And at the beginning of this year I am opening another blog. And this one will be about me. Not that most of you will be interested in reading it, but I will post pictures, commentaries, jokes, humor collums, rants, & a little bit about what I am doing, what I have done, & what i will do. I hope you enjoy it.
P.S. The "Hall of Shame" post has been moved there.
Posts
44 comments:
Dude, at first glance I was like "What's this huuuge post all about?" I scanned the post and saw "immortality" and thought "oh no, here comes this other guy complaining about the music..." but then I read it and... GOD BLESS YOU! I just loved it! My God, it's so true, so so so true! When you "step out and try something new" in the fam you get the whole "copied" label and it's so.... I don't like it!
I loved the story, just perfect! God bless the person who wrote that story and God bless you for posting it! I loved the ending... so so goood... Thank you for posting this! It is so nice, like a cup of cold water to a tired world.
Jesus, please do bless all those who have made all this new Fam music. I really love it, Jesus, please keep it flowing! And THANK YOU FOR THE FTTs!!! :D
God bless you Neo! You're cool! We all needed to hear this!
Dude, man God Bless you, it's so true there are so many people out there that just complain from head to toe about Family music and it just sickens me. If only people could value Family music for what's it's worth. Well I wanna thank you man, for stand up for your convictions and making this blog, it's really great. GBY
Take care man.
This is the best post ever! I will in my heart change to a positive outlook from now on.
haha i thought it odd that you weren't more ingrained into the "Immortality" debates, but this post takes the cake. GREAT post dude GBY
really good stuff, man. GBY for doing all this! How do
I get you to post songs from our band? unless you dont post stranger bands on your blog...
amen!!! lets stop knocking our awesome, amazing, talented, totally cool family musicians. i love the family and all that we stand for..esp. our musicians....but Immortality by death isn't family, sorry.
whoa this is just what I needed, txs so much!
Agreeing with Fred.
Actually Immortality by Death was a Family band. They disbanded after they left the Family. I am close friends with the lead guitarist so I would know... and yes I'm still in the Family.
Neo, my deepest thanks for posting this. Thank you for researching those comments concerning Family music of the past, thank you for posting that hilarious yet-oh-so-true-to-life (sadly) story from the Zine, and thank you for expressing so accurately what we should all know and live like.
I especially agreed with "This subject has been discussed & argued since day 1 & every new album is put under the same set of muck."
Thank you for sounding the call for us to all grow up and behave like Christ's mature disciples.
Sure, I am revolted by nearly all the music produced by at least 4 different Family musicians/bands but I don't need to yell that to the world - much less to them after they've put so much into it.
Let's be loving, let's be kind,
Let our love for Jesus shine.
Whoohoo! Merry Christmas!
Neo This is a great post...really convicting... good job... & amen to your bad writting style...just joking
yeah John, they were in the family...great now their not. James Pen was in the Family as well, which i knew very well, but i wouldn't suggest listening to anything from him. I also know the band members from Immortality by death. But lets stick to the topic...GB Family musicians, you guys rock!!!!
AMEN!!! Thomas Howard
ok yes Mark system people do diss bands too. But as Family members we're expected to "do unto others" and be courteous and constructive with our criticism. So lets keep the love flowing!
Sorry if my comment broke the spirit. Yes, I guess you're right, Patrick. Actually I, personally, think they're extremely talented musicians.
I was wondering what family people thought about how their music is changing. I just wanted to know what they personally think. Now a long time ago hip hop was considered demonic right? & now it's like absolutely normal, so most likely it will be the same with death metal in less than a decade according to what I see. I like thrash/speed & metal-core stuff so I have nothing against this type of music (although 'death'metal does sound like they are just trying to get attention, as you can basically play the exact same music & simply call it thrash metal or something else with a godlier tone.) But the question I had in mind was: is the family music standard changing? I wouldn't want to say "lowering" as it might offend some. Or is this just some new era of according-to-your-faith or anything-is-possible-if-you-have-faith? You definitely cannot say that it's because world's music is changing & the family is just adapting. I don't that think this is the case, as they had death-metal too when I was a kid & family people still though milder stuff like ac/dc or even jimi hendrix was satan worship. Well, I was just wondering because does this mean the family could have made death metal all along like from the mid-80's & it wouldn't have been ungodly? Was Dad then an old bottle?? I just find this paradoxical.
"I believe the reson for the strict rules back then was to wean the all new disciples that just came from teh hippie culture off of thier system music."
I think the hippie culture was just a beginning of what's actually still existing now. Nowadays youth are just as, if not more, into their music as the hippie days. I belive people now have just as much of a need to be weaned off too. This music, was designed for head-bangers, but to wean them off of death-metal with death-metal? sorta contradictory. I guess they inteded it as bait(or didn't "intend" anything at all). But anyways I see your point kind-of. I guess the family is changing & what's done before isn't necessarily going to stay the same forever. And I really admire your sticking up for family stuff while everyone around your is against you. Godbless
Just to clarify I am not really talking about WS approved music but mainly about the unapproved music that individual bands or artists put out.
