* not with ink

Last month, I saw Bear's Den play at the Horseshoe (you all should buy their album promptly), and they played an acoustic cover of this "small local artist" as part of their encore. I loved it. Turns out, I also like the original song, despite a general dislike for Drake's ego...as seen in this video. I recommend you jump ahead to the 2:30 mark. Or don't bother watching. Just take a listen.

Here's the thing: there is nothing new under the sun. All these doctrinal debates? All the fear of heresy? All the either/or discussions and stances about all the nuances of what one believes and how one ought to live it? It's been around, folks. Since the 4th century. Presumably earlier. I find this somewhat comforting. None of my fears are unknown. None of my wildest hypotheses are out of the realm of the normal. Someone else has thought the same thing. And someone else has disagreed with them. --- You know what else has been around since the 4th century? Church politics. We may have separation of church and state in the western world, but there are still politics inside the church. And the church can be quite political. This came up quite clearly in the past couple of weeks, and frankly, it makes me anxious. I don't want to get all broiled up in politics and manoeuvrings. Can I be involved in church/ministry without it? This connects to thought #3... --- Unity....

I hope my posts are not reduced to weekly-point-form-notes from now til Christmas. It may be. It's my blog and my life, and I know I don't need to apologize, because I haven't promised you anything else. But I will tell you that I hope I still have interesting and/or random thoughts to share with you. --- So much to read. I like reading. But sometimes the absorption takes longer than the actual reading. I wonder how much of the material I cover & thoughts we discuss will make its way from brain to heart and heart to hands, you know? --- Greek words! Noun declensions! Pronoun charts! I like them. I love learning languages. --- Friendships. Some come easily, and sometimes becoming friends is awkward even though it seems we all want to be friends. There are also some moments where I am relieved I don't have to be besties with everyone. But I do think I need to be kind. --- Starting on Tuesday, I have a part-time job. Flexible hours, laid-back boss, at...

I'm grateful for friends like Selina who help me remember that Toronto has fantastic arts & culture offerings. As an avid TIFF fan, she's my go-to movie friend throughout the year, and even more so in September. So when she texted on the weekend to ask if I wanted to go see, Sunshine on Leith , a Scottish musical, I didn't need any other info. I was in. And once again, wound up with more than I'd expected (last year, the Countess of Wessex attended the same film as us, Rebelle , which went on to be nominated for an Oscar, and was stunningly beautiful and upsetting). Scottish musical, yes. With an exclusively-Proclaimers soundtrack? Yes. The world premiere? Yes. Two rows in front of said Proclaimers, the film director and main actors? Yes. Guys. And gals. It was a good movie. It avoided much of the schmalz of musicals (only one moment of eye-rolling cliched conversation), wound three love stories around the beauty of Edinburgh and the return of two young vets fro...

Q: What does seminary have in common with hip hop karaoke? A: They're both terrifying. And yet I said yes. Earlier this summer, I asked my friend David to please invite me next time he was going to perform at HHK ...somehow, that became a plan to do a duet with him, and let another friend, Shetu, make a video about it (as part of a series she's making on women trying things for the first time). Yeah. What had I done!? Of course, I was more fearful of backing out than of performing, so after several rehearsals (including one as we cycled through downtown Toronto, rapping together in loud, outdoor voices), I found myself at a night club, choosing a hip-hop name for myself, sweating and shivering. Here's the result (minus a final sound-edit): Beth does hip hop karaoke from Shetu M on Vimeo . Mad props to Shetu for her interviewing & video-editing skills. And much thanks to David, for being a master of hip-hop and constructive, encouraging feedback. I a...

Last weekend, I (along with 30,000 others) went to Simcoe for a music festival. Yes, thirty thousand. It was fantastic. I have a lot of thoughts that are not-quite-music-related, and I will likely (possibly) write another post about those. But first, I'd like to talk music! The Gentlemen of the Road tour headliners were, of course, fantastic. Edwarde Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros put on a trippy hobo show. I can't help but think their lead singer would have been an itinerant back-country revival preacher in the 1920's. Mumford and Sons brought the proverbial house down. I assume you've all seen or heard some of their songs, so there's no need to post any here. I would, however, like to introduce you to a couple of bands you may not know. First, it is important to note that there is a difference between country music and bluegrass music. If you've got a hate-on for country, I would plead with you to give bluegrass a chance. Maybe start by watching O B...

