Category: Just My Opinion


Healthcare Reform – Tell Me Why Not

Filed Under: Just My Opinion by benwardmusic — 25 Comments
August 19, 2009

health_care_reform

… Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), said his party may not even need to put forward a plan.

Why are my friends so vehemently against Obama’s Health Plan without offering any alternatives of their own?  I suppose it’s because they have jobs that provide health insurance for a nominal fee and if they go to the doctor or, heaven forbid, something catastrophic happens they know that they will be covered.

At most companies for which my friends work the withholding for their plans doesn’t amount to much and they feel justified in making a lot of noise ranting and raving for nothing to be done.

Nothing.

But every day more and more people – hard-working people – cannot afford health insurance so they drop their coverage and hope for the best. I am one of those people.  Sometime you have to make a decision between rent and health insurance.  You know what wins?

American history is peppered with beautiful stories of people standing up for beliefs and fighting for their rights – for real change.  But the present protests are against any change.  They are for nothing more than the status quo.

Recently a friend of mine told me his story:  His employer didn’t offer health insurance and he couldn’t afford to purchase a private plan.  He happened to get in an accident on his bike and dislocated his shoulder and had a gash that required stitches on his chin.  Everyone was yelling to call an ambulance, but my friend came to in time to stop them and say, “take me home” because he didn’t have insurance.  He had to “consider his options” before getting treatment.  Eventually he did go to the emergency room and had a physician’s assistant reset his shoulder. (He recently paid off the $3000 bill — this wasn’t even a doctor!)

Everybody’s against “rationing,” but isn’t rationing happening now? Care is rationed to those who can afford it and withheld from those who can’t.

The Declaration of Independence proclaims that we are given (by God) unalterable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  How can you have life without basic healthcare?  By denying healthcare to people in America, for whatever reason, are we not revoking one of those guaranteed rights?

So, please, speak out against ideals you don’t believe in.  But, so much more importantly, put forth ideas of your own.  We need them.  I need them.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Comment

One of those days

Filed Under: Just My Opinion, Life and Living, Music by benwardmusic — Leave a comment
August 14, 2009

Wednesday was not a great day.  Nothing bad happened.  It just wasn’t good.  Have you ever had one of those days?

I stayed home from work to wait on the exterminator (another long story…) who never came.  I tried to record a new song for the YouTube Sessions on keyboard and I just couldn’t get a good take.  At about ten o’clock I decided to pack the recording stuff up (it’s New York – there no room for a dedicated studio) and try again another day.  I must’ve spent five hours or so working on that song.  Nothing to show for it.  I wanted to write a blog – no dice.  I even wanted to go for a run…didn’t happen.

It’s been a long time since I tried so many different things and nothing worked out.  But I guess it’s just one of those days.

One of those days

One of those days

One of those days

No matter how you say it (write it…whatever!) it just doesn’t give you any more satisfaction.

But just before midnight as I was packing up the gear to shove into my closet I stumbled onto something.  I put a vinyl copy of James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James on the turntable and I just enjoyed it.

Didn’t sing along.  Didn’t play along.  Just enjoyed.

So I did accomplish something after all on one of those days.  Something I could have done all day long: Listen to the sounds of some really great songs.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Count Those Beans

Filed Under: Just My Opinion by benwardmusic — Leave a comment
August 5, 2009

ESPN Limits Social Networking

The media is all abuzz the past couple of days over new “Social Media Policies” that some entities are issuing.  Mainly it has to do with some NFL teams and now ESPN (see link) saying that their players / employees cannot tweet (or Facebook for that matter) as freely as they would probably like.

In the case of the NFL teams, it’s more a matter of not wanting the teams / coaches tweeting from the sidelines and possibly revealing secrets.  Slightly understandable.  But the ESPN order is a classic corporate land grab.  In their minds they own their broadcast personalities and any opinion or word they have on sports.

Both entities in this case should make the lawyers and bean counters sit down and just listen (or get a Twitter account, for that matter).  Celebrities / personalities that tweet are drawing fans and the curious in droves.  This is not only interesting for the fans, it connects them with the personalities and encourages them to be a part of their activities and endeavors (i.e. fans are more likely to buy things like tickets, merchandise, subscriptions, etc.).