This is something that I wondered about myself for a while. I'm generally of the belief that young people who start out making music should be encouraged and allowed a certain amount of leeway for the stuff that they come up with, whether their music has a massive amount of positive message or whether it's a little too foolish to be produced under a WS standard...it's something that most young people get through in order to spread their wings and practice their pouncing. But I tend to get leery of the sort of people who seem to be old enough or have been making music for long enough but are still sort of lacking in direction or spirit. For some reason I feel like it comes through the music, and maybe that's not something that happens to everyone, but it's definitely worth thinking about.
Also I'm sure there is a certain amount of balance that needs to be applied to the whole "new bottles" versus "insane ideas that have crossed the line" thing. I've definitely heard "you're an old bottle!" being applied in the wrong situations a lot in my life, but it's usually the people who know very little about it who would say it so legalistically in the first place. Kind of like it's more or less the people who have the least wisdom from the Word who like to fly their flags everywhere and pretend to have a lot of wisdom from the Word.
I do think that the Family is a pretty easy market, and even if I was on my way out of the Family I'd probably put up some music for people to listen to because everyone likes to know that someone is appreciating their stuff. It makes sense, and it's not evil...it just seems like it's something that would happen. I wonder what the solution is. I definitely think we should be careful of saying that it's just "radical" "new wine" that we should all be open to and accepting of, because there may be a time when that isn't the case.
yes but dave don't you realize that that's whats happening now? maybe these metals that are coming out are the next wave of family music... why can't people just judge songs for the what they contain? the best way is through the fruits, no? an artist should be judged by his work, no? perhaps you should examine how a song makes you feel before you write it off... I can't stand godfrey's voice, sometimes it's like nails on a chalk board but I love his songs because of what they make me feel; their spirit is right... but you don't see me thrashing him? (or maybe you do)...when you actually listen to it some of his music is just the same as that coming out now... perhaps not so hard core but in the same vein... and yet now he's considered "classic rock"... not to say that he hasn't had his share of opposition... but, perhaps you should give it a chance... immortality by death was perhaps not the best...style wise they seem great to me but as far as their spirit... I'm not too sure... but at least they tried, no?
also how can you be sure what someones state of mind was while making a song?
Okay, I'm a little tired and haven't read everything line for line, as my age keeps me sometimes from getting into all the details, but I'll say this: when we were on the road with Dad, and I was one of the very first Family band members - in fact, the very first time we had a band - Dad said that anything that rocks and draws the crowd will do just fine. I wrote some pretty heavy-metal type songs, some pretty noisy songs, with music so loud and wired weird that it gives me a headache to even think that I played such stuff. But, we got souls on top of souls over the weekend in our ferry boat in Houston Texas when the freaks came to hear what the screaming was all about.
Yes, in the MWM days, it was just a turn of tastes that we took on that new wave, just like the Beatles took on a turn with new waves of their music, and branching off from their old stuff. You know who the Beatles were, don't you. Oops!!! Perhaps before your time.
The bottom line is that none of this matters. We are not under the letter of the law, and should not look at the Family music that way and criticize it. Why? Have we become Armchair Generals who can decide what is good for the masses and what is not. Okay, I do admit that a lot of Family music is too "dramatic" for my tastes (I'm 61 years old now), and I do not want to offend by saying who... but, when I first heard STEM, I thought "What the heck happened to our good ol' "Thank you, Jesus, for this food..." type of music!!!" But, to tell you the facts of life, I LOVE STEM, and am the JAM fanatic of the year!!!
Dad (I knew him as Uncle Dave) had his own taste of music, and if you read his comments on some of the world's music, you might have been surprised (in my days) when he poked his finger into a group's eye that I happened to like, but it just wasn't his favorite from his days as a youngster. So, don't hold any of his comments as the ultimate critique.
Hey, if you don't like something, okay, but don't make a blanket statement that covers all and everything. In that case, I'd have to say that the worse songs I've ever heard in the Family are from... heh... ain't gonna tell.
And, if somethings sounds like some system song, hey, so what. The theme song from "Quantum of Solace" by Jack White is partially ripped off from the Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun." Or George Harrison's famous "My Sweet Lord" was a direct rip-off from "He's My Guy" from a girlie group that was famous when I was in High School. So, bottom line: what the heck? I should be the old bottle at my age, but, it looks like I ain't!!! Ha! Gimme JayDee, STEM, the JAM, and tons of those other boys and girls that are chugging out music for today that sounds like today. We did it back then, so why not just go with the flow?
