Well here is the official video for The Hold Steady's "Stay Positive". This is the title track off their latest release. Interestingly the song references the opening tracks on two other cds. After multiple listens the song seems to be about the band's response to success as musicians and their thanks to their fans. On their first release "Almost Killed Me" the first song was titled "Positive Jam" and so they sing on "Stay Positive".
'Cause it’s one thing to start it with a positive jam, and it’s another thing to see it on through. And we couldn’t’ve even done this, if it wasn’t for you."
Then on the "Separation Sunday" release, Craig Finn starts off by mumbling on "Hornets, Hornets"...
"She said always remember Never to trust me She said that the first night she met me She said there's gonna be a time When I'm gonna have to go With whover's gonna get me the highest."
"Stay Positive" echos these lines:
"There’s gonna come a time when she’s gonna have to go with whoever’s gonna get her the highest."
I have been wondering about these lyrics and the themes in "Separation Sunday". Holly the character who wants to go with whoever will get her the highest, ends up in church. It is there that she finally seems to get the highest as ...
"She climbed the cross and found she liked the view. Sat reflecting on the resurrection."
And therein lies the struggle throughout The Hold Steady's songs. There is a tension between the shady world the characters inhabit and a faith that just might take them higher.
Stay Positive
"I got a lot of old friends that are getting back in touch It’s a pretty good feeling. Yeah it feels pretty good. I get a lot of double takes when I’m coming around the corners. It’s mostly pretty nice. Yeah it’s mostly pretty alright. Because most kids give me credit for being down with it. When it was back in the day. Back when things were way different. When the Youth of Today and the early 7 Seconds. Taught me some of life’s most valuable lessons. There’s gonna come a time when the scene will seem less sunny. It will probably get druggy and the kids will seem too skinny. There’s gonna come a time when she’s gonna have to go with whoever’s gonna get her the highest. There’s gonna come a time when the true scene leaders will forget where they differ and get big picture. Because the kids at the shows they’ll have kids of their own and the sing along songs will be our scriptures. We gotta stay positive!
When the chaperone crowned us the king and the queen, I knew that we’d arrived at a unified scene. And all those little lambs from my dreams, well, they were there, too. 'Cause it’s one thing to start it with a positive jam, and it’s another thing to see it on through. And we couldn’t’ve even done this, if it wasn’t for you. We gotta stay positive. We gotta stay positive. We gotta stay positive. We gotta stay positive."
Rolling Stone magazine recently listed their version of the top 100 singers of all time. Bob Dylan was voted number 7. Bono wrote an interesting piece about Dylan. He writes,
"Bob Dylan did what very, very few singers ever do. He changed popular singing. And we have been living in a world shaped by Dylan's singing ever since. Almost no one sings like Elvis Presley anymore. Hundreds try to sing like Dylan. When Sam Cooke played Dylan for the young Bobby Womack, Womack said he didn't understand it. Cooke explained that from now on, it's not going to be about how pretty the voice is. It's going to be about believing that the voice is telling the truth." ...
"Here are some of the adjectives I have found myself using to describe that voice: howling, seducing, raging, indignant, jeering, imploring, begging, hectoring, confessing, keening, wailing, soothing, conversational, crooning. It is a voice like smoke, from cigar to incense, where it's full of wonder and worship. There is a voice for every Dylan you can meet, and the reason I'm never bored of Bob Dylan is because there are so many of them, all centered on the idea of pilgrimage. People forget that Bob Dylan had to warm up for Dr. King before he made his great "I have a dream" speech — the preacher preceded by the pilgrim." ...
"Dylan did with singing what Brando did with acting. He busted through the artifice to get to the art. Both of them tore down the prissy rules laid down by the schoolmarms of their craft, broke through the fourth wall, got in the audience's face and said, "I dare you to think I'm kidding."
Here is Bob Dylan singing the truth in, "What can I do for you?" at a concert in the 1980's from the album "Saved".
Here are some comments from Youtube about this performance.
snookums520 wrote, "I am completely against religion, but as a huge Dylan fan I watched this clip. I gotta say, it's one of his best performances. I sat, eyes glued to the screen, he had such conviction and truth in his lyrics at this point and although I overlooked his religious albums, I think a lot of the songs in there have some of his best lyrics!"
