Pax Plena

  • Song of the Week: L-O-V-E

    Since today is St. Valentine’s Day, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate song of the week than Nat “King” Cole’s L-O-V-E.

    L-O-V-E was recorded on a sunny Wednesday afternoon on June 3, 1964 in Hollywood, CA. Having listened to the song in numerous movies, and in my own music collection, whenever I hear L-O-V-E I can’t help but think of a ride I once took down Hollywood Boulevard en route to the Capitol Records building, palm trees swaying against sun-drenched skies.

    Isn’t this basically how love feels? Every cloud has beauty. Every kiss is an exciting mystery. It’s as if the skies were painted blue by God Himself, just for you. This feeling of wonderment associated with ‘love’ is what Cole’s song captures so well.

    Oddly, what makes the piece work is the almost imperceptible crescendo of the music. As Cole begins his etymology of love, the initial lines are soft, if not sultry. As Cole delivers line after classic line, the music builds, interspersed by trombone vignettes, and trumpet solos. By the time Cole bellows that ‘love is made for me and you’ the music is enthralling enough to actually believe him.

    The song itself is performed in a masterful legato style that is every bit as smooth as Cole’s baritone voice. The sound is one unique to the artist combining elements of Jazz with Cole’s provenance as a big band singer. At the end, the music almost has a dixieland band feel, concluding the song splendidly.

    And what to say about the lyrics? The lyrics have really almost become their own definition of love. At the very least, it seems fair to say that Cole’s lyrics are the most famous acrostic in history. But perhaps the more intriguing part of the song is the way Cole’s simple melody has come to inform our consciousness of what love is and means.

    Cole’s song reminds us that two people in love can ‘make it’, damn the odds and divorce rates. It reminds us that love is really all we can give to someone else. And it reinforces what is most important about our relationships. Sure, we can buy presents. We can devise exotic vacations. We can even share a delicious meal, or a fine wine. But all of these things involve something external to the self. Love, on the other hand, is all we can actually give of ourselves to another.

    With that thought in mind, just because I ‘love’ my readers, please enjoy this very special Valentine’s Day song of the week, L-O-V-E as performed by Nat “King” Cole.

    L-O-V-E
    By Nat King Cole

    L is for the way you look at me 
    O is for the only one I see 
    V is very, very extraordinary 
    E is even more than anyone that you adore can…

    Love is all that I can give to you 
    Love is more than just a game for two 
    Two in love can make it 
    Take my heart and please don’t break it 
    Love was made for me and you

    L is for the way you look at me 
    O is for the only one I see 
    V is very, very extraordinary 
    E is even more than anyone that you adore can…

    Love is all that I can give to you 
    Love is more than just a game for two 
    Two in love can make it 
    Take my heart and please don’t break it 
    Love was made for me and you 
    Love was made for me and you 
    Love was made for me and you

     

  • Song of the Week: Haven’t Met You Yet

    The Pax Plena Song of the Week is a bit of an enigma to me. I enjoyed the song when it was first released, but the video of the piece is perhaps even more endearing than the song itself.

    When Michael Bublé’s Haven’t Met You Yet was released in August 2009, the first thing that caught my attention was how clear Bublé’s vocals were throughout the piece. This wasn’t a surprise really. In fact, it was very much befitting the performance one would expect from an international music sensation. But I had grown accustomed to hearing Bublé singing softer, more contemplative songs in his earlier work (see here). I was pleasantly surprised to hear how fun the music of Haven’t Met You Yet was. Accented by a driving beat, and bright chords, the melody aptly captures the whimsical thoughts conveyed by the lyrics.

    The song tells the story of a lonely bard, making promises to the love of his life. Pledging his persistence, devotion, and commitment, the singer is poised to enjoy a love that lasts a lifetime, but for the seemingly insignificant detail that he has not yet met the love of his life.

