Sunday, February 23, 2014

Bye Bye Blogger

After ten years of using Blogger as my primary source of writing and posting photos on the interwebs, I'm finally launching out on my own (with a little help from Wix) with a brand new website that will feature my blog, a dedicated page for my photography, and who knows what else might make an appearance. Hop on over to http://www.gloryrumours.com to see my shiny new website and don't forget to bookmark it while you are there - after a month or so, this current page will disappear into the ether forever.

I hope you'll join me on this new adventure!

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Downloadable Dozen #1: The Lone Bellow - Bleeding Out



The last time a band captured my attention like The Lone Bellow has this year was back in 1983 when I heard U2 for the first time. The remarkable combination of meaningful lyrics, musical excellence, and passionate performance has put The Lone Bellow at the top of my song list for 2013 and is also my #1 pick for album of the year. This song, and really the entire record, is fueled by an absolute conviction that redemption has taken place and is now available to anyone who will reach out to receive it. This song tells us, "we are all of the beauty that has not been seen." The Lone Bellow have revealed some of that beauty in this, their first album. I look forward to many more.

Favourite Lyric
All the buildings, they lean and they smile down on us
And they shout from their roof tops, words we can't trust
Like you’re dead, you are tired
You’re ruined, you're dust
Oh you will amount to nothing, like tanks full of rust

But we scream back at them
From below on the street
All in unison we sing, our time's been redeemed
We are all of the beauty, that has not been seen
We are full of the color, that’s never been dreamed
Well, nothing we need ever dies


I've seen a number of comments saying that their album is overproduced and that they are much better live. I'd say that applies to almost any decent band out there, however, to get a good sense of The Lone Bellow as a live act, check out this video for their performance at an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. This is where I first discover them.