I had to write a mission statement for one of my grad school classes, so here it is…

It is the desire of human beings to be known. We desire to be known by our God, our families, our friends, and our neighbors. Being known is being loved. The rich often have easy access to the tools and audience needed to make themselves known, but the poor are often excluded. Being known restores dignity and identity to the marginalized and oppressed. A powerful method for knowing someone is hearing their story. The power of a story can change the world, but only when it is heard and shared. I will help all people—but especially the poor—access the tools, medium, and skills they need to tell their story.

Filed under: gradschool, life by Jonathan on Sunday, 31 January 2010
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Approximately 12 million people were transported from the coast of West Africa to the America’s over the course of the Atlantic slave trade. On the eve of the Civil War there was just shy of 4 million people enslaved in the United States. By current estimates there are around 27 million slaves in the world today. Some 80% of people alive today “survive” on less than $10 per day. 1 million people die every year from malaria. About 80% of them are children in Africa. 1.1 billion people have no access to clean water. 6 million children die of starvation every year. That’s about 17,000 per day. About one every 12 seconds. Since the start of this paragraph, three children have died.

There is a lot of suffering in the world…

I am privileged to live in one of the richest countries in the world. I am a white, male, American. I have had more opportunities by nature of my birth than most people on the planet earn over their entire life. I did nothing to deserve this. I have also spent 27 years of my life living in a political and economic system benefiting from the oppression of millions, maybe even billions, of people around the planet. From poor immigrant day laborers here in the US to sweat shop workers in SE Asia to children mining ore in Africa. I have done relatively little to stop this or change this system.

For that I am sorry…

I know something else. It’s not my fault, and I have been forgiven. It is important to make clear that I’m not off the hook. If I continue not to act, I move from committing a sin of passive omission to a sin of active commission. What I mean to say is that I can go out into the world without feeling guilt about the past. If I am acting out of guilt, trying to perform a penance and repay generations of wrong doing I will die before I repay even my own debts. Just as our deeds cannot get us into heaven, nor can they repay the sins of our fathers (figurative or literal). I am not bound to a life of penance that simply reverses the role of slave and master. God has called us to a life of service. To a life of seeking to restore relationships and build life. Again, if I am seeking to repay my guilt my work will never be complete. I cannot redeem myself, only God can do that and Jesus DID do it on the cross.

So what does this mean…

Because I am not acting out of guilt I am free to love. My service is an act of worship. I’m not trying to make up for things that I can never undo. It also means that I recognize the broken system that I have come from and will choose to stand against it as often as I have the chance. I will live a life that is set apart and different from the standards and norms of the world. I recognize some people I come into contact with will want me to apologize, and as much as I can I will. My hope is that whatever injustice happened or is still happening can be brought to a close and we can move on. I believe firmly that God has called us to restore relationships and build the kingdom, and this takes more than apologies.

Filed under: grace, gradschool, life by Jonathan on Friday, 22 January 2010
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From Globalization, Spirituality, and Justice by Daniel Groody

“In large part, the root cause of global injustice is anchored in a fundamental theological and anthropological error that has been referred to today as ‘money-theism.’ Money-theism deals with the idolization of capital, expressed as worship of the gods of the marketplace, and is often practiced through the rituals of the stock market and the liturgies of global capitalism. In this system people are measured in terms of their net worth, accumulated possessions, and incomes rather than their human worth, the quality of their character, and their spiritual depth. The value and worth of human beings have become more and more reduced to a ‘market fundamentalism,’ where the market alone defines what it means to be human.”

Filed under: gradschool, life by Jonathan on Saturday, 16 January 2010
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One of the traditions I have missed out on the last couple years not being in Seattle is going Christmas caroling with a group from my parents church. As much as I love the songs, part of the motivation for going when I was a kid was the goodies we’d always have afterward. Hot cider, homemade doughnuts, Christmas cookies, you get the idea. My mom asked this year if I wanted to go or just stay home. Since I haven’t been able to go the last couple years I figured it would be fun. Besides, it would be good to get out of the house and spread a little kitschy holiday cheer.

Pulling into the church parking lot with my mom there were three cars. Ours, my dad’s, and a pickup. No big deal we figured, maybe people were just running a little late. So we go inside to find the caroling group that is usually around 15-20 is just five for this year. Maybe it was the weather, maybe people were just busy, but starting a night of caroling with a choir of five doesn’t usually bode well. Never the less, my dad had told at least a few people we would be coming by so we couldn’t just call it off all together.

