#actually most Jesus edits are to Taylor swift for some reason

[strawberri-draws]

Is tiktok bad? Yes. But where else on the internet will I randomly receive aesthetic edits of Jesus Christ Himself to Alex G?

[tirednotflirting]

(hopefully did this right? we’ll see)

i was tagged by @escapesos​, @clumsyclifford​, @lukehummingbirdz​, and @simp4calum​ to do this guy! so thnx pals <3

haven’t been online much to know who has done this yet so I’m gonna tag @kaleidoscopeminds​, @calumcest​, @mashlums​, and anybody else still wanting to give it a go :)

here’s the link to do ur own !!!

alright and now onward with my rambling :))))

1. 1989 (deluxe edition) - taylor swift: picking a taylor album was HARD and ultimately 1989 probably isn’t even my favorite taylor album but its the one with the most impact in my life i think. i have this insanely clear memory of sitting in my car the first time i heard ‘wonderland’ and ‘clean’ and just crying like a BABY. up to that point it had been the biggest leap and risk she had taken in her sound and it was just such a joy to step into the planning of a new phase of my life with this album playing in the background. i had always been a taylor fan but for some reason this was the first of her albums (likely due a lot to age but eh) that i heard myself and my experiences in.

2. meet you there tour live - 5 seconds of summer: so (perhaps?) oddly enough this was actually the 5sos album that got me here into this space online. their first two records just didn’t really end up on my radar and while i loved youngblood when it dropped earlier that year, there was something missing in the sound of it at the time to really pull me into the band and their fanbase. and then i got babylon (live) our national anthem on a discover weekly or something and just FELL IN LOVE. like listened to this album only for probably 3 months straight fell in love. 5sos has been the first band whose fanbase i’ve found a home in and quite literally the people i’ve had the opportunity to cross paths with bc of this band are some of the only ones who have made these last six months tolerable. i’m so stupid thankful to 5sos and idk i’m kinda glad that this was the record they put out that brought me in. there’s a lot of them in this live record in a different way than their studio records.

3. BADLANDS (Live at Webster Hall) - halsey: okay anybody in the club seeing this specific choice is not even the slightest bit surprised like i am literally listening to it AS I TYPE THIS. as i’ve discussed many times with miss meg aka @kaleidoscopeminds​ i miss live music so much IT PAINS ME. so for one of my favorite records of all time to be released as a live concert album last month to celebrate five years since its release is basically a DREAM. the goddess that is halsey and her debut album found me at a hilariously low point in my life and it really brought me a sense of security i’ve never really gotten from another record. it’s so dreamy and LOUD and the perfect highway driving album it was such an ESCAPE. i could talk for days about this album but i’m just on another planet w this live album like she creates such a VISION w the live show for this and you can HEAR IT. more live albums 2k20

4. melodrama - lorde: our LORDE AND SAVIOR AMIRIGHT. this is another one kinda like badlands that sends me off into like a dreamland of color and sound and escape. lorde i think is only really capable of making perfect albums (perfect places amiright??? sorry). she’s such a patient and practiced artist with the way she writes both lyrics and music and it’s an album that i know i’ll be able to turn on in 40 years and just be swept back into my soph year of uni with the blink of an eye. supercut hits particularly deep but also sober and the louvre have such a youthful energy like they’re BURSTING w it. 

5. modern vampires of the city - vampire weekend: so excluding the ones i got once i had my car bc i didn’t have an aux in that car, this was the last CD i think i bought with the intention to listen to it on a CD player (still objectively late for that it was 2013). my favorite music moment in like modern times is on this record. it’s at 2:42 in ‘hannah hunt’ and i think it’s just the most happy/sad piano melody i’ve ever heard. last summer i had the chance to see this band for the first time while they were touring their most recent record and it was at a taping for ACL Live and no one was allowed to have their phones out during the taping and i think it was one of the most perfect moments i’ve ever experienced. VW just makes such simply good and beautiful music and this record shows that especially.

6. bad ideas - tessa violet: tessa’s music says so many things but i think most importantly it says “you’re going to experience bad things and they might even be your fault for some reason or another but it’s okay because you will be okay and you will grow and be better for it”. her music is so much about accepting the way your brain works and using that knowledge to better yourself and your decision making rather than letting it tear you apart. i saw her last fall and all i could think about when i left the show was how important it felt for me to be there. like i had been told and seen something impactful on a personal level, not just because it was a damn good show. i suggest listening to this album front to back bc it tells a really specific and detailed story that way. i’ve learned a lot from miss tessa.

7. some nights - fun.: (god i pulled it up just to get in the zone for this one and jesus christ). so in 2012 my life changed a LOT. so much good and bad that its hard to pick out what was what but i DO KNOW that the music was incredible. in 2012 i met the first person who would break my heart (i think?), i started high school, i met some of my best friends at camp, my dad moved and i had to move into a really toxic environment, i had my first marching season, and i spent three months straight that summer listening to this record. i hear this record and i think of climbing up on the roof w my best friend to sing and laugh and watch the stars and make up stories of how amazing perfect high school was going to be. i don’t have those stories or even that friend anymore. but i have this album. it’s like 50 min of pure nostalgia and impossible to not include here. and OF COURSE it’s a jack antonoff project djfkalgfj

always saying too much and nothing at all amiright? a regular ashton irwin over here. if you actually read this ur a real trooper lol

[thenameofaslan]

Hey, The Name of Aslan followers! 

