#e power biggs

[mitigatingchaos]

Worlds Apart

Today marks the anniversary of the deaths of two men who were musical influences in my life. It is strange as their music is worlds apart, but the fact remains. Danny Joe Brown (August 24, 1951 – March 10, 2005) was the frontman/singer for the Southern rock band Molly Hatchet. He was born in Jacksonville, FL, and had a passion for his music that just isn’t seen these days.   All of the original…

[barnacleheretic]

great find at a record cafe in chiang mai!

I may be the only person I know who actually likes this album though haha

[kdo-three]

E. Power Biggs - Toccata and Fugue, for Organ in D Minor, BWV 565 (1974) Johann Sebastian Bach from: "The Four 'Great' Toccatas and Fugues" (LP)

Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach c. 1704. Alternatively, a date as late as the 1750s has been suggested.

Classical | Baroque | Organ

JukeHostUK (left click = play) (320kbps)

Personnel: E. Power Biggs: Organ

Produced by Andrew Kazdin

2003 Reissue Produced by Louise De La Fuente

Recorded: @ Freiburger Münster in the City of Freiburg im Breisgaum, Germany 1974

Freiburger Münster is a Roman-Catholic cathedral in the Gothic and Romanesque style, constructed between 1200 - 1513.

Released: in 1974 Columbia Masterworks Records

Re-Issued in 2003 Sony Music Records

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Sunday, 11-17-24, 8am Pacific

Good mornin', folks. Mr. Baggins here with some Morning Coffee Music to get us in gear and in good cheer. Let's start the day with our favorite Canadian playing Bach. Here is Glenn Gould's American Debut recording, from 1955, of Bach's Goldberg Variations. This album took the classical world by storm and launched Gould to the musical stratosphere where only a bare handful of artists reach. Sylvia Marlowe's harpsichord recording was nearly an hour long, Glenn clocks in around 40 minutes. Pour a fresh cup and enjoy!

We've been surveying the early Symphonies of Dvorak, so far we've heard numbers one and two, and today we hear Symphony No. 3, our ensemble is the London Symphony, conducted by Istvan Kertesz.

And staying with Dvorak, but on a much more intimate scale, here are Violinist Josef Suk and pianist Josef Hála in a studio recording made in Prague, March 21, 1956 performing Dvorak's Romantic Pieces, Op. 75.

And from the same year, here are colleagues Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Irmgaard Seefried with pianist Gerald Moore with Dvorak's Moravian Duets.

And here is Guiomar Novaes bringing us an all-Mendellsohn Recital, an album of Mendellsohn's Songs Without Words, delightful and soulfully soothing music for our morning. From 1961. Enjoy!

Here is an incredible LIVE performance by Mme. Novaes of Beethoven's 4th Concerto, with George Szell conducting the orchestra, from Carnegie Hall, December 21, 1952...an amazing document!

And since it's Sunday, I thought we might hear Saint-Saens mighty Symphony No. 3, The Organ Symphony. It's a spectactular piece, and this is a spectacular recording of it. I have this album, and I've heard others including the famous E. Power Biggs version, but both performance-wise and sonically, this record kicks ass! Here are organist Micheal Murray and conductor Eugene Ormandy with The Philadelphia Orchestra, from 1980...just an amazing record.

And here is a concerto by Bach, this one for FOUR harpsichords! The Concerto in A minor, performed by a gaggle of harpsichordists and the Wurttemberg Chamber Orchestra.

And I thought we'd wind up today's Coffee Music with Leonard Bernstein, this time as an Old Lion of Classical Music, in my absolute very favorite recording of Brahms' Symphony No. 1. There is none better...you have Lenny, clearly giving NO fucks, The Vienna Philharmonic IN Vienna's fabulous music hall. Sonically, musically, SPIRITUALLY, this is the ultimate performance of the Brahms First!

I hope you've had a good morning! Mr. Baggins signing off for now, but I'll be back at 2pm Pacific with your Afternoon Stack of Classic Wax!

Until then, be kind, babies, be kind.

Baggins out.

[landrysg]

Sunday Pipes for the 2nd Sunday of Advent:

Daquin, "The Noels."

