David writes:

When I think of a lament, I think dirge – a combination of whinging, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, put to music. Not so with Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi’s collaboration with Bonnie Raitt, ‘Hear Me Lord.’

Mtukudzi, the Zimbabwean artist known for his husky voice and commitment to justice, died in January 2019. As critic Terence Blacker notes, Tuku challenged realities such as AIDS and poverty with a knack for filling even the bleakest topics with hope. He was averse to analysing his own lyrics, but seemed able to articulate the universal ache of the heart and the longing for God. Mtukudzi’s directness, penned in the chorus of this song, may encourage our own prayers to be shorter, and our church liturgies less wordy.

Hear Me, Lord

Hear me I pray

Hear me, Lord

Help me now (Help me Lord, I’m feeling low)

Help me Lord, help me now (Help me Lord, I’m feeling low)

Raitt, the American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist, recalls a band member turning her on to Mtukudzi’s music. This particular song, she writes, “used to get so much play on our late night bus rides, I just decided to cut it on the next album, so we could play it live every night”. She teamed up with Tuku in 2002 to do just that.

The link below above the unlikely duo in concert at an Austin City Limits concerts some years later. One aspect of this live recording that I particularly appreciate is the way that the artists share the melody, lyrics, and spotlight. Even as they sing in the first person…

I am down on my knees (Help me Lord, I’m feeling low)

…they alternate voices, almost like passing the baton of honesty between them, and giving one another a breather in the role as cantor. Just when we envision lament as a solo and lonely cri di coeur, we are reminded that it can also rise from the combined effort of a band, a group of friends, or a community of faith.

I recently heard the Christian theologian Rev. Dr. Willie James Jennings talk about dismantling racism. He spoke of committing ourselves ‘to the great work of hope’. For Jennings, hope is not a sentiment. Rather, it is a discipline. The scriptures invite us to hope, even command us to hope. With disciplined marching orders like those, it is a gift when others can get us tapping our feet while doing it. And with the help of artists like Mtukudzi and Raitt, we might even find ourselves dancing.

Find out more about Bonnie Raitt at https://www.bonnieraitt.com/.

If you want to find out more about the life and work of Oliver Mtukudzi – try this Wikipedia page and see where it takes you – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Mtukudzi

Nigel writes:

If you got a chance, take it

My dad was 90 a few weeks ago, and my mum was 87 last month. They’ve lived happy and fulfilled lives, but I’m increasingly aware that we are all vulnerable and that they won’t be around forever. I’m trying to speak with them on the phone and see them as much as I can. I don’t want to have regrets about not spending time with them when they are no longer here.

I also want to keep doing the things that bring me life in all its fullness, recognising this is not a free pass to an entirely selfish existence. I’ve still got stories to write about. Music I want to play and listen to. Places I want to visit. Books I want to read. But time – and more often than not, energy – often seems in short supply. Money is not always available to do the things I’d like in these troubled economic times.

I’ve also got struggles I’d love to heal. Relationships I’d love to grow. Unfulfilled dreams I’d like to see become a reality. On top of that I’d love to spend more time and energy campaigning and acting on behalf of refugees, young people and those in need of a bit of help. I’d like to take more political action over the things I’m passionate about to see transformation in our broken world.

However, the pandemic has left a trail of trauma and loss which can sometimes lead to a paralysis of thought and action if I’m not careful. It’s too easy to end up sitting watching TV and doing nothing. I also need to balance my own wants and desires with those of others. All-in-all, life can be a bit of a challenge … and that leads me to the song I’ve been impacted by of late …

It’s a song from American Country artist, Cody Johnson, that talks about taking chances in life rather than waiting until they’re gone for good. The chorus has particularly spoken to me:

If you got a chance, take it,

take it while you got a chance

If you got a dream, chase it,

’cause a dream won’t chase you back

If you’re gonna love somebody

Hold ’em as long and as strong and as close as you can

‘Til you can’t

I’ve always believed that our best dreams come from God and my quest in the coming season is to try and line up what I want, with want God wants. For me, that means better following the advice in the song and taking every chance that comes my way, believing that God opens the doors, orchestrates great possibilities, and offers divine invitations. My part is to be on the lookout for when it’s God, and discerning in how I respond to what comes before me.

I need to do the loving and say the ‘love-you’s’ now. If I find something that needs fixing, I need to fix it now. Where I get things wrong, I hope that I can say the ‘sorries’ now. And even when I’m tired and grumpy – which can be often – I need to take and make the phone calls now, just in case there comes a time when I’m not able to. In the words of the song, I don’t want to kick things ‘further down the road’ and ‘wait on tomorrow’ …

If you got a chance, take it

If you got a dream, chase it

I like this live version of the song best – turn it up loud!

