(5 out of 5)

What if the prophets of our ages were also the poets? What if the Psalmist of our day sang out these words as a cry for help?
“God save us everyone
Will we burn inside the fires of a thousand suns
For the sins of our hand
The sins of our tongue
The sins of our father
The sins of our young”
What if the prophets, and chosen ones, were not only the ones who pointed to God because they knew God perfectly, but pointed to a longing for God, a longing for redemption, a longing for something higher, better, something that looked more like love and less like death. What if the existential truths these prophets were singing, perhaps involuntarily by the grace of God, were preparing our youth for the truth that God was going to reveal to them at later date. Might their prophetic voice sound like this?
“Waiting for the end to come
Wishing I had strength to stand
This is not what I had planned
It's out of my control…
All I want to do
Is trade this life for something new
Holding on to what I haven't got”
What if the questions that the prophets were singing were a result of God’s gravity of grace pulling them to himself trying to pull them out of their desperation, out of the dark and cold, trying to make the blind so that they can see, and the lost so they could find a home. Would their questions sound something like this?
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure’s all you’ve known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go. Let it go
And in a burst of light that blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of tempered grace
Falling into empty space
Our youth and kids need the freedom and truth spoken to them, like some confessional priest, telling them the fact that they can “let it go. Let it go.” This prophetic voice coming from the band Linkin Park offers honest questions, and honest truths: 1) "It" (our life is) out of my control in some instances 2) We all feel the gravity of tempered grace when we might rather have absolute immediate deliverance from our problems 3) There are things we have to let go 4) When life offers you blindness, “love can give you kindness.”
I have not listened to all the songs on this album yet – and purposely want to write about first impressions – perhaps ignorant first impressions because often how you first feel about an album reflects how you interpret it – though the interpretation can certainly mature as you reflect on it longer.
The album, which has great bass beats, is meant to be played in a rolling stereo system (for example, my Xa Scion) with a good subwoofer. The music is probably aimed at kids who are 15-25 but can be appreciated by the older sets of people 25-40 that like bands like Coldplay, Snow Patrol and U2 – at least that is me…knocking on 40. The album is composed of sweeping melodies, nice driving beats, rap-like riffs, guitars, big drums, and some electronic loops thrown in. Several of the songs have explicit lyrics which I didn’t buy cause of the kids in my house, and because though they may hold great truths (I don’t know cause I didn’t buy them) I wasn’t, right or wrong, willing to go there this day.
It is a good album, at least the songs I bought. The Requiem, Waiting for the end, Iridescent. The Catalyst. The Messenger.
"When life leaves us blind
Love keeps us kind It keeps us kind" - Linkin Park
Requiem from Linkin Park’s 2010 album “A Thousand Suns.”
Waiting for the End from Linkin Park’s 2010 album “A Thousand Suns.”
Iridescent from Linkin Park’s 2010 album “A Thousand Suns.”
iv. The Messenger from Linkin Park’s 2010 album “A Thousand Suns.”
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