Hillsongs

We got the new Hillsongs live album today, and i thought it might be good to use that as an excuse to blog about Hillsongs and the Australian church.

For those who may not know, Hillsongs is a big church in Sydney with something like 20,000 people who belong to it across many congregations, including satellite churches in London, Paris and Kiev. They are reknowned throughout the worldwide church for their worship songs. Every year for the last 15 years or so, they have put out a live cd from their church, or more recently their conference. They also put out albums from Hillsong United, their youth programme, as well as childrens cds and special cds for things like Christmas.

For a large majority of modern Christians, including us, Hillsongs form part of the soundtrack of our life. The style has changed over the years, the early albums sound like Abba crossed with the Blues Brothers, although recent years have seen them move to a more U2-ish stadium rock style sound.

The hillsongs template is highly influential for uk churches, and especially in pentecostal churches, we look to Australia for leadership before america. The combination of passionate worship, down to earth Biblical teaching, a passion for hospitality and social action all presented in a contemporary way with a high standard of excellence are hall marks of the best Australian churches. Hillsongs, and churches like them, inspire us.

The song in the clip is currently sung at our church. It is called 'healer' and it is written by Mike Guggliamuchi, the son of the leader of the largest church in Adelaide. He is being carried through a healing process by God for the Leukemia that he contracted. As he sings 'nothing is impossible for God.'

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award 2007

Plymouth is not the cultural capital of the world, but it's great that there are 2 good exhibitions in the city centre at the moment. Scribing the Soul is still on, but an exhibition of top entries to the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007 competition is being displayed in the 'currently being enhanced' City museum and gallery. Some of the pictures displayed are simply stunning and i'm sure Rocky and I will be making multiple visits over the next few months.

Here is my favourite picture which was in the animal portraits category.

Things that we can do

Rocky got to paint again at nursery last week and this is the result. We have pinned it up on our kitchen wall, which was a good moment.

It feels like suddenly everything is changing with him again. He's not always easy company at the moment as his top teeth are pushing through. However, he is crawling at speed, able to pull himself onto his knees, eat a banana without it being mashed up, and even, when the wind blows in a very nice direction, understand that it's better not to grab the digital tv box when mummy or daddy says no.

Things feel like they are changing fast for rocky. But in a good way.

Where where at

For the first time in a while, i really think that we can say we're doing alright. Alex is settling back into work and we're finding ourselves into a routine. I'm also finding it easier to get into work, at the moment i am working on a summer devotional for our church and i'm getting involved in the older adults ministry.

We had a really busy weekend with friend's wedding but that was fun, even if it was a little weird to be without the little one, who my sister sarah baby sat excellently. That meant we did not get to watch the doctor who episode until sunday. but we have watched it 3 times since, mostly at my insistance. Also enjoying glastonbury highlights and wimbledon.

All in all, life is pretty good at the moment.

Once upon a time...

We looked like this, in the summer of 1997, when we'd just got engaged, to be precise.

Garden Update

Today is not really the day to be taking photos of the garden, but it is the first day i have had free with batteries in my camera, so there you go. Anyway, with a bit of work, the generosity of alex's mum and the grace of god, the garden is continuing to improve from the old jungle to something a bit more christian.

Susan Aldworth - Scribing the Soul

I took Rocky to an art gallery for the first time today. The new university arts building has a public gallery and they are currently showing an exhibition called 'Scribing the Soul' by Susan Aldworth.

It was quite strange to be in a gallery again. The last time I was in a gallery was last July. It's been a while and it took some time to acclimatise to decide whether I liked what I saw.

I think that i decided i did. Susan Aldworth paints and makes videos about the brain and consciousness. Her basic point, after studying lots of brain scans and working with neurologists is that you can't pin down people's identity by just looking at the science, however amazing the science is. A brain scan, for instance, can tell you nothing about memory, or tastes, or character. However, all those things can be profoundly affected if the brain is damaged or the chemical reactions inside it altered.

Perhaps naturally, the work that is on display is abstract. It trys to layer on projections of self or of metaphors for thoughts and chemical reactions in the brain on to brain scans. I liked it because not only were the visuals good, but it met one of my personal criteria for good art, which is that it has to say something and say it well.

You can read more about Susan Aldworth and look at her work here or watch the video below which is part of the exhibition in the gallery.

Time off in newquay

While Alex had a fun day with the boy today, I took some time out to go to Newquay. I love my life. I love the choices that Alex and I have made about how we live. We are who we are and we're great. However, every now and then, I need a bit of time to get out on my own and recharge and today was one of those days.

I love it down on Fistral Beach. I love the power of the waves and the wind on the headland. It's beautiful. Newquay is not just for the surfers.

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust review

Sigur Ros' new album comes out on the 23rd June, entitled 'Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust' (with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly) and it's great. I got into Sigur Ros very slowly. I was able to download a few tracks from the Agaetis Bryjun album for free back in 2004, but then when I heard Takk on the NME player in 2005, I was blown away. Since then I have been a massive fan.

Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is a big surprise but still a great album. What's surprising is its immediacy, openness and poppiness. Normally, you would expect stately sparse beauty from Sigur Ros, but opening track Gobbledygook's acoustic gallop catches you off guard and then inní mér syngur vitleysingur sounds like Pet Sounds era Beach Boys. They manage to still sound like Sigur Ros, but unashamedly happy.

góðan daginn is perhaps more what you would describe as business as normal in it's post-rock prettyness, but the feedback has been dialled down and there's a tenderness to the sound. However, við spilum endalaust is the weakest track of the album as the one moment where the happy pills overdose into a track that sounds too close to Coldplay.

Festival changes the mood though by further stripping back the sound and allowing jonsi's vocals to shine before launching back into a lo-fi instrumental that will indeed sound amazing at festivals. Suð í eyrum keeps things mellow and they've found that great drum sound again that sounded like fireworks on starafalur.

However, all the subtle loveliness of suð í eyrum gets completely trumped by ára bátur. This is not just the best track of the album and perhaps the greatest song Sigur Ros have ever written, it's rites of passage music. If I was 10 years younger, I would want it for my wedding, if I were 50 years older, I would happily have it playing as the curtains closed.

The only negative thing that you could say about ara batur is that it makes the rest of the album seem a little anti-climactic. Which is unfair as the unassuming acousticness of illgresi, the gentleness of fljótavík which melts into straumnes and the quiet finishing track all alright are all fine in their own right. They are just not orchestra and choir chewing masterpieces of pop music.

með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is just great. It's the most accessible and fun Sigur Ros album to date. It's still true to the band's sound, but the guarded cool has been let down. It should sell millions and you will hear excerpts on every tv show for the next year, but so what, Hoppipolli still sounds great today and this album will last the test of time and overplaying. This is easily the album of the year, with a stand out track of genuine beauty.

It's out on 23rd June, but you can listen now here.

Rocky's First Bit of Artwork

Rocky had his first ever painting session at nursery last Friday. He got more covered in paint than the paper, but here are the results. Brilliant.