The Classic Crime presents their fans with their full length sophomore effort The Silver Chord on Tuesday, July 22^nd. Four days before the release, the band made public the full album in conjunction with Myspace Music. On the heels of their Seattle EP released last fall, The Silver Chord offers fans a harder and darker work, slightly tainted by repeating lyrics.

The silver chord is a term directly taken from the Bible. Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 says just before the well known Meaningless passage,

“Remember [your Creator]-before the silver chord is severed…and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

The silver chord is a representation of life, a life given by the Creator just once to every man. And likewise, The Silver Cord album is a representation of the ups and downs of life, a searching for that one thing, that longing.

Before I talk more in depth about the songs themselves, there is one thing that brings the album as a whole down. This is the fact that certain terms and phrases are repeated over and over and over again in most songs. However, the vocalist does use different pitches and volumes and melodies during the ad naseum that follows the changing of the beat, melody and tempo of the song.

The CD begins with a track called “The End,” and ends with a track called “The Beginning.” “The End” is a sorrowful song about a hard fought battle and leading followers into an ambush. Shame is present, and leads into the next song, “Just A Man”, which deals with regrets. Choices were made because they were the easy thing to do instead of the right thing to do (especially as a leader). (”I’m just a man” ad naseum.)

One of the first singles from this CD, “Gravedigging” is about a man’s struggle with suicide…resorting to digging his own grave because things in life are useless…leading others to follow (the last line exclaims, “We’re digging our own grave!”).

“The Way That You Are” is a song directed towards a guy and a girl in separate verses (makes me think of TFK’s “This Is A Call”). Ultimately they are both discouraged by their life, and the song encourages them not to let what others think become what they really are or could be. (”This is the way that you are” ad naseum.)

The next song, “5805″ begins by reminding me of the music of a modern waltz with vocals. The lyrics are a reminiscence and longing for the good times gone by growing up, spending time with our friends and listening to concerts shouting at the top of our lungs. (”Like that” ad naseum.)

“Salt in the Snow” is a look at where the singer is right now in life, how “like salt in the snow / I’m melted and left on the side of the road.” He is not pleased or happy with where he is, and so he is looking to the hope that “winter’s cold will give way to summer’s warmth.” Powerfully, he cries out to someone bigger than himself (God?), “I took you for granted again….I was wrong again / are you listening?” (”Woah…” ad nauseum.)

The first single released last month, “Abracadavers”, is a rant against vanity and selfishness. “We’re all the same, made of hair and bones and water and blood cells / We’re all to blame for spending way too much time on ourselves.” We’re all human but we think we can make ourselves look better than any other human, but in reality the way we really grow and become a true hero is through suffering.

“R and R” is a regret of choosing to run away and a longing for home. Like the title implies, the seeker is looking for true Rest and Relaxation where he belongs. (”How long, how long?” and “Woah” ad naseum.)

“God and Drugs” acknowledges that God won’t go away, even while we look elsewhere for Him through our own efforts. (”Oh oh oh oh” ad naseum.) Similar to it, “Medisin” is an interesting twist on a common concept. Usually, we take medicine to help our bodies stay alive. But this song acknowledges that we also indulge in sin in the same way, to try and stay alive. However, the singer knows that “there is more to life” than taking the tranquilizing medicine of sin to keep him asleep and in oblivious slavery.

“The Ascent” is a voiceless track 1:54 long, with an upbeat and hopeful feel. This is immediately followed by “Sing,” which is a synthetically accented song calling for the singer himself to sing, to lift spirits, and change things for the better

The next track, “Everything” is a song about the pleasures of intimacy of the singer with his girl, and his love and longing for her.

“Closer Than We Think” reveals that in spite of the downs in life, “I am true and I am living” An attention-grabbing play on a line in the well known 23^rd Psalm says that “We will walk through the valley of the shadow of the boring and we will burn it all. We will not go quietly” But this is all because of the hope that “that despite what we’ve done, we’re closer than we think to home.” (”To home…” ad naseum.)

The last song, called “The Beginning” feels hopeful, as the singer is finally coming home (which could be symbolized as his homeland, his girl, and/or his God, maybe all three) and the revelation hits him that God has taken his life, through the ups and downs, and continues to make him a beautiful thing. (”The sea…” and “I’d let her go” ad naseum.)

Ultimately, The Silver Chord is a stirring account of life’s experiences. The Classic Crime was not afraid to be truthful and honest about these experiences and feelings, which is evident in the various struggles each song exemplifies. Life is a journey, and the only thing you can do is press on through the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, searching and longing for something else. That something else is home. That is The Silver Chord.