Zurishaddai8 Wrote, "... I would find it very hard to believe this was merely a performance rather than an expression of Bob Dylan's heart. If you watch the video carefully it looks to me like tears and sweat on his face. "What Can I Do For You" is a beautiful song and expresses a heart of deepest gratitude for Christ and salvation."
betsareoff wrote, "Beautiful. The audience isn't even there. It's just Bob and Jesus. It's all bare bones and raw gratitude. Amazing to see."
Psedad wrote, "Awesome--Listen to the transcendence in his performance and ask yourself " of what --comes such soul". Truly not of earthly experience or melancholy but rather by the hand of which is --God."
What can I do for you?
You have given everything to me What can I do for you ? You have given me eyes to see
What can I do for You ?
Pulled me out of a bondage and You made me renewed inside Filled up a hunger that had always been denied Opened up a door no man can shut and You opened it up so wide And You've chosen me to be among the few What can I do for You ?
You have laid down Your life for me What can I do for You ? You have explained every mystery What can I do for You ?
Soon a man is born, you know the sparks begin to fly He gets wise in his own eyes and he's made to believe a lie Who could deliver him from the death he's bound to die ? Well, You've done it all and there's no more anyone can pretend to do What can I do for You ?
You have given all there is to give What can I give for You ? You have given me life to live How can I live for You ?
I know all about poison, I know all about fiery darts I don't care how rough the road is, show me where it starts Whatever pleases You, tell it to my heart Well, I don't deserve it but I sure did make it through What can I do for You ?"
I was visiting the "A Purple State of Mind" website to find information about this film about two ex-college roommates reuniting 25 years later to discuss issues and friendship. While in college one was entering into a life of faith and one was just leaving it behind. Craig Detweiler is now a filmmaker and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and John Marks is now a journalist, author and former 60 Minutes producer. The film and friendship sounds interesting and although I haven't seen the movie, I would like to view it.
In John's blog I came across an interview he had with Steven King. I am not a Steven King fan but I did read "The Stand" and this interview "Steven King's God Trip" sounded interesting. So I read the article and listened to the audio interview. Now it has been over 20 years since I have read the book, but I remember bits of its apocalyptic nature with the plague and also the elements of faith. Here is a snippet of the interview between John Marks and Steven King:
In the introduction to the expanded edition of "The Stand," you also called the novel a work of "dark Christianity." What did you mean by that?
I was raised Christian, and I was raised to believe in the idea of the Antichrist. My wife said that -- she was raised a Catholic -- the attitude of the Catholic Church is, give them to me when they're young, and they'll be mine forever. It isn't really true. A lot of us grow up and we grow out of the literal interpretation that we get when we're children, but we bear the scars all our life. Whether they're scars of beauty or scars of ugliness, it's pretty much in the eye of the beholder. I'm interested in the concepts. I'm particularly interested in the idea that in the New Testament, you're suggesting a moral code that's actually enlightened. Basically what Christ preached: get along with your neighbor and give everything away and follow me. So we're talking pretty much about communism or socialism, all the things that the good Christian Republicans in the House of Representatives today are railing about in light of this bailout bill. Of course, Christ never preached give away everything to Wall Street, so they might have a point.
I was able to use all those things in "The Stand." It's an effort to say, let's give God his due here. Too often, in novels that are speculative, God is a kind of kryptonite, and that's about all that it is, and it goes back to Dracula, where someone dumps a crucifix in Count Dracula's face, and he pulls away and runs back into his house. That's not religion. That's some kind of juju, like a talisman. I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to explore what that means to be able to rise above adversity by faith, because it's something most of us do every day. We may not call it Christianity. I wanted to do that. I wanted it to be a God trip.
It has been many years since I read The Stand and I don't believe I will take the time to read it again. I first read the book because I enjoyed the Welsh group "The Alarm". One of the first songs I had heard of theirs was called "The Stand". I liked it and the lyrics intrigued me. When I found they were based on Steven King's book I had to read it. Here is the old video of Mike Peters and The Alarm singing The Stand.
The Stand
Oh I have been out searching with the black book in my hand And I've looked between the lines that lie on the pages that I tread I met the walking dude,religious, in his worn down cowboy boots He walked liked no man on earth I swear he had no name (had no name) I swear he had no name
Come on down & meet your maker Come on down & make the stand Come on down, come on down, Come on down & make the stand.