Some of these are included on Cultural Offering's (@HardenKurt's) Essential Christmas mix: http://culturaloffering.tumblr.com/post/154528887359/essential-mixes-great-christmas

HT Mitigating Chaos (@RVisotski) for "Sunday Pipes"

E. Power Biggs on organ:

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 3.29

Beer Birthdays

Michael Piel (1849)

Billy Carter (1937)

Markus Raupach (1947)

Rich Higgins (1978)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Michael Brecker; jazz saxophonist (1949)

Bud Cort; actor (1948)

Eric Idle; actor, comedian (1943)

John Popper; rock musician (1967)

Cy Young; baseball pitcher (1867)

Famous Birthdays

Pearl Bailey; singer (1918)

E. Power Biggs; organist (1906)

Jennifer Capriati; tennis player (1976)

Beverly Crusher; character on Star Trek: Next Generation (2334)

Edwin Drake; oil entrepreneur (1819)

Perry Farrell; rock singer (1959)

Phil Foster; actor, comedian (1913)

Walt Frazier; New York Knicks PG (1945)

Jill Goodacre; model (1964)

Judith Guest; writer (1936)

Terence Hill; Italian actor (1939)

Terry Jacks; pop singer (1944)

LaToya Jackson; pop singer (1956)

Nancy Kwan; actor (1939)

Christopher Lambert; actor (1957)

Elle MacPherson; model (1964)

Dennis O'Keefe; actor (1908)

Man O'War; racehorse (1917)

Denny McLain; Detroit Tigers P (1944)

John McLaughlin; television host (1927)

Annabella Sciorra; actor (1964)

Amy Sedaris; actor, comedian (1961)

Marina Sirtis; actor (1959)

Kurt Thomas; gymnast (1956)

Deanna Troi; character on Star Trek: Next Generation (2336)

John Tyler; 10th U.S. President (1790)

Vangelis; rock keyboardist (1943)

Sam Walton; Wal-Mart founder (1918)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 4, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 5, 2023

Today began with another story about yet more ties between Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and Republican billionaire Harlan Crow. Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott, and Alex Mierjeski of ProPublica reported that Crow paid the private school tuition for Thomas’s grandnephew, to the tune of more than $6,000 a month, ultimately adding up to an amount that may have been more than $150,000. Thomas did not report the payments.

Then news broke that a jury in Washington, D.C., found four members of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys—Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl—guilty of seditious conspiracy for their participation in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. A fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, was found not guilty of seditious conspiracy but, like the others, was found guilty of other serious charges including obstructing Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election results and conspiring to prevent Congress and federal officers from discharging their duties.

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland noted that the Department of Justice has secured more than 600 convictions for criminal conduct surrounding the events of January 6, including fourteen “leaders of both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy—specifically conspiring to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power. Our work will continue,” he said.

It is unlikely that Garland’s statement about ongoing work was casual.

Defense attorneys for the Proud Boys emphasized that their clients believed then-president Trump—who, after all, had told them in September 2020 to “stand back and stand by”—had called them to Washington to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Although there were no explicit orders to attack the Capitol, members of the Proud Boys testified that they believed there was an implicit agreement to prevent Biden from becoming president.

Tarrio, convicted today, was not at the Capitol during the attack, but a jury convicted him of seditious conspiracy nonetheless, suggesting that leaders who incited the violence can be found guilty, even if they weren’t present.

Today attorneys for E. Jean Carroll, who is suing the former president in a civil trial for battery and defamation connected with his alleged rape of her, rested their case. So did Trump’s lawyers, but District Judge Lewis Kaplan gave Trump the weekend to rethink testifying. “He has a right to testify which has been waived but if he has second thoughts, I’ll at least consider it and maybe we’ll see what happens,” Kaplan said.

Other investigations of the former president continue. The New York Times today broke the story that prosecutors in the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith investigating the storage of classified documents are talking to a confidential witness who worked for Trump at Mar-a-Lago. There are questions about whether Trump deliberately moved boxes containing documents in order to hide them from the Justice Department.