Find out more about Cody Johnson at https://www.codyjohnsonmusic.com/home.

Jane writes:

Turin Brakes are one of my absolute favourite bands. They have a great sound and they are equally good whether channeling their gentle rock style or their fabulous acoustic harmonious selves. They also write a mean lyric. What’s not to love.

You only need to begin to pay attention to the news, or indeed look outside your window at your scorched lawn and thirsty plants, to see the world is struggling with a changing climate. Floods and drought equally destructive to people’s homes and livelihoods. Melting glaciers falling on unsuspecting tourists. No snow where there should be some. Forty shades of green becoming forty shades of brown. No crops leading to the starvation of millions. I could go on.

This song speaks for itself. The wondering about what is ours to do and how many people have to struggle before we pay proper attention. When will it be too late and why aren’t we able to jump right in now.

Soon, it seems, there may be only one person left to notice the end of the world and by then it will be too late for humanity

God was careful enough to be a creator of a world where everyone and everything could flourish. Not simply exist but be the best they could be. I guess the question is when will we wake up and make a difference for the billions with their backs already against the wall and not wait til it gets to us before we act.

Maybe pay extra attention to the news this week. Whenever you see a story linked to the climate make some effort to act for good change now. Small or large. You know it makes sense. You know it will be a part of serving the God you love and loving the planet we live on.

You can find out loads more about Turin Brakes here https://turinbrakes.com/

Please note: there’s some strobe lighting towards the end of the video about 2.45 mins in for around 15 seconds

Gill writes:

Well – if someone had told my teenage self that a-ha would still be making music 37 years later, I would have probably been a bit put out. Why would people be wanting to listen to a band of 60-somethings for goodness sake? I used to be of the opinion that pop bands should retire by the age of 40. I definitely would have been horrified to hear that an 80-year-old Paul McCartney was headlining at Glastonbury! How my mind and attitude have changed since then – thankfully.

a-ha released this song a week ago, and not a day has gone by so far when I haven’t given it a listen. It’s classic a-ha – Morten’s striking voice and a melody that seems so familiar it pulls you in. I suppose it has a touch of ‘Hunting High and Low’ about it. But it’s the lyrics that I gravitate to – for me, it makes the song feel like a great, big hug.

The last year has been full of peaks and troughs personally, and there have been times when taking a breath and pushing myself forward has been a little bit of an effort. ‘This too shall pass’ as Tom Hanks would say; ‘Good times after these’ as a-ha would sing.

Give in
Don’t give up
Breathe
Don’t you stop

Breathe in
Just breathe
There are times
Good times after these

There are some challenges in life that we don’t choose. We have no control over them and what the outcome might be. It’s often at these times when we discover the person or people who say ‘I’m in.’ They choose to rock up and weather the storm with you. They decide that walking alongside you is worth the effort. They realise that they are called to be your emotional crutch for a while. They are bringing love and strength to a time and place when it is truly needed.

Whatever you want or need
Wherever you have to be
Whatever you have to believe
I’m in
Begin

Some people astound me with their capacity to love and to commit to something difficult – to say ‘I’m in.’ The young woman who says ‘Yes, I will marry you’ when her partner has been diagnosed with a terminal illness; the new father who commits to addressing his issues with alcohol; the grandmother who commits to climate change activism in the hope of a better world for her grandchildren; the brother who takes on a daunting fundraising challenge for a charity that supports his sister’s recovery from illness.

Never give up
Never you stop
Don’t let the forces that pull us apart
Think they can win

Just believe
Whatеver they say
Therе is a door to a future unseen
Leading this way

Love is an amazing gift, isn’t it?

What better than to leave you with the words of Magne (the keyboard player), who wrote the song. He says it is

“a song about total commitment and a show of support for someone who is troubled. Real commitment is a leap of faith. Everyone knows how difficult it can be to offer commitment and support unconditionally, but this is what it takes to make anything worthwhile happen – love, friendship, change, self-improvement, careers, a better world. Easier said than done of course but it begins with an attitude, then uttering the words. After this it is all hard work to realize whatever potential your commitment has in the world. Without this attitude everything just gets bogged down with conflicting thoughts, doubts and fear. Just say it: ‘I’m in’.” (https://a-ha.com/news/new-single-im-in-drops-on-8-july)

Find out more about a-ha at http://www.a-ha.com – they have a new album on the way.

What songs are on your playlist this summer?

