the first electric I've bought in years and has SO many differences to my other guitar. Looking forward to jamming this beast out a whole lot more in the near future!

 Faith

While this one's probably the hardest to define using concrete events, it's been going well. I guess? I still feel I could be so much closer to God than I am at the moment. Still, church & life group have been a big part of my life this year and it's all such an awesome space to be in. I feel really privileged and blessed to be part of it all.
Lately I've taken to reading the word when I wake up. Which is actually so good, because I can concentrate heaps better. At night I find I get distracted real easy.... It's just a good way to start the day I find. Also I've been finding so many verses which speak volumes to me about pretty much everything, so I've been underlining those! Got plenty of "Scribbles" to chose from when I write one next.

Music

As usual, I've been spending a LOT of time jamming the new tunes. Radiohead are still high on the playlist at the moment - I'm loving all the stuff from In Rainbows! Yeah I know I'm like 6 years behind the times.... but oh well.
I've weirdly been jamming a whole lot of music which isn't really my norm - funk, hiphop, metal. It's good though.
I've been getting SUPER excited about the new The National album "Trouble Will Find Me". I got addicted to these guys sound near the end of last year, when heavy into my ambient music phase (which is probably still going haha). Their song "Fake Empire" would probably rank somewhere in my Top 10 songs ever written if I ever was to compose such a list. Anyway, the new album is sounding absolutely STUNNING from the songs I've heard of it which have been pre- released on Youtube. "I Need My Girl" and "Rylan" are such good songs both lyrically and musically, and then "Don't Swallow the Cap" (which I'm listening to right now coincidentally), while taking a few more listens is actually a gem of a song. Especially the last twenty seconds. That guitar tone/effect is absolutely incredible. Can't wait till the 20th of May when they finally release it!

On a different topic, seeing as it's music month here in little New Zealand, where the whole country finally decides to pay attention to it's wealth of talented artists (or at least the mainstream ones....), I thought I'd join in the buzz. The above album cover, while being pretty hideous artistically, is for a sweet Kiwi band called Carb On Carb who are actually very good. Don't judge the cd by it's cover! Seriously though, I had the pleasure of seeing this epic 2-piece at a gig a few weeks ago and they were one of the highlights of a night which included some crazy dancing, talking to some guy who used to drive rickshaws for a living, my flatmate's band rocking the stage, and this other band who managed to pull off a decent cover of a Band of Horses song. So for these guys to make an impression during all that was pretty impressive. I was looking up some of their tunes online and stumbled across this lovely EP of theirs which can be downloaded from http://carboncarb.bandcamp.com/. It's really good, especially the last track! If you're into melodic punk, or female-fronted rock bands that don't sound like Paramore (unfortunately all to rare in todays world), go check them out!

Personally I've been jamming music a lot lately. Found out I lived next door to a drummer the other day, and we've been having a few informal practices together which is cool cos he's pretty much at the same skill level as me. So cool just to jam random tunes again!
Also I got invited to join a band at Crossroads which is going to be playing for their youth service next week! Pretty exciting stuff, but also slightly nerve-wracking because I haven't played in a band for so long and I'm actually pretty rusty.... 

And now for the exciting news...

 

Yeah. This happened.

FINALLY, after a good year and a half of living in P-town, I joined/started a band!
Considering how long I spent on the lookout wondering about it, the whole thing happened surprisingly fast. The majority of us all met each other last year during the Ucol music course, and the two months we spent playing together was truly awesome, as we gelled so much musically as well as personally. Seeing as we were all still in Palmy, we decided it'd be a good idea to get together and jam out, and Caleb invited one of his mates to come jam some bass with us. And the rest is history (or hopefully will be!).
Seriously probably the most exciting things to happen EVER! We're all super serious about our music, and the range of styles we can play is eclectic in every sense of the word. Looking forward to the future with these guys!
Go check us out at http://www.facebook.com/PreetiAndTheGentlemen?ref=ts&fref=ts and give us a like or two! Hopefully we'll have some stuff up soon!


Well, that was probably the most exciting post I've done all year! But it's getting late and I'm mega tired after a long day of uni and playing music, so I better hit the hay.

Catch you on the flipside guys! And go give my bandpage a like - you know you want to! 

