I've once again boarded the Ship of Fools

I recently found another avenue for my crave for satire, or perhaps I should say refound.

I've known about Ship of Fools for some time but haven't visited it in years. If you want straight up Christian satire (yes there is such a thing) then Wittenburg Door is probably more your bag but Ship of Fools is so much more British in it's approach. It's warm, irreverent, theologically diverse, accommodating and very ... well ... Anglican is probably the best word to describe it. Of course I should say that it's non-denominational.

It was was first launched in 1977 as a student rag mag, but stopped in 1983 after just ten issues - full time work beckoned. It was raised again on April Fool's Day 1998 as a website, and quickly grew into an online community as well as a webzine. The editor Simon Jenkins says, "We're here for people who prefer their religion disorganised. Our aim is to help Christians be self-critical and honest about the failings of Christianity, as we believe honesty can only strengthen faith."

Amen fella!

A recent post of their community forum made very interesting read. The question being, "Where does your theology challenge your morality?"

In other news I still seem pretty set on updating my blog fairly sporadically, it would seem.

Taking it easy

After a month and a bit the momentum has somewhat gone in my blog.

Rather than forcing myself into writing something every day I'll go back to my original goal of using this as an outlet for things that interest or inspire me.

So the next time something interests me (such as the youtube video in the previous post) I'll whack it up here. The same goes for the next time I start to write something of merit. As an example I started to write a couple of articles at the weekend for a new magazine that comes in the summer. When they're done I'll write up a reduced version for the blog. But until then, expect things to be a little more sporadic...

Oh and isn't that cartoon 'hilarious'? No, it's just apt.

Worship Star

Not the world's best song but it's a challenging message delivered in a (fairly) funny way.



It's a parody of Nickelback's "Rock Star". Make sure you read what this video is about before jumping to conclusions...

This week I have been mainly

This week I was mostly listening to
Benjamin Blower – The Pillar of Smoke
This fella has a very Old Testament view of the world which lends to some wondrous imagery akin to that you'll read in Revelation. 'Babylon is Dead' appears to be his mantra. It's a very tribal sounding noise that relies a lot on percussion, weird time signatures, spoken word vocals akin to Mike Skinner and a kind of indie rock edge. To get into the head of this troubled Brummie soul check his manifesto. Quite frankly though I just like the noise he makes.
Oposium – Life Under The Sun
An interesting self-produced listen that was almost entirely the work of one man, Richard McLester. A very promising debut by the south coast art/indie rock outfit who clearly take influence from bands such as Muse, Pink Floyd and Sigur Ros.
Damien Rice – O
You gotta love him. After the opening track you've got three immense yet beautiful songs in a row – Volcano, The Blower's Daughter and Cannonball. Maybe I should get round to buying his follow-up '9'?

This week I was mainly watching
Apart from The Apprentice, Have I Got News For You and Reginald Perrin I can't actually remember watching anything of note.

This week I was mainly reading
The last few chapters of the four gospels. It's always interesting to read how the four different authors each add their own flavour and perspective to the resurrection story (and what follows on) to weave the greater picture. Of course they all stress the same fundamental truth though.

Other things of note from this week
Last weekend I celebrated my Grandma and Grandpa's diamond wedding anniversary. That's 60 years married to same person!
Also I hardly touched my blog...

I woke up in a cold sweat this morning

I realised this morning that it's been days, actual days, since my last blog post. I'm so sorry, I hope you found another day to kill your time - perhaps you refound those pins you used to stick in your eyes?

Maybe later today I'll start a nice little post about ID cards or some other New Labour disarray story, for now I'll copy and paste (I assure you I've not changed any of this) a Facebook message I received yesterday:

"Hi all

Thank you for joining the group 'Chip K Should Host Songs of Praise!', if you haven't checked out the group recently there are now well over 400 members.

This is just a quick update and prayer request - Chip is supportive and having chatted with him, I have now sent and email to Tommy Nagra, the producer of Songs of Praise, to try and get the ball rolling. Please can you pray that the email is well recieved, that the producer finds Jesus and that if its God's will that things will progress to broadcast.

God Bless

Rob Pember
Admin
of 'Chip K Should Host Songs of Praise'"

For the record Chip K is the main man behind thebandwithnoname, a Christian hip hop group who do a lot of schools work.

I completely forgot I'd signed up to this rather daft Facebook group and as such it made me smile.

