Blue Sky Mining (Midnight Oil, 1990)

Considering that I have every Oils album (even the two standalone EP's) from the debut album to Earth and Sun and Moon (1993), the poor band just doesn't get the love it so richly deserves, either in this blog, or even in general.

My Midnight Oil story started when I saw them on Saturday Night Live playing "Truganini" around 1993. It was catchy and it cut through my dominant listening interests of the time, 1960's music and 1980's metal (there wasn't much room for overlap back then). I thought it strange that this kind of music would appeal to me, but after buying and enjoying the album, I started to do the research on what else was out there. This was way pre-Wikipedia (and Internet!), so I generally had to ask friends and I got all sorts of weird answers like they only had two albums, or Red Sails in the Sunset was their first album. I ended up with a very split focus on the band for a while after picking up a second album, Head Injuries, soon after. That one is still one of my favorites and Midnight Oil didn't get much more punk that on that 1979 album. Afterward I filled in the gaps, finding some (10 to 1) better than others (the debut save for "Powderworks"), but overall impressed by the sonic journey the band experienced during the 1980's.

Blue Sky Mining is actually the last album I got. The Bird Noises EP from 1980 was a holdout, but through dumb luck I scored it at a Tower Records going-out-of-business sale. However, by that time I was spread pretty thin, so I wasn't putting much emphasis on completing my Oils collection. As I "discovered" the library for handling my less niche music interests, I realized that Blue Sky Mining was a pretty easy "get", so I finally sealed the deal. It wasn't a totally alien album to me, as I had borrowed it from a friend back in the "boom" days of Midnight Oil. Released almost exactly between 80's magnum opus Diesel and Dust and 90's magnum opus Earth and Sun and Moon, it actually is a pretty straight-up hybrid of the two. The old producer is still on board from the prior album, but a new bass player and new voice is clearly in the mix. Another thing is that this album has a remarkable immediacy to it, perhaps more than any other. Even though I hadn't listened to the album in years, almost every hook, with lyrics (!), was still in my head after years of not hearing them. I think "Shakers and Movers" may be the only song I didn't instantly connect to the hook after giving the dormant album another listen. Not bad! I'm still missing a couple songs that were from an EP (or single?) my cousin lent me: a remix of the quasi-title track that included bits of "Minutes to Midnight" and "Beds are Burning" and a B-side called "You May Not Be Released" that was pretty cool. Oh well, I'm sure some smart person somewhere uploaded it to something and I'll find it one day.

I have to say that the later Oils albums are still pretty much off my radar. Breathe (1996) has always disappointed me since I first spun it on college radio. It's a different producer and just feels a little too smooth. Redneck Wonderland (1998) brings back Warne Livesley (this album's producer!) but it suffers from being too rough. Maybe Goldilocks struck a few years later because Capricornia (2002) sets just the right tone. The band has essentially been defunct since then, which is too bad, because it seemed like they were finally getting back on course. But, especially in the case of singer Peter Garrett, life was intervening and maintaining the band probably wasn't really a priority for anyone anymore. Oh well, perhaps the next of many one-off reunions will change a mind or two and we can eek out one album sometime in this half-done decade!

The Christian Tradition 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition 100-600 (Jaroslav Pelikan, 1973)

I'm an absorber. This means that you put me into just about any environment long enough and I'll develop a profound interest in learning what is being taught all around me. Aside from the occasional dabble in reading on historical Jesus and early Christianity, religion hasn't been on my radar until recently as something to read systematically and learn more about. When I mentioned a need to get more familiar with theology to one of the clergy at my church, he recommended Justo Gonzalez and Jaroslav Pelikan. Both men have written multi-volume works on the history of theology from Pentecost to the present day. I read the first volume of Gonzalez earlier this year, so I decided to try on Pelikan for comparison and see which one I liked better. In the end I can't claim a favorite, though I've spoken with many who have a definite preference (usually for the latter). Each author offers something and in the end it's probably more prudent to read both rather than have to choose.

From just a quick glance over the book, it's pretty obvious that Pelikan is a certifiable genius. His sheer mastery to harness the words of Scripture and the Church Fathers, as well as just about anything written about either, is on full display in the margins, to support his flowing narrative. Unlike Gonzalez, Pelikan approaches the time period topically, not chronologically. Therefore, there is a lot of jumping around through the time period. It look a little bit of adjustment to wrap my history-oriented brain around this. Additionally, Pelikan assumes you have a decent understanding of the historical background and the major theological terms, so his work is harder for the beginning to digest. Although there were spots where I was lost, overall I'm glad I stuck with it. It was pretty clear though that if Pelikan touched on something that Gonzalez had not in his first volume, it was harder for me to follow, particularly St. Augustine. While Pelikan puts the Bishop of Hippo in his first volume, Gonzalez moved him over to his second volume.

I actually read this a little while ago, so oddly enough the next volume of Gonzalez awaits. As for the next volume of Pelikan, that will likely fall somewhere just inside the new year.