Currently we stand at 7 members, and to keep things unique, instead of using existing character names, we will be going by Narnia-inspired names we created ourselves! Our names are Veriele, Ailora, Gianah, Astriella, Haaven, Lailenah, and Elledia. Allow us to introduce ourselves! Below we will be sharing some facts about ourselves & our interest in Narnia. 

Hello! I’m Veriele!

Favourite book:

My favourite book tends to change a lot. Of course The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a classic, and in and of itself it’s possibly the most magical story of the 7. However, I also love The Magician’s Nephew for the beautiful creation of Narnia it shows us. Then The Horse and His Boy really stands out from the other books, and I love the characters and their growth so much. But I think when it comes down to it, The Last Battle holds the most special place in my heart. The ending chapters are so full of life and beauty. The parade of returning characters in Aslan’s Country is stunning and hits my nostalgic heart hard. And those final lines just fill my heart with joy! It’s a hard choice, as the entire series is absolutely lovely, but I do think The Last Battle stands out to me most of all.

Favourite Aslan quote:

I love a lot of Aslan’s lines, but I think my top 3 are “Courage, dear heart,” “Do not dare not to dare,” and “Now you are a lioness.”

Favourite Bible verse:

In the entire Bible it’s hard to choose just one, but Revelation 21:5a fills me with a special kind of joy. “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”

Songs that remind me of Narnia:

A lot of songs remind me of Narnia, but to name a few: Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World, North by Sleeping At Last, and Long Live by Taylor Swift.

What kind of content or art I make/enjoy:

I make edits, analytical posts, and I write the occasional fic!

Hi everyone, I’m Ailora!

Favorite book:

For the Christian themes, my favorite will always be The Last Battle. The ending few chapters make me cry. I also love the atmosphere of Voyage of the Dawn Treader, especially the ending.

Favorite Aslan scene:

It’s so hard to choose just one. I guess I’d have to say the scene where Aslan appears and walks beside Cor on the mountain pass in HAHB. I love Aslan’s gentleness with Cor, but also the sense of wonder when he starts to reveal himself and how he’s been acting in Cor’s story. I love that during the entire scene, Aslan is walking beside Cor to protect him from falling off the mountain, and also that he is guiding Cor to exactly the place he needs to be. I love Cor’s response to seeing Aslan, and I love that Aslan leaves him a footprint-full of cold water at the end. It’s just a beautiful picture of God’s provision and love and kindness and knowledge of us.

Favorite Bible verse:

Again, hard to choose. But for now I’ll say Ephesians 3:17-19: “That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Hi, I’m Gianah.

How I got interested in Narnia:

I got interested in Narnia when my friend forced me to watch The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I immediately bought the collection of all seven books, joined tumblr and then got even more obsessed with it. Once I found out other people actually really liked the series, I started to be more invested. The rest is history.

Favourite Bible Verse:

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ 29:11

Kinds of art or content I enjoy/make:

I love both writing and painting/ drawing. I love making analysis texts so much, and also narrative texts.

Hey everyone! I'm Astriella :)

How I got into Narnia:

I've loved Narnia since I was about twelve, when I was first allowed to read the books (I think I burned through all 7 in about a month!). Even then I loved finding “hidden meanings” in stuff and Narnia is a treasure trove of allegory and allusion!

My favourite non-human character:

My favorite has to be Jewel the Unicorn.  Both because unicorns are amazing and majestic and all, but because of his loyalty for Tirian, his sacrificial love, and his gentle gentility.

My favorite Aslan moment: 

It has to be from VotDT, from the Dark Island where nightmares come true.  Lucy, up in the crow’s-nest, looks down on the havoc and chaos on deck as the sailors panic in terror, and whispers to Aslan, begging for help. And help comes in the form of an albatross, which circles the crow’s-nest before leading the ship to safety; but in that moment Lucy hears Aslan’s voice whisper to her, “Courage, dear heart.” That scene means a lot to me because anxiety always provides plenty of possible nightmares, but I know my God will lead me to safety and He gives me courage.

Hello! I’m Haaven!

How I got interested in Narnia:

 I literally cannot remember a time when I wasn’t. I grew up on the series. My true obsession with it, however, would have begun in about 4th grade when I found the entire series in the school library and read them all for the first time.

When/how I became a Christian?

 I could talk for a very long time on this, but I’ll try to keep in short(ish). I grew up in a Christian home so I always kind of knew  that I needed Jesus, but I didn’t know how to go about it. I was also the most shy person you would ever meet, so I wasn’t about to ask anyone how, either. But then when I was ten, I went to church camp for one week during the summer for the first time. (I wasn’t sure I really wanted to go, but my mom convinced me with, “Well, your sister will be there, so you’ll be fine!” haha.) And, I guess you could say, the rest is history (since this is the short version, haha). :P

Favorite Narnia-esque songs:

 I have so many, but I will limit myself to three: All the King’s Horses by Karmina (totally an Edmund/ movie!PC!Peter/ Eustace song!), Up All Night by David Archuleta (okay, yes, I know this is a love song, but if you think about it as Lucy and Aslan especially in LWW… It’s adorable, okay?!?), and Beautifully Broken by Plumb (sort of a post-Last Battle Susan song).

