Existential Punk

Status Quo Christianity

Many people say Christianity has been the same for over 2,000 years and that we must follow tradition. 'G-D says it, so that settles it' is often quoted as well. BOLLOCKS in my opinion. Just because many things in Christian tradition have been around for many years, centuries even, does not mean that they are correct or what G-D intended. For me much of what passes as Christian tradition is just status quo Christianity. Watching 3 seasons of the HBO series, 'The Tudors', shows me one aspect of power plays, political and religious ambitions, and pride played out in the development of Christianity in England. If that was all true then, why would it not be true during the times the books off the Bible were written, when Christianity developed, and the Canon was created? We see it today in the USA in the political maneuverings of BOTH the democrats and the republicans. I once asked my history teacher in high school why we have to study history. She told me because history repeats itself and we must learn all the good and bad from our predecessors. That made so much sense to me and I was then able to engage my history classes with a deeper understanding and a new found appreciation. I am in no way saying there are not truths to me gleaned from the Bible. I also believe in taking the scriptures very seriously, wrestling with them and searching out what the authors' original intents within their historical and cultural contexts meant. That, to me, is taking the Bible seriously. Reading the Bible as a literal book without taking into account of seeking out what the authors might have really intended is disingenuous to them and the scriptures. U do not believe in a specific dispensation where there was only a specific time in history where G-D spoke to certain people. I believe G-D is alive and speaking to people at all times, including today. What that looks like exactly I am not sure. When I listen to music by Moby, or read a book by Kirk Vonnegut, I experience raw human emotions in a creative way that tell stories about the human condition. Isn't that what so much of the Bible is about anyways? It's not to me Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE) or a treatise on doctrine and theology, but rather G-D's interaction with an imperfect yet often beautiful creation. G-D is not about status quo Christianity, but authentic, gut-wrenching, radical way of life where G-D interacts with us and transforms us by rupturing our entire being. Status quo Christianity is a cacophony of ineffectual and neutering voices that perpetuates an existence rather than bringing transformation and a place of truly living. It is consumeristic and narcissistic. It is afraid of change, and is frightened and threatened by anyone who attempts to deafen this rotting cacophony. Those who try and break through the cacophony are branded heretics, apostates, and lovers of evil who are bound for hell. Please be reminded we are ALL humans, no matter what time period we lived in, and we all get gripped with pride and thirst for power. It is simply part of our commonality of being imperfect humans, no matter where and when we walked this earth.

'Shot In The Back Of The Head' Video From Moby

Video created for moby's newest single by film director David Lynch. VERY COOL!

Wait For Me

moby's newest album, 'Wait For Me' will release June 30th. i CAN'T wait!

'i started working on the album about a year ago, and the creative impetus behind the record was hearing a david lynch speech at bafta, in the uk.

david was talking about creativity, and to paraphrase, about how creativity in and of itself, and without market pressures, is fine and good.

it seems as if too often an artists or musicians or writers creative output is judged by how well it accommodates the marketplace, and how much market share it commands and how much money it generates.

in making this record i wanted to focus on making something that i loved, without really being concerned about how it might be received by the marketplace. as a result it's a quieter and more melodic and more mournful and more personal record than some of the records i've made in the past.

it's also, for better or worse, all homemade, in that i recorded it at home with my friends and drew the artwork with a black sharpie on copy paper.'

Read the rest at moby's redesigned site.

Christ and Christianity From Moby's Perspective

HT Blake Huggins for Moby's very insightful thoughts on Christ and Christianity:

i actually think that the teachings of christ accomodate most of the new ways in which we perceive ourselves and our world.
the problem is that although the teachings of christ accomodate this, contemporary christianity does not.
here’s more seriousness dressed up as flippancy:
christ: acknowledging quantum realities.
christiantiy: depressingly newtonian.
does that make any sense?
well, to me it does.
and to some of you it might make sense, also.

Moby always blows me away. What are your thoughts?

