NEW ISH*
(* do I mean that the information herein is only sort of new, or am I using that clever backwards swearing slang? We may never know...)

Everything I experience seems to be oddly related lately. I like synchronicity (the song, and the thing), because it makes you feel like you life really does mean something-- you're not just a dude who's tired all the time and going to school in some godforsaken tiny town for no reason. I read, I write, I eat, i listen, and somewhere a strange and slowly unravelling narrative emerges.

Some new things I've stumbled upon during this journey lately, then: first, there's the internet radio station I'm listening to, Radio Indie Pop, which is completely independent -- no ads, popup or otherwise -- the first song I heard on which was by the band Ambulance LTD. Oddly, this very day I met a fellow HSU student who used to play in aforementioned band, who plays locally in a delightful outfit called The Signals, who may recruit yours truly for some drum help.

As I'm exploring more about hip-hop, and specifically the idea that there can or will be or is already a kind of "Christian"** rap Rennaissance in the same way there was/is a "Christian" rock one, I found this very intelligent discussion of the very thing.
(**I'm sorry I have to keep using scare quotes for this stuff. That word is just so loaded, especially when applied to popular music. I have to trust that you know what I mean, which is closer to "music made by people who are probably but not necessarily Christians, and who care about creating beautiful and original art while at the same time maintaining a spiritual focus," as opposed to "usually mediocre music made by people who are probably but not necessarily Christians but whose record labels definitely know how to make money off of Christians.")
One rapper mentioned above is The Listener. Holy crap, this guy is good. He had me right from "OFFICER DON'T HAUL ME IN/ I'VE NOT HAD A DRINK FOR WEEKS,/ BUT TONIGHT THEY WERE SCREAMING AT ME AGAIN/ AT LEAST I DIDN'T PUNCH HER IN HER TEETH." Anthony Barr-Jeffrey (hip-hop gatabout, occasional blogger for CCM Magazine) called me up about this dude's show at the Q Cafe. Do check him out on his ingenious potluck tour of backyards and living rooms this fall.

Finally, for some reason my deceased pop band showed up in two places on the internet last week: a (positive, but who's counting?) review at Splendid, and a shout-out on Fingertips, which is a really cool site devoted to pointing interested parties to free and legal music online.

until we meet again.