Meanwhile, the debt ceiling crisis has not gone away. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines today told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats that a U.S. default on our debts would enable both Russia and China to say “such an event [demonstrates] the chaos within the United States, that we’re not capable of functioning as a democracy, and the governance issues associated with it." She explained: “It would be…almost a certainty that they would look to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Moody’s Analytics has weighed in on the economic effects of House speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) plan, noting that with a clean debt limit increase, real gross domestic product is expected to grow 2.25% this year. Under McCarthy's plan, that growth will be 1.6%. “The significant government spending cuts in the [plan] are substantial headwinds to near-term economic growth,” it wrote. “Adding to the economic headwinds created by the legislation is the considerable uncertainty created by having to address the debt limit again a year from now.”

Weirdly, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) at a Senate Budget Committee hearing today blamed Democrats for not raising the debt ceiling themselves last year without help from the Republicans. Kate Riga of Talking Points Memo broke down this argument. If the Democrats had raised the debt ceiling through reconciliation, without Republican votes, Republicans would have insisted that it was the Democrats, not them, who had burdened the country with debt when, in fact, the Republicans added almost $8 trillion to the debt under Trump.

Romney’s complaint amounts to berating the responsible Democrats for not protecting the country against the Republicans, who are willing to burn down the country. As Riga put it: “Darn you Democrats for not taking care of the debt ceiling then, because you knew we’d refuse to raise the limit unless you conceded to our demands, and look what a sticky spot we’re in now.”

Meanwhile, the editorial board of the Fresno Bee, from McCarthy’s district, today called out the speaker for approving the huge increases of the Trump years and, now that a Democrat is in the White House, insisting on drastic cuts. The board reiterated that the debt ceiling and the budget are separate issues. “McCarthy is pandering to the hard-right members who only backed him for House speaker on the 15th vote in exchange for concessions on the issues like the debt,” it said. “Speaker McCarthy, don’t take America to the brink of default. Stop the posturing, raise the debt ceiling, then have the honest budget debate the nation needs.”

Finally, the day ended where it began, with another scandal involving Justice Clarence Thomas.

This evening, Emma Brown, Shawn Boburg, and Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post broke the story that right-wing judicial activist Leonard Leo, who as a leader of the Federalist Society that backs originalist judges has been key to transforming the federal judiciary, a decade ago arranged for payments of tens of thousands of dollars to Thomas’s wife Ginni. Leo and Thomas are close friends.

In January 2012, Leo told Kellyanne Conway, who was then a Republican pollster, to bill the Judicial Education Project, a nonprofit organization with which he was associated, and then pass the money on to Ginni Thomas. He told Conway to “give” Thomas “another $25K,” and emphasized that she should include “No mention of Ginni, of course,” in the paperwork. She did so. Later that year, the Judicial Education Project filed a brief before the court in the landmark Shelby County v. Holder case, in which the court, by a vote of 5–4, gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Thomas voted on the side of the Judicial Education Project.

And this is the profound national crisis at the heart of the stories emerging about Thomas. His votes were decisive not only in Shelby County v. Holder, but also in the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, also decided by a vote of 5–4, which opened the floodgates for dark money in political campaigns. Those decisions dramatically undermined our democracy. It now seems imperative to grapple with the fact it appears a key vote on the court that decided those cases was compromised.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[beastoftheblackhole]

♫♪ On Repeat

indirectly tagged by @stirdrawsandreblaws and i love talking abt music so. i don't have an on repeat playlist bc i don't use spotify like that, so i'm just gonna use the playlist i've been listening to a lot lately. tagging whoever wants to but especially @d--t

Rules: Shuffle your On Repeat playlist and list the first five songs in a poll, then have your followers choose their favorite!

Hunter's Moon

The Riddler

A Strange Day

Little Fugue in G Minor

Dark Ages

[sonyclasica]

CHARLES IVES

CHARLES IVES: THE ANNIVERSARY EDITION

La primera reedición de la legendaria Edición Aniversario de Columbia Masterworks de 1974 en colaboración con la Yale Music Library, sede de los documentos de Charles Ives.

