This has been making the rounds. And I can see why. Enjoy.

Thanks to Jeffrey Overstreet for pointing the way to this wonderful film on Sacred Harp, or shape note, Singing. You can watch it for free this week by going to this link.

Fox Theatre, Detroit, 5/17/2008

“I went down to the river to pray
Studying about that good ol’ way
Who will wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way”

Imagine if you will an Angel, long golden hair, innocent radience, the fiddle on her shoulder one time sweet, one time sweaty, one time sawing like a sin in a hurry; her voice soft fur on a kitten’s belly, strong as a mountain river melting the winter.

Now, imagine Old Scratch, lithe, sensuous, lionine mane sliding around a wrinkly old man face, now purring, now howling, now prowling about seeking whom he may devour.

Pulling the strings, orchestrating this weird encounter, a spectral figure, looking for all the world like some Hawthorne-ian 19th-century New England preacher, dark, three-piece suit rising to a squarish, clergical collar, hair flopping in a wave from one side of his face to the other.

With a strumming hand scritching along the strings like a blue-tick hound worrying a bone, like some post-atomic apocolyptic hoedown caller, the preacher leads a band of suited minstrels slapping out a rhythm, plucking out a tune, generating noises from a world beyond, accompanying, provoking, the vocalized tumult, the clash between heaven and hell.

The brash lion, of course, takes the lead and prances, a master of ceremonies at his own memorial. But, the tide rolling in, the Angel, quiet with insistent power meets his every advance, coaxes out of the witnessing crowd loud acclaim to match every cackle evoked by Pan’s darker impulses. Only Dagon, distracting the restless, easily diverted, weak-minded throng poses a continuing threat, but even he, too, falls when the Angel stands alone, without accompaniment, without dazzle, and lifts her voice in supplication, “Oh, Lord, show me the way.”

——-
The show was opened by Sharon Little, whose jazz/blues/alt folk set was very tight, entertaining, and, most important of all for any opening act, not overly long. Adorned in a flouncy, black dress with hot pink petticoats, Miss Little showed herself to be no little girl as her voice had the strength to knock out the back wall of the theater but was controlled like a thouroughbred straining at the bit.

So, things have been hopping here at Chez Truffin. Last week was graduation. This year was the first time that Sherry and I were able to see students who were in our first classes here graduate. It also marked the first class of English Majors earning their B.A.’s at TU. We’re all a bit proud of that. We were also very proud that Lindsey Jesnek, a student Todd had in his first class here and Sherry become something of a mentor to, earned the highest academic honor TU offers.

Because of the special occasions, I attended the ceremony. Graduations are odd things. Yes, there’s the pomp and the circumstance, but you begin to see how class-bound our notions of celebration and honor are when you’re in a crowd filled not only with upper middleclass folks but also families for whom this is their first college graduation. Sure, we can understand why politeness dictates that we hold our applause until the end of the ceremony: don’t want the interminable list of names to take any longer than it has to, don’t want anyone’s name drown out, don’t want to highlight those who may not have family there to cheer them on, etc. But there’s also something wonderful about the family who has sacrificed mightily so that their loved one could be the one person in the family with a chance to escape poverty being very excited when their graduate’s name is called and just having to ring that cowbell.

We were also excited about this year’s ceremony because, as part of Sherry’s promotion, TU purchased for Sherry her own proper set of academic regalia. They did it up right, too. Her robes and tam look exactly like the official Loyola robes she wore at her graduation and are of the same high quality. The best part is that these are hers for keeps.