That's it, I gotta go to iTunes now and finish listening to Recycled.
Catch ya later,
An FGA from 1969
(hint... I made the very first Family songbook. Ain't trying to be proud or anything when I say that.)
Ummmm I kinda agree with Florence. I think that just like everything else in life, you need to have a balance. True, if a guy is on his way out, he might write music that is brackish and not so conviction-filled. But some man's poison is others meat. For some guy it might sound like demon possessed music while for this other man it might just be what he was looking for and Jesus' Christmas present to him. You never know.
You know the song "No Mercy" from TCD 29 "I'm Still Here"? Well, when my mom and sister heard it, they said it was really awful and they wondered why Mama allowed such stuff. I didn't like it either, but then later on when I heard it a bit more I actually really liked the song.
A girl I once knew said that the song "American Way" was waaayyy off and totally out of the spirit. She said that the message was so not Family. I agreed, but now I really like that song! I think Gavin and Emmanuel are really good and I think that Emmanuel is really good at rhyming, bless his soul!
The thing is (and I don't want to sound all-knowing) not everyone likes the same stuff! We all know that, but some people are more vocal about what they like and they can tend to be off when they hear something that sounds like "devil worship" to them. I think bringing Dad into the picture to "back up your point" is quite stupid. You might as well say "Dad smoked in the bathroom so I can do so as well. Dad got drunk some times so it excuses me" but the fact of the matter is that Dad was human, just like everyone else. What if you lived with him and totally didn't get along with him? Does that mean that you were evil? Does that mean that you are not a disciple? No, it doesn't!
Come on people, keep the love flowing! Let's "keep the story fictional."
Many comments deleted (including my own). Not because I disagree or am angry, but because I want to prevent turning this blog into Amarathine II. If you want to disscuss/argue these topics, there is a fine forum you are welcome to which is all about Family Music:
http://family-music.phphope.com/
Thank you all for keeping it civil though (minus the ignorance insults -ahem). GBY & KGFG
I was hoping you'd delete my own comment. Heh. I'm a typical Sagitarrius, which means as soon as I open my mouth, my foot flies into it! In any case, I don't the backgrounds of producers, etc, but the music I like. Let it flow...
That FGA again! :-)
Oops! Typo: "I don't know the backgrounds of producers, etc., but the music I like..." is how it should read.
No ways! Your comment was awesome! Its soo cool to hear of an FGA who likes the new music.
Okay, Neo, but I was a bit tipsy from my meal (and Turkish wine), and felt I was showing off with my "thems-were-the-good-ol'-days-I-knew-Uncle-Dave" stuff. I was just trying my bit at "cool humor." Heh. However, I wasn't trying to use Dad to "back up my point." It was just the way it was. Anyhow, thanks for the encouragement, dude. Family music today is awesome. First song to flip me out: "The World Hasn't Got That Much Time" from the "Higher" album. Since then, it's been uphill all the way.
Rock on... you guys got FGA: Freakin' Great Ammo!!!
Merry C-mas!
Make sure you keep updating this blog dude.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! God bless you!
Happy New year!
I will stick to this blog.
Hey, that's cool: For God Always. TTL I didn't Forget Our Ways. You SGAs have Such Great Ambitions - it's awesome! Hey, I hate to capitalize on this blog comment section, but, Jesse, how can I get a copy of Crank Killer's CD? Can't download from your Stillbliss Studio (that's a free plug, folks!).
the FGA freak
FGA freak, you are funny. Crank Killer-T is a funny Japanese punk band that I produced. It's a Japanese thing.
By the way. I am in no way affiliated with this site.
Thank you.
Merry Christmas man!
Thanks for your service to the family through your music blog. I for one, owe you big time!
Thanks so much all.
Ure kewl dood.
Thank you so much Neo for creating this blog and posting this music. It's a big blessing and a real inspiration to be able to download so much of this awesome Family music. Also I very much appreciate your stand against those that complain against our wonderful Family's music. 'Hall of Shame' is a very fitting name, I should think. Keep the music coming our way.
Thank you so much for that post. It's a great encoragement to hear that ppl apreciate my work here. GBY.
Hello Neo! God bless you, I would like to know if you can help me with the artists that sang in the Memory book song tapes (New Life, Daybreak, Rescue and Breakout, and if you help me I will help you with the other songs that Sunny Mcnair sang (the ones you don't have in your blog).Bye!! and happy search :)
I'm really sorry, but there is no way I can get you that info because it was NEVER PUBLISHED! With the old tapes you can usually find a copy that has the singer's name, but the Memo Book tapes never had'm.
I already have Sunny's other songs -from her myspace page.
Super sorry about that!
GBY all, let's keep the love flowing in the Family forever. Love you all tons!
You too bro.
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