William Chong

Here’s another thought-provoking write-up by Jamie Brown:

“There are several reasons for opposing it. One, it’s too new. Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the established style. Because there are so many new songs you can’t learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than Godly lyrics. This new music creates disturbances; people act indecently and disorderly. The preceding generation got along without it. It’s a money making scene and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.”

The Anglican pastor’s name is William Romaine and his critique was featured in An Essay on Psalmody. It was written in 1723. The “new music” he was referring to? The hymns of Isaac Watts.

It’s really easy to criticize new music, idolize old music, and demonize what you don’t like.

For those who don’t know, Isaac Watts was a prolific writer of such hymnal standards as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, “Alas! and did my Saviour bleed”, and “Joy to the world!”. He was also known as the Father of English Hymnody.

I guess it goes to show that the conflicts over the style of worship music in churches today are not new ones.

You can read the full article here: The Problem with Postulating « Worthily Magnify.

Had a great day today. Just rediscovering the peacefulness of the guitar, and a great hymn to go with it.

Lyrics:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
- Horatio Spafford, 1873

Ethan Waters: A Demo By EP

100% acoustic songs and the continuation of a nostalgic search-for-love narrative. A-. (Update 20/11: The fact that it’s still a repeated feature on my music playlist means I must give credit where credit is due!)

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John Lennon once said that “everything is clearer when you’re in love”, and Ethan Waters heartily affirms this in his latest EP, A Demo By.

The Auckland University graduate film student – also known as Dennis Liu in the daylight hours – made a last-minute change to an album that initially promised a graduation into the daring pop music world. A Demo By now offers five brand-new tracks: a reprise of his tried-and-true acoustic sound that’s at times familiar, but earnest and genuine all the same.

As the natural sequel of his debut EP, Crushes and Waves, this EP picks up right from where the last one ended (even carrying over some of his previous melodies). At first you wonder how much more about life and love Waters can expand on – but Waters reassures us right from The Reminder that he’s got more to sing about.

Waters presents the kind of love songs that you’d play to your significant other on a guitar, accompanied by the picnic basket and blanket overlooking scenic innocence. He’s on the verge of asking her out in Vacancy, sincerely asking “if there’s a vacancy in your heart”. And there’s Tailoring Me, a secular psalm that’s an odd juxtaposition between platonic and romantic love, the lyrics swathed with wistfulness akin to John Mayer’s Daughters.

Waters is a touch more forthcoming with his influences in this EP: All Your Different Names is tender, earnest and half Glen Hansard elegy, half David Tao ballad (without the vagaries of Mandarin lyrics). His choruses are as always full of gentle hooks, whether it’s declaring that “I’m not ready for you to relax…”, or serenading to “Constance, you’re just Constance”. There’s even the pleasant surprise of some beautiful violin-playing that introduces listeners to his classically-trained side.

Admittedly, A Demo By still has a reliance on lyric-writing that’s closer to scattered short-story prose. The words can at times drift perilously those to Evermore-style existentialism (e.g. “Floating in a ‘blind me’ kind of way | across the universal skies”). And the closing track Maybe You’ll Sing gives a less conclusive ending than in his previous EPs. Yet there’s no doubting that this is an album that’s been diligently crafted: it’s wonderfully and fearfully made in a way that captures the nostalgia of dreamy college years.

If you were anticipating from Waters a metamorphosis into a pop star, then stifle your disappointment and take some bated breaths. Waters has promised fans digital single releases for the future – in his own words, “you’re a reminder that I should never stop writing.”

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Contact the artist: waters dot ethan (at) gmail dot com
For music videos and more visit: www.ethanwaters.com; www.myspace.com/ethanwaters

Disclosure: Dennis Liu is a close friend; there are no financial relationships to declare.
Contact the author: lemmingz@gmail.com

In 2007, one of my goals for the year was to attain my much-delayed ATCL recital diploma for the violin. I made a conscious choice to reduce my final-year university workload in order to practice (lots). This culminated in a November public concert performance prior to a 30-minute assessed recital.

Here are two of the pieces – I’m sure you can spot the many nervous mistakes peppered throughout the performance!

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Cesar Franck – Allegretto poco mosso from Sonata in A

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Fritz Kreisler – Praeludium and Allegro

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“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?” – Albert Einstein

OK, this has got to be the most inane song ever. I’m talking about it from a musical point of view – from its earthy Dsus9 chord on the piano, it flips back and forth between that and B, giving it a very unorthodox feel to it. If you keep listening it’s definitely complex in its harmonies, and throws interesting modulation to C Minor at you (about 1:41 in the video, Vanessa Hudgens kinda just slides into it; this book explains how odd a semitone modulation is to achieve).

Rhythm and melody-wise it’s somewhat catchy, if you can get past the distraction of a particularly nasal singing quality by Hudgens, who nevertheless is trying her best. Whether it’s an attempt to try a different vocal style/music genre or not, her voice does doesn’t have that depth or soul-feel. I could picture someone like Alicia Keys, Joss Stone or Mary J Blige pulling this off better. But then again none of them would really be singing about shoes, would they?