Hi! My name is Lailenah.

Favorite non-human Narnia character:

This is a tough question, because the majority of my faves aren’t human! Hwin and Bree, Mr. Tumnus, Reepicheep, the centaurs, and then of course Aslan in his completely own category...But I’m going to have to go with Puddleglum because I LOVE him. Many heroes tend to be optimistic, hopeful, and outgoing people, but Puddleglum’s the opposite. And yet he’s still a very caring, courageous, and loyal individual; he stays true to his faith and encourages the others to do the same, especially in the scene where the Green Witch tries to enchant them so they deny that the world above and Aslan exist. And when everything is at its most hopeless point, he’s the one to offer hope in the form of, “We’re just four babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play world that licks your world hollow. That’s why I’m on Aslan’s side, even if there’s no Aslan to lead it.” He’s not a ray of sunshine, but he can be a gleam in the darkest places, when it’s most needed. And sometimes I feel like as a Christian, some people expect that you must always be “joyful” (aka wear a cheerful smile, be optimistic, and act outgoing) to be a good witness and influential for Christ. But Puddleglum reminds me that I can be real, I can be honest, and I can be an encouragement to others even when I am at a low point (in fact, being with others during their low points because I understand how it feels might be when I am most needed!). My faith and my effectiveness to others as a Christian is not less because I am not an extrovert. It is not less because I struggle mentally and feel exhausted because of anxious or depressed thoughts. No. I was created the way I am for a reason. I have the challenges I have for a reason. We all do, and that’s okay. No matter our differences, we’re not less than anyone else in God’s loving eyes, and He has a unique time and place for each of us to serve as His light as Puddleglum did.

Favorite Narnia book:

It’s always been the Last Battle. I love how intense it gets in this book, how the evil is overwhelming, the stakes are high, and the battle between right and wrong is at its climax. It feels like the good guys are losing as their already sparse armies dwindle, and the main characters are being forced into the stable. Sometimes that sense of being overwhelmed mirrors how I feel when I look at all the scary, sad, and bad things happening in the world today, but I’m encouraged by the characters who still are soldiers for Aslan’s cause, who keep going and trusting in what’s right in spite of that and in spite of the fact that can’t see what’s coming next. And then, of course, Aslan’s country. I love seeing all the familiar faces from throughout the series and the joy and rest they find in eternity with Aslan and their loved one. It shows that it truly is worth it all.

What kind of content or art I make/enjoy:

I have always loved to write!  So fanfiction and meta are definitely my favorite ways to participate. Bet you couldn’t tell that I tend to drone on. ;)  (I also make mood boards on occasion.)

Hi, Elledia here!

Favourite book: 

A Horse and His Boy or Silver Chair

What age we got interested in Narnia: 

I SAY 7, but I grew up watching the BBC miniseries, so I don’t know for sure.

Favourite Aslan quote:

 “And I was the Lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.”

When/how I became a Christian:

 Raised in the church/missionary brat. I decided when I was around eight that I wanted to be baptized and though there’ve been some bumps along the way, I’m growing in Christ as best as I can.

Narnia-esque songs: 

“If You Want Me To” by Ginny Owens reminds me a lot of Narnia, for some reason.

Kinds of art or content I enjoy/make:

 I write, so fanfic and metas are my thing, but I enjoy all kinds of art.

Anyways, it’s great to meet you all! We hope to interact with you all more in the future, and as we begin creating original posts for this blog. Our ask box is open, should you have any questions! Thanks for following us! <3

[snowpatrolfanclubbrazil]

Before Snow Patrol vanished, they were ubiquitous.

The Scottish/Irish band's song "Chasing Cars" went supernova when it was prominently featured in the 2006 season finale of Grey's Anatomy. According to PPL, a UK-based music licensing company, "Chasing Cars" was the most played song on UK radio during the first decade of the millennium. Between them, the Snow Patrol albums Final Straw, Eyes Open, A Hundred Million Suns, and the compilation Up to Now yielded "everyone can hum them" hits such as "Run," "You're All I Have," "Take Back the City," and "Just Say Yes."

The title of the band's sixth record Fallen Empires (2011) turned out to be prophetic. Though it entered the Billboard charts at number five, the album and its singles didn't make as big a splash as earlier successes. Snow Patrol disappeared like a trail of boot prints in a blizzard.

Six years later, the band has returned with a new record, Wildness. Snow Patrol has just begun an epic, three-month tour of the U.S. So, what accounts for Snow Patrol's protracted absence? Singer and principal songwriter Gary Lightbody offers a candid explanation: writer's block. It stemmed from deeper problems in his life, mainly alcoholism. It's been over two years since his last drink.

