Only the first time it's really a stunt - so all credits for this great idea go to Paul, John, Ringo and George. But U2 are today's Beatles, if you'd ask me. Never too proud to be inspired by musical heroes from the past & standing on the shoulders of giants. Amsterdam Arena tickets were sold out within 10 minutes, by the way. Next stadium concert announced directly after that. This was to be expected. Bono promised also some cheap tickets because 'this is a recession'. Yeah. It's in the middel of Summer - we will probably listen to U2 in our car or somewhere else on a camping site / in a hotel. We'll see.
Let me know what you think about No Line On The Horizon. My opinion? Magnificent! ;-)
By the way - U2 played live on rooftop BBC building near All Souls Church! (John Stott, Rico Tice, Christianity Explored... So cool!!) Next time a REAL stunt - what about LIVE @ the Vatican? Ha, ha.
Just watch this clip till the end. It's moving, so get your handkerchiefs ready... (thanks to my daughter Sosha for showing this MTV unplugged music video to me)
Today I went to Rotterdam with my son Robin. We had only three goals: having fun, eating and drinking something delicious and buying him a new acoustic guitar. We succeeded three times! I also wanted to take some pictures as part of the fun, but today was a wet and dreary day, so I switched my camera to sepia. The window of the music shop was decorated with old instruments (probably traded in by their former owners), so this was a nice addition to my nostalgic mood. It was a great day, no matter the weather. And Robin is very happy with his new Yamaha western guitar, of course.
Click pics to enlarge.
Dutch soul singer Alain Clark and his dad Dane singing "Father and Friend". Turn your speakers on, watch, listen and enjoy!
Just a castaway, an island lost at sea, oh
Another lonely day, with no one here but me, oh
Well, you've probably recognized these words from the song Message in a bottle by the Police, didn't you?
Walked out this morning,
don't believe what I saw
Hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore
Seems I'm not alone at being alone
Hundred billion castaways, looking for a home
Together with 50 000 fans we were singing, dancing and having a good time in the Amsterdam Arena yesterday. And when we went back home late at night - our ears still ringing - I was wondering: why did they ever stop recording and performing as a band!?
And another question that came to my mind: why are we all singing 'So lonely, so lonely...' when there are so many of us? Yes, that's me, can't stop asking philosophical questions - even when I'm enjoying myself. Seems I'm not alone at being alone...
But I'm wasn't lonely at all, because I went there with my dear wife Lydia, her sister Yvonne and our brother in law Rob and we had a great time together. The Police was as good as ever and I was really impressed by them. It was a fantastic concert!
I'm always listening to the lyrics of the songs - even if they make so much noise that you can hardly understand a word. But I am intrigued by all the questions and observations in Sting's lyrics.
I wish I could have a conversation with Sting about lyrics like these:
Yeah
There's a hole
In my life
There's a hole
In my life
Shadow in my heart
Is tearing me apart
Or maybe it's just something
In my stars
There's a hole
In my life
There's a hole
In my life
Be a happy man
I try the best I can
Or maybe I'm just looking
For too much
There's something missing from my life
Cuts me open like a knife
It leaves me vulnerable
I have this disease
I shake like an incurable
God help me please
Oh, there's a hole
In my life
There's a hole
In my life
Yeah...
Well, need I say more? I would love to have a talk with Sting. But one of my other musical heroes is in a better position to talk with him about the Invisible Sun / King of Pain. Check this unique video clip for a surprise performance with this hero. Invisible Sun is my favourite Police song - together with King of Pain. Please let me know your favourite Sting / the Police song!
“This must be Sting.”
“But it isn’t.”
“Sure it is!”
“Don’t think so”
“Nobody else has such a voice. Just listen!”
Sitting in the car, listening to the radio and arguing about the artist’s identity … Are we the only couple doing this? We had to wait until the radio dj gave us the final answer:
“That was Two Sisters a song by Fiction Plane with singer Joe Sumner, son of Gordon Sumner, better known as Sting!”
“So I was right! - Sort of.”
“No you weren’t right. - Sort of.”
Listen to this song here and judge for yourself!
But tonight both Sting and his son (pic left) will be very nervous. They will be performing in the Amsterdam Arena and somewhere in the crowd Lydia and I will compare their voices and appearances and I'm sure both of us will have a great time. After the support act (Fiction Plane) we will be arrested by the Police! But we are not nervous at all, because we are playing a home game. And I hope we will also hear this fantastic song:
The Hyves Internet community has 4 million members in the Netherlands (on a total population of 16 million people) and is now bigger than Google in our language area... Hyvers - mostly teens and young adults - are building their very own miniature universe for social networking and friendly interaction. I think you can compare this to the international successes of MySpace, MSN Faces, Facebook and other popular social networking sites. The blogspot you are now reading is my home base on the Internet, but I do post pics, texts and video clips elsewhere too. (See my other blogs in the sidebar of this blog.)