On Sunday, the revels continued. TU has an extension campus in Bucharest. Yes, Romania. This past spring, our friend Pat was teaching there for three weeks, and a group of the Romanian MBA students who were graduating asked how far Columbus was from Tiffin. Hearing that it wasn’t terribly far, they announced that the group wanted to attend a concert taking place the day after graduation. What concert? Why, The Police with Elvis Costello. Now, we’d seen The Police last July early on in their reunion tour. But the lure of seeing Elvis Costello open was too strong. So, we joined up with the Romanian 9 and headed to Columbus. Despite members of the Athletic Department being stupid and a mis-programmed GPS unit, we all arrived at the arena on time and enjoyed a fantastic show. Costello sounded great, and The Police were in even better form than when we last saw them. It helped that Andy Summers didn’t look like he was going to keel over at any moment. The set list was mainly the same as the last show we saw. They added “Bring on the Night,” “Demolition Man,” and “Hole in my Life.” For the life of me, couldn’t figure out what “Demolition Man” brought to the table. “Truth Hits Everybody,” “Bed’s Too Big Without You,” and “Walking in Your Footsteps” were all deleted from the setlist.

On the way home, we encountered something that disappointed, saddened, and distraught us: a closed Steak N Shake. Not closed because they were out of business, but just, you know, closed. As you can clearly see on the corporate web site, Steak N Shake is supposed to be a 24-hour business. 24 hours. We had to go all the way home with no steak, no shake, no chili cheese fries at 1am. Left a sour taste in our mouths.

Oh yeah, Pat got these loud, bright yellow t-shirts made up for everyone. The front featured the TU seal, and the back is pictured below. Our group always knew where we were, and everyone else did too. Not being a grad or a Romanian, I found myself being a playacting spy the several times that people wanted to know what was the deal with the shirts.

Earlier this month was the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. As part of a History Channel program on the life of MLK, the performer John Legend created a pared down rendition of U2’s anthematic “Pride (In the Name of Love” which has com to be their tribute to the civil rights leader. The gentle, piano-based version of the song proves an interesting contrast to the usual performance of the song. View the new version here.

Here’s a recent rendition by U2 themselves for comparison sake:

This spring I’ve rejoined the Heidleberg College Community Choir. There’s a different director this term, and the music is interesting and challenging.

But what has been the most challenging has been the warm up exercises we do. The director is really old-school. Actually, the college’s whole conservatory must be pretty old-school. My evidence? They know and use the good old “do-re-mi” system of musical relationships. I’ve been singing in choirs for 20 years, but I’ve never gotten my head around the “do-re-mi”s. Sure, I can sing the Sound of Music tune, but that’s simply going up the scale in order. This dude’s got us doing all sorts of wacky patterns and what not: do mi so re so mi do. It’s quite humbling.

Living out on the edge of nowhere, we don’t really get much in the way of film that isn’t mainstream, so in addition to missing many of the great films everyone’s talking about, I don’t see many films either. Therefore, my list of 2007 favorites isn’t limited to films of 2007, nor is it limited to film. Rather, my 2007 favorites list is going to be a list of favorite art/media that I’ve ingested this past year: film, DVD, TV, music, web, books. Ok, perhaps I’ll put one limiter on this; the list only includes NEW TO ME experiences. Otherwise things like Firefly and reading Tolkien would overtake the list. So without further ado, here it is:

Todd’s 25 Favorite Art/Media Experiences of 2007 In Alphabetical Order

1. 28 Weeks Later, film by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2007

   One of the purest representations of nihilism I’ve seen in recent years. Apart from being a fun zombie flick, the film is unrelenting in punishing severely anyone who even dares to play even the smallest heroic role or act on any human feeling.

2. Amazing Grace, film by Michael Apted, 2006

   While not perhaps ground-breaking or even remarkable in its film-making aspects, the story itself is compelling, and the film doesn’t get in the way of it.

3. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, novel by Barry Lyga, 2006.

   Lyga paints a complex portrait of suburban America as seen by the kind of teen-age boy that many today would profile as a potential Columbine-like killer. That the boy has no violent intentions doesn’t seem to matter to those around him. What makes the story intriguing is that even the minor characters are complex, not fitting neatly into the stereotype boxes that they appear to be occupying.