    The thoughts communicated in the song are familiar ones – at least to anyone who has ever wondered whether there is a ‘better’ half of them out there. But what’s unique about the message of this song, in particular, is the light-hearted way the question is communicated. Far from being a forlorn, brooding inquiry, Bublé treats the matter with a lot of hope, and for better or worse (depending upon your experience) with a lot of optimism.

    The qualities of the song’s music are amplified in the song’s music video.

    The basic concept of the music video is that of a smitten Bublé meeting the love of his life in a random grocery store. The stunning blond he meets, of course, is none other than Bublé’s real-life fiancée Luisana Lopilato.  After meeting the woman of his dreams, the video illustrates Bublé’s thoughts on the future he expects to have with the girl he has fallen for at first sight. In a nod to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the music video culminates with a high school band performing for the couple in the supermarket, while the entire motley of customers, cashiers, and employees join the mini parade.

    Above all, this song is fun. It reminds even the jaded among us that love is something to be hopeful for. Per usual, Bublé’s performance is amazing. Luisana Lopilato’s doe-eyes, and golden tresses don’t hurt either.

    Besides, who wouldn’t like to fall in love while a ticker-tape parade swirls about?

    Haven’t Met You Yet
    By Michael Bublé

    I’m not surprised, not everything lasts
    I’ve broken my heart so many times, I stopped keeping track
    Talk myself in, I talk myself out
    I get all worked up, then I let myself down

    I tried so very hard not to lose it
    I came up with a million excuses
    I thought, I thought of every possibility

    And I know someday that it’ll all turn out
    You’ll make me work, so we can work to work it out
    And I promise you, kid, that I give so much more than I get
    I just haven’t met you yet

    I might have to wait, I’ll never give up
    I guess it’s half timing, and the other half’s luck
    Wherever you are, whenever it’s right
    You’ll come out of nowhere and into my life

    And I know that we can be so amazing
    And, baby, your love is gonna change me
    And now I can see every possibility

    And somehow I know that it’ll all turn out
    You’ll make me work, so we can work to work it out
    And I promise you, kid, I give so much more than I get
    I just haven’t met you yet

    They say all’s fair
    In love and war
    But I won’t need to fight it
    We’ll get it right and we’ll be united

    And I know that we can be so amazing
    And being in your life is gonna change me
    And now I can see every single possibility

    And someday I know it’ll all turn out
    And I’ll work to work it out
    Promise you, kid, I’ll give more than I get
    Than I get, than I get, than I get

    Oh, you know it’ll all turn out
    And you’ll make me work so we can work to work it out
    And I promise you kid to give so much more than I get
    Yeah, I just haven’t met you yet

    I just haven’t met you yet
    Oh, promise you, kid
    To give so much more than I get

    I said love, love, love, love
    Love, love, love, love
    (I just haven’t met you yet)
    Love, love, love, love
    Love, love
    I just haven’t met you yet

  • Song of the Week: Silent Night

    Brown Baptist ChurchUnlike many families, the Fodder Family Christmas is traditionally held on Christmas Eve. Some of my earliest memories of life come from Christmas Eves spent in the drafty Brown American Indian Baptist Church, just five miles south of Walters on Highway 5.

    (Incidentally, this is the same church where I met my wife at the tender age of 13).

    As did many of the children, I had a sense of dread as we lined up to participate in the annual Christmas Program. Like criminals waiting to be executed, we somberly walked down the narrow aisle toward the front, parading before the stained glass windows and our adoring families, badly reenacting the birth of Baby Jesus. Invariably someone would fall, see their mother, or make a b-line for the exits in the middle of the procession. And every other year or so, the odd child would simply stand on the stage and cry, giving my mother/director fits.

    Of course, nothing matched my personal dread, standing before a packed congregation, and reading the Christmas Story from the book of Luke, usually chapter two:

    In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
    (Luke 2:1-2 ESV)

    Not to brag, but I have sometimes been asked how I developed what scant public speaking skills I have. My stock answer is that nothing steels the soul quite like reading the Christmas story to a church full of Baptists on Christmas Eve.