So, if ESPN and the teams would cool it they might find that the players and personalities that are “utilizing social networks” will bring them more revenue.  And they don’t even have to pay them more!  That’s a heck-of-a deal –- count those beans :) .

Who’s your favorite celebrity / personality that you follow on Twitter?

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Comment

I’m All For That

Filed Under: Just My Opinion, Music by benwardmusic — Leave a comment
July 28, 2009

So the schedule is all messed up this week!  It makes for more fun, though…normally you get a “YouTube Sessions” on Monday, “Just My Opinion” piece on Wednesday, and a review / recommendation on Friday.  But I just finished the YT Session last night so it will be up tomorrow night.  Oh the joys of fitting it all in!

Check out this quote from a Cameron Crowe interview with Joni Mitchell from Rolling Stone in 1978:

Had Smith (Elektra/Asylum Chairman of the Board Joe Smith), in the course of running the company, ever discussed commercial direction with Mitchell?

“You don’t tell Joni Mitchell what to do,” he said.

Oh my, how have times changed.  The music business used to be filled with people who wanted to serve the ideals and even whims of artists.  Now artists grovel at the feet of anyone who will give them the time-of-day.  Don’t get me wrong, there were always businessmen who took advantage of musicians, but today, people who make deals are king.

Can’t we bring the artist back?  I don’t devalue the work and talents of dealmakers and businesspeople.  I think marketers are vital.  But it should all be in service to the music.  And where does the music come from?  The artist.  Let’s give them some room and some honor and see if we don’t get better music.

I’m all for that.  How about you?

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

Mirrors Everywhere

Filed Under: Just My Opinion by benwardmusic — Leave a comment
July 22, 2009

Olivia and I lived in Boston for three years.  We loved it: the city, our schools, the culture, all of it.  One of the most famous buildings in Boston (and the tallest in New England) is the John Hancock tower in Copley Square.  The architects said they could not improve on the beauty of the surroundings, including the amazing Trinity Church.  So they built a building with mirrors so more of theat beauty could be reflected.

I must admit that it is striking.  But as I was walking through New York recently I noticed that so much of the new construction is made of mirrors.  There’s even an old, pre-war building close to Columbus Circle that is being renovated and covered in – you guessed it – mirrors.  I got to thinking, “What if all the buildings are covered in mirrors?”  ”Would there be anything left to reflect?”

I find this as a songwriter sometimes.  I get so busy observing and commenting on life that it seems like I’m not living it.  I think the same goes for journalists, painters, photographers, etc.  There must be something beautiful, something meaningful to convey in our work for it to have meaning.

So, calling all creators: mirrors can be effective, but only if they have something to reflect.

Hancock Tower Boston

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

Withholding

Filed Under: Just My Opinion by benwardmusic — Leave a comment
July 15, 2009

Have you ever had a falling out with someone in your life?  Have you parted ways with the possibility of never speaking to them or seeing them again?  The fault may be yours, it may be theirs, or (most likely) the blame could be shared.

I have.

And then, later on, I decided I was wrong in so many ways and it was ridiculous that we weren’t friends anymore.  I called to apologize and say what an idiot I had been and could they please forgive me.  But, that wasn’t enough.  They couldn’t forgive.  They weren’t even interested in talking about the situation or the relationship.

This was painful.

Now it has been seven years.  This seems crazy.  We were like best friends!  I sent a little note the other day and got no response.  It’s possible they didn’t get it, but more likely they feel the same way they did years ago.

At what point is it too late?  What constitutes the line that, after you cross, you can never go back?  You see it all the time: husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, mothers and daughters, friends.  Why can’t the offenses be overcome?

Jesus said it’s in my best interest to forgive:

Matthew 6:14-16
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 18:20-22
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Why is it so hard?  What’s going through people’s hearts and heads when they withhold forgiveness?  Especially when someone asks for it.

The hardest part of my situation is that I miss the friendship.  I miss the laughter, the crying, the boring, the crazy times.  Maybe they feel this is the price I must pay for my offenses.  But I still hold out hope that the forgiveness I long for won’t be withheld forever.