My Rating:

Germ, by Robert Liparulo, is a thrilling read from start to finish. The back of the book does not really give away what the true story is about, it just uses a generalized summary of an overarching plot point: a new form of the Ebola virus exists that is transmitted airborne, and it will only target certain people. Only the last sentence of the back cover hint at what the majority of the book is about: “Pray the assassins get you first.”

The book consists of ninety-nine relatively short chapters, as well as a prologue and an epilogue. The POV is always third person, with most chapters devoted to one character’s limited viewpoint. However, the novel does primarily revolve around the central character, Julia Mattheson and the supporting characters of Steven and Allen Parker.

The entire journey of reading this book is a thrill ride in itself. There is hardly a dull moment, and when the characters are given a short reprieve from being on the run, their thoughts revealed to the reader are never close to having a chance to rest. Frequently, a chapter will end on a cliffhanger and switch to a different POV in the next, leaving you to wonder and forcing you to continue to read.

The plot of this thriller is plausible, but luckily not quite reality (as far as we know). The main protagonists are trying to prevent the unleashing of a:

…strain of the Ebola virus that seeks out specific individuals through their DNA. Once released into the atmosphere, the virus probably travels from host to host like a flu bug, but harmless. It checks the DNA of each host, comparing it to some set of instructions he has encoded within the virus. If it matches, it turns into full-blown Ebola; if it doesn’t, it moves on to another host … until it finds a match. (Germ, p. 372)

As far as I know, a virus that can target individuals based on DNA has not been developed (yet!), but how scary would that be. So good work on coming up with a realistic and thrilling plot.

The main chunk of the thriller however, revolves around Julia, Allen, and Stephen running from an assassin named Atropos whose primary weapons of choice are a spiked gauntlet and laser sighted pistol. These scenes are priceless, and yet, it begs the question, “How lucky can you get to keep escaping all these times?”

I did like the backstory mythos behind Atropos and the power players behind the creation of the virus. It certainly added dimension to the story and the development of the characters.

One slight issue I had was in the first part of the story, a Wall Street journalist was introduced who was sent a list of the people the virus targeted (he was not informed about the significance of this list). He began some research on what the list could mean and then all of the sudden just dropped it and dropped out of the story line. Now I realize that the main reason he was there was to reveal to the reader that ten thousand individuals–high, middle and low class–were infected around the country. I just wish that this would have tied in better with the rest of the plot and story line.

Characterization was on par with what I would expect a quality thriller to achieve. The main characters had depth and feeling to them, yet it was not overly dramatized. Dialogue was natural sounding and easy to read.

The settings seemed real enough, ranging from Atlanta to Chattanooga to Paraguay. Descriptions were quite vivid and very easy to picture.

I was impressed with the author’s ability to pay close attention to details, and acknowledge them by following what the reader would be thinking. At one point in the book, I tried counting the number of bullets Julia had left, and two sentences later she is doing that exact thing.

The story has the classic good guys win ending, but not without some hurt. I was thankful that it did have a Christian character in it, but did not try to be preachy about it or make the whole point of the story or the denouement about someone becoming saved. The example was there, but things were left open like they should be. The characters should have free will, just like we do in real life.

All in all, this was novel that lives up to its subheading: A Thriller. Great job Mr. Liparulo!

Yesternight, I called a friend up to see what he was doing. Not surprisingly, he was playing World of Warcraft. He asked me to come over and save him from himself. I came over, yet he did not stop playing. So I sketched out this idea, based on the idea of Demotives.

Today I found some time to put it in real digital form. I am posting it here for your enjoyment.

A Demotive

Stories are awesome! Stories are my favorite. When I was a kid, I loved reading stories, of any nature. And as I was introduced to the Bible, I found that I really and utterly enjoyed reading the Old Testament–to clarify it was one of those cases that I loved to read the Old Testament over the New Testament. I mean, I liked the stories in the Gospels and stuff, but I didn’t really like much else because it wasn’t story oriented (I have since grown to appreciate the New Testament, and it seems that things have switched).

But I loved reading about Joshua getting tricked into an alliance with local enemies that the LORD had commanded them to destroy (Joshua 9). Or about the various antics and exploits of the kings of Judah and Israel (1 & 2 Kings), or about the man of God who disobeyed God when he was tricked into resting and feasting with a deceitful prophet and not completing a journey commanded by God and so he died and was mauled by a lion (1 Kings 13).

