According to Christian tradition, today - the day between Good Friday and Easter - would be the day Judas Iscariot killed himself. I want to take this moment to think about this one of the many interesting figures from the Bible. When I make references to scripture, I'll cite the New English Translation - I really appreciate the version's scholarly approach with the depth of the footnotes they provide to describe the rationale for translations form the Greek and Latin of the earliest manuscripts.
Judas was probably the most infamous villain in Western tradition until Hitler - Dante puts Judas at the very center of Hell, in the jaws of Lucifer, in The Inferno. Judas, for "thirty silver coins," betrays Jesus to the high priests (Matthew 26:15). Today would be the day Judas, after witnessing Jesus die at "Golgotha" (Mark 15:22), committed suicide either by hanging himself (after returning the money to the priests, Matthew 27:3-5) or by disemboweling himself in a field he bought with the blood-silver (Acts 1:18). Why he commits suicide is made clear in Matthew as he proclaims he had "sinned betraying innocent blood," before rushing out to hang himself, throwing the silver in the temple. Why he betrayed Jesus in the first place is not.
Why would Judas betray Jesus? Scriptures make a couple of claims: Matthew and Mark (14:10) say Judas was motivated by greed - the silver the priests offered - while Luke literally says, "Satan entered Judas" (22:3). Discounting demonic possession (because it's strictly supernatural and impossible to address reasonably), is greed really a convincing explanation as to why Judas would betray someone he spent years literally following and devoting his life to?
Judas Iscariot was a human being with the same capacity of reason, complex calculus of emotions. and all-too-fragile psyche we all experience today. There has to be more behind his betrayal than just greed. Everything from this point is pure conjecture on my part.
Judas was a Jew living under Roman rule. As such, there are two things he knew and experienced with reasonable certainty: 1. he had to be familiar with the story of Abraham and his son Issac; and, 2. he experience persecution under the Roman and probably believed that the messiah prophesied in Issac would be a politically revolutionary figure for the Jews.
Judas had to have know the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac - it's the story that establishes the lineage of the "chosen people." Yahweh (that's what I'm calling OT God because the temperaments between this version of God and the NT God are completely different) commands Abraham to sacrifice his son (sound familiar?). Abraham is just about to like the sacrificial pyre with his son on it, before he's interrupted by an angel and sees a ram to sacrifice instead. Yahweh rewards Abraham's faith by pronouncing Abraham and Issac's progeny as his chosen people - the Jews.
Judas might have felt desperate. He spent years of his life pursued and persecuted, first by the Romans, then by the high priests after he began following Jesus. His desperation might have created delusions in his mind (perhaps this is "Satan" as noted in Luke?). What if he thought he was undergoing an extreme test of faith from Yahweh much like Abraham did? Abraham was commanded by Yahweh to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac; Judas might have thought he was commanded to sacrifice his beloved teacher, Jesus. Judas took steps in earnest to "sacrifice" his teacher, much like Abraham did his son.
Judas probably hoped for divine intervention to prevent the end of which he completed in devout faith. Perhaps he expected Plagues to attack the Romans, he probably expected Jesus to reveal himself as the messiah and miraculously save himself from crucifixion. But instead, he watched as three men simply died on that hill over the course of the day. Could you imagine his surprise? Can you imagine his disappointment? Can you imagine his grief in realizing that he was the reason for his beloved teacher's apparent death?
What we're told about Judas during Jesus's last months of his life is sparse. If we try to flesh out a more human picture of this Judas Iscariot, his story, during Jesus's last months, becomes a tragedy of Sophoclean proportions. Forces and pressures acting on a faithful, but desperate figure, leads him to act in earnest to betray someone he loves dearly. Overcome by grief and without a seeming direction he kills himself. The most tragic thing is that Judas might have been right. Judas's betrayal and Jesus's subsequent death was completely necessary for Jesus to prove without a doubt to the rest of the disciples that he was indeed the messiah. Had Judas not committed suicide so quickly, and was alive for Jesus's resurrection, he might have been proved vindicated.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Favorite Albums of 2014
Below are my 10 favorite albums from the past year. 2014 was a sneaky good year for music - we got a Spoon album and a St. Vincent album, both of which guarantee a good year, and a lot of interesting surprises. Now there are a number of albums that are getting a good amount of buzz that I missed that I need to catch up on. The below are just my 10 favorite from the past year, so yes, it's purely subjective.
Also, before I begin let me just direct you to a songs I've encountered over this past year that have no albums to attach to. I like these songs. They good. You Listen.
"Shake it Off" (Tesher Remix) by Taylor Swift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-HtNsLp08Y
"Feel Right" (Live on SNL) by Mark Ronson w/ Mystikal and Bruno Mars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0kl0pr0k24
"i" by Kendrick Lamar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aShfolR6w8
Now the albums...
1. Run the Jewels 2 – Run the Jewels
This album has monopolized my music-experience since its release in the fall. There isn’t a single song on this album that is disappointing to me – the beats and production is of a style, but varied and individually interesting; El-P and Killer Mike trade verses about various things, ranging from proclamations that they only “rap and fuck,” to gender bias, to race in America. The synergistic collaboration between El-P and Killer Mike is paying off dividends.
