Opinions

Some of you may remember that I used to be a real-life, actual "blogger".  I blogged all the time about all kinds of things.  And at after a while it started biting me.  

Turns out some of my opinions weren't quite as informed as I'd thought, and some of my assumptions about what other's opinions were also weren't so correct.  It was a great learning experience, though it often involved my foot in my mouth.  The biggest lesson I learned from that:

Listen.  Don't talk.  Listen.

I was being taught that same lesson in conversation with my wife and other friends.  The good kind of friends, who lovingly tell you when you wrong them.

Now, this is not something that comes easily for me.  I'm one in a long line of storytellers and pontificators.  Any of my production clients or old band mates will tell you:  Andy O can talk.  He is a man of many opinions and stories.

But I hope that as I grow and mature as a friend and a follower that I get better at listening and, with prayer and thought, only say what ought to be said.

That said, I feel like it might be time to get back on the horse a little bit.  There are questions people ask often that it might be fun to answer, and there are some upcoming tour dates and projects to share with you.

To celebrate my tentative reentry, I thought I would quickly lay out a few opinions, just to get them out of the way.  I will not blog or fight about them, but if you want to know me better, here we go:

- U2's "Achtung, Baby" is the best album ever made.

 - I'm over giving or getting music for free.  It costs money to make, it should cost money to own.

 - My wife is funny and smart and pretty.

 - Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are awesome.  Dickens is boring.

 - The ending to LOST was dumb to the point I wish I'd never watched an episode.

 - I'd like to be one of those people who don't own a TV.  But I like TV more than I'd like to be that person.

 - It's strange to me that high school kids now genuinely and un-ironically like 80's hair metal.

 - "Twilight" is … nevermind.

 - I think it would be cool to like Neil Young, but I've never really been able to.

 - I am so tired and numbed by modern worship music that at this point I doubt I'd be able to recognize when good stuff emerges.  I fear this is my loss, but I'd still rather just sing hymns with a piano at church, so I could actually hear the congregation sing and focus on the words.  (Yes, I know that's just another stylistic choice AND that it's somewhat reactionary.)

 - Springsteen needs to make a record produced by Daniel Lanois.  Or me.

 - I want to be friends with more old people.

 - Tom Morello is actually a pretty boring guitar player.

All right, I'm sitting on my couch and I think I've coughed up all my obnoxious opinions now.  If I had really learned what I just talked about I'd delete this.   Oh well.  Here we go!

Comments

[Jillian]

dear Andy:

I like you.

best,

Jillian Pye

:)

[Joe Ronald Ban]

Hymns backed by piano may be just another stylistic choice, but in worship it's usually a better one. Acapella, too. It might be nice to hear the whole congregation singing theology together. If I want a blasting rock concert with five-word mantras I can go to one of those Saturday night before church. "Like, God is So Cool."

Signed sincerely,
Nada Relativist.
Though I have fewer cut-and-dried opinions on things than I used to.

[Jonathan Rogers]

Dickens isn't boring. You're wrong about that. Dostoevsky is exceedingly cool.

As for Neil Young, I've always felt a person should choose between Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd. I have chosen Skynyrd.

[Kyle]

I'd very much like to hear more of your thoughts on giving/getting music for free.

[AnnieBlogs]

Well done. Glad you are back.

(Also- I'm having pizza for dinner tonight in Scotland. I'll send a full report.)

[Brandon]

Yes to Lanois but no to Young? What do you think of their collaberation 'Le Noise'? (love your idea for a Lanois/Springsteen pairing)

[Hunter]

I _still_ think you need to make a record that sounds like it was produced by Daniel Lanois. I'd love an instrumental guitar concept album in the vein of The Album Leaf or Explosions in the Sky or something. :)

- Hunter

[wally]

a few thoughts from your opinions

-no more Letters?

-funny and smart and pretty? is that in order?

-LOST? you are entitled to be wrong and you are.

-my 15 yr old daughter is starting to like 80's music.....but only when the cast of Glee sings it. :-/

-hopefully the trend of everyone making a worship album :cough:ItCoA2:cough: will pass and the good stuff made will rise to the top as classic music.

-FYI Daniel Lanois grew up in my hometown, Hamilton, ON (i've never met him though)

-i'm 43 and i consider you a friend. :)

[Josh H.]

