Academik

So I’m sitting in an apartment building in Jakarta right now, thinking that I should be telling you more about why the podcast isn’t happening for the moment, although I have one more that is hopefully going to go up soon, and let you hear about my trip because hey, it’s kinda cool.

All of the trip details will be posted to Academik.org and to Sevenlamps (on the blogroll).¬† I’m spending the next 2 weeks here doing some Christian consulting in Jakarta who are interested in involving God in their businesses… sounds crazy right?¬† That’s what I thought until I did some more investigation from a Christian perspective.¬† 49 out of 51 of Jesus’ miracles in the Bible were in the marketplace.¬† He chose all of his disciples from the marketplace.¬† The words for work and ministry are the same in Hebrew (or is it Aramaic?)… The ideas that we currently have of work and ministry being separate are unfounded biblically.

I’m not saying that work should be a time to thump the bible over someone’s head, but I am saying that the workplace gives us a great place to act out our values.¬† More and more we’re leaving our principles at the door when we live our lives.¬† My boss, Jeremy Toeman, and I just facilitated a discussion on social responsibility at the Web2.0 Conference and a few of the things I took away from the meeting were:

Social Responsibility has different meanings to different people; it’s some variation of all of them, including volunteering, a triple bottom line, and a commitment to the long-term.

We can’t give up on our principles just because they’re not practical.¬† Would you stop recycling if you had to drive to a drop-off? Do you leave lights on in your house because you are too rushed to turn them off?¬† Do you encourage friends to follow principles that are good for the environment?

There are so many ways we can make an impact, but often we feel like we’d be inconveniencing others or embarassing ourselves in doing so.¬† The truth is that when you stand up for what you believe in, you stand out… and no one ever liked you because you were like everyone else.

So many people are giving me good music this week. A big thanks to Julia, Ishmael, and Victor for helping me.

Tracklisting:
To Build a Home by The CineMatic Orchestra
Stay (Madonna Cover) by Malcolm Middleton
Sun! by Tujiko Noriko
Nantes by Beirut
Sad Sad City by Ghostland Observatory

Graveyard Girl by M83
Keep Your Eyes Ahead by The Helio Sequence
Run Into Flowers by M83
Going Back to Harlan by Emmylou Harris
Baby In Two by the Pernice Brothers

Cinders and Smoke by Iron And Wine
Re:Stacks by Bon Iver

So I’ve decided that rather than continue sporadically posting the tracklisting for each podcast under the music section, that I would simply post them here because it’s much easier to search and peruse (and easier to manage as I quickly approach 100 podcasts).

Tracklisting for March 31, 2008

Fantasy by Mariah Carey
I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany
Mony Mony by Billy Idol
Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle
This is How We Do It by Montell Jordan

Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson
I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston
Maniac by Michael Sembello
Straight Up by Paula Abdul
Borderline by Madonna

Escapade by Janet Jackson
All 4 Love by Color Me Badd
Maneater by Hall & Oats
Hangin’ Tough by New Kids On The Block (by request).

Vampire Weekend is that outgoing, well-traveled hippy friend of the opposite sex you think is a little spacey, but whom you always look forward to spending time with. If you’d let him/her, they’d infect your life with zany adventures and rituals that might make you feel uncomfortable at first, but eventually you’d come to appreciate their positive impact (And their attention to grammar).

Perfect for wind-blown trips and Sunday afternoons in the sun, Vampire Weekend are 4 young chaps who mix African, Indie, and Pop music. While I’m no expert on ethnic music, I definitely hear hints of Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel who have both been greatly influenced by the music of Africa. Already dubbed “The Year’s Best Band” by Spin Magazine, Vampire Weekend’s garnered attention for making music fun to listen to again. More specifically, their songs like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” are upbeat, universally appealing, tongue in cheek and impressionistic enough to let anyone find some meaning (or meaninglessness) in the words.

Driven by drums, guitars, and organs the album’s tracks are speckled with extra-curricular instruments including violins, violas, cellos, chamberlins, harpsichords, synths, and shakers. One member plays 8 different instruments on the album – should Sufjan be worried? The band describes their, “ideal avatar [as] preppy African with equal parts of fresh and clean. Preppiness with West African guitar pop, a perfect fusion of happy world music with Western, New England preppiness.”

If that ’s what it takes to get great rhythms like this then I say, “Give them a trip to Africa, a LaCoste gift certificate, a Guitar, and drums. They’ll work out a second album in no time.”

