Rachel Delevoryas

I was going to post this last month nearer to my father's birthday, but some difficulty with the music file caused it to be pushed to the back burner. I guess there's no harm in posting it now, though perhaps my segue won't work as well...

*ahem* So, my father's birthday happened.... recently.... *coughcough* and that started me thinking about his impact on my musical tastes. My father likes music that is different, music that will offer him something more than your general, cookie-cutter fare. To put it bluntly, he's a music snob {or at least 95% of the time he is}. This is just one of the many traits I inherited from him, though personally I believe mine to be much milder.
I really started thinking about it, though, and realized, if not for me possessing his genes, this blog might not be in existence. {!!!}


Some of my strongest childhood memories involve listening to music whilst riding in my dad's car. Mainly I remember Randy Stonehill and Michael W. Smith's Project (and in more recent years, Steve Taylor).

Today I'm posting the Randy Stonehill song 'Rachel Delevoryas'. I'm not sure what album it was that I knew this off of, it might have been a compilation. I do remember other memorable songs off that album, such as the humorous {yet true} 'American Fast Food' and 'Great Big Stupid World' {which my siblings and I enjoyed singing, firstly because it was fun and secondly because it contained the taboo word "stupid". Ha! Ha! Those were the good ol' days...} But my favourite was {and is} the beautiful 'Rachel Delevoryas' which tells the tale of an "ugly", misfit girl who plays the violin. The plaintive string arrangement and story stirred my heart as a little girl. Also, the fact that Rachel Delevoryas was, and is a real person and the lyrics tell a true story was doubly fascinating to me. Though I initially learned this from my father, here is a quote regarding the fact by Randy Stonehill himself. {Quote found here.}

"This is a true story from my childhood. The first time I sang the song Rachel Delevoryas in public I was completely unaware that Rachel's sister was in the audience. Later that year Rachel surprised me by coming back stage after one of my concerts. I had the opportunity to share my faith with her. After she left I thought to myself: "Boy, talk about God setting someone up... what a personal savior we serve!" Reality is stranger and far more wonderful than fiction."

Listen:


{As I mentioned, I had some struggle with the music file, but YouTube came to the rescue!}

Noe Venable

Awww, poor little blog. Even though I gave you a prominent place on my to-do list it's still taken me almost a week to get the Artist of the Month post written. Don't feel too bad, though - I've been too busy to do much of anything. {Ha! Haha! The absurdity of that sentence didn't strike me til I read it a second time.}

But, I am here now, no? And with a monthly feature that goes to... Noe Venable!


I've posted a song of her's before {'Midsummer Night's Dream'} but that was before I received her 2007 album Summer Storm Journals for Christmas. After I got it, I listened to it but not as much as I thought I would. I had also been given Rio En Medio's Bride of Dynamite and for some reason, that was the album I kept returning to. I couldn't figure out why, until the weather started getting warmer and all the sudden I kept finding myself wanting to listen to Noe Venable. I then realized, Rio En Medio's music feels more appropriate for winter, while Noe's music (at least on Summer Storm Journals) feels more suited to warmer weather. {And no, I don't think the album name influenced my decision.}

Noe Venable's music is magical, I don't know why. She seems like... like a dryad! I could easily imagine her spending all the time she's not recording, sitting in the woods communing with the tree spirits or dangling her feet in a river, dreaming and singing. I really dig that idea, especially since I am a dryad at heart.
Apparently, I would rather wax eloquent on my image of her than offer substantial facts, so if you'd like some fact to swallow along with the fairy tale, you could try her website or wikipedia!


I had trouble deciding what song from the album to post, which usually signals I made the right choice for artist of the month! I finally chose the song 'Ice Dragons' but the album is chock full of beautiful, fresh melodies. I would definitely push this album on anyone who expressed a wish for a nice, soothing thematic summer album! {A scenario which has never happened. Wonder why...}

Listen to 'Ice Dragons':



Also, I'm considering redoing my layout. Yes, yes. I know. Strange that I, who am so anti-change am wanting to change something. Well, I've found... I can accept change if I'm ready for it and if it's essentially my own decision. In this case, that works out swell! In real life... not so much.

So, if I do change it, it will be very simple. Probably very monochromatic since I find myself very drawn to plain things. :P
But, I have not completely made up my mind yet. Stay tuned...