We are a bit behind, we know. But better late than dead.
Our Palm Sunday song tries to capture the crazy wonder of Jesus entry into Jerusalem, the shouting children before and behind, the crowds waving palm branches and crying “Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Meanwhile, Jesus still goes into the temple, drives out the money changers, and heals the blind and lame. All this while he know he’s going to die within the week!
One meaning of Hosanna is “save us.” It’s in this spirit we sing.
A song about struggle. A song about overcoming by God’s gift of grace the lie that we need to be good enough on our own before we can be forgiven.
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! -Romans 7:18-25a
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9
Pray for Grace You know what I say
You know what I’m really like
I’ve been in a bad way
Stayed there way too long
I battle my mind
I battle my secret life
My spirit is abhorred
My flesh is way too strong
Please hear what I say
I know you’re the only right
But I’m stuck in these bad ways
And all I write is wrong
Please shatter my mind
‘Cause I am worldly wise
Please teach me to love
‘Cause I’m just a clanging gong
I’m tired of trying
I can do no good on my own
Teach me of love; teach me of grace
And please save my soul!
Save my soul!
Once guilty as sin
Now free from its deadly price
My serpentine exploits
all start to come undone
I know you as mine
And I am finally yours
Resplendent redemption
I’m free and death is gone!
I’m tired of trying
I can do no good on my own
Teach me of love; teach me of grace
And please save my soul!
Save my soul!
Don’t know how long I’d spent just scratching at the surface of love
Failing at trying to impress the world to get to my goal
Your grace and mercy taught me that you’d take me with all my flaws
You choose to love my worst disgusting when you save my soul!
Save my soul!
Ethan Dean and Seth Dean
This song is part of an exercise we’re calling 52 Weeks. Check in next Friday for yet another song. Listen and let us know what you think, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes We need you! If like one of these songs, please comment. Your opinions will help us decide what’s on the next album. Copyright 2009-2010 Stereoreel Music, LLC.
…any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. -Jesus, quoted in Luke 14:33
A few lines of a Tolkien poem + the words of Jesus + a dark, distorted piano + a 100-year blizzard + Caleb, Seth and Ethan + a heartfelt desire = Nothing. It’s this week’s song.
Nothing
All that’s gold does not glitter
All who wander aren’t lost
And saints before me endeavored
Even though it cost them
Everything, everything
Though it cost them everything they owned
When I find a true treasure
Worth a significant price
I don’t have much to offer you
So I’m willing giving
Everything, everything
I will give You everything I am
Everything, everything
I will give You everything I am
Crowning thorns may be glorious
A splendor worth every pain
Jesus, you’ve been victorious
Trusting You I will gain
Everything, everything
Surely I’ll gain everything I need
Everything, everything
I know that I’ll gain everything I need
Everything, everything
Jesus you are everything I need
There is nothing I shouldn’t give
Caleb Nei and Seth Dean
This song is part of an exercise we’re calling 52 Weeks. Check in next Friday for yet another song. Listen and let us know what you think, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes We need you! If like one of these songs, please comment. Your opinions will help us decide what’s on the next album. Copyright 2009-2010 Stereoreel Music, LLC.
A bit of a bonus this week! Audio and video versions. Twofer! Heaven’s Fire is inspired by a recent reading of the book of Acts. Simply listen to the song or watch the video to hear Seth talk more about what he was thinking when he wrote it.
With Heaven’s fire on the ceiling
And the air as thick as violence loud
There’s amalgamated breathing
In foreign voices that address a crowd.
Drunken foolishness, look how they talk so!
Old men seers and the young men dream?
How a cloud could be a miracle
Things aren’t always as they always seemed
Sound good news
In joyful jubilation
Everything now new
The rooftop revelations
Resounding through hearts’ darkened halls
Greek and Jew: God’s son can save us all
Save us all!
Now Prison doors are shaking fearless
Static bodies move again to life
Useless legs no longer needless
Simple men now unafraid to die
I don’t know what we’re not doing anymore
That our faith is less than great renown.
Are we shamed to name our Savior?
Do we love our power more than God’s?
This song is part of an exercise we’re calling 52 Weeks. Check in next Friday for yet another song. Listen and let us know what you think, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes .
We need you! If like one of these songs, please comment on our blog at Stereoreel.com. Your opinions will help us decide what’s on the next album.
Copyright 2009-2010 Stereoreel Music, LLC.
Ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls, aliens, pets, and music-loving house plants. We offer this offering: A song. Written just for you. But it’s not just the song, but the promise of more. Fresh. Each week. For a long time. Yes, we plan on writing a song every week for the next year. It’s a Herculean undertaking, but we, being descendants of Hercules (and you though he was a Myth), think we’re up to it.
In fact, we relish the challenge (though we might rather say “pudding” since that’s what our brains sometimes feel like after writing an entire song in a single day). So, we offer to you this: SONG NUMBER ONE. It’s a song inspired by the heart of King David, a certain Hummingbird guitar, the God who protects and sustains, and the key of Bb (including a very cool Em7(b5) chord.
We’d love this project to be a conversation with you so…leave a comment. Let us know how we did. If you’ve got ideas for improvements, we’re open to hearing them. Your opinions will help us decide what songs actually make it to the next album and which ones end up on the studio floor. Even if you just want to accuse us of cryptomnesia we’d love to hear from you. (Don’t necessarily expect songwriting credit or royalties though. Sorry.)
Coming soon: an iTunes podcast.
Don’t feel like watching the video? Love this song so much you want to download it to you iPod? Here’s the audio:
All songs copyright 2009-2010 Stereoreel Music, LLC. (Legalese for “Don’t steal our stuff.” …though really we’d be honored if you liked it enough to steal it… We know, it’s a weird schizophrenia.)
Friends young and old. Greetings from Stereoland. (Where all your binaural dreams come true!) We’ve been busy doing summer things like jumping over sprinklers and defending our domiciles from marauding raccoons. (What they want with used diapers, we’ll never know.)
Even with all of the summer celebrations and defenses we find time to play music…and lots of it. We’re still play every Sunday night, most Tuesdays and a fair number of Fridays and Saturdays.
We’re excited about an upcoming gig were playing with Restless Street on July 24th. It’ll be at Blue Ridge Bible Church in Purcellville, VA. Get your tickets here.
Want to watch a video that inspires us? Check out Chris Quilala singing the classic “I Exalt Thee.”
Dearest people of the world who know about this band and this website,
It is for you, the loyal listeners and faithful friends, that we have conceived a masterful plan so that you may take us with you everywhere you go! We now offer to you, in a most humble fashion, Stereoreelring tones! These are audio clips from our Save Me E.P., edited to fit into the length of time it takes for your cellular phone to alert you of an incoming call. Among the phone call tones, you can also find text message alerts, for those of you who don’t like to talk.
Find these within our Fanfare page by clicking on the link named Fanfare in our menu bar at the top of this page.