Fives - The five metal musts

Later on in the series I'll cover punk, hardcore, emo and purely British bands but for now below are five metal outfits that are definitely worth a punt. With all these bands I may suggest only one album but that's purely a starting place, most releases from all five bands are well worth a punt. So in alphabetical order here are five metal musts:

As I Lay Dying
Some may want to argue that the band are more hardcore than metal, as that's clearly where their roots are, but no metal-head will be disappointed by their soaring riffs and their destructive breakdowns. Their pure musicality will impress any serious music fan and even the scene kids who prefer their metalcore a little more emo. Tim Lambesis is one of the greatest lyricists of our generation and more so than almost any other band out there these guys really know how gorge in big, BIG breakdowns.
Where to start: An Ocean Between Us (2007)

Becoming The Archetype
Few bands come close to the technically ability and crushing brutality of Solid State Records most on form current band. A wondrous mix of death growls, progressive experimental riffage and gorgeous synth-laden textures. Their name comes from Genesis 1:26: "God said, 'Let us make man in our image.'" Jesus was the only person to ever be sinless, ergo He was the archetype of humanity. If you wished that Opeth would deck going soft and had deeper lyrics then look no further.
Where to start: Dichotomy (2008)

Demon Hunter
Out of the ashes of technical hardcore band Traning For Utopia came the much more metallic Demon Hunter. Due to their nu metal beginnings and their hidden identities (thankfully they've binned that now) they were touted by some as Christianities answer to Slipknot. In their more straight up metal moments there are clear nods to Machine Head and Living Sacrifice. They're renowned for a large number of guest vocals and more recently have moved away from their nu-metal roots to a more adventurous sound.
Where to start: Summer of Darkness (2004)

Living Sacrifice
Without doubt the most influential Christian metal band of the 90s and still leaving their stamp in 2009 – when their first album in seven years is due. The band started out with a fairly thrashy sound and quickly developed a more complex sound that became almost metalcore by the end of their 15 year life. They took over the mantle that earlier metal pioneers had inspired them to usurp, bands such as Stryper, Believer and Seventh Angel.
The band formed in 1989 and split in 2005, after releasing a greatest hits, but recently reformed to tour and record a new album.
Where to start: In Memoriam (2005)

Virgin Black
An Australian band that combines gothic doom and symphonic metal influences. There are a lot of classical influences too that merge with the grandiose dark gothic drone. They've clearly overtaken the ambitious Saviour Machine and clearly take a huge inspiration from My Dying Bride – who also inspire Rock and Hard Place favourites My Silent Wake. The dark sound and haunting lyrics match their name, which they explain as "the juxtaposition of purity and humanity's darkness". Perhaps the least overtly Christian of the five choices but they're clearly dealing with spiritual matters and the Requiem series speaks for itself.
Where to start: Requiem Trilogy – Mezzo Forte (2007), Fortissimo (2008), Pianissimo (2009)

Previous fives: The five records labels that'll keep your ears happy

This week I have been mainly

This week I was mostly listening to
Celldweller - Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol. 1
Celldweller have a new album out very soon and this is their most recent output, only one track has lyrics (Switchback) but the music is quality. It's the kind of stuff that superhero/action filmmakers have wet dreams over.
Mark Radcliffe and Liza Tarbuck on Radio 2
On lates I always listen to Radcliffe and Maconie on the drive home but as I've been on earlies this week I had the honour of hearing Mark Radcliffe's Mancunian wit alongside the ever bubbly Liza Tarbuck. He was sitting in for Steve Wright, what a blessing!

This week I was mainly watching
The Rise and Fall of Reginal Perrin
I'm actually quite surprised by how much I enjoyed the first episode of the 21st Century remake of the 70s classic. Martin Clunes and the team behind this, I can forgive you for now.
Lady Randy: Churchill's Mother
The wife of Randolph Churchill and the mother of Winston was one dirty selfish mare! A very interesting portrait on a very driven woman who served herself first and her first husband and then her son second, with a burning desire to see them succeed at the highest level of politics.
In the Loop
You can read some of my views on this excellent film in a recent post.

This week I was mainly reading
Mike Rimmer's ever relevant challenge to Christians who want to make good music and get out a contemporary and thought-provoking message at the same time. Christian musicians currently either seem to be talented and playing in the mainstream but as a result losing any lyrical edge they may have previously had or stay within the cotton wool lined Christian circuit and lack the necessary competition to keep them artistically challenged and as a result tend to sound rather bland and average.

Other things of note from this week
I played subbuteo for first time in a month with my newly acquired figures. I'm going to use the excuse of a lack of sleep as to why I lost two matches I could have won. I'm still on an upwards curve ... and I'm still a massive nerd. You'll also notice from yesterday's post that I've spent far too much time thinking about the old Woolworths in Hanley.