It's a few minutes after the last post... figured I'd put on Steve Bell while I read my book, cause I don't listen to him that often. And one of my other favourite lines caught my attention. And also seems relevant to this topic of the changing music business (and is a great quote for all sorts of change):
Some will trust in the things they think they know
They should think again and let them go
Where would I be without you?
8 comments:
Steve's got some nice material lined up for his next album from what I heard last Thursday ...
http://stevebell.com/2010/05/the-gifting-and-the-giver/
And some gripping insights into the middle east as he's spent more time there, including Palestine/Gaza etc... He recommended the Night Trilogy by Eli Weisel. Are you familiar with that? I found it in the Chapters/Indigo online store.
Weisel's books are perennial bestsellers. And even more so when Oprah picked one for her reading club years ago. But I've never read them myself.
Apparently Steve recently helped lead (and provide music of course) for a tour from Egypt through Israel. This particular tour seems to make a point of including the Palestinian story in hopes of presenting a more balanced picture of the middle east struggles - unlike many "christian" tours which are extremely pro-Israel.
I want to check out the recent doc; With God on Our Side which seeks to debunk the "theology" behind much of Christian Zionism I think.
http://www.withgodonourside.com/
fwiw
Looks interesting.
This conflict is definitely one of the most interesting you'll ever read about, because it's SO complex. To represent it in a one-sided way is definitely wrong.
re: "To represent it in a one-sided way is definitely wrong."
At his concert, Steve made reference to this issue as he was just back a week from that region... and he actually said in his gentle way: "If we've chosen sides in this conflict, then shame on us." - made within the context of just what you say - that it is so complex and with our little bit of information, we don't deserve to hold a strong opinion favoring one side or the other.
I'd never heard of this guy. Sifted through five other wiki articles before finding a short one.
*shamelessly wears US-centrism on sleeve*
Also, he's listed as a "Canadian-born Christian folkie" on emusic as well as on Wiki. So, it could just be that I don't keep up with the Christian folkie scene anymore. He's also collaborated with a number of Contemporary Christian artists whose names I recognize from back in the day (particularly Carolyn Arends of that catchy CCM song, "Seize the day, seize whatever y'can, 'cause life slips away just like hourglass sand." Argh...). His father was a Baptist minister and prison chaplain. Huh.
He's deeply entrenched in an industry that has chosen sides in this conflict... The evangelical Christian music scene is pretty politicized--and devoted to Christian Zionism, I'm just saying. It may be that US industry people are worse in this regard (Amy Grant and husband Vince Gill always give a shitload of money to Republican political campaigns).
Still, I'm a bit...skeptical. And if he's recommending Elie Wiesel, erm... I've read Wiesel as well, and he's a powerful writer. But I hardly think he deserves his reputation as a great humanitarian given his vocal support of some of Israel's most inhumane policies. If Steve Bell is recommending Wiesel, he's not as unbiased in this discussion as he claims. Wiesel has long been a pretty hardline Zionist.
I didn't label him as a "Christian folk singer" because he doesn't label himself that way -- I believe for some of the things you name.
He's a really, really awesome guy, and a friend of my dad's. Very sincere, and very intelligent. He's just about the only "Christian" songwriter I can stand, because he's interested first and foremost in creating good art.
I've read other things he's written about the Israeli-Palestinian situation before, and if anything they struck me as slightly leaning towards the Palestinians. If he says he hasn't taken sides, I believe him. He's a very honest and humble person.
And, I think lots of things Ayn Ran wrote and said were great, but I'm far from being an Objectivist. And I loved Karl Marx when I read him last year, but I'm not a devotee of socialism. I cherry-pick from the authors I like, as I suspect most people do.
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