As I crawled beneath the searchlights Looking through the floorboards of this life I met Doctor Strangelove's cousin He bore the marks of time "Hey! Trashcan where you going boy Your eyes are feet apart Is that the end you're carrying Shall I play the funeral march" (play the march) "Play the funeral march"
Come on down & meet your maker Come on down & make the stand Come on down, come on down, Come on down & we'll make the stand.
Come on down & meet your maker Come on down & make the stand Come on down, come on down, Come on down, we'll make the stand.
When I looked out the window On the hardship that had struck I saw the seven phials open The plague claimed man and son Four men at a grave in silence With hats bowed down in grace A simple wooden cross, It had no epitaph engraved (it had no) It had no epitaph engraved.
Come on down & meet your maker Come on down & make the stand Come on down, come on down, Come on and make the stand
Come on down & meet your maker Come on down & make the stand Come on down, come on down, Come on down, & we'll make the stand.
I always thought that the chorus would make a cool alter call for Billy Graham.
On this CD The Hold Steady chronicles the lives of some very messy people: Hallelujah (named Holly), Charlemagne, and Gideon (who all show up on other Hold Steady albums). To me these downtrodden characters are modern day prodigal sons and daughters. They are looking for a good life in all the wrong places. Their salvation is hard to come by if they can even find salvation at all. They look for it in drugs, sex, and in their rock-n-roll parties. They dabble in religion but it seems a toss up as to if they really believe or if it really matters to them. The broken characters lead depressing lives seeking after something that they can't seem to find. Holly is the main character here. She seems to have left behind her Catholic upbringing and hangs out with these unsavory characters doing some unsavory things. Holly's journey then is the focus on this album. Craig Finn doesn't condemn his characters for the lives they choose, neither does he offer easy or even full solutions. He just takes you along for the ride and offers an unflinching view of some pretty destructive living.
By the last two songs on the album, something interesting happens. In "Crucifixion Cruise" Holly ends up back in a church.
"Hallelujah came to in a confession booth. Infested with infections. Smiling on an abscessed tooth. Running hard on residue. Crashing through the vestibule. The crucifixion cruise. She climbed the cross and found she liked the view. Sat reflecting on the resurrection. Talking loud over lousy connections. She put her mouth around a difficult question. She said, Lord what do you recommend? To a real sweet girl who's made some not sweet friends. Lord what would you prescribe? To a real soft girl who's having real hard times."
Is this the prodigal daughter finally arriving home? The last song "How A Resurrection Really Feels" start off with:
"Her parents named her Hallelujah, the kids all called her Holly. If she scared you then she's sorry. She's been stranded at these parties. These parties they start lovely but they get druggy and they get ugly and they get bloody. The priest just kinda laughed. The deacon caught a draft. She crashed into the Easter mass with her hair done up in broken glass. She was limping left on broken heels. When she said, father can I tell your congregation
how a resurrection really feels?"
and ends with,
"Hallelujah was a hoodrat. And now you finally know that. She's been disappeared for years. Today she finally came back.
Walk on back. Walk on back. She said don't turn me on again. I'd probably just go and get myself all gone again. Holly was a sexy mess. She looked strung out but experienced. So we all got kind of curious."
Here is a video that has both songs on it. The video however is part of an interpretation of the album by a group of teenagers.
Holly's return to her church reminds me of what The Prodigal Son would have looked like when he returned to his father in the parable Jesus told. Somehow I think of these characters in The Hold Steady songs as modern day versions of the people who inhabit the Bible: sinners in need of redemption. And the Bible is full of them! And so is our world.
It makes me think of the Bruce Cockburn Christmas song, "Cry Of A Tiny Babe".
"...There are others who know about this miracle birth The humblest of people catch a glimpse of their worth For it isn't to the palace that the Christ child comes But to shepherds and street people, hookers and bums And the message is clear if you've got [you have] ears to hear That forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear It's a Christmas gift [that] you don't have to buy There's a future shining in a baby's eyes
Like a stone on the surface of a still river Driving the ripples on forever Redemption rips through the surface of time In the cry of a tiny babe. "
Now I don't believe that Craig Finn has in any way joined forces with the likes of Billy Graham proclaiming, "You must be born again!" Nor do I gather that he embraces a redemptive relationship with God himself. However, I do feel that he looks at religion in all its goodness and badness and throws it out there because it must be something tugging at him deep down in his soul so much that he just can't just leave it alone.