Scribbles: Blessed

So I was going to do this in chronological order, working my way from Genesis to Revelation, however on today's devotion I take a slight detour. This one's what I'm feeling called to write NOW, not for any continuation of a blog series, but just because this is to awesome not to share....

Psalm 50:10, Matthew 6:25-33 on BLESSED

I added a new scribble to my bible today. As of about three minutes ago. However this wasn't just some random Googled bible verse to throw in for the sake of it (although admittedly I had to google it just to find out where in the bible it was!). No, this verse has been on my heart for a while now:

"For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." - Psalm 50:10

Lately, every time I've started considering the problems piling up like mountains in front of me, this verse just springs into my head. I cannot for the life of me explain why, given the fact that I hadn't even underlined it till today means it can't have had that much impact the first time I read it. But in the last couple of months, these few words have given me SO much hope and peace.

See, I've had this financial problem.

Without going into details, because that will just take up to much time, I'll just say that I haven't had ANY money for the last month and a half. I've been living of my savings, scraping away at the reserves of what I'd earned on my summer job. Which doesn't sound to bad, but when you have to pay for rent, power and all the other various costs of flatting as well it means it can be really hard to get by. And while I'm good at saving, there comes a point when you can't because you simply don't have anything to save!

Every day for weeks and weeks, I would check my email to see if I had a message about my student allowance. I can't even remember the amount of times I went in to ask if it had been processed yet.
Needless to say, living off a shoestring was starting to get to me.

So I did the logical, Christian thing, and prayed about it. Obviously, because we all know it's the answer to all our problems. Just a quick "Please-and-thankyou God" sent up to heaven, and what do you know? The very next day my student allowance was approved!What do you know?

Except it didn't quite work out like that. Days would go by, weeks, and nothing would happen. Um excuse me God, what's the deal here? is all that I was thinking. What happened to "ask and ye shall receive"? To my shame, I even tried praying more "genuinely" about it, thinking maybe God would hear me if I "meant" it. Good idea, completely wrong reasons.

The fear was the worst bit. Fear that it would never come, and that I'd be flat broke, and have to resort to moving out of Palmy, taking out another loan or asking my parents for money: three things I really didn't want to do. I'll confess at times I got a little bit angry about it. Why does this have to happen to me God? And while I was wrestling with all this doubt and the burden of it all, two verses kept repeating themselves around my brain. The first was Psalm 50:10, the second is one of those passages I've held to for a long time, from Matthew 6. It's a little long, so I've only got the first and last verses highlighted in my bible.

 ^"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." - Matthew 6:25-33 

It's incredible to look back on this and see that in both these verses, I got my answer. Yet I pressed on, relentless in my stupidity. I wanted more, an answer that was consistent, relief from it all and
I wanted it NOW.

About four days ago, it all came to a head. I checked my bank account, and realized I had enough money to pay two more weeks of rent and then I was flat broke. So I called it. Fully genuinely this time, not pretending, I cried out to God for the first and the last time. I was tired of waiting, tired of asking yet not receiving, but most of all tired of not seeing God in all this. I can't remember the exact words but it was something along these lines. "Lord, I'm sick of all this. Sick of worrying about something I'm not ever going to be able to control. Maybe it's not your plan for me then, to be here right now. If not, then let this happen. Let me be flat broke, let my life go somewhere else. I don't even care anymore, I just want it to be your will, not mine." As soon as I had finished pouring my heart out, God spoke and simply reminded me that I already had been given the answer. BAM! and those two verses where in my head again. "Do not worry about your life...." , for "[I own]...the cattle on a thousand hills.". I was stunned. All this time, the still, small voice had been speaking to me while I had been waiting for a whirlwind. I went to bed that night so full of peace and content about it all, and had the best sleep since the start of it all.

Now this is the cool part: the very next day my allowance was approved.

...

Before you start getting ideas, I'll make this clear. This isn't just a nice little story about how God answers prayer (even though that is a part of it). Rather I want to use these two verses and my personal story to share what I learned from it.
Because from that night I finally realized WHY I had been waiting so long. God was using this experience to teach me a few things, and I almost missed them.

First of all, thanks to his incredible grace he didn't give me what I wanted, at least not immediately. I'm so thankful for this, because if he hadn't extended the time period it took for the allowance to come through, I would have missed so many of the things which he was trying to teach me! It just took me so long to get it! This in itself is such an important lesson. God's timing is spot-on. Sometimes things take a lot longer than expected because he knows if you get them immediately, or when YOU want them, it won't teach you anything.

