Hey everyone! As I promised, over the next few days I will be going through each of the songs on Switchfoot's new album Hello Hurricane. I said I would start with Jon's note in the beginning.
I can't type it all out for you and I hope you get a chance to read it somehow. For now I will only put here some of my favorite parts of what he wrote.
The songs that move me are the ones that reach across the boudnaries. And those are the songs we've tried to sing: music that creates a communal experience, a shared journey in the form of folk music&pop. Music, transcendent truth that somehow finds it's way between the notes, between the lines. We've never been cool, never been trendy. And that, in many ways has been the secret to what we do. Because we never quite fit in, we could sing about God, girls, and the postmodern reality with our own unique perspective. The trends will always be coming or leaving. Beware. in trying to fit in you often end up sacrificing a part of yourself in the process. All the rough edges that you polish off are the only things that make you unique, that make your story what it is. You're the only one who can tell your story - don't let anyone take it from you. Everything has an expiration date except The Truth. I bleave great art is telling The Truth. The plain-speak of this incredibly intricate world we live in. Transcendent beauty in a form that we can taste and feel in the present tense. For "Hello Hurricane" I was (and hope to always be), pushing for new vehicles to talk about the human heart. Simple ideas fthat mirror the complexity I see in the world.
I just love it when Jon writes about the album or about his songs. It gives me yet another chance to get into his brain. It's quite a lovely process! I love this album so much and I truly believe that so far it is my favorite Switchfoot album. This deals with the topic of storms and of God's love transcending those storms. It talks about the struggles of being human and I love that. The fact that the human heart is so often addressed in the songs makes it relatable to all and to me.
The bold section is the one that stood out to me the most. Not only because it was directed towards the reader but because it is something that I needed to hear and still need to hear. I have been hurt many times in my life. I was never taught how to deal with the pain correctly so I hid behind coping mechanisms and survival skills. It was just how I was and how it all went down. Some people do drugs, others drink, I perform. I have performed for a very long time, some periods with more intensity, others with less intensity. When I say perform I mean putting on a persona. Knowing what everyone wants and performing up to those expectations. So much that I wasn't necessarily the same with all types of friends I had. I became likeable and had all types of friends and everyone liked me. I was so scared of what people might think of me so I became a trendy person. I followed what others would want. As I said before, the intensity of the performance has diminished but its not totally gone. I believe that it will take a very drastic situation orchestrated by God to completely break me out of it. God has always been a constant in my life even when the trends would change and me with them. He has never let me down and I know He'll break me out of this cycle. He does it partly by exposing me to alternatives. Like the one that Jon is talking about.
Why would I want to be unstable? Why would you want to be unstable? Why not just live your story according to how your story is supposed to be lived, not what others would want? I definitely lost myself in the years of performing. Today, I do not know who I am. It's partly why I cry out to God to sing out my song (more on that on Sing It Out). I don't know what my song is. I feel empty and I feel disconnected from myself. I'm close to God and He has been the rock that I have been holding on to, but He's helping me not only to feed off of Him but to stand on my own as well. And I'm not standing on my own at this point.
In the end I'll have to learn that those horrible moments that lead me to protect myself are the moments that will define me and make me unique. They are the moments that will make me greater and better and higher. They are the moments that will help me find myself. In the end I'll have to learn that no one else can live my story but me. What happens when everyone is gone and I'm alone? Who am I? That's what I have to find out and I have to live out that person with no fear! I cannot do that without the The Truth and I know He'll continue to be faithful to me and not let me down. :)
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