As I have said before this is not Christian rock (and that is a good thing!). But I don't think it is worth averting our eyes and ears away from the music of The Hold Steady when we can listen to these songs and realize that these are the people the Christ Child entered into the world to redeem. Somehow, I think that Jesus would be spending more of His time with these types of characters, if He walked the earth today, rather than sitting through church services, Bible studies, and Pot-Luck dinners. Finally I believe that these are the people that Christ Himself climbed onto the cross for and when they join Him there, man, can they "appreciate the view". So I would guess that these are characters under construction and who knows where they will end up, but The Hold Steady at least makes us take a look at people as they really can appear in all of their gritty messiness. And if this is a modern day version of the prodigal son then the only thing missing is the Father waiting with open arms for the son's (or daughter's) return.
Now here is a DVD I would enjoy seeing. It is called, "Inside Bob Dylan's Jesus Years: Busy Being Born...Again". It is a new release that looks at Bob Dylan going through another transformation. This time one that shocked his fans. Dylan became a born-again Christian. He released three fantastic albums during this period: "Slow Train Coming", "Saved", and "Shot of Love". I have only read about the reaction that his fans had at the time and I would like to see and understand a bit more of the background to this period in Dylan's life.
Here is the trailer for the movie.
These albums are what sparked my interest in Bob Dylan.
Here is a concert video of Dylan singing "In the Garden". Tom Petty is in the band.
Here is "In the Garden" as on "Saved". Why don't churches play this at Easter time? "Saved" is my favorite Dylan album and I am the rare person that appreciates it above all his other great albums. The lyrics just remind my of church, but in the good way. They seem to come at you directly. There is nothing wishy-washy here. And I love the backgound singers.
"In The Garden
When they came for Him in the garden, did they know? When they came for Him in the garden, did they know? Did they know He was the Son of God, did they know that He was Lord? Did they hear when He told Peter, "Peter, put up your sword"? When they came for Him in the garden, did they know? When they came for Him in the garden, did they know?
When He spoke to them in the city, did they hear? When He spoke to them in the city, did they hear? Nicodemus came at night so he wouldn't be seen by men Saying, "Master, tell me why a man must be born again." When He spoke to them in the city, did they hear? When He spoke to them in the city, did they hear?
When He healed the blind and crippled, did they see? When He healed the blind and crippled, did they see? When He said, "Pick up your bed and walk, why must you criticize? Same thing My Father do, I can do likewise." When He healed the blind and crippled, did they see? When He healed the blind and crippled, did they see?
Did they speak out against Him, did they dare? Did they speak out against Him, did they dare? The multitude wanted to make Him king, put a crown upon His head Why did He slip away to a quiet place instead? Did they speak out against Him, did they dare? Did they speak out against Him, did they dare?
When He rose from the dead, did they believe? When He rose from the dead, did they believe? He said, "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth." Did they know right then and there what that power was worth? When He rose from the dead, did they believe? When He rose from the dead, did they believe?
When He rose from the dead, did they believe? When He rose from the dead, did they believe? He said, "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth." Did they know right then and there what that power was worth? When He rose from the dead, did they believe? When He rose from the dead, did they believe?"
Lots has been written on Bob Dylan. I am no expert, but at least you now know what you can get me Christmas.
One of the most surprising cds that I have enjoyed this year has been Sam Phillip's "Don't Do Anything". I have haphazardly followed Sam's career from when she was CCM artist Leslie Phillips over 20 years ago. She walked away from the CCM scene when she met and married T-Bone Burnett. She changed her name to Sam after releasing her farewell to CCM with 1987's "The Turning". Sam has a direct honesty with her songs and my impression is that she left the CCM business behind due the the dishonest nature of the business.
She released a few great albums with T-Bone Burnett's production and a few that I barely listened to. Her music is not really my style of music but I enjoy the "art" of her efforts and kept waiting for her to hit it big. That never really happened unless you count her stint as a mute German terrorist in the "Die Hard With a Vengeance" movie.
A few years ago T-Bone Burnett broke off his marriage to Sam Phillips and doing so to a wife with a knife-wielding terrorist past might lead one to expect something a bit different than what you find on "Don't Do Anything". Obviously the divorce had a profound impact on Sam from the first words on the first song, "I thought if he understood/ He wouldn't treat me this way" and songs like, "Another Song."
