Good Monsters

This will most likely be the only time I talk about music on this stage. Jars of Clay is my favorite band. I love their music, their lyrics are deep, meaningful & thoughtful & they are doing amazing work with Blood:Water Mission.
The 3 Song EP (Mini Monsters) is available at iTunes & is excellent. This is what Dan Haseltine (lead singer) has to say about the album,

“I was not sure how all of the experiences of the last few years would translate into music. There have been so many things to look at and describe. This record is part confessional, part euphoric love poem, bitter separation and part benediction. It was born out of many experiences and conversations between addicts, failures, lovers, loners, believers, and beggars. And so the language of recovery and the honest discourse about our attempts to live apart from God and apart from each other is a theme. Engaging people who are doing the hard work of laying their lives open to others, and avoiding isolation, has allowed me to see that there is both immeasurable evil and unfathomable good mixing under my own skin and it is grace, mercy and freedom that allow me to not simply be a monster, but to be a good monster.”

(Note to reader: I understand that different people can get different meanings from the same song - different from even the songwriter) The first song off the album is entitled Work. There is a line that says, "I have no fear of drowning, it's the breathing that's taking all this work." I have to believe that this is an idea they have heard from people in AIDS infected Africa. The fact that death might even be welcome, it's the living that is hard. Jars of Clay set up the non-profit Blood:Water Mission & have worked a great deal in Africa. They continually bring their listeners a call to get involved & take action.
The sound of this album is a different direction than their past few albums, but the quality lyrics are still there. I, for one, loved the slower, folk-sy tunes but also love the songs on this record. Great album, as usual for Jars of Clay!

Visit the Jars of Clay website here.
Visit the Good Monsters website here (videos & whatnot).