Secondly the Lord really was trying to teach me something big about head and heart attitudes. As soon as I got it, I was so regretful of what my previous approaches to prayer had been. Totally selfish, hypocritical and pathetic whingings - and that's so not what prayers supposed to be! Yet so often I approach it like that, like a shopping list of things God has to give me. But it's not like this, and if I had taken the time to properly search Psalm 50 and read the whole lot, I would've got this. Because it's all about giving and getting. God doesn't need to give us anything. He doesn't need us to offer to make sacrifices of our time or money to him like bargaining chips so we get what we want. It doesn't work like that. He's more concerned about where our hearts are at, while we're still all about the giving and the getting.

Finally, I see the bigger picture, and that the last lesson God was teaching me in this time is potentially the most important. We are so, so, SO blessed! On the night when I cried out to God about MY problems, and MY concerns, as soon as I got these two verses in my head I was just overwhelmed at all the blessings I did have. Immediately I almost felt ashamed for asking for more. I live in a first world country. I have a cellphone, three guitars and a laptop. In my entire life I have never known true need. And yet I had the audacity to ask for something, knowing full well that even if it did not come I would still be provided for in some way! God blesses us in so many ways which we ungratefully just accept as "life" or "stuff" with the knowledge that we have so much more than so many. It just blows my mind to know that on top of that, he blesses us above and beyond that! My allowance got approved, and that didn't need to happen. Yet he gave it to me, because he is a good God, and he loves giving gifts to his children. BUT there's a pretty big call to all this. We're not blessed just for the sake of it, even though all we have we do not deserve. Matthew 6:33 puts it really clearly: "Your heavenly Father knows you need all these things. But seek FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Man, that is both such an incredible promise to cling to, and such a difficult challenge to live up to. Yet I believe we are called to do both. So take no thought for what you will eat, or wear, or get but rather for what you will DO.

Sunday Devotional: Scribbles Part 1

Lately I've been thinking about the Bible.


I find it pretty sad how a lot of Christians, particularly in the first world, don't take time to read it. Maybe it's because they disagree with parts of it. Or parts of it are boring. Or they just simply "don't have the time."

I can relate to all of those excuses. There was a time when I stopped reading my bible for those reasons. It was the beginning of 2012, and I thought I knew all there was to know about my faith. Or at least enough to get by. I'd read the bible my whole life, and had just completed reading it cover to cover. Admittedly it was only a chapter a day, and it did take me 2-3 years. But I figured by that achievement alone I was doing a lot better than most people.
So I stopped.

For about three or four months I didn't really read my bible that much. Yeah sure there was the occasional time I picked it up, and I'd read the scripture references at church. That was good enough wasn't it?

If by now you're expecting some massive tale of how I went off the rails, ended up in jail and then decided to pick up the Holy Book again, you're going to be a bit disappointed by the next part of the story. After those three or four average months where pretty much nothing happened, I just decided to take reading the bible again. I'm not really quite sure why. Maybe it was because I was going to a Life Group at this time and thought it was a good idea. Or something like that.

Interestingly enough, I found out really quickly that I had missed a lot. And with bible-reading I had kind of been missing the point. Previously I did it because I thought as a Christian it was something you were "supposed" to do. That it made you look super-holy or something like that. Now that I was actually reading it because I wanted to, I found I was taking it in from a completely different angle.

I began finding all these verses which related to me. Which sought out the dark corners of my heart and shed some light on them. These weren't just words on paper, they actually meant something. I began to see why the Bible was called the living word. When you read it like this, it really does come alive and speak to you.

I found after a while that I was sort of addicted. Night after night, I'd take my bible out and then have to go scrambling in the dark for a pen to underline a particular verse. I'm sure I've never scribbled in another book more than I have my bible...


About a month ago I got this strange idea.
It was to flip through my bible, find an underlined verse, and then write a blog post about it.

My first thought was "That's a great idea!". Then my second was "Hang on, that's a bit weird..."
So I left it for a bit. Got busy with uni and life. But the idea kept sticking in my brain. You should really write about that! It'd be cool! At the same time I had my doubts. Even though the subtitle for my blog is "Life. Faith. Music. Writing" I've figured out I don't actually talk about my faith all that much. What a misleading title.