"Everything used to make me smile Then you went away Did you ever really love me?"
As she continues to contemplate whether she was ever really loved at all she announces:
"And the soul won't float with holes but before you go down, you write another song"
Slowly this song makes a dramatic and beautiful segue into the title song and Sam replies accompanied by the sound of violins and fuzzy guitars,
"I love you when you don't do anything When you are useless I love you more When you don't do anything When you don't move When you don't try When you don't' say anything..."
It is quite "another song" and in her bitterness she portions out grace. These two songs are best heard together. It is simply magical. I have no experience with situations like Sam has experienced. However I like her words of unconditional love and those are words worth repeating when you think that love is simply about what what someone can do for you.
In fact, isn't this type of love the love God has forus?
"When you are useless I love you more When you don't do anything."
Isn't it the type of love we should have for those around us in this world? This definitely is a sing-a-long song worth keeping close and singing aloud or to yourself in contemplation.
Listen to "You Don't Do Anything" and watch the jukebox if that interests you.
All is not lost for Sam as "Strange things are happening" on the tune "Sister Rosetta Goes Up Before Us' and Sam sings,
"The sight of my heart has left me again/ But I hear music up above."
This is smart witty pop music with a lyrical edge and a tint of sadness and grace. Certainly one can claim that Sam Philips is an honest singer.
You can view a Tiny-Desk Concert of Sam Phillips at NPR. She sings and play four songs off "Don't Do Anything" and is accompanied by the strangest violin you will ever see. It is something called a Stroh Violin.
And speaking of T-Bone Burnett, here is a tune from his last CD "The True-False Identity".
I have been listening to The Hold Steady for over a month now: CDs in the car 0r mp3s as I run. Strangely enough I was introduced to this band through an article in "Christianity Today". The article "Debauchery and Crucifixes: the Hold Steady reminds us of "something bigger" by Andy Whitman calls the latest album "Stay Positive" an "uncomfortable masterpiece, a Christ-haunted work that finds glimmers of glory even in the gutter" and claims the band "might be playing the best and most important rock 'n roll in America." That is pretty heady stuff so I checked out the band and I do like the sound. They sound like a pumped up early Springsteen and they tell tales of hard-luck characters on the wrong side of life and town.
The mistakes and lifestyles these characters choose drive the music, as well as an emphasis on lead singer Craig Finn's Christian (Catholic) upbringing. Mentions of God and faith show up throughout his songs about sinners and saints (however the saints may not be the saints you expected: "Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer I think he might’ve been our only decent teacher" from "Constructive Summer". The band namedrops like crazy and references to people, places, and cultural moments abound throughout their songs and it takes multiple listens to even catch a bit of what their songs are about. Then the characters in the songs turn up again in different songs and albums.
Like the characters in Springsteen's "Born to Run" the buddies in "Constructive Summer" talk about moving on from their "work at the mill until you die" town":
"We’re gonna build something, this summer We’ll put it back together- raise up a giant ladder With love, and trust, and friends, and hammers (This summer!)"...
and "Let this be my annual reminder that we can all be something bigger"
But the characters do little more than climb the water tower and drink and talk. While they may have had an inkling of faith, it didn't give them the answer they were looking for.
I heard your gospel- it moved me to tears, But I couldn’t find the hate, and I couldn’t find the fear. I met your Savior, I knelt at his feet, And he took my ten bucks, and he went down the street.
In the end St. Joe Strummer leads them to believe that you can only save yourself:
"Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer.
I think he might’ve been our only decent teacher.
Getting older makes it harder to remember…
we are our only saviors. We’re gonna build something, this summer."
The music is rollicking and the religious allusions run throughout. NPR radio has a article "The Hold Steady: Church, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll" and you can listen to three songs and see how The Hold Steady mixes religious imagery into songs on the album "Separation Sunday". You can also read additional notes to figure out all those references to people and places.
This is probably not the music for your church youth group or for CCM fans, but if you enjoy a good tune and you enjoy looking in dark places for a little bit of light, The Hold Steady may just get your attention. There are obviously things going on in the mind of Craig Finn that compels him to write, much like Springsteen, with a nod to some religious roots that keep tugging at his soul. Whether in a positive or negative direction, the hold is steady.