"There's a lot of reasons I'm sober and a lot of people have got me there and kept me there and I couldn't have done it without [them]," Lightbody says in a phone interview. "The culture that has helped sustain it is kind of an Eastern one. I meditate. I do Qigong. Those practices appeal to me and that lifestyle appeals to me."

In facing up to his addiction, Lightbody was able to begin writing again. Wildness is Snow Patrol's first album in six years. Gone are the romance and breakup songs that the band once specialized in. Lightbody looks outward at the state of the world as well as inward at the state of his life.

Yet Wildness isn't a downer. "Empress" could soundtrack a confetti parade. On the anthemic "Wild Horses," a cantering acoustic verse becomes a galloping electro-groove chorus. Lightbody's lilting voice buoys the somber piano ballad "What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get?" Snow Patrol's longtime producer Garret "Jacknife" Lee (R.E.M., U2, Silversun Pickups) stripped back the layers of electric guitars from previous albums in favor of more elemental, acoustic-based instrumentation. That approach is particularly effective on epic album opener "Life on Earth." Its six-string chimes are as hushed as a nursery lullaby until startling drum fire introduces a punchy chorus in which Lightbody laments, "It shouldn't need to be so fucking hard/This is life on Earth."

The band-which is rounded out by Nathan Connolly (guitars), Jonny Quinn (drums), Paul "Pablo" Wilson (bass), and Johnny McDaid (guitar, keyboards)-is now on tour in the U.S. with a mix of headlining shows and stadium dates supporting Ed Sheeran. Afterward, Snow Patrol will cross the Atlantic to tour Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, and Europe through February. (See U.S. tour dates at the end of the article and visit www.snowpatrol.com for the European itinerary.)

Under the Radar chatted with Lightbody from his home in Los Angeles.

Stephen Humphries (Under the Radar): There's a teaser video for the album of you sitting on a raft in the ocean. There's a piano on the raft. I saw that image and it got me thinking of your song "Lifeboat"! Which song is the video for and can you tell me about filming that?

Gary Lightbody: We shot a video on the Irish Sea for a song called "What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get?" It was shot on a raft, with me playing piano. It was January. The shoot was postponed four times because of the weather. We get a phenomenon in Ireland, sideways rain, a combination of rain and wind that hits you in your face in a way that makes it impossible to do anything outside. We had four days of that. On the day that we filmed it wasn't wet, but it was freezing cold. It was really fun, actually.

Floating on the ocean, what's the metaphor?

It connects with the song, particularly that song, because of the isolation. That's what the album's about as well, that sort of isolation we all feel and I have certainly felt in recent times. With "What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get?" it's a song about feeling completely isolated and yet all we need to do is reach out to someone. All we need to do is pick up the phone, go around and see a friend. You know what I mean? It's me telling myself, it's me telling my friends, it's me telling everybody, "I've been in this place, too. I know what it's like. I know how it feels. I can share this with you. We can feel in this together."

What did writer's block feel like?

The last album was plagued by writer's block. This one was, too. I've spent my musical life writing about love, or the lack of love, or the warmth of love or the disintegration of love. I haven't been in a relationship since the last album. It's not something I could have drawn from on this record, so I had to think what else do I want to write about. Because I can't just drag up old love from the past that I've already written about. It just doesn't feel right. So I have to think about all the things that were in my life that I've never really addressed. My father's dementia, which I write about in the song "Soon." The world in general, the way the world has been, the way it was. I think this album looks inward further and looks outward further. I tried to address a lot of things I haven't spoken about.

I read an interview with the BBC in which you said you wrote pages of notebooks of lyrics.

Yes, I hope I don't die before I burn them all. There's a lot of gibberish in there. There's a lot of stuff that makes no sense at all. But every album has, the way I write it, you write a bunch of stuff that doesn't make the album.

So what was the breakthrough moment for you in the end?

The breakthrough on this record came with a song "A Youth Written in Fire," which is about my youth, obviously, was spent drinking and even my not-so-youth was spent drinking into my late 30s. I guess it's a song about realizing that you're not a young man anymore, or realizing that you don't recover as quickly as you used to and maybe this is not the path for you.

That song was written after listening to Nick Cave's "Jesus Alone" about eight times in a row. I hadn't heard the new Nick Cave album yet—it's the first track on the album and Garret put it on in the studio as he is wont to do. We listen to a wide range of records and Garret has an extraordinary music collection. I was trying to write and not getting anywhere and took a break. He put that song on and it was myself and Nathan and Garret in the studio at the time and we all kind of went into a trance. I said, "Put it on again," and I picked up my pile of paper and I said, "Put it on again," "Put it on again," "Put it on again." It was on vinyl, so he had to physically put it on again. I started to feel something happening. It was like something was about to happen. I said, "I think I've got something." Garret said, "Okay, me and Nathan will just head down to get some lunch and bring you back some lunch." He left me there a half hour and when he came back, the song was finished. From lyric one to the end was written. It felt like the way I used to write, which was always like that. I mean, I edited a bit, but I never really had to worry too much about words failing me.

In the past, many Snow Patrol songs are about love relationships. This time out, this album seems to be more about you facing yourself.

