Set the Kingdom

Genre: Progressive Rock
Artist: Neal Morse
Album: Lifeline [Bonus Disc]

I love this song because it causes the listener to evaluate what matters the most. The first words of the song immediately call for reflection: "What have I set before me?" What a profound question! "Are my eyes on the desert or are they up where all things arise?" "We become what we're beholding. What's the food our souls find to feed?" What am I putting into my life? What is my focus? What is my goal? Sometimes I lose track of what really matters. But this song reminds me of what I need to do.

"Set the Kingdom before your eyes!" I need to place the Gospel before me and make it my top priority. Everything else shifts and changes, but the Gospel remains firm. Ever since I was a little boy I loved the Gospel more than anything else. At twelve, I received a blessing where I was told that I had already dedicated my life to the Savior. As I look at myself now, I feel that I have lost track of that. I sometimes seem to be living from one day to the next, with no real goal in mind. I need to look above everything else and see through eternity's perspective again. I need to see that there is so much more than what is before me.

I am grateful for times of reflection and self-evaluation. I am grateful for the Atonement, which lets me repent and improve. If I ever seem to lose track of where I am going, I need to ask myself, "What have I set before me?" If it is not God's Kingdom, then I need to make changes in my life. I must set the Kingdom before my eyes, and trust the promise in the scriptures that everything else will be added to me.

There Was a Life

Genre: Rock

Artist: Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Album: Night Castle

This song has become an instant favorite. It is a song full of reflection, searching for the meaning of life. As the man looks back on a life of mistakes and failures, he wonders if redemption is possible. As the man is overwhelmed with his failure and sins, he stands at the edge of a cliff and debates committing suicide. He asks himself, "Are you scared of your life? Are you scared of your death?" He decides, "There are reasons to live, there are reasons to die." But the anguish and indecision rage inside him. I love the feeling behind the voice and the lyrics during this crucial moment. He wonders if the mistakes of his life must always remain the way they are, or if they can be made right. So much of what he has done cannot be repaired. "And in this darkness is there salvation? Is there forgiveness?"

Like the person in this song, I have faced such crucial moments where I could not see from a more eternal perspective, where I have also cried out, "Can someone say when the Writer of this story will just tell us how it will end?" The singer compares his life to a drop of water in a wave. He realizes that the wave cradles each drop, and each one is missed. Sometimes I have felt lost, or forgotten. But God cradles me along with everyone else, and if I stray I too am missed.

There is so much hope for tomorrow! Each evening when we sleep, we have a chance to wake up a new person. It is God's way of erasing our sorrows. "There are parts of yourself the soul decides to keep, and parts of yourself that the soul does release." Each day is an opportunity for redemption, an opportunity to repent and be a better person. There is never a time that is appropriate to give up. "The end's not the end while you're still alive."

The emotion and message of this song are incredible! I have listened to it so many times during this week (I just heard it for the first time on Tuesday). I can relate to the person in the song. I love the hope it offers! I wish I could do it justice on this blog, but I cannot. All I can say is that its beauty astounds me.

The Whirlwind

Genre: Progressive Rock

Artist: Transatlantic

Album: The Whirlwind

Wait. Am I reviewing an album, or a song? The answer is BOTH! The Whirlwind is a nearly 78-minute long epic! It is divided into twelve individually named parts (tracks), but it is meant to be listened to as one great song. After a long seven years, the musical genius of Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine Stolt, and Pete Trewavas come together to produce another brilliant masterpiece!

The Whirlwind can be interpreted on so many levels, but the heart of the message is that the whirlwind represents life's trials. We might think everything is going great, but suddenly life's storms come upon us and beat us down. We might think we are happy and successful, only to be torn down. Although the storm may seem merciless, there is a power at the center of it that is actually quite calm. In the eye of the storm lies the Savior. If you trust in Him, rather than being tossed by the storm, you will see how it can bring you closer to Him. You can dance with eternal glory, rather than be drowned by life's sorrows.

The CD is masterfully put together, with each of the four artists contributing so much material to make it perfect. One of my personal favorite parts is the segment titled Rose-Colored Glasses, which Neal wrote about his dad, who died earlier this year. In this segment, he talks about how there are times of suffering, but these times will pass and we will be reunited with those we love. He says that his faith is more than just rose-colored glasses; he trusts in something he believes to be real. It is by trusting that Source of faith, hope, and power that we can overcome life's trials.

I cannot even begin to describe the musical genius of the album. A blog post would be insufficient. There are several themes that connect the parts into one great whole--themes that represent the actual whirlwind, the calmness of the eye of the storm, the presence of the Savior, etc. And these are only the themes. There are also the amazing solos, the powerful harmony of the instruments coming together, and the subtle movements that lead from one part to the next. Then there are the vocals! Everybody sings and the parts they sing fit perfectly! All in all, this is a masterpiece never to be forgotten! Thank you, Transatlantic! I hope there is more in the future!