I have no idea how this is going to work, or even if it'll be a regular thing. Knowing my work ethic it's highly unlikely. But I do truly think it's worth doing.

So with that in mind, I invite you to join me. Open your bible if you have one, and if you don't you should really seriously think about getting one. Or you can try out this hand website I found: https://www.bible.com/ . See, even if you don't believe in Jesus, I honestly still think there's stuff in there which relates to you wherever you are in your spiritual journey.
And you never know, you might just find salvation hidden in it's pages.

Enjoy the journey!

Devotional - Exodus 4:11-12 on Confidence.

"And the Lord said to him, Who has made man's mouth? or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing or the blind? have not I the Lord?
Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what to say."
 - Exodus 4: 11-12

This is the first verse underlined in my bible. In context it's about a man called Moses who had to undertake a super hard task. He was told to go and set an entire nation free from slavery. Sounds like Mission Impossible right? That's what Moses seemed to think and he told God so plainly. To which he got this reply.

When I read over this verse, it really speaks to me, because I feel like Moses so many times. Like nothing I say is good enough or is going to matter to anyone. Self-confidence can be hard to muster at times, especially after a bad day, or just when stuffs getting you down. Sometimes it just seems best not to say anything at all, right?

This verse gives me confidence that it doesn't always have to be like that. Who has made man's mouth? It wasn't me, so why should I feel like I have to control it, or be so afraid of speaking up? When there's something that needs to be said, it is best to just say it and trust God will give you the words. There's been so many times when this has happened to me and I'm actually almost shocked with what has came out of my mouth. Did I really just say that? I think God uses us to speak his words when we open our hearts to him, and let him teach us what to say. Exodus 4:11-12 reminds me of those times, and to not be so self-conscious about everything, but rather to put my trust in the God who created it all and knows words infinitely better than I ever will.


I guess this post is one of these times....

Top Ten Bass Riffs

While I tend to stick to six strings, treating basses as a inferior cousin to the awesomeness of electric guitars, on occasion I've been known to divulge in a little bit of "slappin' the bass" (not dropping it, I'm no Skrillex!) from time to time. Actually last year was my first time playing bass, and given that I had to play it in both a crowded bar and on the Regent Stage, I was a little bit nervous about doing so! But I found I actually really enjoyed it, even though I was playing one of the simplest bass lines out. Thanks R.E.M! I also gained a bit more appreciation for this four-stringed (or in the case of one of the guys in my music course, six stringed) instrument. So while I do make the occasional bass player joke (I'm a guitarist, I can't really help it!), I've learned that playing bass is actually cool, and a little more tricky than I had thought. It is with this in mind that I present to you the top ten baddest bass lines of all time. Or at least in my opinion....

10. "Cover Up" -  Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons wouldn't really be known as complete musical geniuses, as they tend to stick to basic 4/4 playing and major keys. However they have a tendency to write some of the most darn-catchy and original pop music out there, which helped catapult them from being underground musicians to being near-famous almost overnight. After hearing a phenomenal live version of "It's Time" on Youtube, I was hooked, and they quickly became one of my favourite bands. This song is one of their lesser-known songs, which is unfortunate because it's actually really good! After a extended intro, the song finally kicks in driven by a bass line that is so groovy it almost belies it's simplicity. Yes I've counted and I'm pretty sure it's only like three notes, but still. Sometimes the simplest things are the best! And the rest of the song has some pretty killer bass playing in too, especially that bridge. Good job Ben McKee, but for the simplicity you're at the bottom of this list...
7/10

9. "September" - Earth, Wind & Fire

Funk bass-playing is IMPRESSIVE and this song would have to be one of my favorites in the genre. While the horns, keys and vocals in "September" are impressive enough, the entire song seems to build off that sick bass line. It just grooves away beneath it all, just adding that extra funky touch which Earth, Wind & Fire need. This was one of my favorite songs to play last year, cos when we got it right it just grooved so much! Also it's written in one of the most interesting keys I've ever played in (basically filled with 7ths and 9th chords). This is one of those few songs where I would rather play bass than guitar cos it's SO MUCH cooler!
 8/10