Thanks to this High School Musical alumna, I’m picking this song to create a fashion-craze that involves young girls going clubbing in sneakers. Bonus points if your shoelaces glow in the dark.

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�

Ethan Waters: Crushes and Waves EP

A college pop audio film about fleeting short distance relationships. B+.

Up and coming singer-songwriter Ethan Waters, who also goes by the pseudonym of Dennis Liu, is onto something. His first EP, Crushes and Waves is a self-described concept album in true singer-songwriter vein providing a well-rounded m�lange of college pop.

Centred on the ubiquitous �that girl� narrative, Waters (currently an Honours film student at Auckland Uni) sings earnestly. He dubs and redubs subtle-yet-significant layers of thoughtful guitar-based instrumentation through the songs. He plays it safe with pleasing acoustic riffs and a rather conservative range of keys, accompanied with smart lyrics that draw on frequent music and film references. His voice is mellow and the music is all him, down to the almost toy-like drum loops. But don�t be surprised to hear clarinets and strings mixed with victorious brass buildups when he sings about spaceships.

Crushes and Waves is an admirable achievement that explores love. He asks, �What do we have to lose anyway?� in Untitled, a mix of Bloc Party rhythm and Jay Chou-style sensitivity. He talks about what�s missing in life in Before we wake, in true never-been-jilted fashion. This is very much a collection of tracks with an underlying, infectious enthusiasm � One Day stands out with its optimism and fairground-fun beats.

Waters doesn�t shy from the soulful or the reflective however � with Where to go�s nostalgic echo drums underpinning heartfelt lyrics, he asks �Am I close to the place that everyone calls love?� The EP�s arc draws a journey of budding love, from the first �Let�s do this before we wake�� to the last ��you were part of every doubt� � almost a tear-jerking moment as the CD spins down.

Yes, there are concerns � Heart on my sleeve could have broken ranks from its Green Day-Time of my Life guitar strums and�step towards a new and daring youth anthem (in the �Oo wo-oh, oo wo-oh�). There�s voice-range issues, just a bit too much of recitative-like lyrics in One of those girls, and some awkwardly sung meter (like when the girl has �absolutely no acting chops�). But maybe Waters�s bold musical enjambments are just what we need in among today�s recycle-pop and hollow top 40 tracks. And if his upcoming music and film works are any indication, this guy�s just getting started.

One Day Music Video � http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbvw0q6h-1U
Website � http://www.ethanwaters.com/
Artist contact � waters dot ethan at gmail dot com

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This review was published in Issue #3 of Craccum magazine on 17 March 2008.

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This article briefly works through the debate in�Christian churches on their stance on music during services. However it also highlights a long-running question which I’ll try and allude to more often in the future, once I’ve successfully formulated clearer thoughts about it.

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If you sampled 5 different churches today, sometimes the differences in�their songs and musical styles during the service are more apparent than differences in theology and teaching.

One church may employ a full rock band and professional singers to lead the singing, choosing “praise” songs written to express in the simplest of terms how much they love the Lord.

Another congregation may sing with the help of just a choir group, or a guitar. Some may prefer singing through a set hymnal with multiple verses. Some congregations include songs that don’t even reference God. And then some�split their morning and evening services, with hymns in the morning and CCM in the evening (perhaps they couldn’t decide.)

Is this a recent phenomenon? No. For a time, hymns by Isaac Watts were the source of church divisions among 19th century worshippers. Four-part hymns were a big issue when first introduced – some even objecting to having musical notation written out! Music is but one of many things that the body of Christ seems to enjoy dividing itself over.

Let’s look at�one of the extremes in today’s musical spectrum. One view deems any form of musical accompaniment to a cappella singing to be inappropriate. By selectively quoting Romans 14:23, which says:��

“But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.”

… this writer’s logic is that anything not expressly condemned by the Bible shouldn’t be done anyways. By this same logic, the internet forum the article was presented on should technically be taboo too, not�to�mention the millions of new�things not available�2000 years prior�-�I’d question the wisdom of a blanket ban of�everything without explicit written Biblical approval.

It’s also useful to note�the context -�chapter 14 was written to Romans who were concerned about which meats were clean and unclean. In 1 Timothy 4:3-5, it’s pretty clear that “every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused.” I concede that Romans is most complex and requires lots of think-thinking to delve through – but to conclude that anything in this world today not mentioned in the Bible is pretty much a legalistic, pseudo-Amish view of the Bible.

We could conceivably apply this to the debate on, say, “clean and unclean” types of music in the church setting. The question is not whether the Bible explicitly approves of music or not. David accompanied his psalms with a harp – would you then say that only harps should be used to praise God?