Yeah, these exciting, gruesome, bloody, and outrageous stories enthralled me. They taught me that there was such a thing as righteous and unrighteous men, and that sometimes righteous men do unrighteous things. Yet they also taught me about God and his seemingly ambivalent desire for both Justice and Mercy. These elements that I mentioned are themes at the heart of every story ever conceived: good vs. evil, need for revenge, inspiring redemption, forgiveness, a desire to make things right when they have gone wrong.

Conflict. No story is told without it. Otherwise, the information being told would be just that, uninteresting data flowing out of a mouth (or typed or written out by hand). What makes a story interesting, enjoyable, and memorable is conflict. But if you think about it, we ourselves have tons of stories to share, even if we think otherwise. It all depends on the way we look at things.

We all have our share of conflicts (the glass is have empty), but we also have our share of stories that could be told (the glass is half full). I think that is why people tend to like optimistic people better: they tend to share their stories as exciting struggles they have experiences, whereas pessimists tend to just look at them as conflicts that must be over-come….and that’s it.

I know more often (and by default), I am usually apart of the latter group. But I still know and enjoy stories–reading them, watching them, listening to them, singing to them, experiencing them, etc…. They will never cease to amaze me. I think that Jesus knew what he was doing when he told parables to the people….he captured our attention, and proclaimed hope to us who were and are lost in ways that we could comprehend.

Many people are looking for an ear that will listen.  They do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking where they should be listening.  But he who can no longer listen to his brother will soon no longer be listening to God either; he will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God too. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life. . . . Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his own follies. -Dietrich Bonhoffer

In  today’s world, we live in a civilization of constant noise and buzzing about every conceivable topic imagined. Heath Ledger just died. Brittany has new secrets. An Australian girl’s liver transplant gave her a new immune system. Hillary, Obama, McCain, Huckabee, and Romney are at it again. Tennessee is now pushing Grass-oline. Will the Giants defeat the unbeatable Patriots in the Superbowl?

We also hear about the latest Christian thing that is being pushed: the best contemporary Christian music groups such as Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, Skillet, Switchfoot, Mandisa; the latest social groups like Invisible Children, Compassion, Hands and Feet, ONE; the latest books that come out like (another!) Left Behind, Frank Peretti, Andy Stanley, Joel Olsteen, John Eldridge, Karen Kingsbury; or even churches that boast great accomplishments and numbers like Mars Hill, Northpoint, Grace Fellowship, Calvary, and even FCC of Kernersville and East Unaka Christian. These are all examples of the Christian marketplace where everyone has something to say, to tell, to boast, to glorify, to critique, to compliment, reiterate. And it’s all just more noise.

Even on a small scale in the Milligan bubble, we constantly hear about the latest feature of the new Liberal Arts Building, or the latest gossip about dorm life, or where President Jeanes actually got all the money to recently finish completion of his mansion. These are also examples of the noise that is engraved into our lives.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that these things are bad, or these things are good. I am addressing the fact that they are still examples of constant noise in our lives. Yes, noise is an essential part of the community experience, it is considered a form of communication. But reading the quote by Bonhoffer above makes me think  about the fact that we are always sending out messages, but how often do we really listen to what is received?

Bonhoffer makes an incredible point when he identifies listening as a spiritual discipline. It is a discipline that helps us stay in communion with God. Anyone can talk, and chatter away about nothing. But why are we afraid or uncomfortable when there is immense silence?

The alternative rock band, Anberlin, claim that the reason is because of the power in the silence: Anberlin - A Whisper & A Clamor

Growing tired of bedside resolve
Public display of depression
Something’s got to give now
Something’s going to break down
I grow tired of writing songs
Where people listen but never
Hear what’s really going on now
Tell me what’s so wrong now

(Chorus)
Clap your hands now all ye children
There’s a clamor in your whispering
Clap your hands tonight
Hear what the silence screams

For most who live and breathe
Hell is never knowing who they are now
Tell me who you are now
Finally safe from the outside
Trapped in what you know
Are you safe from yourself?
Can you escape all by yourself?

Chorus

It’s not the lies that you sing
But what the silence will scream

Chorus

Hear what the silence screams!

This power that is in the silence is exactly what Bonhoffer is referring to. Because God is in the silence, and God works and gives his power through the silence. If we as Christians are to live with His power, we first need to live within His silence. Next, within that silence, we need to listen. Listen to what God is saying, listen to what our brothers and sisters are saying. Not just hearing them speak, but actually comprehending their communication. Communication is a two way street, and if we are only talking and making more noise, we are missing out on the view from the other side of the road.