4. Atonement, film by Joe Wright, 2007

   I generally despise frame stories and do think that the ending of this film could be lopped off with no negative effect to the narrative. However, when I think about what kind of love story I’d like to write, I’d like to think that I could do as a good a job of avoiding sugary-sweet sentimentality.

5. Bridge to Terabithia, film by Gabor Csupo, 2007

   While my 6-year-old nephew kept assuring me that it would “get better than this” throughout the film, I found myself not thinking it needed to. A rare display of showing restraint in the use of digital effects helped focus the film on the very real story of very real people rather than veering off into the tempting land of CG monsters and mindless action.

6. The Descent, film by Neil Marshall, 2005

   Perhaps the best horror film I’ve seen this century! While the general outline of the story is not terribly inventive, the execution of the tale is excellent. Marshall understands the concept of not showing too much, and does for spelunking what Spielberg did for ocean swimming. The DVD provides 2 or 3 different endings, which provides some interesting fodder for discussing changing film for different markets. (AKA, why American audiences make films stink).

7. Kôkaku kidôtai (Ghost in the Shell), film by Mamoru Oshii, 1995

   For about six-months–when I was 5–I was riding the cultural curve that brought Japanese animation to the US. Then I wiped out. I finally found my board and am tentatively paddling out into the surf again. Oshii’s 1995 anime classic is the best kind of sci-fi: a good story asking BIG questions set in an unfamiliar setting that gives people permission to explore issues. That, and the artwork and music rock.

8. Grizzly Man, film by Werner Herzog, 2005

   Like Into the Wild, Herzog takes a stark look at a somewhat unlikeable person to examine extreme aspects of the human psyche.

9. How’s Your News, film by Arthur Bradford, 1999.

   I haven’t felt this ambivalent about a documentary since Southern Comfort. I vascillated between wondering if these people were being exploited or at least endangered–psychologically if not physically–to being moved and fascinated as we watched the interactions between the developmentally challenged and, in some cases, the humanity challenged.

10. In Persuasion Nation, short stories by George Saunders, 2006.

    Perhaps not as strong a collection as Pastoralia, Saunders still brings the wonderfully fun satire. This time around, I was impressed with his consistency of voice and its verisimilitude to the kind of tone created by folks trying to sound sophisticated.

11. Live from Nowhere, Vol 2, music album by Over the Rhine, 2007.

    The group’s live interpretations of already good songs almost never fail to improve the material.

12. Life of Pi, novel by Yann Martel, 2001.

    A 21st century Robinson Crusoe tale. With a Tiger!

13. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, history by Nathaniel Philbrick, 2006.

    I was a bit shocked when the story departs the actual Mayflower less than a 1/3 into the book. My interest waned quickly when I saw I wasn’t going to get the sea story I desired, but Philbrick reeled me back in with a complex look at a period in our history that is so often simplified and romanticized.

14. Never Let Me Go, novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, 2005.

    Just what you might expect when the man who gave us The Remains of the Day turns his attention to the future.

15. Offside, film by Jafar Panahi, 2006 (Iran).

    How do young women pursue their passions in a highly repressive society? A good example of how an examination of an extreme situation can reveal truths about our own “enlightened” one.

16. Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, edited by Andrew Carrol, 2006.

    This collection represents highlights from the hundreds of manuscripts generated by the Operation Homecoming project. While all war writing seems to fall into familiar tropes–glory of battle, horror of battle, tedium and stupidity of the military, inhumanity of the situation–each conflict also seems to give rise to unique stories rooted in the specificities of the environment. This collection runs the gamut.

17. Ratatouille, film by Brad Bird & Jan Pinkava, 2007.

    The Pixar formula continues to impress: compelling story + breathtaking art + humor = great film. What’s not to like about a rat guiding a noobie chef to greatness and melting the heart of a stone-cold reviewer? I especially appreciated that the ending allowed for a certain realism concerning the response of health inspectors.

18. The Queen, film by Stephen Frears, 2006.

    Excellent film all the way around. While obviously a study of why the Monarchy reacted the way it did to Diana’s death, I found in this explanation many parallels to the response of the evangelical world to contemporary times.

