Oi! Here’s a battle cry! Brotherhood by Flatfoot 56

First a music lesson Oi! It’s a strand of music which came out of punk in the late 1970’s early 1980’s lead by bands such as Sham69 and the Angelic Upstarts. A blend of Skinhead and Punk it pulled away from the commercial punk scene of the Clash and the Jam etal and started afresh with simple if not crude “melodies” and lyrics that echoed the experiences of the band members. Often playful and always po-go-able the scene drew in many people from both subcultures. Me among them.

So since becoming a Christian I have looked hard to find a christen band that plays “Oi!” to a decent level and with good lyrics. I have at last found a good song in this style by a band called Flatfoot 56 (see last week’s Amazing Grace post). Not only are they an “Oi!” band they also take the pogues as one of their influences and have added Scottish bagpipes to their sounds.

This song is about the fight we all face. The battle that is within us but it also hints at our brothers standing beside us and how if we fall Jesus will pick us up. The lyrics are as follows:-

I remember the boys who took a stand,
Who stood there strong when things got rough,
They would shout and scream at the things that were tough,
No weapon formed against them would live,
A punch to the face, a kick to the rib
Their cause was justice and they strove to be pure,
All of hell shook when their knees hit the floor,

Never look back never give up,
There’s someone behind who will pick you up,
I got a sword in my hand and I’m ready for the attack.

Raise up the flag let them see,
Our creed is a symbol for those who are free,
We fight against evil, we fight against sin,
Our battles not outward, our battles within.

 

Here is their video version. I hope you like it.

 

Music Review – Parachute Band – Technicolour

The Parachute Band return with their second CD Technicolour, including a DVD of interviews and a live performance of songs from their previous outings.. Similar to the first CD Roadmaps and revelation which was released two years ago (review here), Technicolour is a mix of high energy rock and slow contemplative ballads.

The sound has changed a little since the last CD with more Keyboard / synth being added to the mix. There is no ‘Parachute Band Style’ of song all of the tracks are different.

The first three tracks crack along at a fair pace and are excellent examples of the Parachutes Bands stadium rock celebration style. From here it moves into Anthem mode providing superb lyrics and ‘feel’ for more congregational praise all sang with real passion and love. The tracks show a real awe and reverence to the Lord, allowing the listener easy access both in terms of listening and worship.

There is of course the U2 / Delirious clone as there are on most Christian CD’s this one Glorious is our God, is excellent however and shows real maturity in the music and style.

Track 10 is probably the stand out track for me. It’s a completely different style to the rest and is in some ways reminiscent of the quirky songs of Blur and Space from the 1990’s. It’s a song of celebration about our home in Heaven. It is superb and i must admit to the odd tear while listening to it.

All in all this is an excellent CD and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a mix of powerfull ‘rock’ celebration / praise and personal worship of our Lord and Saviour.

In addition to the CD there is also an impressive free DVD. This contains a live concert of the band playing tracks from their previous CD and a testimony from the singer Omega Levine about how he was born without a nose and how that lead him to depression and suicidal thoughts… BUT Jesus met with him and changed his life forever.

 

New Links added

I have added a few new links to the blog today. These are sites that i use and find helpfull.

New Frontiers International Church Planting

Is a newly launched website from NFI. It is a direct response to the challenge laid down by Mark Driscoll at the Together on a Mission conference over the summer. Its aim is to aid those who are looking to join or lead church plants within the NFI family of churches.  

It is well laid out and has some excellent features including case study’s and interviews about various aspects of church planting.

It also has a list of the current church plants and future identified church plants.

Kingsway Music

Is one of the main repositories of Christian music on the web in the UK. It has everything from DVD’s, CD’s, Sheet music, downloads, books and other stuff. If you cannot find it on here then it may not be available.

You can sign up for an email news letter which is an excellent way of staying in touch with the Christian worship and music scene.

The Brick Testament

Is a superb site which I have visited and used on a regular basis for Kids work. This is the bible modelled in Lego(tm). If you send an email to the author of the page you are able to use the pictures as slides in kids / adults Sunday schools etc. They are excellently and professionally done and have a large dollop of humour mixed into them.

A WORD OF WARNING THOUGH! The pictures are no wholes bared. They tell the story as it is, so for example, when the two spies spend the night with Rahab the prostitute… they spend the night with Rahab the prostitute in shall we say a biblical sense.

Another example would be in the Noah and the flood in the scene ‘And the people did evil in the eyes of the Lord” the people are scene drinking, gambling fighting etc… and just off focus a man is doing what a man should not do with a sheep.

Having said that once censored they are excellent.