En el 150 aniversario del nacimiento de Charles Ives —aclamado por su adalid Leonard Bernstein como el “primer gran compositor estadounidense”, que “completamente solo en su granero de Connecticut, creó su propia revolución musical privada”— Sony Classical presenta la colección de grabaciones más autorizada jamás editada de obras de este genio excéntrico y profético. La caja de 5 CD Charles Ives - The Anniversary Edition es una introducción única y vanguardista que Columbia Masterworks publicó hace 50 años en LP bajo la dirección artística de Henrietta Condak para celebrar el centenario de Ives.

El primer disco examina “las múltiples caras de Charles Ives” a través de ocho obras diversas grabadas entre 1964 y 1970: Bernstein dirige a la Filarmónica de Nueva York en The Fourth of July y The Unanswered Question; General William Booth Enters into Heaven, uno de los grandes logros de Ives, y The Circus Band son interpretadas por los Gregg Smith Singers; el barítono Thomas Stewart canta la conmovedora canción In Flanders Fields; el organista E. Power Biggs interpreta las Variaciones sobre "América" de Ives; el compositor Gunther Schuller dirige The Pond para orquesta de cámara; y el Himno Largo cantabile es interpretado por el New York String Quartet y el contrabajista Alvin Brehm.

El CD 2, “The Celestial Country”, ofrece la primera cantata de Ives con ese nombre, compuesta en 1897-99 para su profesor de composición conservador de Yale, Horatio Parker. La cantan los Gregg Smith Singers (acompañados por la Columbia Chamber Orchestra), que también interpretan arreglos de cuatro de las canciones patrióticas más poderosas de Ives con la American Symphony Orchestra y Leopold Stokowski al frente.

“The Things Our Fathers Loved”, CD 3, contiene 25 canciones de Ives, interpretadas por la soprano Helen Boatwright, especializada en canción americana. La acompaña John Kirkpatrick, que estudió y trabajó estrechamente con Ives y sigue siendo considerado el mejor intérprete de su música para piano. En 1974, Gramophone elogió esta famosa grabación como “la mejor selección que jamás haya aparecido” en LP de “lo que bien puede llegar a considerarse su corpus musical más importante, característico y de inspiración constante”.

El siguiente CD es inusualmente revelador: “Ives Plays Ives” presenta al propio compositor en 1933, 1938 y 1943, desgranando fragmentos de su innovadora Sonata “Concord” y piezas para piano más cortas en el estudio de grabación neoyorquino de Mary Howard, la ingeniera de grabación de Toscanini. En su interpretación del movimiento lento de la Sonata “Concord”, “Los Alcotts”, escribió un comentarista de Gramophone, Ives “toca de corazón pero con objetividad, una cualidad de yin y yang que las interpretaciones sabias abrazan”. Durante tres breves extractos de “Emerson”, el movimiento de apertura de la sonata, el escritor continúa diciendo: “Ives entrega a los pianistas un plano tímbrico para el sonido base que imaginó: ataque explosivo, libertad rítmica ebria; no es el momento ni el lugar para una interpretación conscientemente refinada y 'bonita'”.

El último disco del conjunto se llama “Charles Ives Remembered”. Este fascinante collage de reminiscencias habladas constituyó la primera vez que se documentó a una figura musical utilizando la historia oral. Más de 50 entrevistas con familiares, amigos, vecinos y colegas crean un vívido retrato de la memoria de esta enigmática figura en las voces de las personas que mejor lo conocieron. Desde la infancia de Ives y sus años en Yale hasta su carrera pública como ejecutivo de seguros y su carrera privada como compositor, los recuerdos y reflexiones reunidos por la galardonada musicóloga Vivian Perlis ofrecen una visión polifacética y humanizadora de un enigmático icono musical estadounidense.

SET CONTENTS

DISC 1

THE MANY FACES OF CHARLES IVES

THE FOURTH OF JULY • THE UNANSWERED QUESTION • IN FLANDERS FIELDS • HYMN (LARGO CANTABILE) • THE POND • VARIATIONS ON "AMERICA" • THE CIRCUS BAND • GENERAL WILLIAM BOOTH ENTERS INTO HEAVEN