I think that was part of the problem. Not going deeper as well. It caused its own problem because you think, "Oh that's done," because you don't think about it because it came so easily. On this record, everything was eked out. It just kept coming in drips. And therefore you pore over every word, you pore over every sentence, you don't let anything be nonessential. In my eyes, anyway.

That was the first song that came out like that. But there were also all these pages before it. It was 20-30 pages of writing before it. It wasn't like, "I wrote that in 30 minutes." I wrote that in three months. I just started and finished it in 30 minutes. So it's a strange thing to happen. But it took a long time to write it in an instant. And then other things started to happen. Other songs started to come into view. I finished "Life on Earth." I finished "Heal Me." I finished "Empress." Things started to fall into place.

I don't have album credits in front of me. Did you write all the songs or were there any co-writes?

The lyrics are all mine but musically we all share a credit for the music. Myself and Garret spent a lot of time together writing initially. We'll get together initially. I'll bring in my ideas, melodies, verses, choruses and he's extraordinarily good at song arrangements, song developments, making it make sense. I can bring in a bunch of stuff and everything's in the wrong order, upside down, left where right should be and right where left should be, and he'll put it in the right place.

Sometimes I'll bring in a song and it'll be almost finished in terms of his initial stages and then he will grow the song. He's the best song developer that I've ever heard about. He's not just a producer. He's a co-writer and he's a musician. He can play everything. Initially, Garret and I will get together and we'll put a rough demo together. We'll work into the song so that, to the casual listener it may sound like we've got something close to done. And then everyone else will come in and add their bits. Everybody in the band played out of their skins on this record. I mean, the drums! Johnny Quinn's drums are nothing like he's ever done before. It's extraordinary. The drums are a big feature on this record. I'm not sure they'd been quite as primarily featured on any Snow Patrol record before.

Take me into how you changed-up the sound of this record.

That's Garret's purview, really. He had a vision for the sound of the record. I knew that I wanted to play the acoustic guitar rather than play the electric. I guess it's a holdover from having done the Tired Pony record. I did a solo tour of my own around America just playing acoustically. I just felt very comfortable with an acoustic. I didn't ever really feel like picking up an electric guitar at any point on the record. It just didn't feel right. There's an inherent space and percussiveness in an acoustic that is missing on an electric because you're feeding the sound into the system rather than the whole machine being the sound. Which is what happens on an acoustic guitar. You hear the plectrum on the strings, you know. It gives it many different textures and virtues. It's something we haven't explored in Snow Patrol that widely.

Listeners will hear that right away on songs like "Don't Give In" and "Dark Switch," acoustic-based but widescreen and big four-on-the floor kick drum sounds.

It really did give us a good start to maintain that space. On previous albums, where one guitar might have done, we put 10 on it to create a wall of sound. But it also tends to fill every space when you approach it like that and there's nothing left to the imagination.

Songs like "What If This Is The All The Love You Ever Get" and "Don't Give In" are very exposed, naked vocals. The vocal on "Don't Give In" almost doesn't sound like you.

I had a cold that day in the studio. My voice was sounding like it was wrecked. But I recorded it like a guide. When I went to sing it properly, Garret's daughter—who is my goddaughter, both his daughters are my goddaughters—she came in when I was re-recording the vocals, you'd better not re-record that. So give her credit for keeping that on the record. I really love it now.

During Snow Patrol's hiatus, your bandmate, Johnny McDaid, co-wrote hit songs for Ed Sheeran and P!nk. Did all the various side projects help the band members bring something back to Snow Patrol?

Everybody went off and did their own thing. Seven years, we weren't being dormant. We weren't in mothballs on other stuff. Johnny Quinn runs a publishing company, called Polar, which Nathan, Johnny, and myself own, but he runs it day to day. He was always really good at that. Of anyone in the band, he was the guy that rather incongruously for a musician, knew about logistics about keeping a proper job as well. Johnny McDaid has written and produced a lot of amazing records and worked with a lot of incredible artists. Nathan started his own band, Metal Matador. He's from a heavy rock background, so he got to more than scratch that itch being the frontman of that band and working that rock muscle a little harder than he does with us. Pablo, same as Johnny McDaid, has worked with a lot of great pop and dance artists, producing, and writing. Paul is also in Nate Mendel from Foo Fighters' side project, Lieutenant. Myself, you know, I was with Tired Pony and I wrote with Ed [Sheeran] and Taylor [Swift] and One Direction and got that perspective. I'm perhaps lumping it in with pop music but I think that he does something that has become pop music because it's popular, but I don't think that's his background. Getting the perspective of what it takes to make those records was really interesting to me. I don't know that it informed too much of what we did on this record, but it was interesting time in my life to work with all those people who are so driven, so interesting, so exciting to work with.

You co-wrote some songs during Snow Patrol's hiatus. What's the story behind the collaboration with Taylor Swift on "The Last Time Come About"?