8. "Time Is Running Out"/ "Madness" - Muse

Muse's bass player Chris Wolstenholme is pretty impressive - but then I suppose you'd have to be if you're in a band with Matt Bellamy constantly outplaying everyone with his mad guitar and vocal skills. The bass intro in "Time Is Running Out" grooves out solo before the drums and singing kicks in and really sets up the whole song. When I was learning this song a few years ago, I quickly realized I wouldn't get far if I didn't learn that bass riff. Yeah, that's right. I learnt a bassline on the guitar! Who says basses don't rock now???!!
The sole reason Madness is on this list is because that MIDI bass Wolstenholme plays on it is SO COOL. It just throbs away throughout the song, creating an almost dubstep-like effect which is strangely appealing. Go look up the music video/ live version of this song if you don't believe me!
8/10

7. "Ny Batteri" - Sigur Ros

Kings of Icelandic ambient/post rock music, Sigur Ros somehow managed to create one of the most beautiful songs ever with this track off their album Agaetis Byrjun. This song draws you right in with it's haunting vocals, mellow trumpet and some wicked guitar playing which the lead singer does with a violin bow (because picks are to mainstream). It's one of those songs which when you're listening to it you can't really do anything else but just listen because it's that epic. However while all the instrumentation in this song is impressive, it is driven by one of the most awesome ambient bass lines I've ever heard. From the moment it kicks in after a haunting trumpet introduction, you just get the maddest shivers down your spine and you know that the rest of the song is going to be the best eight minutes you've ever spent listening to music.
9/10

6. "Black Dog" - Led Zeppelin

I knew that if I don't put at least one John Paul-Jones riff on here then I'm bound to get slaughtered by a host of bloggers posting angry comments like "WHERE IS JOHN PAUL-JONES ON THIS LIST??!!!" or "Nice post bro but you forgot John Paul Jones". But in saying that, he is considered one of rocks most talented bass players for a reason. This song is chosen out of all of Zep's greatest bass lines because Mr Paul-Jones is the man responsible for writing the riff. And that riff is KILLER. It's also a little more technical than Sigur Ros, which puts it further up the list, despite the lower overall rating.
8.5/10

5. "This Is Your Life" - Switchfoot

One of Switchfoot's biggest hits, and one of the most recognizable riffs in Christian rock. Is it played on a guitar? Nope, surprisingly the memorable intro/verse riff is played on a bass which actually makes it so much cooler. When they played this one at Parachute earlier this year, Tim Foreman stood up the front and kicked the whole song off with his grooving catchy bassline. He is the man for creating something so legendary and then having the guts to play it on a bass! Without the bassline, this song would be a lot less awesome.
9/10

4. "Gangam Style" - PSY 

I get the feeling I'm going to get some hate for putting this one on the list. After the video featuring some groovy dancing went viral on the internet (1 billion views and counting is a little over the top guys) and it was thrashed to death in every single club in the country, everyone must be sick of this song by now.  But in saying that, it is actually a pretty darn good pop song. And for a pop song, it has some surprisingly tricky bass lines which set up the groove for the song and make it so darn catchy and dance-able. Whoever played bass for this track really got funky with it. Don't believe me? Check out this video of a bass cover of the mega-hit K-pop song and see if your mind doesn't get changed....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6EmxuAOD1s
9/10

3.  "Vicarious" - Tool

I flipping LOVE this song! It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to learn on guitar as all the riffs are in 5/4 or 6/8 timing and it switches all the time which makes things confusing. Even now, there's still parts which I can't quite master (the riffing at the end of the song is so fast it's practically impossible!). Yet every time we played this song last year, I was equally impressed by the bass parts as much as the guitar lines. The way the bass clashes with the guitar in the opening, playing something completely different instead of just the root notes is just pure genius. Tool's Justin Chancellor playing is on fire in this one.
9.5/10

2. "Instrumedley/ The Dance of Instruments" - Dream Theater

When you're in a band with John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy, respectively amongst the fastest and best guitarists and drummers in the world, you've got to be be a whole lot better than good. Yet somehow all the members of progressive rock band Dream Theater are so talented its mind blowing. It is one of life's most unfair moments that a band of this musical pedigree is a lot less famous than pop stars who are SO musically inferior such as Lady Gaga or Bieber. The bass player for Dream Theater, John Myung, has been rated the greatest bass player of all time by Music Radar, which is no mean feat itself. This song shows how far Dream Theater's musical complexity goes, constantly switching between time signatures and different feels. And it has some killer, killer bass playing in where Myung pretty much puts every other bass player to shame. It's pretty long, like most Dream Theater songs, but definitely worth a listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM0Y1Ajqq7g
10/10