I Will Go Sailing No More

Genre: Disney

Artist: Randy Newman

Album: Toy Story

Poor Buzz Lightyear... A lot of the comedy in the movie revolves around Buzz's vision of who he is. He sees himself as a hero with a special mission to save the universe. Woody screams at him, yelling the truth into his face, but Buzz is not deterred. It is not until he sees a commercial, reality slapping him harshly across the face, that he begins to realize that his ambitions are nothing. Still unable to face reality, he jumps from the top of the stairs to prove he can fly, only to find himself crashing to the floor. His broken arm is but a symbol of his broken heart and broken dreams, as he consigns himself to a life he views as meaningless.

I also have high ambitions for my life. With my dreams, I almost feel like I can fly, until my dreams are shot down. Sometimes people don't believe in me. Other times people let me down. Oftentimes, like Buzz, I feel that I have a "dream that ended too soon." When reality slaps me across the face, I think to myself that "I will go sailing no more. All the things I thought I'd be, all the brave things I'd done, vanished like a snowflake with the rising of the sun. Never more to sail my ship where no man has gone before...and I will go sailing no more."

But even though my dreams are sometimes crushed and I am left empty and broken, I still rise from the ground, determined to prove that I really can fly. I just can't seem to accept that "clearly I will go sailing no more." Fortunately, Buzz eventually pulled himself together. Defying all odds, he eventually flew, soaring in the sky where he belonged, but with a new realization that the place he really belongs is where he is loved.

Wherever You Are

Genre: Disney
Artist: No clue.
Album: Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin

This song is so sad to me, but it's still one of my favorites. Winnie the Pooh and his friends have been searching long and hard for Christopher Robin with no success. One night, Pooh wanders away from his friends to the empty, cold night sky. There, all alone, he sings, "Come out, moon. Come out, wishing star . . . I'm out here in the dark, all alone and wide awake. Come and find me." He sings to Christopher Robin, pleading for him to come to him, "because without you I am totally lost." He finally comes to the sad conclusion, "I used to believe in forever, but forever's too good to be true."

This very sad song touches me every time I hear it. I can relate to Pooh's loneliness. I have gone through many times in my life when I have felt alone. The worst is when I feel alone, even though I am surrounded by people. It especially reminds me of the times when I had something beautiful, something I thought would last forever. I think of those times when I have felt the most happy and content . . . that feeling that I have finally found what I have searched for all my life. But, as Pooh says, "Forever's too good to be true." Those moments always end. And when they are ended, the loneliness returns, the loneliness that is only too real for the Wishmaster.

Music of the Night

Genre: Broadway Musical

Artist: Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Charles Hart

Album: Phantom of the Opera

I can't believe I haven't done a song from Phantom yet. It was hard to pick which song to do. But I ultimately chose Music of the Night because it is one of my absolute favorites. It is the song where the Phantom beckons Christine to join him, to sing for him, to believe him. It is essentially a marriage proposal. Throughout the song he shows her around his lair, extending his hand out towards her and she takes it. Not the hand of a monster, but the hand of someone who loves her with a very tender love.

I saw Phantom on stage on my fifteenth birthday. I fell in love with it. Everybody who knows me will say that I fell in love with it too much. I must admit, perhaps they are right. But never before has a play delved so deeply inside me and stirred my emotions so passionately. I think the main reason it struck me so deeply was because of the time of my life, a time of change and when I felt misunderstood by everyone around me. I could understand the Phantom's yearnings to belong, to be accepted. I could understand his fear of cruel treatment from others. Although I cannot agree with all of his actions, I can understand the emotions behind them, emotions which he let control him. I ached with him and shared his loneliness. The imperfections I have that people were so quick to point out to me at that time I felt were as ugly as the face behind the Phantom's mask. Was I obsessed? Yes. But at that time of my life, Phantom was what I could relate to more than anything else.

There were many good things that came from it, though. For one, it got me into acting. For another, it also gave me confidence in my writing. I asked Eldon, one of my most favorite teachers, if we could perform Phantom at the school. The royalties were too high, so I asked him if I could write my own version. He helped me and encouraged me and I ended up writing a script for the show. Eldon praised it. Reading it now, it is awful. I am almost embarrassed that I ever let anybody else see it, let alone perform it. But Eldon gave me that boost I needed. He helped me have confidence in myself and my abilities. Performing Phantom was one of my biggest highlights from high school.

Edelweiss

Genre: Broadway Musical

Artist: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein

Album: Sound of Music

This song is a very special song on so many levels. For one thing, it was the last song that Rodgers and Hammerstein composed together. While they wrote this song, Oscar Hammerstein was suffering from stomach cancer. He died nine months later. This song is a memorial to him. Indeed, in more ways than one, it is a song to say farewell.

I love the connotation that this song has. Captain von Trapp is about to leave Austria, a country that he deeply loves. He sings this song as a last farewell to his country. I love the scene in the movie where he begins to cry and can't finish the song. His country means that much to him. He knows it is time to say goodbye to a wonderful era, but it is so hard to make that change.

Even though the lyrics don't really mean much to me, the emotion of the song really touches me. I have also experienced such moments of having to leave an era that was so beautiful to me that I could hardly bear leaving. Many experiences on my mission fit this experience. Whenever I had to leave certain areas or certain friends, it was really hard knowing that things would never be the same again. The best thing that can be done to honor those eras is to remember them.