She was making her Red album. Her and Ed were recording the song they did on the record together in Santa Monica, about two blocks away from where I am standing right now. Ed invited me, with Taylor's permission, to come into the studio and say, "Hi." I'd never met Taylor. She said she was a fan. Apparently, the night before, she and Ed had been playing and singing "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" together. It was lovely to hear that she knew our music, you know. I can't remember if I was bold enough to ask if she wanted to work with me. But it might well have been me. Or if it was her who said, "Do you want to write a song together?" I can't remember. We wrote "The Last Time" together and that was great. The three of us collaborated on it really well. I got to go on tour with her for a gig and we did a few TV shows together. She's lovely.

So, you're no longer adrift, safely back on shore?

I hope it's easier next time. But I'm also not sure it should be easier. It is the reason why it feels so good to me. I'm so proud of it because I put so much work into it. I put so much effort into it. It broke me over and over again and now, when we're in rehearsals as we are, when we're playing those songs, it feels like they mend me. They put me back together. So yeah it's worth it in those moments, when you realize what you've done is what you're proud of. It's something that can sustain you. But going through the actual process is probably always meant to be hard.

Finally, can you offer any recommendations of what to see and do in your native Ireland?

Dublin is a great city to have a lot of fun in. Great bars, great nightlife, great restaurants. A lot of fantastic history and great museums, too. But you'll want to see Ireland outside of Dublin. I'm from Belfast. Go to Belfast. Go to Northern Ireland. Go to the West of Ireland. Galway is a beautiful place. The Southwest of Ireland and Kerry is stunning. That's where we wrote the album "Eyes Open." We wrote the album "Hundred Million Suns" in Galway. Cork is beautiful. Kinsale is a beautiful place near Cork. Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford that's the greenest part of Ireland and Ireland is famous for being green—obviously it's the Emerald Isle—but those three counties are the most spectacularly green place outside of New Zealand. I would suggest that even though Dublin is a great place—it's really fun, it's very cosmopolitan and a very modern city—I would suggest spending a little time there and spending more time traveling around Ireland because you're going to meet some really interesting people. It's famous for its hospitality. You can literally rock up in the middle of nowhere to a street in Ireland and probably get an offer of someone cooking you a homemade dinner.

[daretomarvel]

Apparently I write gryles drabbles now: BBC special edition

“Did you see? How we looked?” Harry’s eyes were a little wide, and he was speaking a bit faster and higher than he normally did, brandishing some screenshot of the special as if long enough had passed that Nick might have forgotten about it.

“What, you, glowing and vibrant and putting Julie Andrews to shame in your ability to wear curtains, and me, old and haggard and wearing horizontal stripes? I did, in fact—”

Harry was rolling his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous,” which, excuse him, Harry had looked—well, like he had—while wearing flared floral dress pants. Nick was not the ridiculous one in this situation. “I meant, like, our faces.”

Nick looked around for his drink, couldn’t see where he’d left it, and settled for substituting alcohol with laughter.

“Completely missed them. Total mystery, but they’d blacked both of our faces out on my screen. It was like a Halloween special, more-than-nearly-headless-Nick—”

Harry was undeterred, “Did you see how happy we looked?”

Jesus.

“Haz, what…”

“I was watching it and thinking about what you said, about like, the hiatus and how it had got crazy there, for a little while. And I think it’s…I think it’s died down a bit, now. I think I could, y’know—and people wouldn’t. It’s died down, a bit,” he repeated.

Which. “It hasn’t. Haz, it really, really hasn’t died down. What are you—”

Harry didn’t even seem to hear him, “Do you remember Mallorca?”

Nick could feel his heart rate pick up slightly, his body recognizing the danger before his mind. “Obviously I remember Mallorca, that was like five—”

“I thought it then, too.”

“You—”

“I saw that picture of us, and I thought,” he took a breath, “Look at that. Look at how—I just…I thought it’s going to be us, one day. I’m going to—like, fuck, look at Pix and George, Aimee and Ian, even Jeff and Glenne,” he ran a hand through his hair. “I thought, that’s going to be us. I’m going to marry him, someday.”

Nick felt like someone had sucked all the air out of the room.

“You didn’t.”

“What?”

“You didn’t think that. You’ve just—you’ve had too much wine, and you’re exhausted from tour, and I’ve lulled you into some sort of hypnotic hallucinatory state with my candles. Always dangerous, buying a new scent, but they were out of the usual one. With vanilla? Couldn’t find it. Too close to Christmas, guess they were all sold out. Which—that’s a bit of a shit present, innit? I mean, not for us, obviously, but if it wasn’t like—” a thing, he almost said, which, Christ. “If it was just—here! I could think of literally nothing that you might like, so I bought you the most impersonal gift of all time! That or I’m sending a message, hate the way your house smells, please fix it, ta! Which, not the most flattering th—”

“Nick.”

He really needed that drink.

“Harold.”

“Stop panicking.”

“I’m not—panicking. I’m just…you’ve got no idea what you’re—You realize you’re Harry Styles? Like actual Harry Styles, off of everything under the bloody sun, linked to, to give the abridged version, Taylor Swift and Kendall Jenner and Tess Ward and Camille Rowe? You did not think that was going to be us. Which—is fine, Haz, obviously. Almost positive I’d have gone for Taylor Swift in your position. Bit batshit, evidently, but like, I’ve seen her. Minimal judgment. Your babies would have been a new breed of genetically guaranteed beauty—”

Harry was biting his lip, “This has taken a turn.”