1. "My Generation" - The Who

Not going to lie, it feels a little bit strange featuring the work of a blues-based rock band from the British Invasion after the musical complexities of Tool and Dream Theater. But I knew from the start of the list that this was going to be my number 1. John Entwistle is considered to be one of the world's greatest bass players, and he showed this in his stellar work with The Who as well as his solo music. He was a pioneer of several influential bass techniques such as a unique fingering technique he called the "typewriter" approach to playing bass, and was voted "Bass Player of the Millenium" in guitar magazine. Still, this song tops the list on the strength of its pounding bass lines, and the sheer fact that it features an incredible bass solo. In the sixties, a bass solo??!!! Beat that, bass players.
10/10

Got a song you think should be on this list? Did I miss out one of the bass playing greats? Do you think you can play bass better than some of the people on this list? Or do you agree with me 100%? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Stone Cold Sober

This song was inspired by The Kinks, The National, The Smiths, and the following verses:

"For how will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
- Mark 8:36-37

"For they that sleep sleep in the night, and they that are drunk are drunken in the night.
 But let us, who are of the day, be sober."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8

STONE COLD SOBER

My hands are stained with ink
From all the words I've written down for her
To hear, it isn't fair
The world don't care for men like me

I took my pen and the poison
Walked the streets of her strange town
To realize it's the same, just rearranged
The world is changing
But not for men like me

I never believed in love or luck
I guess that's why the hinges come unstuck

It's like I'm drunk while she's stone cold sober
She sees the world for what it is and I'm just seeing posters

My spirits don't lift as much as the bottle in my hands
I understand it makes the plans for men like me

I took my sadness to the bar, not her.
To find the whiskey tastes like escape,
The colors fade
The world's not waiting for men like me

It's like I'm drunk while she's stone cold sober
She sees the world for what it is and I'm just seeing posters
I've been left behind more times than I could care
I don't hold anything dear

Let's bring back rock and roll
I'll drink to that, though it won't make it so
Music, girls and alcohol won't make me whole
Can't save my soul

It's like I'm drunk while she's stone cold sober
She sees the world for what it is and I'm just seeing posters
I've been left behind more times than I could care
I don't hold anything dear but you

(c) copyright Jordan Gowan/ The Falling Movement Music 2013

To Long, My Dear Friends....

Man it's been AGES since I've blogged!

I guess it's been to long, as I've had all these pretty cool ideas for posts floating up in the interesting space of my brain. Which is dumb since I've been really, really busy lately. And for once that's not to much of an overstatement: I had 3 assignments due last week and a last-minute scramble to finish an online test yesterday which resulted in ANOTHER late night for me (though to be honest that was mostly from all the pranking being done in the flat haha). Oh how I've missed the joys of university.

So that kind of explains the reason why I've been absent from here in the last few weeks. Why there hasn't been anything circulating on your favourite blog (or what will hopefully soon become your favourite blog!).

Shameless self-promotion over, there's actually a few things going on here which I have in the making which are really cool! I'm getting pretty excited about the fact that it's almost the holidays cause it means I'll FINALLY have some extra time to write up some of this stuff. There's a couple of sweet articles-in-the-making I'm planning on music, a running series I'm planning on faith, a few interesting commentaries, and hopefully I'll even get round to posting some more music on my Youtube account.

So yeah this is basically a real quick post in my half hour of freedom to say that I'm still alive and kicking, and to hang around because there's going to be some sweet writing on here anytime soon!

Catch you on the flipside,

Jordan

Working Man

Originally the title of a rather annoying song by Newworldson (who happen to have one of the most annoying band names out), the title has been redeemed and superbly so by Imagine Dragons. This would have to be one of my favorite songs out at the moment! This band is just too darn good!

My life was pretty much complete when I discovered that to my surprise Imagine Dragons had released a lot more songs on their extended editions of Night Visions than the standard 11-track album I had. Even though for an 11-track the percentage of awesome music on there is incredibly high! So it was to Youtube for me where I spent the next hour and a half in complete contentment. Then I remembered I had 3 assignments to write and that brought me down to earth pretty quick.