And, even more urgent: Can I somehow give forgiveness when it’s deserved and even when it’s undeserved?

Tags: , ,
Comment

Unopened

Filed Under: Just My Opinion, Music by benwardmusic — Leave a comment
July 8, 2009

“Another issue is the fact we don’t have many record stores left. The experience we all grew up with of spending the afternoon browsing music in a record store, doesn’t exist anymore. So let’s wake up. Yeah, sales are down. But how many stores do we have? I wouldn’t be surprised if some smart young business person finds a way to open 25 or 30 wildly successful new CD stores. Because there is an audience for them.” – Scott Borchetta, President/CEO Big Machine Records, Think Tank: A Music Row Special Report, August 2007

Record/CD stores drove me crazy.  Because I love music, I always wanted to go to them (when they existed) and check out the selection.  But, it never failed, I left disappointed.  Maybe it was cooler before when vinyl was the thing – at least you could see real cover art.  But, looking through a bunch of CD cases to see what was new?  You could listen to a few CDs through greasy headphones that had been on who-knows-who’s head before you and usually never the one you wanted. 

Don’t get me wrong, I liked the idea of the record store, but not much more. 

Even when the stores started to get digital sampling stations where you scanned the barcode and heard the music, it was always a few seconds and, knowing the record company it was the intro or instrumental section, not anything helpful like the chorus (this still drives me crazy on the iTunes store – think about what you want people to hear!!).

The one exception to this was Blockbuster Music’s (remember?) short-lived program to let people listen to any CD in the store.  They opened the package for you and you listened and then they sealed it back up in their own plastic.  This was amazing!  I would go up almost every night and listen to all kinds of albums.  I discovered David Wilcox and listened to his entire catalog.  I bought several of his CDs.   I always went back to the rack, though and bought the unopened copy.  Thus, this was the fatal flaw in Blockbuster’s strategy: people listened and then didn’t buy.

People talk about the “scene” at record stores.  But, as a kid (and even an adult) breaking into that scene can be quite intimidating.  But most of the music stores I knew were chains where the “scene” never existed.

What kills me about Scott Borchetta’s quote above is that it is so off-the-mark.  So many people running record companies are so out of touch.  It has been this way and continues.  When will the new generation of leaders take over the music business with new ideas and exciting visions?  When will they choose to make music rather than computers and software?

So, I’m all for retail music stores and digital music stores.  Just don’t make people walk or surf into a store and leave without the experience of amazing music.  If we do, the music and  the wallets will stay unopened.

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

Music Matters

Filed Under: Just My Opinion, Music by benwardmusic — Leave a comment
July 1, 2009

IPods now have video, games, audio books and podcasts. Will iPods always be about the music?
Who knows? But it’s hard to imagine that music is not the epicenter of the iPod, for a long, long, long, long, long time.  I was very lucky to grow up in a time when music really mattered.  It wasn’t just something in the background; it really mattered to a generation of kids growing up. It really changed the world. I think that music faded in importance for a while, and the iPod has helped to bring music back into people’s lives in a really meaningful way. Music is so deep within all of us, but it’s easy to go for a day or a week or a month or a year without really listening to music. And the iPod has changed that for tens of millions of people, and that makes me really happy, because I think music is good for the soul. – Steve Jobs, Newsweek 2003

Music has taken a backseat in today’s culture.  Some would say it’s been relegated to the trunk rather than the backseat.  The Industry has so contained it and controlled it, that it has become safe, predictable, and gives you a shadow of the emotional impact it used to.  Now I’m not one to keep harkening back to the “glory days” when everything was better, but these are not the days of a musical renaissance.  We need them now more than ever!  Music can do things no other art form can: penetrate a place in people that words can’t do alone.  This is true for all genres and stripes of music:  Rock, Pop, Country, Gospel, etc., etc., etc.

It’s interesting how computers and computer companies get all the buzz in society today.  The quote from Steve Jobs above is so ironic, because he is probably the biggest “rock star” in the world today.  What used to define rock musicians – cutting edge, mystery, impact – now are best seen in a corporate CEO.  That’s weird.  But, as you can see from his quote, he understands what makes culture click and he’s used some of the elements of the power of music to thrust Apple’s products into the cultural consciousness.

