bellerophon
Diane and I have both been listening to Eva Cassidy lately. Charlie brought his copy of her album Live At Blues Alley to work (I already own Songbird) and I played her take on “Cheek to Cheek” for Diane when I got home. I admitted to my wife that it was much to garner her opinion on the song–she is an expert on singing–as it was to inspire her to want to sing in front of an audience again. And she does want to… After the baby’s born and the dust settles, that is. But Diane’s first words after hearing the song were, “Yeah, she pretty much destroyed it.” I agree–Cassidy’s voice and phrasing are phenomenal in any song she performs. I had to draw the line, though, when Diane mentioned she thought Cassidy’s voice was better than Karin Bergquist’s (of OtR). I couldn’t agree, and anyway it isn’t a valid comparison, as Bergquist is more focused in her choice of material and infuses her own compositions with character and color, whereas Cassidy interprets others’ songwriting (and does so admirably).
Been listening to R.C. Sproul radio lectures at work recently. Yesterday I listened to a week-long (6-18 to 6-22) series on origins, and was particularly impressed with his lecture entitled “Chance: The Modern Myth.” Among other things, he pointed out how many people who hold to a materialistic view of origins often describe time and chance as active agents in the formation of the universe. Sproul talked of the absurdity of this, as the ontological status of concepts such as time and chance is non-being; that is, they are nothing in and of themselves, they have no power or force in the sense people might like them to have it, but are only words used to describe–measure, if you will–abstract concepts. But people talk as if they have not only being but are able to exert influence in proactive ways. He gave an example of flipping a coin: What is it that makes the coin land head or tails? It is not “chance,” in the sense that some use the word to describe some force that motivates evolutionary progress, but material, and dare I say it, intelligent influences, such as the resistance of the air, the angle of my thumb and whether I choose to catch it high or low. “Chance” is merely a mathematical concept used to describe the probability it will land heads or tails, not the panacea some would have it be. Highly recommended listening.