"Viva La Vida" Coldplay

I have spent time working this afternoon with the sounds of the new offering from Coldplay echoing in the background! Chris Martin seems able to polarise critics and fans alike with music that's popular but panned as lightweight. I like Coldplay and fall into the category of appreciating the mood and vibe of their music with it's veiled and one line references to weighty life issues!
There are any number of religious images and stories in this collection and I laugh out loud at the fan websites with the four entirely different takes all shared with equal conviction... is it Jesus referred to in the title track or a leading figure from the French Revolution... given the CD artwork and title itself... it comes from a painting by surrealist Frida Kahlo. The cover features Delacroix's romantic depiction of the spirit of revolution, Liberty Leading the People Over the Barricades.

The sound and production have Brian Eno's fingerprints all over them so the comparisons' with U2 will happen!!

I am still listening so will no doubt come back with a few selected tracks where I already can hear possibilities for use in coming weeks!! So far I like 'Cemeteries of London', '42' and the tile track...

"Say Hallelujah" Tracy Chapman

"Say Hallelujah"
Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone

Close your eyes
And bow your head
To rest your soul
And to praise the dead

Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone

Dry your eyes
And stand upright
Put a smile on your face
He wouldn't want us to cry

The sun will rise
The stars will shine
Turning day to dusk
And night to dawn
We'll pass on
But until that time

Say Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Say Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone

Have mercy
It's a wonderful life
Eternal rest for the weary
Mourners party tonight

Say Hallelujah
Throw up your hands
The bucket is kicked
The body is gone

Wave your hands
But don't say goodbye
We're all gonna meet you
On the other side
from "Let It Rain" 2002

Despite many listenings I only really heard this song today for the first time on the radio. It was a striking and hopeful tune and so a little different to most peoples impressions of Tracy Chapman. More than one person on the web suggested they'd like this song at their funeral.

It's a song of celebration for a time when we talk about that but don't always manage it. As such I offer it here for use maybe at Easter or some other significant journeying moment!!

40 Years since the death of Dr Martin Luther King Jnr

The legend, story and footprint of MLK is one of my favourite inspirational stories!! We couldn't afford to bring Bernice King to Oz in 2003 but would have been very keen if we'd been able to find the budget!!

MLK's speeches and landmark quotable quotes are all over the net and those well known lines from Washington have been repeated, parodied and honoured ever since...

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,"' King told the crowd at the capital's Lincoln Memorial.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character."

Five years later, at just 39, he was shot dead by escaped inmate James Earl Ray, while he was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968.



Even more eerie is the 'mountain top' speech by a servant of God who knew his 'truth' was upsetting the balance of power in the same way Jesus talk of the rule and reign or values of God caused the Easter events we remember!! This parallel is celebrated by that band nobody wants me to keep talking about [check out the age of the audience in U23D when you get the chance]!!

"Pride [In the Name of Love]" U2
One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come here to justify
One man to overthrow
In the name of love!
One man in the name of love
In the name of love!What more?
In the name of love!

One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resists
One man washed on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more? In the name of love!...
nobody like you...there's nobody like you...Mmm...mmm...mmm...
Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love...

"Say" [What You Need To Say] John Mayer

This is a catchy and relevant song from the currently screening film "The Bucket List" starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman!! More on the film in coming times!!


"Say" John Mayer
Take out of your wasted honor
Every little past frustration
Take all of your so called problems
Better put them in quotations
Say what you need to say (8x)

Walkin' like a one man army
Fightin' with the shadows in your head
Living out the same old moment
Knowing you’d be better off instead
If you could only
Say what you need to say (8x)

Have no fear for giving in
Have no fear for giving over
You better know that in the end its better to say too much
Than to never to say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open
Why?
Say what you need to say (25x)