DISC 2

THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY

THEY ARE THERE! (Choral Version) • MAJORITY (or THE MASSES) • AN ELECTION • LINCOLN, THE GREAT COMMONER

DISC 3

THE THINGS OUR FATHERS LOVED

25 IVES SONGS

Helen Boatwright, soprano; John Kirkpatrick, piano

DISC 4

IVES PLAYS IVES

Charles Ives performs his own works at the piano

DISC 5

CHARLES IVES REMEMBERED

Reminiscences Of the Composer By Relatives, Friends And Associates

With A. J. "Babe" LaPine, Bernard Herrmann, Bigelow Ives, Charles Buesing, Chester Ives, Elliott Carter, George Tyler, John Kirkpatrick, Julian Myrick, L. Parkins, Lehman Engel, Mary Howard, Mrs. George F. Roberts, Richard Ives, Watson Washburn

Interviewer: Vivian Perlis

[dankusner]

now, if you were teaching creative writing, he asked, what would you tell them?

By: Charles Bukowski

I'd tell them to have an unhappy love

affair, hemorrhoids, bad teeth

and to drink cheap wine,

avoid opera and golf and chess,

to keep switching the head of their

bed from wall to wall

and then I'd tell them to have

another unhappy love affair

and never to use a silk typewriter

ribbon,

avoid family picnics

or being photographed in a rose

garden;

read Hemingway only once,

skip Faulkner

ignore Gogol

stare at photographs of Gertrude Stein

and read Sherwood Anderson in bed

while eating Ritz crackers,

realize that people who keep

talking about sexual liberation

are more frightened than you are.

listen to E. Power Biggs work the

organ on your radio while you're

rolling Bull Durham in the dark

in a strange town

with one day left on the rent

after having given up

friends, relatives, and jobs.

never consider yourself superior and /

or fair

and never try to be.

have another unhappy love affair.

watch a fly on a summer curtain

never try to succeed.

don't shoot pool.

be righteously angry when you

find your car has a flat tire.

take vitamins but don't lift weights or jog.

then after all this

reverse the procedure.

have a good love affair.

and the thing

you might learn

is that nobody knows anything --

not the State, nor the mice

the garden hose or the North Star.

and if you ever catch me

teaching a creative writing class

and you read this back to me

I'll give you a straight A

right up the pickle

barrel.

[dominiquethomas]

2023

Bitch I’m so solid, cut my wrist you gon' see concrete

Albums : 

Veeze - GANGER

Freeze Corleone - ADC

Soft Kill - Metta World Peace

Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS

bar italia - Tracey Denim

Butter Bullets - JAZZ

Paris Texas - MID AIR

Subjxct 5 - AM/PM

Sexyy Red - Hood Hottest Princess (Deluxe)

EBK Jaaybo - Sinners Prayer

Morceaux : 

Shygirl - Shlut (feat. Sevdaliza)

Freeze Corleone - Kpop

Charli XCX - Speed Drive

Rae Sremmurd - Not So Bad

Soft Kill - Paranoid (feat. Evil Pimp)

OT7Quanny - Run The Hood (feat. Leaf Ward & NR Boor)

Sexyy Red - Shake Yo Dreads

Olivia Rodrigo - get him back!

M Huncho - g.a.b.o.s

bar Italia - punkt

KrispyLife Kidd - Gall Dept (feat. RMC Mike)

Tropa do Bruxo - Baile do Bruxo

Li 9 - Still Tippin (feat. Veeze)

Trench Business - Trench City

BigXthaPlug - Rush Hour

Veeze - boat interlude (feat. Lil Yachty)

BLP Kosher - Castle

Hudson Mohawke & Nikki Nair - Set The Roof (feat. Tayla Parx)

Diplo - Wasted (feat. Kodak Black & Koe Wetzel)

Earl Sweatshirt - Making The Band (Danity Kane)

BLP Kosher & BabyTron - Mazel Tron

Butter Bullets - Chanson froide

Papo2oo4 & DJ Lucas - Latrell

Babyfxce E - Chicken Little

ULTRA RAZZIA - Fracassé

NLE Choppa - AIN’T GONNA ANSWER (feat. Lil Wayne)

DJ Seinfeld & Confidence Man - Now U Do

So La Lune - Suspects (feat. Sch)

TaTa - Insecurities

EBK Jaaybo - Had Enough

Paris Texas - DnD (feat. Kenny Mason)