So far this weekend has involved me working pretty much to the death on these three stupid essays. Well maybe not that hard. Actually more like not hard enough. But the amount of effort I've gone into reading up, thinking and worrying about them has been almost equal or probably more so than the amount of actual writing I've done. So all up I feel like I've invested a lot of time into them.

And not going to lie, it's been wearing me down.

It's not that I can't write, it's just that at the moment I lack the motivation to. Every step I take I keep asking myself the same old question. Why am I doing this again?! Do I really want another three years of study? Do I even want to be a journalist? Heck I'm not even sure if I'll get a job out of this!

I guess the best thing to do in times like this is what I've always done: Keep at it. Just try your best and rely on your determination to see you through. Which I am capable in every single way of doing. It's just that it's getting me down. All this self-doubt, this uncertainty. This constant worry that was not what I expected of this year. That maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Yet everything's worked out for me to be here.
And I can't help but think that this is where I'm meant to be.
I'm just not sure what for, that's all.

This is my heart, it's on the line.

Qualified!

It's official now!

I actually have a Certificate qualification to my name, proof of my completed studies in music.

This is a good day....

Not going to lie, I'm pretty stoked with my achievement. Even though it was only a year, it was a year filled with blood, sweat and tears. Nights where I'd lock myself in my room, and practice and practice my chops. Day after day where I'd cart my not-so-light guitar down the road for the twenty-odd minutes it took to walk to UCOL. Hours spent trawling Youtube and the internet, listening to music that I'd never heard before and googling random facts about bands.

That was the year where I discovered the heaviness of As I Lay Dying, Animals As Leaders and Depths. Where I listened to reggae for the first time and found magic hidden in the simplistic chords and chilled-out beats of The Black Seeds and Bob Marley. The year where my ears, and my fingers finally adjusted to blues and the incredible solos of greats such as BB King, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn. More importantly, it was when I discovered the power and depth to ambient indie music such as Sigur Ros, Bon Iver and (to some extent) Radiohead - all 3 of which would go on to becoming some of my favorite bands.

All of these in their own ways went to helping me really develop in songwriting in huge steps and bounds. From the backwards structure of my rock & roll riff we based our 50's style "Take My Baby Home" to the bluesy twang of a slide which I utilized for my "slow solo" in "Lonely Baby Blues".  Then there was the backbeat strum and entire bridge section I added to our punk rock kiwi original "Running To The Sun" (probably one of my favourite songs to write/play EVER), as well as the little instrumental flourishes I added to give depth and texture to "The Hospital" and "Nothing Stays The Same". Finally there was two of my proudest moments with "We Are Still One" and "Prodigal". Despite never having written (or played for that matter!) reggae or country I somehow managed to write full songs in both genres which actually played off pretty well. In terms of music and songwriting, it was a year well spent.

But perhaps almost equally in terms with musical achievement was the fact that it was one of the best years of my life. I was hanging out with a bunch of super cool people, doing what I loved best (playing music, duh!) and just generally having a good time! It really was awesome in hindsight being surrounded by people who were equally as passionate about music as me - we all got on really well (most of the time) and had quite a few laughs along the way. I made a couple of really, really good friends from my time there, and it was super awesome to catch up & graduate with a few of them today.

In a weird kind of way, I guess I slightly miss it. Playing music every second or third week was actually AWESOME! Not only did I get more comfortable with playing & performing, found out I could branch out a bit more (first year playing anything other than a guitar!), and made a lot of musical friends/contacts but I realised something really important. That this is what I loved doing more than anything in the world. And that no matter the circumstances, it is really important to follow your dreams and do what you love - not what you're good at, not what others tell you to do, not what seems the safest option. No - DO what you LOVE! Even if it's something as obscure and hard to succeed in as music! JUST DO IT! You'll find it drives you in a way that few other things can.

And I think one of the saddest things in the world is when people never get to do this. Some people never get the opportunity - and that's heartbreaking enough. Yet even worse is when you have the chance, but never take it. Or by the time you decide to it's almost too late and you're left wishing you'd gone for it years ago.