Can't get enough of this song: I am an endangered species  But I sing no victim's song  I am a woman  I am an artist  And I know where my voice belongs (First heard on  So You Think You Can Dance;  I adore Jasmine.)

Over the weekend, I formed a slight addiction to this song by Bastille called "Pompeii." And the walls kept tumbling down In the city that we love Great clouds roll over the hills Bringing darkness from above But if you close your eyes, Does it almost feel like Nothing changed at all? And if you close your eyes, Does it almost feel like You've been here before? How am I gonna be an optimist about this? How am I gonna be an optimist about this? --- I was on Twitter yesterday, and clicked through an image mere minutes after the Boston blasts. I don't know what I expected, exactly, but I hadn't been thinking blood. A lot of blood. My friends were there. They left 20 minutes earlier, so they could beat the airport traffic. I am training a new girl at work. She is wrapping up her degree from a Boston college and lives two blocks away. On Sunday, she went to take pictures of the finish line, went shopping at Marathon Sports. We saw these places...

This song by Bear's Den continues to do a number to my heart. Not only does it sound  fantastic, but the lyrics touch at our (my) deepest fears: Agape // please don't dissipate... For I'm so scared of losing you And I don't know what I can do // about it I don't want to know who I am without you It's the kind of song that makes me want to crank the volume, stand in the middle of an empty field or crowded streetcar, and sing along at the top of my lungs. Possibly while punching the sky and crying. Instead, when it wakes me up each morning, I feel strangely comforted. I listen while I blink awake, and stretch. I lie there and feel hope for the day, because even in sadness like the singer's, there is so much beauty.

Snail mail is a thing of beauty. I love sending it, and I love receiving it. Know what else I love? Music.  Combine the two, and you can understand why I'm eagerly checking the mail this week...My friend Alasdair and I have been doing a yearly music trade pretty much since we met. It is getting tricky  to find bands the other person hasn't heard yet, but the challenge is half the fun. The other half of the fun is receiving a CD from across the ocean with a dozen songs I don't know, but am almost guaranteed to love. And probably two songs I already love. That is how I know it's a successful trade. Anyway. The point is that I've compiled the mix I made this year, and since he has now received the hardcopy, you can take a listen to the mix online (many of you Canadians will recognize more of the artists than the average Brit, so I apologize if few of these are new to you). Any favourites? Any Canadian music-makers I've obviously overlooked?

From sometime in 2010. No edits. Last week, I got asked out. In Dreamland, this boy* and I had the sort of relationship where lots of people wonder if we're dating, or when we'll date, etc etc. (I think it's because Nadine told me that I am " the queen of the non-date date. " Which reminded me of this conversation and made me laugh.) As part of his I-like-you speech, he told me that a friend of his said to him, "Get gay, get out, or get balls." Meaning: if he were gay, then our friendship would make sense. If he had no plans to ever date me, he needed to not pseudo-date me. Or he needed to man up and ask me out. Clearly he picked option #3. Then he asked if he could borrow my car. Since it wasn't actually my car, but a car I had borrowed from a woman who goes to the church I grew up at (gotta love the random dream connections), I said I'd drive him. So we went to his "apartment," which was also on loan from someone else. I...

Does anyone else remember this song? And if so, did you EVER see this video!? Crazy times. There is so much to say: a. those crop tops. b. the hair styles! c. orange. d. why the children!? e. all the languages! f. the floating TV

It's not too late to join the B-Sides Music Exchange . About half a dozen of us have uploaded our albums, and there is still time to add yours in! In case you're teetering on the edge, I thought I'd offer you my mix in streaming format. And know that of all the mixes, mine is the worst. So if this is passable, the others will be even more enjoyable. Beth's Best B-Sides from bethaf on 8tracks Radio .