It’s not that Nick disagreed, exactly, but, “What, and that’s my fault? I’m going to marry—”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it.”

Nick wasn’t sure exactly when or how, in the span of watching reruns of the Grinch, he’d completely lost control of his life, but…here they were.

“Of course I’ve—” Harry’s entire fucking face lit up, and Nick really did not deserve this. “But it was a moment! A brief moment of insanity before I blinked and you were still Harry bloody Styles and I was me and it was very very clearly never going to happen, and—”

“Of course it—” Harry shook his head slightly, caught his eye, “It was always going to be us, Grim. Don’t you—since I was seventeen, I’ve always thought it was going to be us.”

“You’re like, a bloody Hallmark card, all of the sudden. You did not think—”

“I did. Since Christmas, that year. With Aimee. I did.”

Nick was fundamentally unequipped for this.

“Haz, please. Let’s not—why are you…”

Harry bit his lip, “Gem texted me, after the special. Something about that scene of us with the chips being an excellent audition tape for me to send in if I ever wanted to star in a romcom, and she was joking, obviously, but. That was…it was the best day. There were cameras everywhere and I was wearing way too much makeup and my back was killing me and it was—the best day, still. Don’t you want to, like,” he broke off, licked his lips. “That could just be life. We could just—”

“We can’t, Haz. We—”

“Why not?”

And Harry was a bit oblivious sometimes, but he wasn’t that obtuse. “Would you like that list alphabetically, or?”

“Grim, if, if one of the reasons is that you just fundamentally don’t want to, then that’s—that’s the only one I need to hear. That’s it, I’ll drop it and I swear I won’t be, like. But if it’s not, if the list is just, like, Heat and the Mail and twitter, then do you really want to, like—do you care?”

“Do I…Haz, you care. You pretend you’re all laissez-faire, but you’re so…image conscious. Intentional, with what you put out, and it would be. Madness. It would be madness, and all that control you’ve got? It would be gone. And you’d hate me for that,” his voice broke on hate, and Nick stopped to take a breath. It was shakier than he’d have liked to admit.  

Harry was shaking his head. “I wouldn’t.”

“Easy to say now.”

Nick watched as Harry settled back into the sofa, ended up sitting closer than he’d been before. He shuffled around until their thighs were touching, leaned himself into Nick’s side, and Nick sighed, tried to calm his breathing into something resembling normal.

“I wouldn’t, and it’s Christmas, Grim. Will you at least think about it?”

“Yeah,” Nick lied, picturing media mobbings and photographers waiting outside his house and headlines about his age and Harry eventually waking up and looking at him earnestly and telling him that he was genuinely sorry, and he did love him, but he just couldn’t keep up this level of commitment, wasn’t ready to settle down forever with two dogs and a half-imagined baby, didn’t want to trap Nick in a half-life. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

[musicgoonmail]

What a Beautiful Name

In This Edition

In this week’s edition, I invite you to my new Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group, write about my interviews and articles for SOLA and FCBC Walnut, recommend some free eBooks, and share what I've recently been enjoying in entertainment.

There's a lot to take in with this week's newsletter, and I have a few more projects I want to finish before the summer comes to an end. Thanks for spending your weekend with me here!

"Christian Influencer Culture" with Rachel Seo

7 Unique but Practical Habits for Christians Who Struggle to Pray

Walnut Women with Leslie Ho

Book Reviews

Free eBooks

Extended Play

Lightning Links

Playlists

Coming Soon

Weekly Review

"Christian Influencer Culture" with Rachel Seo

For SOLA Network, I interviewed Rachel Seo - a rising senior at UC San Diego where she is majoring in literature and writing. We talked about her article: "What 'Wedding Night' Videos Say about Christian Influencer Culture." She was able to talk wisely about how churches and pastors should handle their social media, and speak openly about her own YouTube channel. Watch our interview on YouTube.

7 Unique but Practical Habits for Christians Who Struggle to Pray

I wrote 7 Unique but Practical Habits for Christians Who Struggle to Pray for SOLA Network because I started catching myself telling people I would pray for them, and then not really praying for them at all. I was lying and being a hypocrite. By the grace of God, these prayer practices have become natural to me. They're simple enough to start at any time. Prayer was something we did not do together as a family when I was growing up, so it's a discipline I was happy to discover.

Walnut Women with Leslie Ho

Leslie is a member of our church, FCBC Walnut. She is a wife and mother of three. We went LIVE on Instagram to talk about the new Walnut Women Podcast. As the Social Media Officer for our church, I'm glad we have increased the output but also the quality of our online content. While I know the majority of you reading this do not attend my church, I hope it encourages you to dream and see how your creativity and calling can come together for the glory of God and the good of his people. Watch our interview on IGTV or YouTube.