    And let’s face it, if you can learn to properly pronounce “Quirinius” while speaking in public, well quite nearly anything can roll off the tongue.

    Brown Church, Stained Glass WindowAt any rate, my big relief came when the bell tolled, sending a signal to Santa Claus that the torture of the children was over.

    Bounding through the front door, parading past the stained glass windows, Santa Clause came with a big bag of presents for all the boys and girls – whether good or bad, much to my chagrin. That particular moment always struck me as an incredible teaching opportunity to stiff the kids that had screwed up our Christmas play.

    Santa seemed to think better of it.

    Of course, this came as little surprise. Santa Claus was always one to let the odd bit of mischief go unpunished. I knew this first hand. After all, the part of Santa Claus was played by my Grandfather who was generally quite keen to turn a blind eye to the trouble-making caused by his grandchildren.

    Many years have passed, and Grandpa Fodder has long since relinquished his role as Santa Claus in the Brown Church Christmas Program. I suppose hip replacement surgery makes it somewhat perilous for squirming children to sit on his lap these days. But the Christmas tradition soldiers on every Dec. 24th.

    Papa's Living Room, Christmas 2004Church services were followed by our family Christmas at the Fodder Family Farm. Our stockings hung neatly above the cramped living room. Toys packed deep within the branches at the base of the Christmas tree. Nothing compared to the smell of the cedar as we entered the house. The scent was even more satisfying, knowing that I had helped cut the tree from a grove near the creek behind our house.

    After Christmas dinner, pie, and coffee (I began drinking the nectar of the gods around age five) it was finally time to open presents. As the living room became a wasteland of wrapping paper, I could always look forward to the pouting face of my youngest sister when she did not get the Bratz Doll of her choice.

    Chelsey - I Hate This Bow

    But what I remember most about the Church service, and our family gathering was the music. From the church singing carols in unison, to the small cd player tucked into the corner of our living room, it was always the Christmas music that set the spirit of the evening. Christmas would surely have been memorable and special without the sounds to match. But with them, the evening was perfect.

    Among the pantheon of hymns, no song stood out more in my mind than the timeless Christmas Carol, Silent Night as performed by Bing Crosby. I could wax eloquent about the song’s timelessness, and the depth of meaning it communicates. But the carol’s genius is in its brevity, and its profundity in its simplicity. A simple song, for a simple message of redemption that mankind will never fully grasp.

    The Bing Crosby version of the Silent Night, circa 1947 is the gold standard for the song. Crosby’s performance is notable for its starkness. A simple white backdrop and a boys choir are all that accompany the voice more widely associated with Christmas than any other.  The carol will almost certainly blare from the iPod player as we open Christmas presents Friday night, in the same cramped living room you see above. For if Christmas isn’t about tradition, then nothing is.

    With that, please enjoy the Pax Plena Song of the Week: Silent Night as performed by Bing Crosby. Lyrics follow after the jump.

    Silent Night, Holy Night
    By Bing Crosby

    Silent Night, Holy night, all is calm, all is bright
    ‘Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
    Holy Infant so tender and mild
    Sleep in Heavenly peace
    Sleep in Heavenly peace

    Silent Night, Holy night, shepherds quake at the sight
    Glories stream from Heaven a far
    Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia
    Christ the Savior is born
    Christ the Savior is born

    Silent Night, Holy night, Son of God, love’s pure light
    Radiant beams from Thy holy face
    With the dawn of redeeming grace
    Sleep in heavenly peace
    Sleep in heavenly peace

  • Realism and The U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

    Much hay was made late last week when the United States endorsed the 2007 United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or the UNDRIP.

    [Link]

    But as one friend put it, the Declaration is little more than a “non-binding gesture of goodwill,” for my money, not unlike a Christmas card. And in fact, the Christmas cards you receive this month may have more meaning behind them.

    Many tribal interests have lauded the Obama Administration’s decision to endorse the instrument, but the functional difference the endorsement makes for indigenous rights in the United States is anyone’s guess.