All day, my work computer has been prompting me to reboot because of recently installed patches. I have delayed it at least a dozen times, because I have too many important tabs open . So, for my own sake (and your curiousity/education) here they are: Music I want to listen to . Apparel Industry Trends -  looking at forced & child labour in clothing production Once Was Lost - an online store that gives 50% of proceeds to support adoptive families, including my friends Amelia & Varun . 3 Cords - an online store featuring handmade goods from women in Haiti. God is not "everywhere" - a theological conversation with a friend. Self-taught 15 year-old engineer from Sierra Leone . I want to watch the video. End of the Line - an article about the ICU shared by my nurse-friend Laura. Joan Didion on keeping a notebook .

Some of you have tuned into the All-Christmas-All-the-Time radio stations or set your ipods to Genre: Holiday. I know this. I am not one of you, although I don't mind that many people have started "preparing" for the holidays. If, however, you are like me, you are listening to a little bit of everything...and looking for some new songs. In which case, this is your lucky day. Remember back in March, I hosted a little music exchange ? Well, it was a great success (hopefully everyone who participated agrees!) and I've decided it's time for another round! Here are the guidelines: Let me know you want to participate, and I will hook you up with Dropbox if you aren't already using it. Select ten-ish songs. (8 min, 12 max) Songs and artists don't have to be "new," but you cannot include more than 2 songs that appear on other albums (incentive to submit early!!) Upload your album to the shared folder on Dropbox by December 31, 2012 (your...

There is a lot of singing around my apartment. Karen sings better than I do (don't let her play shy - she's quite spectacular), but what I lack in pitch, I make up for in exuberance. It amuses me greatly to hear the unpredictable snippets of song that come out of us early in the morning, late in the evening, and pretty much any time. Here are a few that have been kicking around: Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks Take a Chance on Me - ABBA Blood Pressure - MuteMath (mostly, I sing the opening guitar riff)

It started with Fuel/Friends' Spring 2012 Mix (so many things start with one of Heather's mixes). She wrote about "Old Pine:" "I love how this song starts about a thousand sonic miles from where it ends." I don't know exactly how Ben Howard's other songs wound up on my computer, but most recently, the track I can't get out of my head is "The Wolves." I adore his ability to build a song from start to finish. These aren't just two verses and a chorus and three chords looped round and round. His rhythms and lyrics weave a distinct momentum that carries me away every time.

A little curated list of things I've found about-town. By which I mean, on-line. Interesting things just pile up and pile up in my browsers. Here are some of them. This kid's perspective on Maroon 5 's big hit "Moves Like Jagger" cracks me up. This is like pinterest for recipes . It's very, very dangerous. ( Vanessa , you'll love it.) I recently decided to start exchanging postcards with strangers around the world. You may enjoy doing the same. Did you know that  the "City of London" is not the same as the city named London ? A fascinating and informational short video.      5.  Needs no introduction. ( via A Softer World )         6. This amazing art from Marc Johns   continually amuses me. There should be laws like this.     7. I'd hate to make this gaffe , but I do wish jobs would land in my lap...     8. Related:  I feel like this Wondermark comic .

Tuesday night concerts are tough for me. They're cheap (or free!) but they're mid-week, and I want to be at home and in bed before midnight, because that's how I roll. I'm so grown-up. We drank wine and ate guacamole and talked about boys and Europe and art and adorable cats named Sawyer. I felt pleased to introduce my friends to my other friends. Second time this summer I've had a concert quartet of just-introduced ladies. Over at the Horseshoe, ID check was perfunctory. "Do you have your cards?" We fish them out and he doesn't even look at them. "That's the kind of carding I like!" says one friend. The crowd is not too big and we make our way to the edge. A band called Silver Lining  plays. I'm digging the accordion and think, This sounds like an east-coast house party . They later say they're from Newfoundland, and everything about them makes more sense. The band we came to see is Milo Greene . They opened for Th...

I am in love with everything about this song.