Today's DailyOM Offerings...
September 11, 2012
Mr. M
Lambchop
2012
Listening to Mr. M, Lambchop’s eleventh album, is like a journey through a satirical dream world that keeps us guessing. The Nashville band lead by singer-guitarist Kurt Wagner portrays masterful strangeness pleasant to the ear, and slightly disturbing to the mind. Yet the fantastically popular group that originally called itself “Nashville’s most f’d-up country band” has done pretty well for itself because of its uniqueness. Mr. M is a combination of songs with jazz, cowboy, and classical influence (and everything in between). Wagner’s nonsensical lyrics feel misplaced as he murmurs lazy lines that make little sense over beautiful and grooving instrumentals.
“If Not I’ll Just Die” opens with a smooth jazz vibe augmented by a beautiful string section. If we listen to everything but the words, it is a sweetly written tune sung by a man with a rough voice (Tom Petty meets Bob Dylan). The lyrics are out of place like a formal wedding guest in jeans and a T-shirt, yet the song is still appealing. Wagner’s random commentary continues in “2B2,” as he shares thoughts on random things in life. This balladlike song has a darker vibe and tone: “It was good to talk to you while we’re cooking / Sounds like we’re the same thing / One man cooks with power / The other cooks with stones / 2B2 / 2B2.”
Once we get used to the epically strange combination of sentiments and sounds, “Mr. Met” surprises our senses with a classical string quartet, a beautiful low cello bowing, then, after a quick pause, a country-folk rock guitar/drum pattern that comes in for some overlapped back and forth with the strings. From a distant land, a sweet chorus of female voices joins in with classic “ahs.” With so much formulaic predictable music out there, one must appreciate the different directions Mr. M goes with abandon. The album does bring us to a familiar place when Wagner sings “Never My Love,” a melancholy tune that reflects on something all of us have felt: “I’ve never been in love before / And I’ve needed nothing, nothing more / Than to be with you / Make a sweet scene with you….”
September 11, 2012
Divine Resilience
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may be guarded in your interactions with others today. You may feel hesitant about opening your heart to a new romantic interest, or you might hold back part of yourself in an effort to blend in during group activities. Since this guardedness may be the result of feelings of vulnerability, you may find it helpful to strengthen your belief in your own resiliency today. One way to do this is by forming an inner vision of consistent empowering energy flowing to you from the universe. Imagine this energy as a brilliant golden light, filtering down through the top of your head and traveling through your mind and every cell of your body. Affirm that this light infuses you with strength and empowerment, giving you the courage to open your heart and mind to others.
With a belief in our inner strength and resiliency, we feel more comfortable about opening ourselves to others. Our fear of being hurt or rejected can often cause us to close down and guard our feelings from others, but doing so also closes us off from the intimate moments of genuine connection we can enjoy in our relationships. If we instead build up an inner belief in our resiliency and strength, we feel more confident about opening up to others. By affirming our constant connection to universal energy, we feel strengthened by the divine love that has the power to carry us through setbacks and disappointments. With a clear vision of inner strength and resiliency, you will be able to connect more confidently with others today.
September 11, 2012
Underneath the Noise
Hearing the Whisper
by Madisyn Taylor
There is beauty and power when we listen to the whisper.
You may have noticed that if you want to speak to someone in a noisy, crowded room, the best thing to do is lean close and whisper. Yelling in an attempt to be louder than the room’s noise generally only hurts your throat and adds to the chaos. Similarly, that still, small voice within each of us does not try to compete with the mental chatter on the surface of our minds, nor does it attempt to overpower the volume of the raucous world outside. If we want to hear it, no matter what is going on around us or even inside us, we can always tune in to that soft voice underneath the surrounding noise.
It is generally true that the more insistent voices in our heads delivering messages that make us feel panicky or afraid are of questionable authority. They may be voices we internalized from childhood or from the culture, and as such they possess only half-truths. Their urgency stems from their disconnectedness from the center of our being, and their urgency is what catches our attention. The other voice that whispers reassurances that everything is fundamentally okay simply delivers its message with quiet confidence. Once we hear it, we know it speaks the truth. Generally, once we have heard what it has to say, a powerful sense of calm settles over our entire being, and the other voices and sounds, once so dominant, fade into the background, suddenly seeming small and far away.
We may find that our own communications in the world begin to be influenced by the quiet certainty of this voice. We may be less inclined to indulge in idle chatter as we become more interested in maintaining our connection to the whisper of truth that broadcasts its message like the sound of the wind shaking the leaves of a tree. As we align ourselves more with this quiet confidence, we become an extension of the whisper, penetrating the noise of the world and creating more peace, trust, and confidence.