So on the eve of my graduation, I offer you this advice. I'm no world-weary musician - in many ways, I still feel like I'm beginning. I don't know it all, but I've been a few places and seen a few things, so don't completely disregard what I say just cos of my upbringing, beliefs, age or writing. This is legit good advice which I believe if applied can change your life in ways you won't believe.

Quite simply put, it falls into that cliched statement: Follow your dreams. Even if they're big. Even if people laugh at you for having them. Even if secretly you think you suck. I've been there, I've felt all these things. But screw what people tell you. If you have a dream, it's worth chasing, it's worth fighting for. And don't ever forget it!!





One (now qualified!) musician, out.

Jords

Names

Rachel.
John.
Hannah.
Matt.
Beka.
Jesus.
Stephen.
Sarah.
Clive.
David.
Bono.

Eleven names. Eleven people. Eleven different viewpoints on life. Some of them I have met. Some of them I know intimately. Others not so well. Some have sadly left this earth. Others are just beginning their journey. Yet this list of people - my friends, my influences, my inspirations, and right there in the middle, my all - could very well mean absolutely nothing to you.

Chances are you're reading this after you just clicked a link which lead you to this page. The first thing you saw (after the rather large title & photograph) was a picture of a signature and then a list of names. All of which (saving the all-important middle one and the well-known end one) you probably didn't recognize. They were just names.
Just names.

But...

To me, these names have faces. They have writings, songs, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, ideals and dreams much more than any odd combination of letters would have. A name is something we give or we receive. And like it or not, it marks us for life. It defines us in a sense, so that people can say our name and then list our achievements. Or possibly our shortcomings. It is the sole title given to any work that we alone produce. We own that. And our name owns us.
So then a name is a lot more than just "a name".

I've been thinking about names a lot lately. Mostly because I'm terrible with them. Yeah sure, I can spout off a list of them like the above one as quick as a wink (although I did have to Google CS Lewis' first name). But those are people I know: either who's writings and work I've followed or someone who I've held a decent conversation with. Or in the case of Jesus far more than all that. But when it comes to remembering names of people I don't routinely talk to or read of, I'm pretty hopeless. In a tutorial I had at Massey in the last week we had to introduce ourselves to the rest of our classmates, however I found that within the space of about five minutes I'd forgotten everyone's name. Then there was the even more embarrassing situation when I was talking to a girl from Lifegroup at church and had to refer to as "this girl" because her name had completely slipped my mind. I don't know what it was, but for some reason names seemed to stick in my memory a lot less than faces and situations.


This week I have been challenged to take people a lot more seriously than I do.
A lot of the time for me it's just small talk and recognition and then I consider I "know" a person. And yet sometimes I can't even remember a simple thing such as their name! Have things really got that bad that I consider a friend to be just someone I know, when really it ought to be far more than just that?

Thanks to various people speaking into my life in different ways I realize that if I ever want to be fully real with people and with myself, I need to be intentional about things. I need to be intentional about my writings, my music, my everyday conversations. Sometimes we just say things for the sake of saying things. I've experienced enough of that lifestyle to know that in the end it is about as meaningless and empty as your going to get.

In a world full of different people with different stories, different hopes, dreams and fears there is so much that could be said. And it seems like such a awful waste to have all this time on the planet, all these words at our disposal and to not be doing anything with them! You never know what a person is going through and what something you might say could mean to them. Words are a lot more powerful than we give them credit, and music is almost more so (kind of what I was hinting at when I wrote the line "Why can't the songs tell our stories...?"). So what are we doing with them?

I know what I want to be doing.
Letting people know that they mean much more to me than I sometimes let on. Whether that's in a blog list, or in some other way I want to take time to say thanks.
Then I want to do make an effort to be intentional about things. About my relationships with people and with God. It's not going to be the easiest thing to do - there are going to be times when I slip up and find myself back in the uncaring stage. But I mean this when I say I firmly believe it is something worth doing.
To start conversations which go a lot further than small talk. To really pray from my heart rather than just my head. Maybe tell friends things I haven't before. Maybe open up a bit and leave space for people to do the same. To start stepping up to the mark in life and in faith instead of letting myself slip behind.

Or even to just remember a name...

Sincerely (for once),

Jordan Andrew Gowan.
Jaguar Falls.
Jord, Jaws, J-dog.

And in everything, Christ's.