19. “Seven Deadly Sinners,” song by The Born Again Floozies, 2007.

    What’s not to like about a group whose rhythm section comprises two tap dancers and a tuba?

20. Sky Blue Sky, music album by Wilco, 2007.

    Two of my favorite records of the year feature formerly unhappy groups dealing with being happy. Some have criticized the “lightness” of this album, but I think Tweedy and company deal fantastically with the difficulty of not being blue.

21. Story of a Girl, novel and blog by Sara Zarr, 2007.

    Even if I didn’t know Sara, this would have been one of my favorite reads of the year. The story succeeds in being realistic and heartwrenching and hopeful all in one go. And, hey, I even liked the character.

22. Les Triplettes de Belleville, film by Sylvain Chomet, 2003.

    Been wanting to see this for a while. There’s barely a word of dialogue in the whole film, but Chomet draws us into a wholly realized hyper-stylized Paris and New York for a grand tale of a mother’s love and bicycling.

23. The Trumpet Child, music album by Over the Rhine, 2007.

    Like Wilco, OTR had to figure out what to do with being happy. They mostly succeed. Of course, a bad OTR day is still better than most good ones.

24. What Gets Into Us, short stories by Moira Crone, 2006.

    I read this initially to get an idea about who this person was who was going to be leading the fiction track at the Glen Workshop. Then I read “The Ice Garden.” Wow.

25. The Woman in White, novel by Wilkie Collins, 1860.

    As part of my Dorothy Sayers-a-thon, I read this classic novel that inspired Sayers to write a book about Collins. It’s got your pscyh asylum, your dilapidated castle, your evil baron, your sinister foreigner, your secret society. Heck, it’s got it all. And more.

…my true love gave to me…

a Fender Standard Stratocaster HSS and Fender M-80 amplifier.

Rock on!

Golly gee! I’ve been tagged. I don’t think I’ve ever been tagged online before, so this is sorta disorienting. But, when a famous person tags you, you play like you’re IT. Them’s there’s the rules.

And here’s the rules about this here tagging business:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to. If you want.

So there’s the instructions, now here’s the tunes (in no particular order):

1. “Whatever Happened to Christmas” Aimee Mann One More Drifter In The Snow
2. “Patience (Herbert the Snail)” Music Machine Yes, that lively little gem from 70’s Christian Children’s Music.
3. “Darlin’ (Christmas is Coming)” Over the Rhine Snow Angels
4. “I’m On A Roll” Over the Rhine The Trumpet Child
5. Any cut from Vince Guraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas
6. “Either Way” Wilco Sky Blue Sky
7. “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again” Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde

The hardest part of this exercise if probably going to be coming up with seven people I know who have blogs/livejournals etc. Let’s see…I tag the three Morefields–Ken, Cindy, and Laura, Wade, and Rich. I think Sherry’s over on facebook. And…nope. That’s it. Six tags. If you want.

I had every intention of writing up an eloquent, detailed review of the American Music Masters tribute concert we saw Saturday night. The honoree was Jerry Lee Lewis, and while he’s never been a huge blip on my radar, one can’t look at American popular music in the 20th century without acknowledging his role in the development of the rock and roll. Certainly the evening promised to be interesting, if nothing else. Who could resist the potential intrigue of the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart taking the stage to honor his wild cousin? Would Lewis play? What would he play?

As it is, the semester is catching me up, and I’ve got miles of papers to grade before I sleep. For now, I’ll leave you with some images of the evening.

Billy Lee Riley plowing through “Flying Saucers Rock n Roll”

Kris Kristofferson not only performed but acted as Master of Ceremony.

The Rev. Jimmy Swaggart performed a bluesy, soulful rendition of “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” and left the stage crying.

Chrissy Hynde was the final performer before the presentation of the AMM award.

Jerry Lee Lewis accepting his award…

and surprises us all with a touching performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”