Mr. M
Lambchop
2012
Listening to Mr. M, Lambchop’s eleventh album, is like a journey through a satirical dream world that keeps us guessing. The Nashville band lead by singer-guitarist Kurt Wagner portrays masterful strangeness pleasant to the ear, and slightly disturbing to the mind. Yet the fantastically popular group that originally called itself “Nashville’s most f’d-up country band” has done pretty well for itself because of its uniqueness. Mr. M is a combination of songs with jazz, cowboy, and classical influence (and everything in between). Wagner’s nonsensical lyrics feel misplaced as he murmurs lazy lines that make little sense over beautiful and grooving instrumentals.
“If Not I’ll Just Die” opens with a smooth jazz vibe augmented by a beautiful string section. If we listen to everything but the words, it is a sweetly written tune sung by a man with a rough voice (Tom Petty meets Bob Dylan). The lyrics are out of place like a formal wedding guest in jeans and a T-shirt, yet the song is still appealing. Wagner’s random commentary continues in “2B2,” as he shares thoughts on random things in life. This balladlike song has a darker vibe and tone: “It was good to talk to you while we’re cooking / Sounds like we’re the same thing / One man cooks with power / The other cooks with stones / 2B2 / 2B2.”
Once we get used to the epically strange combination of sentiments and sounds, “Mr. Met” surprises our senses with a classical string quartet, a beautiful low cello bowing, then, after a quick pause, a country-folk rock guitar/drum pattern that comes in for some overlapped back and forth with the strings. From a distant land, a sweet chorus of female voices joins in with classic “ahs.” With so much formulaic predictable music out there, one must appreciate the different directions Mr. M goes with abandon. The album does bring us to a familiar place when Wagner sings “Never My Love,” a melancholy tune that reflects on something all of us have felt: “I’ve never been in love before / And I’ve needed nothing, nothing more / Than to be with you / Make a sweet scene with you….”
September 11, 2012
Divine Resilience
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may be guarded in your interactions with others today. You may feel hesitant about opening your heart to a new romantic interest, or you might hold back part of yourself in an effort to blend in during group activities. Since this guardedness may be the result of feelings of vulnerability, you may find it helpful to strengthen your belief in your own resiliency today. One way to do this is by forming an inner vision of consistent empowering energy flowing to you from the universe. Imagine this energy as a brilliant golden light, filtering down through the top of your head and traveling through your mind and every cell of your body. Affirm that this light infuses you with strength and empowerment, giving you the courage to open your heart and mind to others.
With a belief in our inner strength and resiliency, we feel more comfortable about opening ourselves to others. Our fear of being hurt or rejected can often cause us to close down and guard our feelings from others, but doing so also closes us off from the intimate moments of genuine connection we can enjoy in our relationships. If we instead build up an inner belief in our resiliency and strength, we feel more confident about opening up to others. By affirming our constant connection to universal energy, we feel strengthened by the divine love that has the power to carry us through setbacks and disappointments. With a clear vision of inner strength and resiliency, you will be able to connect more confidently with others today.
September 11, 2012
Underneath the Noise
Hearing the Whisper
by Madisyn Taylor
There is beauty and power when we listen to the whisper.
You may have noticed that if you want to speak to someone in a noisy, crowded room, the best thing to do is lean close and whisper. Yelling in an attempt to be louder than the room’s noise generally only hurts your throat and adds to the chaos. Similarly, that still, small voice within each of us does not try to compete with the mental chatter on the surface of our minds, nor does it attempt to overpower the volume of the raucous world outside. If we want to hear it, no matter what is going on around us or even inside us, we can always tune in to that soft voice underneath the surrounding noise.
It is generally true that the more insistent voices in our heads delivering messages that make us feel panicky or afraid are of questionable authority. They may be voices we internalized from childhood or from the culture, and as such they possess only half-truths. Their urgency stems from their disconnectedness from the center of our being, and their urgency is what catches our attention. The other voice that whispers reassurances that everything is fundamentally okay simply delivers its message with quiet confidence. Once we hear it, we know it speaks the truth. Generally, once we have heard what it has to say, a powerful sense of calm settles over our entire being, and the other voices and sounds, once so dominant, fade into the background, suddenly seeming small and far away.
We may find that our own communications in the world begin to be influenced by the quiet certainty of this voice. We may be less inclined to indulge in idle chatter as we become more interested in maintaining our connection to the whisper of truth that broadcasts its message like the sound of the wind shaking the leaves of a tree. As we align ourselves more with this quiet confidence, we become an extension of the whisper, penetrating the noise of the world and creating more peace, trust, and confidence.