For the era of album-oriented music (rock, jazz, etc.), understanding the history of a musical artist or group happened at a track-by-track level. Back then we bought albums rather than songs, and the way those tracks were laid out on either vinyl or plastic was part of the artistry.

Different Drummer: Brian Eno

Track By Track at InappropriateConversations.org

Happy Thanksgiving week! As an Advent Booklet of sorts, the content for this episode really applies to next Sunday. Advent begins on November 30th this year. You can listen all at once or take the content one week at a time between now and Christmas.

Different Drummer: John Fahey

The birth of a pseudonym tends to be all about necessity, but the death of a pen name is rarely chronicled. I've been speaking, here and there, about The Author since the second Inappropriate Conversations podcast. Here is the rest of that story, in a surrealistic way.

Exactly 30 years ago tonight (from the time of this posting) I was the victim of an armed robbery, staring down the barrel of a gun. I know a bit about courage, not because I demonstrated such resolve in the face of fear, but because I didn't. Nothing about that experience changed or solidified my perspective on gun control or gun violence. It did bring other changes, though, like maturity in facing my fears.

Different Drummer: Joni Mitchell

Behind the song: "A Case Of You"

As a genre, "thriller" is different from horror or other suspense films, but that distinction is in grave danger of being lost forever.  Before the most common forms of scary cinema became slashers or demonic possession, when serial killer movies were crime-dramas rather than gorefests, the thriller was the TV equivalent of the midnight movie.  Now, with Halloween approaching, you are more likely to see Friday The Umpteenth than any of the classics starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, or Vincent Price.  Film fans have lost more than we realize.

Different Drummer: Jakob Rehlinger

Arachnidisc's videos including Moonwood and Babel

Ritual can be a part of authentic worship, but if that's all there is then it is almost certainly false.  My faith has consistently affirmed the conviction that God is "present" within worship, not as a judgmental taskmaster but as a loving, creative force.  Genuine worship changes over time, even from week to week.  Rather than being regimented, if it is truly God-focused then it will reflect the Lord's mysterious ways.  Anything less than a journey into this heart of wonder may be "religious" but it certainly isn't spiritual.

Different Drummer: Rick Moyer

Take Him With You

While I'm playing music on my MP3 player, it is almost always set to shuffle.  I believe in variety and unexpected combinations, and radio stations have not provided that at any time in my memory.  When you hear "your station for variety" or other taglines, it never refers to a combination of rock, country, jazz, classical, spoken word, and other genre.  Why not?  A format with that challenging combination might never lead the market, but a program like that might prove to be the second choice for a very large set of listeners.

Different Drummer: Francis Picabia