Our little group of five seemed pretty pitiful, and when there was no one home at the first stop, and the second had the wrong people home, I was really starting to question whether I should have just stayed home. I texted my brother joking that he had made the wise choice staying at home to prep the Christmas cookies and punch. I even started writing this post in my head, thinking about how I would have this great awkward Christmas story to tell. But then a funny thing happened, the woman at our third stop was home and we started singing.

No one would ever mistake us for a concert choir, nor was our little show very long. But as we sang I started to feel better about what we were doing. It’s hard to be a pessimist while singing Jingle Bells, right? I figured at this point, it might not be the most fun way to spend an evening, but at least it wouldn’t be completely misirable. But it was at the next home, and the one after that, and the one after that the real importance of what we were doing became clear to me.

My dad is the one who picks the routes. Generally the houses we stop at are a mix of widows, families my dad has done funerals for, or just people from the church who have a hard time getting out of the house. What struck me was how happy these people were to see us. But it wasn’t the songs we chose or how long we spend singing, it was just being there that was important. By showing up at their doors we were telling them they are known. They are not alone.

I spent a lot of time wollowing over the break about going to the Rosie Thomas concert by myself. I wanted so badly for someone to go with me and share the experience. But while I missed that companionship for just one night, there are people who experience that feeling every single day of their life. The widowed spouse spending their first Christmas without their partner. The orphan who doesn’t know the love of their parents. Those who might be thousands of miles from any other family or friends. The poor who have to sit outside in the rain while I sip hot cider. For one brief moment, these people felt known. We came to them, and sang for them, and hugged them, and wished them merry Christmas. And it cost us nothing.

I think part of everyone’s story is the quest to be known. What is love other than a deep intimate knowledge of that which is worthy? We seek to be loved by God, by husbands and wives, by friends and family. We want these people to know us and in that knowing we are loved and accepted. The sad thing is that the lack of being known can be crushing. I complain about not going out every night with friends, but if I locked myself in my room and didn’t come out, people would notice. My parents, my friends. They would call and say they missed me at church, they would look for me online to chat or knock on my door. Can you imagine living a life where if you locked yourself away, no one came looking for you? The opposite of being known is not being rejected or hated, no for those things you must at least be acknowledged. The opposite of being known is being insignificant. I can’t imagine living a life where if I disappeared no one would come looking. When we knocked on those doors and sang our songs, we were saying to these people, “You are significant, you are worthy of being loved.” Maybe our ragtag little group of carolers weren’t the most impressive choir ever assembled. But I think, I hope, for the people whose doorsteps we showed up on we helped them to feel known.

Filed under: life by Jonathan on Saturday, 2 January 2010
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All right! I think this is the first attempt I’ve made at doing an end of year best of of any kind. I was planning on having this done a few days ago but it actually took a while to track down all of the various YouTube links to songs. I didn’t want to talk something up and then have you unable to listen to it! Anyway, I hope you enjoy and feel free to leave comments and recommendations of your own!