Book Reviews

I published more book reviews than I had originally planned for this week, and this is because I wanted to get them out as close as possible to the actual date the books are made available to the public. There was a lot of variety, including a children's book, a verse-by-verse commentary, a book on politics, Biblical fiction, and a book on the subject of suffering.

Wherever You Go, I Want You to Know by Melissa B. Kruger & Isobel Lundie

Proverbs For You by Kathleen Nielson

Compassion (&) Conviction by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear, and Chris Butler

A Week in the Life of Ephesus by David A. DeSilva

Companions in Suffering by Wendy Alsup

Free eBooks

Times are tough right now, so I want to do my best to help point you to free eBooks to support and strengthen your spiritual life. As the Fall season approaches, I recommend Habits of Grace by David Mathis. It's a book about enjoying Jesus through the spiritual disciplines. Download Habits of Grace for free at DesiringGod, and check out the rest of their free book resources.

From the Gospel Coalition, the new August 2020 issue of Themelios has 255 pages of editorials, articles, and book reviews. Money Counts by Graham Beynon is the free eBook this month from The Good Book Company. And the August issue of Ligonier's Tabletalk Magazine explores the Bible’s teaching on Christian discourse.

Extended Play

We finally received in the mail the official adoption certificate for our son, Linus. We are thankful for his life and for God bringing our family together. For my throwback article this week, here is my Adoption Starter Kit. May God grant you an open heart and a wise mind as well as faith in His plan for your family!

The article that impacted me the most this week was An Encouragement for Every Christian to Read by Mark Pakingan. I agree with all 7 reasons and I hope it spurs you on to read some more!

Throwback: Adoption Starter Kit

Article: An Encouragement for Every Christian to Read by Mark Pakingan

Movie: Captain America: Civil War

TV: The Suite Life of Zack & Cody

Book: The Ascension of Christ by Patrick Schreiner

Music: What a Beautiful Name by NewStory LA Church

Lightning Links

These quick hits are exclusive to my newsletter readers. Some struck immediately before writing this newsletter. I don’t necessarily endorse the positions or lives of these authors. Some may contain adult language.

Chinese-Americans say Trump's potential WeChat ban would be 'heartbreaking' and destroy international lines of family communication

Farm influencers exist and they are livestreaming their daily lives

In America's "First Suburban Chinatown," Asian Americans Have Negotiated Cultural Representation

Baby-Sitters Club's Momona Tamada on Being Claudia Kishi and Fashion

‘Mulan’ Music Video: Christina Aguilera Performs New Original Song ‘Loyal Brave True’

The Trends Shaping 2020 Summer Streaming

Nate Ruess on Jim Adkins Podcast

The 1975 on Song Exploder

Acceptance – Wild

Playlists

MUSICGOON: 7 songs I enjoyed this week.

SVRGNLA: Jess and I love these songs.

ETJ: Music that inspires my band.

DIDD: A crowd-sourced worship playlist.

TGIF: SOLA Network friends and faves.

This is FCBC Walnut: The songs we sing at church.

Coming Soon

Upcoming book reviews are going to focus on my friends at Alabaster. They recently released On Beauty and Faith - a book designed to explore beauty and its profound implications for our lives. And they also partnered with InterVarsity Press to create Guided Meditation books featuring the full Gospel texts of Matthew and John. I partnered with The Good Book Company to give away copies of Wherever You Go, I Want You to Know and Proverbs For You. Follow me on Instagram and get ready to enter on Monday.

To better equip and encourage the online efforts of our churches, I started a Facebook group about Asian American Worship Leaders. You don't have to be Asian American or a worship leader to join, so I invite you to come and check us out. The group is really small and most of the churches represented are in the Los Angeles area. It's basically me just posting so feel free to contribute or just enjoy the content. For instance, check out this YouTube video of What a Beautiful Name from NewStory Church in Los Angeles. This video moved me with its awesome electric guitar and powerful, soaring vocals. I’ve been listening to it all week! I'll be sharing the group link on my blog and social media sometime soon, but here is the early link to my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group for my newsletter readers.

Weekly Review

SOLA: Black and Hispanic Churchgoers Concerned About Safety of In-Person Services / Planning for the Fall with Covid-19 (and Taylor Swift) / An Encouragement for Every Christian to Read

Thank God it’s Friday: The Gospel Coalition: Themelios 45.2 / NewStory Church: What a Beautiful Name / John Piper: How Do I Lead Someone to Christ?

Book Review: Wherever You Go, I Want You to Know by Melissa B. Kruger & Isobel Lundie

Book Review: Proverbs For You by Kathleen Nielson

FCBCW: Walnut Women with Leslie Ho

Book Review: Compassion (&) Conviction by Justin Giboney, Michael Wear, and Chris Butler

Book Review: A Week in the Life of Ephesus by David A. DeSilva

Book Review: Companions in Suffering by Wendy Alsup

SOLA: 7 Unique but Practical Habits for Christians Who Struggle to Pray

Recommended Reading: Sometimes “Love Your Enemy” Means “Love Your Spouse” / Five Types of Church Members Who Will Not Return after the Quarantine / The Most Important Lesson Parents Teach / How Can I Be a Workplace Servant But Not a Doormat?