The only problem with this (and believe me I’m into Macs:) is that we’re now celebrating the method of delivery instead of what’s being delivered.  That’s like being so excited about the envelope but just ho-hum about the check inside it.  How crazy would that be?  Instead of focusing intently on the quality and power of the artists, songs, musicianship, we’re focused on the type of computer, or iPhone, or iTunes, or streaming.  These things are fun to talk about if you’re interested in computers, but they are not as important as the art being delivered.  That’s the product that can change hearts and change the world.

So, may there be a new renaissance: a renaissance of music, a renaissance of making the important things important again.

 (And it goes not just for music, but, as I wrote last week, the American Church is doing the same things by stressing production and venue over the content of services and the spiritual experiences of people.  How can the setting and the method of delivery be more important than what you’re delivering?)

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

Definitely Not Boring

Filed Under: Just My Opinion, Worship by benwardmusic — Leave a comment
June 24, 2009

{I started this post as a response to the question, “What is worship?” posed by Stephen Simpson at the CSM Forums. Check out the site for some great conversation.}

I hear so much talk these days about how just singing some worship songs and hearing a sermon has gotten stale, boring. How we need to expand our creativity in services and come up with new ways to experience God. And while I think it is valid to seek to be creative (God is the most creative Being of all), I think we miss the point of worship. I think we could all agree that the worship life of the early Church in Acts was vibrant and definitely not boring. But we see from Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church that it was very simple: Chapter 14 talks about gathering, singing a couple of songs, having words of prophecy, tongues, etc.. This is so simple. You don’t really need a producer for it. Do we need special lighting* for the Holy Spirit to come in power and heal broken hearts?  When He comes – how could that possibly be boring?

So what is worship?

There are so many “right” definitions of worship that you can read in so many amazing books. But my favorite way to discuss worship is to talk about what happens when I worship. What happens when I come into the presence of the living God and see just a glimpse of who He is. So often I can’t even stay on my feet. I have to fall to my knees and then that’s not even good enough. I’m on my face. He is so great, He is so wonderful, that nothing I could say or sing or do would even be close to enough. All I can say is, “You are worthy. You are worthy.” That is the place we truly worship and that is the place I want to be as much as possible. If more believers (and unbelievers) could have those encounters, disagreements over style and music would take a backseat to the main event: His magnificent presence.

Definitely not boring.

*I don’t have a problem with “production” as an avenue for someone to use his or her gifts, but these elements become the focus too often.

Tags: , , ,
Comment

Hate to Stop the Music

Filed Under: Just My Opinion, Music by benwardmusic — 3 Comments
June 17, 2009

I know I run the risk of sounding like Madonna (thanks, Norah!) Rihanna with a title like this (I think her’s was “Please Don’t Stop the Music”).  But I’m forging ahead anyway – you can’t copyright a title :) .

A couple weeks ago I was coming into work and, like a lot of New Yorkers, I had my earphones in taking in some tunes.  (At a minimum, most New Yorkers are listening to an iPod and reading a book.  There are many variations on this.)  As I got in the elevator I noticed the woman beside me was taking out her earphones as I was.  There was actually a sense of disappointment in the air; like someone had injected a little reality.  She laughed a little when I remarked at how lame it was to stop the music – especially when it’s good.

I saw a commercial lately that illustrated just this.  The ad shows a young guy with tattoos and earrings rocking out to some headbanger tunes right up until he sits at his desk, removes the earphones, and the image changes to him as conservative businessman in a suit.

Something about music takes us out of reality and into an amazing universe created by the artist.  I believe this is a good thing.

Last summer Olivia and I drove to New York City from Nashville several times (15-16 hours).  The last time we made the trip, we bought the Sara Bareilles album, Little Voice, and played it relentlessly: there and back and while we were driving around the City.  I can’t tell you how crazy it is for one of those songs to come up on shuffle now and be taken back exactly to how I felt on that trip.  If I close my eyes I am in the car driving over the Queensboro bridge in our Honda Fit with the windows rolled down.

How does music do that?  More importantly, how can I make music that affects people like that?

Does music do this for you?

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment