Free Music

For anyone who knows how much I love music (which is hopefully anyone who knows anything about me, thus, most of you who read this), you probably know how much I adore artist JJ Heller.

I ran into her at my sister's church in Arizona a few years ago, just before JJ and her husband, Dave, moved to Tennessee to pursue music full-time. The two of them were leading worship and the songs they played haunted me (in the best way possible). I could not get her lyrics out of my head, so I decided to use my mad librarian skills and find out more about her.

You, too, can read more about her here: http://www.jjheller.com

I have gotten two of her CDs since I first heard her, and this past weekend while waiting for my small group to start, I realized I was hearing new JJ music from their stereo.

"What is this?" I asked Jenn. She said, "I think it's JJ Heller or something. I don't know ask Tower."

I immediately asked Tower and she alerted me to this





Until November 1st, you can download JJ's newest album and she encourages you to tell everyone about it.

I can't express to you just how much this woman's music has impacted my life, but she speaks Truth, her words are full of Grace, and her music is superb. I hope it can speak to you as it has me.

Cultural Experience #5

Stephanie and I began our self-betterment exercises by attending cultural events a few years ago. I've mentioned this series of events before, (the last being the unfortunate ballet) but last night -- Thursday, February 28th -- we continued the series with a classical piano concert at Ball State, and added a very special person to our number.

Now, many of you may be turned off instantly when you hear the words "classical" and "piano" together with "concert". Do not judge too quickly.

The group we witnessed was actually introduced to me by my mother over the summer (kudos to Care Bear). She'd ripped out a short blurb on their new album that appeared in American Profile. I looked them up on YouTube, naturally, being a member of the Millennial Generation, and found some pretty phenomenal footage of the group The 5 Browns.


Flight of the Bumble Bee by Rimsky-Korsakov

I have tried several times in the past twenty-four hours to gather my thoughts into words and then into sentences to explain the draw that classical piano music has on my soul. I have always loved piano music; it seems like it's been a part of my life since I can remember--Thursday afternoons at Mrs. Wickline's farmhouse, listening to my siblings play, wondering when it would be my turn.

Like any art done well, piano music can fore go words and speak directly to the deepest, even hidden parts of the soul. These amazingly talented siblings -- The 5 Browns -- have the gift of this technical, yet exhilarating language. I never knew fingers and hands could move so quickly and accurately over these black and white keys. I have never witnessed the spiritually uplifting, all-encompassing nature of the pieces that they played. My heart actually quickened and rested with each rise and fall in the music. In spirit, I danced the tarantella when the brothers (Gregory and Ryan) created that dance from notes on a page (which, incidentally, they'd memorized years prior). I could see the moonlit scenes painted before my eyes as the three sisters played at one piano the most breath-taking rendition of Debussy's Clair de Lune. Their arms were entangled it seemed, over and under, woven like a beautiful tapestry of notes, of music, pouring forth from this single Steinway. And their final piece, Firebird by Stravinsky (see below)...I couldn't breathe. I couldn't rip my eyes away from the view of the piano before us, the reflection of hands and flashing fingers in the shiny blackness of the instrument itself, the one at which someone played during every song, even the solos (well chosen seats, Kyle). I could count the number of times I blinked during that seemingly interminable song on one hand. So enrapturcated was I by their performance, though mostly by the music created, that it left me wide-eyed and speechless for minutes.

The best description I have come up with as I've contemplated all day how to explain the experience is this: They have brought LIFE to a genre of music that some of my contemporaries would believe is dead.

As they prefaced their songs with tales of the history, the composers, and sometimes the lyrics of the pieces, their individual personalities and their great senses of humor shined through. Gregory had the best outfit of the night -- red corduroy pants, white button-down with the sleeves rolled up, and black vest, with black retro Converse hi-tops. Outstanding.

I will let you judge for yourself with a few glimpses included here of a couple of our favorite performances from last night. Enjoy them. Be blown away. It is a gift, and that five should come from the same family, truly unbelievable.


Firebird by Stravinsky

On music and life...

Sometimes, when you hear a particularly beautiful song, you have to stop and reevaluate your life.

Because the song is so beautiful and so true that you identify with it -- and you almost wonder for a moment if the singer knows you, or if you're someone other than who you thought you were.

You become the musician, and the musician becomes you.

(comment by a friend)

In other news

Friends have been introducing me to all kinds of new (to me) music in the past few months.

Most notably, I have morphed from a self-proclaimed John Mayer Hater to a ginormous fan of his newest work, Continuum.

Other artists that have joined the list of Lana's Fall Favorites include:
A Fine Frenzy (I love everything about this girl)
Gavin DeGraw (mostly his live music--check out his song Belief)
Mat Kearney (thanks to Sara's Thanksgiving Music mix, I know now how sweet Mat Kearny can be)
Jordin Sparks (last year's American Idol winner, she continues to be phenomenal and to open me up to the realm of R&B and Soul)
Over the Rhine (everything they've done...I love them)
Carrie Underwood (although I haven't listened to Country music since the 90's, Franz bought Carrie's latest venture and we all loved her vocals--and humor--during Thanksgiving break)

Don't Come Easy

I can't claim that I discovered this song. Liz introduced me. But this song...it's perfect. This is the antithesis to my previous post about Valentine's Day and whatever it's promoting.

Patty Griffin is one of my favorite artists of all time. Top 5. Her words are almost always beautiful and perfect. I appreciate her ability to paint detailed pictures with her words. So few can succeed like she does. She's a master artist.

You can find a video of the on YouTube, however I'm not posting it because it is a soap opera edit version and I don't feel like promoting CBS soaps.


Don't Come Easy

Red lights are flashing on the highway
I wonder if we're gonna ever get home
I wonder if we're gonna ever get home tonight
Everywhere the waters getting rough
Your best intentions may not be enough
I wonder if we're gonna ever get home tonight

But if you break down
I'll drive out and find you
If you forget my love
I'll try to remind you
And stay by you when it don't come easy

I don't know nothing except change will come
Year after year what we do is undone
Time keeps moving from a crawl to a run
I wonder if we're gonna ever get home

You're out there walking down a highway
And all of the signs got blown away
Sometimes you wonder if you're walking in the wrong direction

But if you break down
I'll drive out and find you
If you forget my love
I'll try to remind you
And stay by you when it don't come easy

When it don’t come easy. Ohh.

So many things that I had before
That don't matter to me now
Tonight I cry for the love that I've lost
And the love I've never found
When the last bird falls
And the last siren sounds
Someone will say what's been said before
Some love we were looking for

When you break down
I'll drive out and find you
When you forget my love
I'll try to remind you
And stay by you when it don't come easy

a long reprieve

I'm going home. Which is exciting in and of itself. I don't have to go to the grocery or "cook" for myself. I don't have to get up early or go to bed before I crash. These are good things.

I'm going home for a week. Eight lovely days. This is needed, considering I'm going crazy in my little room. But there is one other thing to look forward to, and that is moving into my own apartment.

I found out yesterday that I now have somewhere to live when I start my job in January. It's a lovely apartment and will be at least four times the space I have right now. Ah! Space!

I can't even express how thrilled I am to move on, to reach the stage of life I've been dreaming about since I was 8 years old - adulthood. Up till now I've been a student, which in a way is mutually exclusive from adulthood, at least for single students.

A friend of mine has mentioned several times how interesting it will be to see if I change or how I react to having a normal schedule without the pressure of homework and due dates, etc.

I hope to be freer - both with regard to my time and internally. To get back to the point where I can sit in silence or be still without feeling like I should be doing something else. Not that I think adult life means no stress. Of course I've been around long enough to have observed that everyone has stressors. I'm seeking balance. That's what I really want to find.

Today I realized the significance that creating music has in my life. Over the past six years I have progressively reduced this process from my life. Maybe this is why I've grown more and more unbalanced as I've finished my degrees. The joy of making music, being the origin of that beautiful experience, is something I cannot wait to reintroduce to my life. Just a few short weeks. Or a month, maybe two.