Moby, Obama & The Inauguration, Or Dance You Can Believe In

Ok, so i am REALLY bummed because Moby is going to be having an ALL NIGHT DJ set on Sunday, January 18th, at the 9.30 Club in D.C., which is Katryna's birthday, in order to celebrate Obama's inauguration. We will be out of town and the information JUST came today into my inbox. For those of you who don't know me well yet, MOBY is MY FAVORITE musician/DJ/artist. i have met him a couple of times and find his music to be so deeply spiritual and moving.

Another thing i am bummed about, or more pissed off about, is how ALL the hotels in D.C are unscrupulously price gouging for the inauguration! Most are REQUIRING a 4 NIGHT MINIMUM STAY starting at $300.00 per night! They think in this economy people can afford this? It was expected that nearly 4 million people would be in D.C. for this historic event but it looks to be a lot less coming. MAYBE these fucking prices have something to do with it! WE ARE IN A RECESSION PEOPLE! Corporate greed REALLY pisses me off to no end!

Here's the Moby info:

Dance You Can Believe In
What better way to kick off your inauguration festivities than by dancing until morning to one of Moby’s world-class DJ sets? Those who attended last year’s Virgin Mobile Festival know that when this New Yorker gets behind the turntables, mind-blowing hours upon hours of pulsing beats and lights are imminent. Start the party early and let Moby kick-off your inaugural week the right way.

Change? Let's Start with Dancing...
Inaugural Kick-Off Party
MOBY (dj set)
All Night
January 18
12 Midnight Doors
In association with Blisspop

There is a 4 ticket limit.

click here to purchase tickets

Ooh Yeah, This Is Hot!

HT to moby for news on the release of his new single, "Ooh Yeah", and for this HOT VIDEO for the song.

"a few months ago we had a contest for aspiring video directors to make a video for 'ooh yeah'. most of the submissions were actually really good, and it was hard to pick a winner. but we picked a winner, and here's his winning video.
moby

p.s-if you're watching at work your boss might think it's porn."












Ooh Yeah from moby on Vimeo. Directed by: Matteo Bernardini
Cinematography by: Valerio Sacchetto
Costumes by: Micol Agricola
Organization: Daniele Manca

Special thanks to the "Fattore K" club, Marco Torti, Franco Corridoni, Paola Ronco, Rosabella Russo, Enrico Venditti, all the girls and Pizza Boy, Marta Musso, The Bernardini family and everyone else involved.

Disclaimer: no porn stars were harmed during the making of this video

Playing favourites: Moby

Playing favourites: Moby

"We sit down with The Bald One to spin some records from his past—and present—in this month's edition of Playing Favourites.

Love him or hate him, Moby has been a part of dance culture since techno began its ascent. After a number of years addicted to punk rock, the DJ/producer was bit by the electronic bug and started to make tracks, scoring his first major hit with the 1991 release "Go," which still stands as one of the rave era's most beloved anthems. Unlike many of his contemporaries who had similar successes and promptly disappeared, however, Moby shot into the public consciousness due in no small part to his outspoken views on Christianity (pro-), meat (anti-) and drugs (it's complicated).

After a string of schizophrenic full-lengths that were perhaps too much for the mainstream to process, the producer released his second and most enduring pop achievement with 1999's Play—an album that has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. But like almost all of this work, even Moby's pop moves were grounded in the world of electronic music: It's a record that drowns in emotive synths, even as it tugs on the heartstrings with samples taken from Alan Lomax's famed field recordings of blues singers.

Moby's wide-ranging tastes have won him support from nearly every corner of the world, but in advance of his upcoming remix album , Last Night Remixed, RA sat down with the producer to play him some records and talk specifically about his DJing career, what he thinks about some current trends in dance music and why he rarely knows what he's playing out."

YOU CAN READ THE INTERVIEW HERE and more about moby HERE.

Don't Vote

HT to Moby:

Moby goes dog walking

A GREAT interview to the Fix on Current TV  on Moby's new album, Last Night, and moby gratis:

Moby RE(Design)

Moby has re(designed) the look and feel of moby.com, added a comments feature to his journal, and added videos to the main page. It scrolls like Apple's cover flow but can be a bit of pain catching the video you want to view. The new look is FANTASTIC and easy on the eyes with the black and yellow background and white writing. Videos from his forthcoming album, 'last night', can be found as well as some older stuff like the following video: