Pop Culture From the Artistically Challenged

Nobody will ever accuse me of being on the cutting edge of what is cool in music or art. Or anything else, for that matter.

I will now gush enthusiastically about Collective Soul’s new album, called YOUTH. It’s a slow news day, what can I say? Nothing political seems to be motivating me, so you readers will just have to suffer. All three of you.

It’s great rock and roll. There’s little grunge to be found. There’s absolutely no hip/hop. No cops are killed or ho’s slapped. No pimps. All you’ll find is good songwriting, great instrumental arrangements, good harmonies, and a good lead singer. There’s a surprising spirituality in their songs. I’ve got no problems with that, either. You’ll find loud guitars, mixed in with orchestral melodies. You’ll also find a few 80’s keyboard riffs in there as well.

I first saw them on the DOSAGE tour in 1998. I’ve been hooked ever since. I remember on that tour they covered INXS’ “Listen Like Thieves.” I was struck at the time with how much they reminded me of that particular band. Again, not a bad thing, but I think Collective Soul is actually quite a bit better of a band.

At any rate, they’re worth a listen. I’ve spun the new record twice so far, and I’m not tired of it yet. I tend to play a new album until it melts, anyway. I so seldom find any good music anymore that when something DOES come along that I like, I play it to death.

Collective Soul gets flack for being a “stealth Christian band,” whatever that means. They get flack for not being hard enough, for not being urban enough, for not being “trendy.” No wonder I love them. I’m about as un-trendy as a human can get. My music taste is still firmly rooted in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The last cd I picked up (at a pawnshop for $3.00, no less) was Bryan Adams’ RECKLESS. That gives you some idea of the scope of my musical dilemma here in the 21st Century.

Speaking of taste, I was struck by something else funny this weekend. A cousin of mine took some pictures of my parent’s place in south-central Texas over Thanksgiving. I’ve always loved the place, and thought the scenery there was top-notch. However, these pictures really blew me away.

I’ve often thought photography is a pretty weak art. The photographer isn’t really creating anything. They’re just mechanically capturing a visual that’s there for anybody to see.

Wrong.

These pictures caught the morning sun coming up over a field, with just a hint of mist hanging in the air. There were trees all around the border of the field, and everything was green and lush. It actually took me a minute to recognize what I was seeing. I’ve looked over that same vista a million times, and I never saw it that way before. It took my breath away. I wish that I was technically more advanced, so that I could share the photograph with you online. Alas, I am not yet that sophisticated. Give me some time.

At any rate, I think the camera CAN reflect a photographer’s feelings about the subject. It was obvious from the picture that my cousin was struck by the views out there. This picture really captured both the scene, and what the photographer thought about the scene.

More years ago than I care to remember, I took a picture of a girlfriend sitting in a field of bluebonnets. It was one of the neatest pictures I’ve ever seen, and probably the best one I’ve ever taken of anything, period. I think I understand a bit about why the picture turned out so well. It wasn’t just because it was a great scene. It was because I managed to capture my feelings for her on the film, just a little bit. Somebody seeing the picture could get a small idea about how much I was in love with her.

Of course, she put me through an emotional wringer, until we parted ways. She was the first female that drove me almost certifiably insane. I wish I would have taken a picture of her in the middle of all of that. I could probably sell it to Stephen King to jump start his horror novels again.