454 - GANGSTER PARTY

Koyo - You’re On The List (minus one)

Lil Yachts - Slide

Tisakorean - hOw yOu gOnE Do dAt.mP3

Papo2oo4 - Leeds

Malty 2BZ - TN (feat. Kerchak)

Ascendant Vierge - Juvénile

RMC Mike & Rio Da Yung OG - Lucid Nightmare 2

Mike Sherm - Run It (feat. BabyTron)

Slimesito - ZOMBIELAND

YTB FATT - Get Back

R3 Da Chiliman - Like It’s His (feat. 03 Greedo)

OhGeezy - GEEKALEEK (feat. Cash Kidd)

Overmono - Is U

Joe Pablo & MarijuanaXO - Broadday

Luh Tyler - Okay Bet pt. 2 (feat. Skilla Baby)

S5 - Product of da Streets

Ninho - 25G

Bandgang Javar - Wake Up (feat. The Godfather, Bandgang Biggs & Glockboyz Teejaee)

OT7 Quanny & Leaf Ward - Power

Subjxct5 - 4st3p2c1oser

OG MarilynMonROLLUP - Vox

BabySolo33 - TBT2K19

SLK - Vie de bandit (feat. Kerchak)

DJ Roca & DJ Vitinho - Faz Macete 3

Kodak Black - Lemme See

BLP Kosher & Yung Lean - Violent Lullaby

WYNNE - CATALYST II

Buggin - Kick Rocks

slowthai - Wotz Funny

Fitfy Fifty - Cupid

A.G. Cook - Beautiful (2023 Edit)

Bandmanrill - Business Man (feat. 24Lefteye)

EBK BCKDOE - Beyonce

Gee Tee - Heart-Throb

Rio Da Yung OG - Talkin Crazy

moistbreezy - Why Can’t It Be You

JELEEL! - DIVE IN!

Skrillex - Hydrate (feat. Flowdan, BEAM & PEEKABOO)

Sha Ek & Bandmanrill - Pistons (feat. MCVERTT)

DJ Physical - Get Busy

Conservative Military Image - Burberry Hat

Safety Trance & DJ LOSER - Dreamshater

KP Skywalka - Hardknock

2rare - 2HUMPY Anthem (feat. GE3Z, Jmoney & DJ Crazy)

Milkfish - LOLLYGAGGING

Cotto - Barbie Bitch

Kenya Grace - Strangers

BabyTron - RIP Hutch (feat. Remble & Rico Nasty)

Babyface Ray - Ron Artest (feat. 42 Dugg)

Puchmade Dev - Credit Card Chain

Nekomi - dissension (feat. emotegi)

Peggy Gou - (It Goes Like) Nanana

EthanUno - no te entiendo

Zola & Koba laD - Aller sans retour

Duwap Kaine - Lil Uzi

Spook - SUCKAZ

Homixide Gang - Snot Sh!t

six impala - EARDRUM

DRXG ADXICTION - I’ll die next summer (no joke)

Killbourne - Sunshine Terror

DJ K - Isso Não é um Teste

Tinashe - Talk To Me Nice

Lancey Foux - MMM HMM (feat. Sexyy Red)

L5 - Urus (feat. Luh Loaded)

Isabella Lovestory - Latina (Safety Trance Remix)

Rallye - cheval 2_3

King Doudou - Shake Yo Dreads (Dur dans la peinture x Bouyon Remix)

MC W1 - SET DA GM

[e-devotion]

grace and goodness

I am going to revisit in this e-devotion some of the most important verses we might ever talk about.  They come up in conversations about faith and living with purpose.  Why is that?  It is because I think these are powerful reminders of who we are and of what God has done for us.

Take a look and maybe even commit these to memory!

Ephesians 2:8-10  NLT  

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

First, it is by grace that God gave us salvation.

I didn’t deserve and will never deserve what God has given me.  That means it is all of Him and none of me.  The reason Paul talks about boasting or shares about pride is that our life in God is based solely on the finished work that Jesus did.  All we can do is point people to Jesus.

Second, we are made to do great things. 

That is why we are still here.  It is not give ourselves glory or to live for our own fun or pleasure.  Life is meant to be enjoyed and lived for God.  He has made us for good works that help us and others know the goodness of God.