    Realistically, the Declaration does precious little to alter the domestic policy of nations’ toward their indigenous populations. Nothing in the UNDRIP, for example, requires that nations consult with indigenous peoples prior to making decisions on issues affecting them. Article 19 of the Declaration provides:

    Article 19

    States shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them.

    While the language of the Article reads like a robust mandate, the Declaration is actually non-binding on signatory governments. The actual language from the Declaration’s Preamble merely “encourages” states to comply with the instrument’s provisions. This, of course, means that signatory parities are free to disregard the Declaration so long as they make a good faith effort to implement its aspirations.

    To be fair, this criticism is not specific to the UNDRIP. The problem of weak mandates is endemic to many areas of international law, even where the instruments in question are actually said to be binding on the signatory parties. Consider the matter of Dann v. U.S..

    There, the Dann sisters routinely grazed their cattle on public lands that were once part of the Western Shoshone Reservation. When the U.S. Government slapped a fine on the sisters for grazing without a permit, the Danns claimed that the lands were part of their ancestral territory, and that the fine violated their indigenous human rights. Naturally, the matter was litigated in the U.S. Courts where the Danns lost at every level, including the United States Supreme Court.

    Having exhausted their domestic remedies, the Danns brought their petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights which issued a sweeping finding of violation against the U.S. Government.

    While the matter might seem like a win in any domestic court in the world, in international law the outcome was quite the contrary. In response to the IACHR opinion, the U.S. Government flatly ignored the Commission’s ruling, seized the Danns cattle, and dismissed the entire proceeding as the misguided effort of two Indians to upset the settled expectations of tribal property law.

    Note carefully, that this was the outcome litigated under an international law instrument that is said to be ‘binding’ upon the signatory parties. If a binding instrument produces such incongruous results, the long-term viability of a non-binding instrument is a legitimate concern for advocates seeking to affirm rights on behalf of indigenous peoples under the Declaration.

    – Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

  • Song of the Week: The Holly and the Ivy

    It’s already Friday, and our Song of the Week feature is nigh on life support just under two weeks after its resurrection. In correcting course, it seems appropriate to run a series of Christmas songs to get back on track, and to get our readers into the Holiday mood.

    The Christmas carol The Holly and the Ivy has been around almost as long as Christmas itself. Originating from the early, Druid songs and ceremonies of the British Isles, The Holly and the Ivy became a mainstay of Christmas hymnody during the 1400 and 1500s. 

    The music is fairly simple as one might expect Druid music to be, but it commends a delicate grace toward the Christmas season. In its best form, as in the Bing Crosby version below, the music is light and festive. It’s not hard to envision carolers singing the song in a London pub, slogging back pints around the corner piano.

    The lyrics, by contrast, are fairly austere. They invoke nearly every icon of the Christmas season, from the purity of Marry in Bethlehem to the blood of Christ at Calvary.

    But the mix works. While it’s true that the Christian faith is sometimes called cheerless, and even dreary by some, the overarching theme of the music and of Christmas itself is one of great joy – all made possible by Jesus’s birth.

    With that bit of introduction, please enjoy these initial sounds of the season brought to you courtesy of the Pax Plena Song of the Week, The Holly and the Ivy. The Bing Crosby version begins at the 2:09 mark, while Cambridge University’s King’s College Choir performs the song in full below.

     

    King’s College

    The Holly and the Ivy

    The holly and the ivy,
    When they are both full grown
    Of all the trees that are in the wood
    The holly bears the crown

    Chorus:
    O the rising of the sun
    And the running of the deer
    The playing of the merry organ
    Sweet singing of the choir

    The holly bears a blossom
    As white as lily flower
    And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
    To be our sweet Saviour

    Chorus

    The holly bears a berry
    As red as any blood
    And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
    To do poor sinners good

    Chorus

    The holly bears a prickle
    As sharp as any thorn;
    And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
    On Christmas Day in the morn.

    Chorus

    The holly bears a bark
    As bitter as any gall;
    And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
    For to redeem us all.

    Chorus