-Best of 2009-

Brooklyn Blurs – The Paper Raincoat
A new find this summer that released their first album this fall. Great orchestral pop from NYC. Their album has a story it is loosely based around but you don’t need to know it to appreciate the music. Apparently they played a show in Santa Cruz before I moved but I didn’t know who they were at the time and missed it.
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It All Depends – The Paper Raincoat
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The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned) – The Decemberists
This, The Hazards of Love, was my pick for album of the year in 2009 in July. Then Fanfarlo happened. Still, what other bands are ballsy enough to release an hour long prog-rock album these days? When they could have (and many other bands do) veered toward the safety of 3 minute pop songs, they released an epic that is very demanding of listeners. At live shows they literally play the whole album start to finish with no breaks. I tip my hat to you, Mr. Colin Meloy.
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The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid – The Decemberists
Prog-folk-rock at it’s greatest featuring guest vocals from Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond. Colin Meloy’s voice seems to be kinda messed up in this performance so just ignore that and enjoy Shara. It shouldn’t be too hard.
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Ghosts – Fanfarlo
I actually missed when this album, Reservoirs, first came out because of how the Zune store works. But holy crap. This took The Hazards of Love out back and pummelled it to death to claim the title of Album of the Year in my opinion. Not quite the epic scale of Hazards and definitely more poppy, but it’s like indie-pop cocaine, I can’t get enough! Great album start to finish. I could probably put all of the songs on this list but I’ll stick with my top three.
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Harold T. Wilkins, Or How to Wait for A Very Long Time – Fanfarlo
Was actually off an earlier EP before being on Reservoirs. Harold T. Wilkins was a British journalist and amateur historian who wrote two large volumes on flying saucers.
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These Walls Are Coming Down – Fanfarlo
What’s left to say? Best album of ‘09, in my humble opinion. Actually, I guess I haven’t really said what it is I like about Fanfarlo and Reservoirs. I really like bands with big sound and lots of instrumentation, so Arcade Fire, Beirut, Decemberists, etc. Fanfarlo has this great mix that includes at different points everything from melodica to mandolin to violin.
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Hello Seattle – Owl City
I’m one of those people who has had their fingers crossed for years that The Postal Service would finally release some new material but since Ben Gibbord has pretty much killed the project I figured that was that. Enter Owl City. Leave it to a guy living and recording in his parents basement to fill that void. Great electric pop album. Fireflies is the single from the album, but this song’s about Seattle!
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Little Secrets – Passion Pit
I don’t dance. Ever. So you can imagine how funny it is when I hear this song and can’t help but do a little chair dance. And what band seriously features 4 keyboards?
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Sign the Dotted Line – Jeff Mangum
Mangum was the lead singer of Neutral Milk Hotel. Chances are you’ve never heard of Neutral Milk Hotel unless you are an indie pop-rock loving hipster. But if you in fact are an indie loving hipster, than their seminal album Airplane Over the Sea is probably among your favorite albums of all time. Music that ranges from beautifully composed to wild and frantic and Jeff Mangum’s voice whaling away make it unique if nothing else. You can see in them the roots of groups from Fanfarlo to Arcade Fire to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Airplane Over the Sea was their last full length album and it came out in 1998. Mangum rarely plays shows and hasn’t really released any new music since 2001. So when this song came out on a Chris Knox tribute album, it was a pretty big deal.
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Wait it Out – Imogen Heap
I don’t often listen to Imogen Heap so it seems a little strange to put her on a best of list but her music is just so good that I inevitably find myself wanting to hear more.
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Honey Bee – Zee Avi
Final new find of the year and the newest. Zee Avi is actually from Malaysia originally but she plays acoustic pop that oozes happy even when she is singing about breaking up or having an affair. I first heard her play a NPR Tiny Desk concert a few weeks ago. She just played a show in Seattle earlier this month but it was on the same night as one of my school finals so I didn’t have a chance to go. Fantastic album. As I said on twitter, think Madeleine Peyroux sings Jack Johnson.
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Valentino – Diane Birch
I’m not quite sure what to compare Diane Birch to. Not because her music is werid or experimental, I just don’t listen to much other stuff like it. I guess she can best be described as somewhere in between Norah Jones and She & Him. A little bit of a rock/jazz throwback feel to the music but her voice is definitely the selling point. She has an impressive range and very strong vocals.
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-Best of the Rest-

Since I haven’t really done a best of list before, this is a collection of some songs that I’ve listened to a lot in the last year but since they are from 2008 or earlier I haven’t written about them before. Think of this like the cherry on top.

Just Like Honey – Headless Heroes
Fantastic cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain song.
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I Don’t Know – Lisa Hannigan
I didn’t realize this was a 2008 album, how time flies! Still one of my most listed albums/tracks of 2009. I absolutely love her voice.
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King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1-3 – Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel remains one of my all-time favs. Airplane Over the Sea is one of the most influential indie-rock/pop albums of the last 20 years. Go reread what I wrote above about Jeff Mangum.
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The Penalty – Beirut
Beirut is a band that I didn’t like when I first listened to them. Then even after I got their album The Flying Club Cup I didn’t listen to it much until I started listening to Fanfarlo. Love the vocals and backing of the brass.
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Blue Mind – Alexi Murdoch
Alexi Murdoch needs to quit whatever it is he’s doing and record more music. Seriously.
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-Bonus Round-
I’m still kicking myself for not going to the Fanfarlo show when they were at the Croc this fall. Oh well, here is a live performance by them recorded by @sarahana at SXSW.

http://www.vimeo.com/4401641

Link: http://hoovesontheturf.com/200904/fanfarlo/

-Bonus, Bonus Round-

If for some reason you’ve never heard of or seen inbflat.net, you should definitely go check it out. It’s music, and I found it in 2009, so I’ll count it as a best of. Very cool project! My friend @javajunky even contributed to it.

Filed under: life, music by Jonathan on Wednesday, 30 December 2009
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