Passions

<3

But mathematicians are rather untypical physical objects.

At any instant, somewhere in the multiverse, there are a few universes in which one of the photons is currently striking the retina of the frog in the universe. And that frog jumps.

nah, there's no hatin' from this corner, babyinacorner! i can totally appreciate that.

even as i've become a more trenchant atheist, i find i can still listen to explicitly Christian/religious songwriters...as long as it's not simplistically, guilelessly preachy/evangelist. i dunno - peeps who are religious are often using religion as a tool to try and survive through the alienation and fear and crippling self-doubt and heartache that life throws at all of us, so as long as i can see the humanity behind the religion, and relate to that, i'm OK. someone like Stuart Murdoch (yes, i am going to further destroy any personal cred by referencing B&S here) is sometimes on the 'right' side of this line for me, and sometimes not. but him being a Christian and writing music with Christian references doesn't stop me from relating to at least some of that music. (as long as it's not 'If You Find Yourself Caught In Love'. man, that song BLOWS.)

i'm actually an atheist, and a self-confessed singer-songwriter tragic, and i find that when i fall in love with a singer-songwriter, i fall in love with her or his personality to some extent. because the nature of the music is self-expression, so if you don't like their 'self', then you can't really get into the music. that's my outlook, anyway. i imagine there are many atheists/agnostics out there who love Sufjan, even if they don't believe what he believes, because he uses religion allegorically as a way to explore basic human themes like fear and hope and the ongoing struggle to be a better person (or at least, you can read it this way, which makes him palatable for a non-Christian audience). he seems like a decent, intellligent guy, trying to be good. so i imagine there are a lot of atheists who nonetheless respect Sufjan personally, not just musically, and see a potential contradiction between the artist they love and that artist's appropriation of Robertson.

was featured throughout, and inspired the song ''get real, get right'', which was preceded by a lovely slideshow and tribute to him.

thanks whatwhat. see, i'm confused as to why Sufjan seemingly idolises Robertson. sure, he's an intriguing outsider artist and obviously struggled immensely with mental illness issues, but his take on religion is clearly wack and his misogyny disturbing. so what does Sufjan see in him, and why has he been such a focal-point for his creative work recently? is it a case of him, again, identifying himself with the evil that lurks within men's hearts ('in my best behaviour / i am just like him'), acknowledging his own failings and struggles and darkness and thereby trying to move beyond them? 'Get Real, Get Right' would make sense in this context. but Robertson is hardly someone an ethical, intelligent and sane Christian would see as a model for Best Practice Christianity.

thanks for the article link, Alex31. i will read that soon, and apologise in advance if any of the questions i've just asked are actually answered in that article.

aw crap. i mean, YAY, i'm glad y'all had a great time and it was so mind-blowing. but, also, crap. i so wish i'd been able to go.

more reviews please. let me experience this vicariouslyish. someone told me the Robertson artwork etc was quite a feature of the gig? how did that play out?

i believe the cost was around $75 for a ticket in Melbourne so, no. outrageous! those lucky Radelaidians.

still looking for that ticket, folks!

i know someone else who wants one too! i'll send you a PM...