“Oh My Darling (Don’t Cry)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-S9mtYowPY
“Early” on Letterman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dqGLhW3VVA
(The album’s still free at http://www.runthejewels.net/).
2. They Want My Soul – Spoon
While RTJ2 occupied most of my listening in the fall and winter, They Want My Soul was my album during the summer. While the album’s sound didn’t fit the “minimalistic” expectations a lot of people had of Spoon’s sound, it still was distinctly Spoon-sounding. Lyrics that have just the right amount of surrealism and abstract enough to make it address almost whatever you want, super-clean-sounding and tightly constructed songs where every noise serves a specific purpose, Britt Daniel’s raspy singing – yea this is a Spoon album, my favorite since Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
“Rent I Pay” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOPfmfRVWmk
“Inside Out” (the music video plays with a lot of digital video effects; quite cool) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpT5SBg1Mmk
3. Singles – Future Islands
I think I might have seen Future Islands live more than any other act thanks to my time in Baltimore, so yes, this band has a sentimental place in my heart. But beyond that, they’re really good - I’m very glad that other people are beginning to take notice of Future Islands as well and I’m not at all surprised. Between Sam’s singing and New Wave sound they’ve been using seems to be the perfect vehicles to express what a lot of people in my generation (“the millennials,” which is a stupid name) feel: heartbroken and angsty because of unfulfilled promises, yearning for life and love, but “fuck you” if don’t think I’m not going to dance and try to enjoy the ride.
“Spirit” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEOOMEPbxtg
“Seasons (Waiting on You)” on Letterman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ee4bfu_t3c
4. St. Vincent – St. Vincent
I like St. Vincent. She got chops on the guitar, and a style that is quite unique. Her music has only gotten progressively more angular, sharp, and weird since her first album Marry Me. Her style now permeates all aspects of her performance. Annie Clarke might be turning into a robot. I like St. Vincent.
“Digital Witness” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVAxUMuhz98
“Birth in Reverse” from Live on Letterman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yipd4hyxIZw
5. Black Messiah - D’Angelo and The Vanguard
This album just came out a few weeks ago. It’s been 14 years since Voodoo, D’Angelo’s last album. I think it was worth the wait because on this album we get D’Angelo doing his thing over some funky tracks. Like on Voodoo more than a decade ago, D’Angelo doesn’t care what the mainstream is doing – he’s playing with the funk, he’s talking about societal problems and everyday life.
“Sugah Daddy” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPp6pTrNw44
“1000 Deaths” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2r5yqjlVrI
6. LP1 - FKA twigs
I don’t know where FKA twigs came from, but if I had to guess, I’m thinking maybe the Kuiper Belt (a quick Google search tells me Gloucestershire, through London). I can describe her music as Massive Attack meets the xx – it’s sparse r&b built up out of deconstructed hip hop. It’s really interesting, and it sounds like it’s from outer space.
“Two Weeks” on Jimmy Fallon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvLfJPH-gCQ
“Closer” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jS_VtagNx0
7. Tolerance – Incan Abraham
The band’s name came to them while drinking Inca cola at a Peruvian chicken place somewhere in the Los Angeles sprawl about four or five years back. They’ve been grinding, touring, releasing EPs of measured, rhythmic, atmospheric, psychedelic pop. They apparently sound “Californian” (I once brought a friend along to a show who never head them before; during the second song they were playing, my friend turns to me and asks “they’re from California aren’t they?” saying they somehow sound like they are). They’ve toured some more, wrote some more, played some more. They got signed and released their first LP earlier this year. They’re also friends of mine. They’re good, check ‘em out.
“Tuolumne” video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LLhZHGVguE
“Toulumne” and “Spring House” on Audiotree Live - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWNuvpoxwJE
8. Atlas – Real Estate
Real Estate is a band of young dudes from New Jersey who seem nostalgic for a life they never really had. Their brand of shiny, jangling pop-rock feels like it would echo out from garages, beaches, and tape players in days past. It’s a kind of wistful false nostalgia for people of my age. This was a good album to play when I was feeling sentimental for nothing in particular.
“Talking Backwards” on Letterman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP9XEcOtjbc
9. I Never Learn – Lykke Li
There’s something hypnotic about Lykke Li – it lays in her sound. The sound of this album is more-or-less the same: the music is sparse and minimal with big wall-of-sound reverb, Lykke Li’s voice comes in over that wall like a cosmic ray from the ether. What’s different is that this is mostly ballads about break ups and lost loves – feeling very personal. However, despite the subject matter, we’re mere peasants observing the musings of the queen – distant, unreal, unobtainable.
“No Rest For The Wicked” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh-0y8Qe0Sw
“Never Gonna Love Again” live on KEXP - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5xClGKNSUI
10. G I R L – Pharrell Williams
It all started when Pharrell sang on “Get Lucky” with Daft Punk. That was the first hint that Pharrell wanted to get a bit funky. And he does get funky, with lots of elements of disco (think strings and the disco tempo). There’s a lot of interesting moments here, like, did you know Pharrelle had a decent falsetto? This album is a lot of fun – I never understood why funk seemed to have dropped out of popular music completely because funk is a lot of fun. This album also has one of the most overplayed songs of the year, but that’s not Pharrell’s fault.
“Come Get it Bae” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfGMj10wOzg
“Hunter” live for Amex Unstaged - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVVLZiHj_S0
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