I praise God for our salvation and for our purpose.  May we be reminded and remind others of the grace and goodness of God!

Prayer List:

MHC Warming Center guests and volunteers, December mission trip to Cuba and resources needed, Katie Whitlow, Robert Sebastian, Clyde Gilley, Nancy Wright, Cathie Carter,  Steve Canty, Joan Norman, Amanda Hendricks, Jenny Biggs, Debbie Coleman, Anita Martin, David Smith, Raye Anne Thore, Lloyd and Senga, and Danny and Kathy Wilson.  Those battling cancer: Steve Bradshaw, James Miller, Ricky Burnett, Felecia Watkins, WT Setliff, Ron Harris and Jon Morris.

[fmhiphop]

The Renaissance Of West Coast Hip Hop: E-40's Influence In The '00s

E-40, the rap legend, has been making waves in Hip Hop, especially with that West Coast vibe. As an "elder statesman" of the genre, he's been soul-searching while celebrating Hip Hop's 50th birthday. A true OG! At the ripe age of 37, and 38, E-40 released the "Ghetto Report Card." Boom! His career accelerated like a rocket on a mission. It was pure magic, baby! Not only was he part of the crunk movement, but he also rode the hyphy wave like a boss. The man was juggling "U and Dat," "Snap Yo Fingers," and more hits, taking the South and the West Coast with a bang! Now, for some funny facts! Can you imagine E-40 busting those rhymes at 37, still killing it like a smooth operator? It's like he discovered the fountain of youth, spitting fire and setting the stage on blaze. Age is just a number. He's got a whole rap legacy to look back on, and it's worth celebrating! So, what's E-40's strategy for staying relevant and strengthening his impact? How did he make an impact in not one but two hot rap movements simultaneously? He had to be twice as cool, twice as fast – and three times as fly! E-40's Rap Legend Status: How Streaming Could Have Elevated His '90s Classics Many artists would have been much more successful if streaming had been available years ago. For instance, with the ability to reach more people, it is likely that the success of his '90s classics like "Practice Lookin' Hard" and "Sprinkle Me" would have made him even more of an icon in the rap world. “Imagine if there was streaming back then when we had “Tell Me When to Go,” “Bitch,” and “Choices.” We would be diamond on each one of those records," said E-40. "I put new life into the West Coast in 2006. And that’s no ifs, ands or buts. Can’t nobody say I didn’t, with the help of Lil Jon. And not funny no more.” 50 Cent thought Juvenile's album "400 Degreez" would be laughed at these days. Yep, we can't help but chuckle at the thought! Juvenile stood next to his yellow Corvette, all shiny and polished. And what was the verdict? 50 and others laughed their hearts out, thinking he was a bit too "country." Oh, the good ol' days of rap! 50 Cent Followed Juvenile's Lead Since its release in December 1998, 400 Degreez has been certified 4x platinum by the RIAA. When the album sales numbers came rolling in, guess who was the first in line, asking for baby oil? You got it - our man, 50 Cent! It seems like Juvenile's shiny secret turned out to be a stroke of genius, and 50 was ready to shine bright like a diamond! By using baby oil, Juvenile was able to create a memorable appearance that was both eye-catching and easy to recreate, which helped to spread the word about his music and drive up album sales. 50 Cent saw the success of Juvenile's strategy and wanted to replicate it, which proved to be a wise decision as his album sales skyrocketed as well. How Rap Rivalries Pushed Artists To New Heights In the mesmerizing world of hip-hop, rappers find inspiration in the most unexpected places, often drawing from their fellow artists' unique styles and journeys. Take the iconic duo of Jay-Z and Nas, for example. When Jay-Z, another rap legend, released his classic track "Takeover," where he aimed at Nas, it sparked an epic rivalry between the two rappers. But instead of taking offense, Nas was inspired to hit back with his powerful response, "Ether." This fiery exchange fueled a creative fire within both artists, pushing them to new heights of lyrical prowess. Their mutual admiration and competitive spirit resulted in some of the most legendary diss tracks in rap history. Written by Nikiya Biggs | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter Follow and like FMHipHop on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube! Read the full article