Tracks:
Vampire Weekend – I Stand Corrected
Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

I sat on the #71 bus this morning in the last row, precariously perched between two older gentlemen who warmed me with the sides of their bodies pressed up against mine. I opened my book, Business Unlimited, by J. Gunnar Olson, and began reading its first pages. Olson is the Founder and Chairman of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce, an extraordinary man for the impact he’s had on the world around him.

I noticed in front of me that there was a woman reading passages of scripture from a handout and I instantly felt a connection with her. Here I was reading a book about Christian business ministry for the work I’m to do in May, and here she is reading the Gospels for a class or exam. I said a prayer for her as I do for many people on the bus while I ride quietly reading or listening to music in the morning. I used the departure of the man next to me as an excuse to sit across from the woman. As I sat down we made eye contact and smiled. She was well into her 30’s and this was not a flirtatious smile, but more an exchange of peacefulness.

We continued reading and I felt like I wanted to reach out and tell her something. Tell her I had prayed for her, and that I wished her a wonderful day. I wanted to share some joy with her to help her coast through her morning meetings. I wanted to be her Starbuck’s and her Happy Donut – that little treat we allow ourselves that helps us get going in the morning. Montgomery passed and I descended at 1st street – a mistake that has now serendipitously led to visits from two friends on their way to work – got off the bus and turned to look at the woman from outside.

I was safe from rebuke now, with a pane of glass between us and the final moments of our safe passage together now ticking down I unzipped my sweatshirt and proudly outed my chest like pigeon in a mating dance. “I {John Cusack holding a boombox over his head} YOU”

She smiled, laughed, and pointed at the one of a kind T-shirt a friend had recently given me. What a great way to start both of our mornings : )

When I was in Australia I spent a lot of time thinking about my future. I had a dream I followed. Then I received another dream, a better one that I’m working on now. There’s a lot of preparation involved, but there are so few movements in the lifetime of this heart that I can’t turn my back on them. Oftentimes we let head rule heart making bodies work like serfs to indentured banality. We hang our hopes on the day we’ll “be able to” do what we want, but why not right now?

We are never satisfied with the present because it seemingly doesn’t hold the mystery and hope of the future nor is it as good as the knowns of the past. It simply is itself, and so too often we waste it. This present.

This season of gifting reminds me once again about this gift that we’ve all been given.

It’s funny how there are people in our lives we always miss. Even when they are with us we know eventually they’ll leave. We know there will be an end to each conversation… each meal… each phone call… each car ride…each day and each night. If you’re smart lucky, you experience each goodbye as it comes. If not, you experience them all at once, over and over again.

The word ‘goodbye’ becomes a dull ache that drools across your lips; your lungs too weak to expel enough air to punctuate the space between now and then with anything more than longing. A longing your body feels like thirst or hunger; only ever temporarily satisfied.

I watch from both sides and take note.
Image from Deviant Artist Pesare

Jenny Lewis, lead singer of Rilo Kiley, stares down at you from her throne of indie rock princess… but will she stay there? There are tons of new albums from some of the best indie (and other) artists this week! A lot of new albums have bands taking different directions like Rilo Kiley’s Under the Blacklight, an album that shows Jenny Smith and the crew are no longer the awkward artsy misfits that we had them pegged for (and fallen in love with). VHS or Beta shies away from their 80s style vocals but keeps the driving guitar riffs – not sure if I’m quite down with that. Federico Aubele shines on his new album Panamericana – one of my favorite downtempo albums in a long time. San Diego’s Pinback also comes out strong with ‘Autumn of the Seraphs’ staying true to their melodic guitar backings and the unmistakable vocals from frontman Rob Crow.

They’re all in the podcast this week so check it out… Click on podcast and follow the directions for some aural pleasure.

Check out the latest podcast for a trip down memory lane with 9 of the best film scores, and 9 songs associated with those special moments in some of our favorite movies.¬† Post your comments here on which songs are from which movies and if you get the answer right, you’ll be able to continue your week with pride and satisfaction of being both a musical and cinematic renaissance (w)o)man.

Tracklisting:

Sweet Dreams are Made of Seven Nation Army – DJ Poly
Smack my Sexyback – Bass211.com
Young Folks Rehab – DJ Topcat
Toop Toop Groove – Loo & Placido
Promiscuous Lola – DJ Earworm

Feel Good Roboto 2 – Victor Menegaux
Hella Dare You To Smoke – Party Ben
Close to Konichiwa Bitches – A Plus D
Pour Some Hot Sugar On Me – A Plus D
W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E. – Wale

Check out each of these artist’s pages for some crazy mashups – these are the top people in the scene right now and they’ve got a ton of banging tracks.