How about sharing what you’re listening to with us at The Friday Fix?

Ping us your song and why it’s on your playlist to Gill at thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk.

Marc writes:

I loved 1984. I think it was my first real experience with dystopian literature and worlds. I think there’s something in those things that get written, or filmed, that we go on to consume that make us believe their fantastical and gold for the world we live in, but if they’re really good then there’s something about them that make us just a little bit afraid of what could be…
​
Muse used 1984-style vibes and influences in their 2009 album “The Resistance”, and I loved it.

One thing I’ve always appreciated about them as a band is their ability to make new and different music every album, and so when I first heard “Compliance” I was a little bit disappointed as it felt like I had heard it before, but then I remembered how much I loved “The Resistance” as an album, and it was fine!

But I listened to it and then started listening to “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Testaments”, and the combination is scary. I wonder how close we could be in places in the world to dystopian realities rather than fantasies, and how we might be sold them in line with the idea of religion or freedom…

I wonder how many of us would fall foul to a proposed regime that offered us “no pain anymore”, or promises that we “won’t feel lost anymore”? That we won’t be burdened by choice, that we’ll be protected, not rejected, the hurt will be taken away and someone else will give us what’s best for us?

What would we say to the offer of not having to fear anymore, and that we can be saved, and all we need to do is show compliance?

The sad reality is that for years that’s been the party line in Christian rhetoric in many places.

It’s a struggle, but I think we need to show some defiance and resilience and keep going with the pain and the lost-ness, the choice and the fear, and to maintain our freedom rather than choosing the compliance sung about here.

God is about choice and freedom, both “His” and ours, and about the liberation of others too. It’s in choosing that life that we find ourselves being saved.

Find out more about Muse at https://www.muse.mu/news

Lynne writes:

If you’re a fan of musical theatre and cutting-edge feminist comedy*, and if you’re not too easily offended when said comedy is a little too on-the-nose and brutally honest about sex, relationships and feminine hygiene, then I would highly recommend binge-watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Netflix immediately (if you haven’t already discovered its genius that is).

Don’t be put-off by the title, which is deliberately self-aware and aims to deconstruct some of the unhelpful gender narratives that tend to populate romantic comedy. In fact, this isn’t really a show about romance at all, it’s about the lead character Rebecca’s quest to understand who she is and what gives her true happiness. I am so glad I trusted the friend who told me I’d love the show and encouraged me to give it a try. Watching episode one I was undecided… until ‘The Sexy Getting Ready Song’ happened. Its lyrics, both funny and scarily insightful, are all about the effort that women put into making themselves attractive for men (using processes that are often anything but sexy). From then on, I was a die-hard fan of both the show and it’s co-creator and lead star, Rachel Bloom.

However, ‘The Sexy Getting Ready Song’ is not the tune I want to write about in this blog. I’ve chosen ‘I’m a Good Person’ from series one, episode five. Rebecca has been accused (with reason) of being ‘bad people’ and she takes this to heart. She sets out to prove her worth and win approval by flaunting her good deeds in public. She sings:

I’m a good person, that’s my thing

My nickname is Mother Theresa Luther King

I’m a good person, get it straight

And when I say good, I really mean great

The best Hashtag humble and blessed

There were 157 original songs written in total for the show, all of them brilliant and witty and with something to say about the human experience. ‘I’m a Good Person’ is one that plays in my head more often than most, not only because it has a VERY catchy tune but also because I think it offers a challenge to those watching and listening, including me.

1 Corinthians 13: 5 (NRSV) tells us, “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” Rebecca’s good works aren’t rooted in love. They are rooted in her own lack of self-worth and her need, like the Pharisees, to seek approval from other people (Matthew 23: 5).

The scary thing is, we can all be Rebeccas. Most of us want to be thought of as good people, we can all be guilty of feeling a bit smug when we do something charitable and the temptation to ‘humble brag’ on our social media channels is ever-present. But if the good we do isn’t driven by a love for other people, grounded in our recognition of the innate dignity in all human beings and – as Christians – flowing from our knowledge of God’s love, then is it worth as much? Our ill-founded charity might even, ultimately, harm more than it helps. If we’re not motivated by love then we forget to listen to what our fellow human beings actually need, our good deeds can become acts of aggression.

I feel this translation of Matthew 6: 1 – 4 from The Message, entitled ‘The World Is Not a Stage’, is very appropriate here:

“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theatre, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.”

One final thought that brings me much comfort, it’s great to remember that God’s love for us is not determined by how hard we work or how ‘good’ we are – but is rooted in grace. Amen to that!

*And, if you’re not, why not?!