theauditory:

Since their formation in the early 2000’s, rock orchestra Arcade Fire has seen a lot of the world, gone through many transformations and has even campaigned for President Barack Obama during his 2008 election bid. From their first, hit full-length Funeral (2004) to their anthem-filled release Neon Bible (2006), they’ve risen to a status far beyond what any “indie” band could have imagined. This week they will release their third record entitled The Suburbs. This album is a bit of a departure from their normal pallet of musical colors. While maintaining a driven, anthem-like song writing mold (which works perfectly for their aesthetic), they’ve also introduced many new elements to their sonic arsenal. This song, called City With No Children, builds on a familiar atmosphere for the band, and climaxes into a cacophony of new arena filled harmony, resembling Springsteen or The Clash. The Suburbs is out today in the UK and tomorrow (8/3) in the US and Canada.

DG

They’re just disgustingly good.

tumblrbot asked: WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?

Japan…or Iceland…or Brazil…or India…or anywhere in SouthEast Asia. I’m indecisive. 

I’m not usually one to utter them, as Aristotle said, it’s ‘unbecoming’ but I think that I can safely say that “if you leave something to the last minute, then it only takes a minute”, and that’s a maxim that I’m willing to abide by.

Another cheeky Magdalen grace recording. Sicut Lilium by Stainer.

Magdalen college choir singing (half of) Grayston Ives-In Pace before sunday formal.

In Duffy’s words ‘one of the worst graces we’ve ever done’. Still, I recorded it, so I though I’d wack it on here anyway.

Enjoy.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/02/equality-laws-unjust-pope-uk

http://www.secularism.org.uk/petition-the-pm.html

Above are two links. The first outlines the latest of the Pope’s condemnations against our government’s equality legislation, its ‘threat to religious freedom’ and contradiction to ‘Natural Law’. The idea of a ‘Natural Law’ as Christian doctrine is one that has always baffled me. The name itself appears to possess some kind of implicit authority, and yet, as far as my theological knowledge can tell, the biblical connections are pretty tenuous. If Jesus’ intentions were to disregard the happiness of couples and strip disadvantaged children of the possibility of adoption into a loving home, then fair enough, I just think that they probably weren’t. ‘Natural Law’ seems to place issues of sexuality and gender identity on a sort of reverse pedestal of sinfulness. Christians acknowledge their sinfulness every time they worship, every preacher, by his or her own standards, is a sinner. Would Jesus place some sort of higher discrimination against these particular issues? Even if, as a Christian, you do question the morality of abortion, homosexuality, or gender identity, surely you are not completely blinded by the implicit positives that come out of the legislation.

Anyway, this takes me to the second link. The Pope’s upcoming visit to the UK is currently to be funded by state money. It is kind of contradictory for a government that has just passed these legislations to fund a papal visit that’s focus will undoubtedly be, in part, a criticism of our society’s gradual moral degeneration and our government’s progressive attitude towards social issues. A call for ‘missionary zeal’ as the Pope puts it. In fact, it’s not just contradictory, but sort of unnecessary. There is pretty much absolutely no reason why our money should go towards it. So it is a petition for the catholic church to pay instead. I am not against the visit, just against having to fund it. Please sign if you agree.

agrammar:

Yesterday I posted a fairly peeved note concerning Jessica Hopper’s Chicago Reader article about Vampire Weekend. (She’s responded to that note, very graciously, on her blog, but that seems to have vanished.) My note led to a spike in traffic, which was unexpected: if I’d realized it’d catch much attention, I might have explained myself more carefully. The essay below is an attempt to outline my thoughts beyond the mere pique of the thing. Some of you may have heard me talk about this stuff before, but it seemed worth setting down a full, coherent version of it; read at your leisure.

Let me note first, though, that the point here is not to snipe at Hopper, whose work I enjoy. More importantly, the issue I’m about to outline is not really about the music of Vampire Weekend. I do not need you to like their music. But I do want you to think about the culture of our criticism, because I feel like it’s ever more beholden to a kind of blind posturing that wants to stop it from saying anything useful or true. Let’s go ahead and call this posturing The Game.

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