Here is the opposite end of the music worship spectrum – CCM. Applying rock and pop styles of today to praise Jesus Christ is immensely popular among young Christians, and a big pulling factor for many services. It makes it “relevant” to people today, and some of the praise songs speak right into your heart, as if they were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Yet some people will choose to leave a church because they find they “just can’t worship there” – not very far off from, they “just don’t like the music there.” Some will even equate this good endorphins to good worship. I wonder if this is the right attitude to church.

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There are more important considerations in church besides music. Our attitude should be to exalt God in whatever capacity we are able to. When we choose an exclusive, non-negotiable musical preference in worshipping God, we are selfishly saying, “My musical tastes are more important than my taste for God.”

You can sing 5 verses of theologically-rich “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and not even understand the words, or care to. You can scream out “Hosannah in the highest” and not mean it.

Our worship,�will always be imperfect and a miniscule offering that’s dwarfed by the enormity of His sacrifice for us. But at the very least, our main focus is on God. I love this quote from John Fischer, who says:

“It�s our life, not a worship service, that will make us worshipers. We don�t go to church to worship; we go to church because we are already worshipers. And if someone is a true worshiper, which means their whole life is an act of worship, then what happens for 30 minutes of music once a week is a small thing indeed.”

It’s all about perspective, it seems.

Worship shouldn’t be just about the music. It should be an attitude-change – a commitment of emotion, intellect and will.

Listening to Ethan Waters� comforts me on these foreign streets.

It’s that sensitive, mellow tone in his voice today that tells me re-assuringly she’s irreplaceable… or that we’re all living under crazy summer skies.

No matter that I forgot to uplift my lunch from the second shelf in my fridge, or that the wind has picked up and skies are overcasting. With singer-songwriter ballads in my ears, simple songs for kids like me, I don’t feel so alone.

Thank you, ethan.

At the start of the year, Dennis and Sonny invited me over to work on this song. I had penned it originally as a slow ballad with intros, but then upped the tempo and enthusiasm to turn it into a more Foo-fighters, inspirational rock anthem feel.

 A Life Less Ordinary [3:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

A Life Less Ordinary – WILLIAM CHONG
Is your life plain
Plain in the sense that you shuffle to work
slumped in the throne of mundaneness
The ebb and flow of this generation means nothing to you
Apathy rules

Is your life stale
Stale in the sense that your smile’s not the same
The radio singing a little strained
Westlife crooning in vain means nothing to you

Could you picture a life less ordinary
Is your preference a life less ordinary

Then brighten it up, lighten it up
It’s less plain with me
Make that unexpected step in my direction
So brighten it up, take a look
at your changing scenes surprising
More than ever, you’ll soon find
that it’s less plain with me

Is life a mess
A mess in the sense that your reason to live
Is obscured by the pain of your endeavours
The rolling tide before you seems to beckon you in
Where to begin…

With me you know there’s no such thing as a regular day
Every day is just one fine day with me
A guy like me you see won’t be indifferent to you
Tell me the truth: would you play with me?

This year I’ve found many things.

I’ve found that living at home this year has really tested and challenged me. Who I am, who I want to be. Who are important to me.

I’ve found that people make time for others only if they really mean it, and there’s no sense in routine for the sake of it. I’ve found that if you seek to satisfy yourself, your friends won’t tell you about it but you will still see that you are left behind. I’ve discovered my love for music currently exists not as a passionless career but a careerless passion.

I like it that way – there is no expectation of fitting a marketable mould and castrating your sound for the sake of selling it. I write music when I can, and I enjoy it. I can record a tune that no one but myself enjoys, and that is my prerogative. This year I’ve had more time to pursue other challenges in my music – ATCL, CCM, other acronyms that translate to metaphor and melody, a tapestry of love and care.

This year I chose to be more of a pragmatist. My dreams are not rock-star fashion, not even town hero. I want a house and a family, to lead and to serve. I tell myself my fantasies are frivolous, and that these are things worth working for, earning a salary for.

This year I learned Chinese. I may not remember my vocabulary, but I remember my heritage.

This year I enjoyed building up friends and family. This year I churned through house and life-work, trying to balance keeping a fractured family reasonably together yet holding firm to who I was and who I stood for. This was hard and sometimes I wished I had more strength and resolve to challenge those around me.� But slow and steady wins the race, and when others fall by the wayside, perhaps you accept they alone chose that path.� So this year I was sad to watch them go.

This year there was great fun in cooking. Gastronomic awareness is a life-long journey, and there are no limits save your wallet and appetite. I am happy to say that I can cook and I would have loved to have cooked my mother dinner.

If you read this, I would encourage you to make one meal. Just one. For your parents, your mother, your father, your step-parents, your bio-parents, your sister, brother. Try it. When you cook for someone else you think of who they are, what they would like. Do they like pepper? What about those tomatoes? You craft a personal serving of humility and servitude for another.

I would have love to have cooked her something today.

As others have pointed out, Jesus is the reason for the season. That’s my Christian plug.

This year I have grown to love the life ahead of me. I like my friends. My family. Writing and singing. Cooking and cleaning. Working, phasing between social circles. People love to be listened to. We all need each other.

This year I have lived.

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