Wow. This is unusual. I agree with NEARLY everything you said.

-"Achtung Baby" is the first U2 record I ever bought, which I did when I was about 13 after seeing the Mysterious Ways vid (when MTV used to play music videos). I listed to that CD so. many. times. Loved it. The Fly riff is great. Not the "best ever," in my opinion, but in the top 10 (or top 5) for sure.
-Free Music: agreed. If for some reason an artist offers some of their tunes for free (like you did w/ the Crooked Creek songs), I may take it, but you can BET I'm gonna tip them, go to a show, buy one of their records, or tell EVERYONE I know about them! And I do NOT do peer-to-peer. That's just piracy, plain and simple.
-A Christmas Carol is the only Dickens book I've been able to get through. I prefer Tolkien or Lews (or Andrew Peterson!).
-LOST: I can dig the end. My fav show ever (besides Andy Griffith)
-Neil Young is so grossly overrated as a songwriter, a singer, and a guitarist. He should never have had a record deal. I've never been particularly boggled by Hendrix either. I mean he was great & innovative (but I think SRV had better chops).
-I am a worship leader. I try to weed out the fluff and find the diamonds in the rough.
-Tom Morello: never really paid attention to him. Never been impressed enough.

[Mike]

Perhaps modern worship music is not great because some of the church's best songwriters are contributing very little new music for congregational worship. All I see the best songwriters like you and DWebb doing is writing fantastic listening songs, criticizing, or re-doing hymns. Only one of those responses to the worship music problem is helping, and that one is only part of the picture. There wouldn't be any hymns if gifted, faithful people hadn't at some point written something fresh and rich for the church to sing. You guys are great at challenging and blessing the church with your music. I'm a huge fan. But if you're writing music the average housewife, banker, and 10-year-old can sing along with, I'm missing it. Tomlin and Hillsong are contributing those kind of songs. You may think they're not quality songs (aka not your preference!), but as long as the Andy Osengas of the church are on the sidelines regarding singable worship songs, what else are we going to draw from? What do you think?

[keith]

Welcome back. I, too, would like to be able to hear everyone singing at church, which would be predicated on everyone actually singing, which they probably would do if they could hear themselves and others around them.

[Russ Ramsey]

Dear Jerkface McGee,

Stick your opinions in your pie hole.

Love,

Russ

[Chris (Smart A**)]

My opinion: Paragraphs should never be forced justified. Especially with this particular font and color scheme. It's hard to read.

Also, I agree with you about modern worship, and that's too bad because I lead those songs in my congregation. I try to be more selective with the songs we play, but it's hard because there is so much out there that doesn't work.

[Alan]

I'm the worship leader at my church, and I couldn't agree with you more. I like the simple songs the best, where the focus is the words, and not fancy chords, or complicated arrangements. I'd rather have musicians who will play simply.
I also happen to be one of those people who don't own a television (and my parents never had one either) my Dad always said TV steals your imagination and I agree to the point where I've never went and bought one myself. I love books, music, and art, and have the time to pursue those things without a distracting TV... But when I get sick and am stuck at home all day I kinda wish I had a TV somewhere.

[David]

I would gladly pay for the next installment of Leters.

I haven't been able to get into Neil Young either. or Paul Simon (I know this is blasphemous for you)

[David]

Oops, Letters.

[Geof F. Morris]

I think an outside would have fun listening to a conversation with the two of us, because Lord knows we both like to talk.

[Tim Patterson]

Love you man. Agree with most of your opinions.

So grateful you are done giving away music. It was costing me a fortune. CD's were way cheaper. :-). Just hate that some cheapskates wrecked that because I really like some of the shorter collections that may not make a CD because they "don't fit".

I have never known you to be as wrong as you are about LOST, but it is just a part of their genius that one episode could make you feel that strongly one way or the other. How many shows do you just watch and then are done? 8 months later and you still care enough to say that. I only hope to make an impact like that on people. What song would you write to make people feel like that? No you can't cover Derek's new stuff.

My opinion. More music, more blogging. Andy = cowbell and you know what the need for cowbell is.

[Matthew L]

Maybe you should do that sometime, Geof.