I took the name for this blog from the lyrics of the song "Stay Positive" a song where the group continues a lyric fisrt found in "Constructive Summer":
"Our psalms are sing-along songs"
...with ...
"There's gonna come a time when the true scene leaders
Forget where they differ and get big picture.
'Cause the kids at the shows, they'll have kids of their own
Their sing-along songs will be our scriptures.
We gotta stay Positive."
The question I ask is, "Can our sing-a-long songs be our scriptures?" Sometimes we make them out to be, but are they simply reflecting life or giving us "Life"? I will organize my thoughts about the music I enjoy on this blog and see what answers I can come up with.
"The Swish" is a great song for your iPod when you are running. Anyhow, when I was a kid, this is how we dressed for church (especially if those are clip on ties). I hated it!
The big question I have been pondering is why this cd was recommended in Christianity Today? Is the magazine trying to show it has a "cool" side? Is the the type of cd the general readership of the magazine will even appreciate? I am not sure, maybe the author, Andy Whitman, was pulling a fast one and seeing what he could get away with. The lyrics in the songs point to a dark world where people live a lifestyle unfamiliar to, I would guess, most readers of the magazine. I know the songs are not about "my world". Or maybe there is something we can learn while being exposed to and pondering the characters sung about by The Hold Steady.
"Though unconventional, this is a band that obviously takes spiritual matters seriously, and their listeners do well to follow suit...
The Hold Steady has proven to be a band that's willing to look at tough truths and go places where few others go. Their latest disc is arguably their most spiritually complicated and sophisticated set of songs yet... they also spike their lyrics with some prickly philosophical and theological exploration...
You might not pick up on that during the first listen because, well, most of their songs are about drugs and alcohol. But these aren't frat-boy anthems or celebrations of misbehavior. No, these are songs about the wages of sin and the consequences of reckless living....
But art isn't about agreeing or disagreeing; it's about wrestling with big questions and tough topics, about listening to others with an open heart and a generous spirit...
Surely there's much wisdom to be gleaned from Craig Finn; few songwriters are better at portraying the sadness and grief that come from selfish living. On Stay Positive, he wrestles with responsibility in a way that's genuinely inspiring. And as usual, there's a dialogue with the Divine that runs through the whole thing, seeming to indicate that while Finn isn't a man who has everything figured out, he's certainly a man of some kind of faith. That's one of the many things that makes The Hold Steady not just a great band, but an essential one—they're working through issues of faith not with cynicism or hipster irony, but with sincerity and big hearts. If that's not reason to stay positive, I'm not sure what is"
"As Craig Finn states in relation to the band’ 2005 album Separation Sunday, much of their music is about real people finding real redemption. "I guess a prodigal-daughter story," Finn states in his interview on NPR’s “All Thing’s Considered” “It [Separation Sunday] is about a girl who grew up in a religious background and goes off to try to find something bigger, better, or something she's missing. And [she] has a lot of experiences and ends up coming back, not only to her family and to her town, but to her church."
This “coming back” story that weaves its way through the CD is a gritty account of a girl named Holly (“Her parents named her Hallelujah/the kids all called her Holly”) who lives the life of disappointment and heartbreak many people in middle class America live out every day but rarely admit to – drugs on the sidetable at bedtime, drinking to get slightly drunk and forget the disappointments of their life, relationships that are merely encounters through sex without love. What makes Finn’s Holly such an important voice for the church today is that she can actually teach us something if the church would listen. For many CCM artists, redemption results in the ability to conform within our consumer culture rather than transform it – to be redeemed is in the mode of redeeming a coupon clipped from the newspaper – give up something only to buy something else. For Finn, it is not the type of coupon clipping painted out in the connect-the-dots redemption stories oft heard in CCM songs by the third verse. In the closing song of Separation Sunday, the aptly titled “How a Resurrection Really Feels”, Finn’s prodigal-daughter stumbles into an on-going church service:
If she scared you then she's sorry. she's been stranded at these parties. these parties they start lovely but they get druggy and they get ugly and they get bloody.The priest just kinda laughed. The deacon caught a draft. She crashed into the Easter Mass with her hair done up in broken glass. She was limping left on broken heels. When she said “Father, can I tell your congregation how a Resurrection really feels?
Where most CCM is only understood and therefore purchased by devoted Christians, Finn’s real life redemption strips away the abstractions and makes redemption something real people want and can experience and still remain real people."
