Do Fish Sleep | Featured Artiste(s): Stage One
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| [Picture from HERE] |
Some of the disciples were fishing at night and caught nothing ALL NIGHT. Yup! And they caught NOTHING until Jesus showed up. You know the rest of the story (Read John 21).
I decided that the disciples were fishing at night because the fish were asleep and so there would be little or no resistance, thereby making the fishermen's job easier. (Random thought: Have you ever tried "Cow-tipping" before? My quick definition: Cow-tipping is the act of pushing cows over while they are sleeping at night so that they land with a mighty thud. I should put it on my bucket list ... when I make one. BUT cows don't sleep standing up. What a bummer!)
Anyway, because Google is my friend, I 'asked' Google and here is what I found out via the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC): Most fish actually rest, and even 'daydream.' Most of them don't have eyelids and even when they are alert for danger they can still be 'sleeping.' You can read more about this HERE.
So, in concluding this section, I had another question: Do mermaids ('mami-water") sleep? If you see one, ask her (or it). As for me, I will be the one on the other side of the river calling down fire from heaven and screaming "Blood of Jesus!"
Featured Artiste(s): Stage One
When I stumbled on Stage One for the first time (2 weeks ago) on PraizHouse, I got really excited. Their song 'Rise Again' literally made my day and has been on replay on my mind since then (on and off). Even my one and only twin (I have to butter her up well well; she actually reads this blog) had to ask me when I played the song for the very first time, "Who are those guys?" Yup! I was proud to tell her they were Nigerians based in Jos. Plus, the guys are cute too (Yes, I went there. Sue me *sticks out tongue*)
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| Stage One // ReverbNation |
THE REVIEW
Likes: What really brings this song to life is the guitar (I don't know which type. I have not yet progressed to that level yet, but I shall get there), followed by the drums, but the drums take a back seat to the guitar in this song. Frankly, I was listening for the guitar for the most part. I LOVED it because it changed during the song. The song begins with a guitar intro with the drums accentuating the guitar chords. And then the lead vocalist comes in. At some points, the lead vocalist is accompanied by another person's voice. That vocal combination was okay mostly because they left me in no doubt as to who was in charge the whole time. The other voice reminded me of like an "alter ego" (I am not describing this thing well...please bear with me). It is like when you hear two voices in your head and one voice is louder than the other. But this time, the two voices were saying the exact same thing (in my head, they are usually at opposites).
What else did I like about this song? Well, I liked the message, as per the lyrics. The whole time the song was playing I was imagining a drama or movie that this could be the soundtrack to. The songwriting is actually a LOT better than many of the songs I have featured here (Seriously). I was already getting frustrated with the songwriting and these guys just gave me more than a ray of hope. So I am grateful for that. I can actually hear the lyrics clearly. I also really liked the "calm" in the midst of the song where the "rock" aspect of the song is tuned down a bit and you can really hear the bass guitar and the drums and possibly the piano (and some other instrument?). It made for a good transition to the rest of the song. I also found it very very interesting that although the song is called "The Rising," those two words are not mentioned anywhere in the song, i.e. they are missing from the "hook" or chorus, which is where I would have expected it to be. That was a good surprise and probably is another reason why the song reminds me of a movie soundtrack. Any ideas for the name of the movie? Yup, I would have called the movie 'The Rising.' (I am so original I know...I am glad you appreciate my originality too. LOL! For where?!)
Dislikes: In most songs I listen to, as long as they are by Nigerians, I look for what I call the "Naija flavor." That was missing for me in this song.I am not sure this is "bad," depending on how you view Christian rock music (which this song fits neatly into). It came across as a Naija version of an oyinbo Christian rock song. While you might argue that that has more to do with the genre of music they have chosen, I am of the opinion that as long as it is music you are singing/performing, you can still infuse it with that "Naija flavor." I am guessing though that Stage One were not trying to inject any Naija flavor into this song, but were trying to move as close to the typical Christian rock music model as much as possible (Please correct me if I am wrong. I would love to hear another perspective). In their bid to do this, I hope they realize that what CAN make them stand out is that "Naija flavor."
Another thing I did not particularly like about this song was the fact that the main soloist sounded like he was straining in some major parts of the song (e.g. the chorus). This genre of music relies heavily on the strength of the voice of the lead vocalist, and that 'took away' from the song in those parts. He sounded tired. But in all fairness, (y'all know I try to be fair with my criticism) they made up for it with the "screaming" part towards the end. Now, that screaming part can go either way, i.e. you might like it or hate it. I liked it because of the genre of music AND the message. It would not have fit in an R & B song, but for a rock song talking about bringing the dead to life, it made total sense.
So, after listening to their song and reading the review, you want to know more about these guys right? Check out the information below:
Artiste(s) Stage Name: Stage One
Artiste(s) Real Name(s): Nuhu Gaina, Joseph Jawfu, Yehoshua Odidi and Kachi Mozie
ReverbNation Page: http://www.reverbnation.com/stageonerox
In continuing with what I discussed above, I deliberately did not define what I mean by the "Naija flavor." I did not define it because I wanted to leave that open to discussion. I have a certain image in my mind, but I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. How would you define/describe the "Naija flavor" in a song? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below :-)
That's all folks. See y'all later in the week. Have a blessed week ahead (Can you believe February is almost upon us? 2012 is turning out to be a fast year o!)
