Echoes and Moments

Though the words of Jesus comfort many, his most potent ones summon dramatic imagery that deals frankly in life and death, even when his message is hidden behind the veil of parable. John tells us that Jesus says, "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (12:24)." Earlier in the historiography of Jesus Matthew tells us that he tells his disciples, " For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it (16:25)." As institutionalized in the rites of the Memorial Acclamation in the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist, we pray "When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again." In the latter days leading up to our celebration of Jesus' birth, we are inevitably reminded of his ultimate mission. He, the Human One, embraced death that we might be liberated from the suffering of si...

Yes, let's get it out of the way. 2016 was a ridiculous, horrifying, event-filled, tragic, and overwhelming shitstorm of a year. It was probably the most stressful year of all the twenty-seven that I've lived through, both personally and existentially. And yet, those of us tuned into the arts, and music in particular, were left with a shocking revelation of its consequences: there was some damn good music that was made in this year. Amidst the rise of a Trump presidency and the painful losses of so many luminaries cherished for their innovations (Cohen, Prince, Bowie, and others), we saw a consistent output of music straddling the lines of progressive innovation and holding the flame alive of well-worn sonic territory. You'll notice this list has an impressive diversity in genre, gender, and ethnic background, a testament to the vast creativity that brimmed amidst the chaos of the times. This top ten was painfully difficult to pare down, yet I am confident that I captured t...