Why do I blog in English and why am I so active in cyberspace? Because man was made to communicate* and Christians are called to participate! The www is the place to be if we want to share our faith in a friendly, accessible, non-intrusive way.
Many children, teens and young adults have their own pages on Hyves and it is exciting to see how actively involved young Christians are. Many hyvers are very open about their personal faith and lots of churches and youth groups have opened their own hyve (such as this one from our baptist church in Hoofddorp). Young Christians also build their own communities on the Internet, sometimes these social networking sites are open to the public, sometimes you need to become a member first in order to join the discussion.
Jesus told us to go into all the world and proclaim the good news to all creations. Just think about this question: What is your mission field today? I think that the Internet is a great place to be salt and light - although it can't be an alternative for one-on-one interaction, personal dialogue and true fellowship in real life.
My contributions to the Hyves pages are mainly in Dutch, but if you go to this site you can have a look at my YouTube video compilation and you can see how we can use the rock idols of our days to point people to the Rock of our salvation. Scroll down to the bottom of your screen (on my Hyves page, I mean), click on 'replay' if the video clips don't start instantly, and look at the story that I want to tell by sharing these music video clips in this particular order (top to bottom). And - please don't get me wrong - I am not only using these music video clips - I am really enjoying them too! I also think that we shouldn't 'use' the Internet as a place where we can impose our views and beliefs on other people, that will only be counter-productive and bad PR for Jesus. But we need to be there, share our faith, be honest, outspoken and accountable and become reliable friends - both on the Internet and in real life. What do you think? Give me a shout.
PS 'They spun a web for me' is an intriguing line from the Coldplay song Trouble, the first clip from my video compilation on my Hyves page...
* Man was most of all made to know and worship God. Nothing else will satisfy the longing soul. Click!
If only it were true. Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain was elevated to icon status after he took his own life back in 1994. Truly a sad story. I think Cobain was a great singer and I still wonder whether somebody ever told him about Jesus. "Break my heart for what breaks yours..."
Anyway, have a look at this Hillsong United clip and you will see why I had to think about Kurt. The beautiful lady needs to comb her hair as well (yep, I'm such an old fashioned man). Her name is Brooke Fraser and she has the stunning good looks of Princess Cleopatra in her haydays (believe me, I can still remember.) But I think Brooke's voice is way better. Hossanah in the highest! And let's hope that we will see Kurt Cobain again one day - rocking in the heavenly choirs. God only knows. (Don't forget to watch Brooke's videos.)
Please read Mike's posting about Lindisfarne and Glastonbury - the birthplaces of Christianity in England. I also ask your attention for the comment and prayer that I posted on Mike's blog.
I highly recommend Brian Doerksen's CD Holy God and Neal Morse's prog rock epic project Sola Scriptura and his folk cd Songs from the Highway. Both Christian musicians / poets are from the other side of the Atlantic (from my perspective), but they are clearly sending out a call for prayer for Europe.
Brian Doerksen has recorded a special devotional CD on which he shares his heart and ministry for this continent. Neal Morse also responds to God's calling to come to Europe and inspire God's people. He even wrote a song called Prayer for Germany - you can listen to an audio clip here.
Please let me know what you think and pray with me that God will re-open the ancient wells of living water in Europe.
I want to give you a Pentecost experience - well, sort of. Travel with me around the globe and hear God's people praising! We have different nationalities, different looks, different styles and different languages, but we are one in the Spirit!
Now let's go to South America. Salvador
If you are still with me, let’s go to Africa and I'm sure you will fall in love with Sonnie Opute from
If instrumental jazz on the piano is more your kind of music – sit back and listen to this. We all know that many black people love Jesus with heart and soul. Listen to this man who sings for Jesus (and for his mother). And although the next song is played in an Opera House by Anthony Walker, it is not opera music but a smooth jazz rendition of Mary Mary's I Just Want To Praise You! (Shackles - just ignore the first beep and the test screen, it will get better...)
We started with Hillsong in
And last - hopefully not least - do you like to hear two contributions from my little country? This is a country trail band, singing in a traditional Dutch reformed church (My Jesus, I love You, I Call You My Friend!) and these Dutch brothers and sisters from Bethel Free Baptist Church are Friends of God too. Imagine what it will be like when we are all singing God's praises in Heaven! Blessed Pentecost to you all!
PS And let me know if there's some music video I really must add to this global praise selection!
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