The Archives
Curt McLey
Film Critic
Better Than Eggnog
by Curt McLey 16
I told somebody that I was going to see Behold the Lamb of God, The True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ with Andrew Peterson and friends. “Again?” he said. “Isn’t that the same guy you saw last year?” “Why yes, it is, as a matter of fact,” I said, avoiding the temptation to [...]
Tag Team Corner (Matt and Curt): Best Male Acting Performances of the Last Decade
by Curt McLey 11
Matt: I’m a big fan of powerful acting performances (who isn’t?). So with that in mind, I’d like to suggest a question for you, Curt: Favorite male acting performance of the last decade?
Curt: The last decade? Well, I think the best way to do this is stream of consciousness style. If a performance is so [...]
The Top Ten Moments of Resurrection Letters, Volume 2
by Curt McLey 18
Resurrection Letters, Volume II is artful and beautiful. We’ve come to expect that from Andrew Peterson’s work, haven’t we? Like magnet to steel, we detect a divine pull. With the rising sun, the voice of beauty beckons. Something important is about to be illuminated. Melody after melody, phrase upon phrase, the Tennessee songwriter with a [...]
Lives of Quiet Desperation
by Curt McLey 29
My first career was radio broadcasting. My big break came when I was hired as the all night guy at 59/WOW Omaha. That era was the tail end of the glory days for music on AM radio. With 5,000 watts and a favorable dial position, our signal blasted into Canada, seven or eight states, and with the skywave signal during [...]
Lend an Ear to a Love Song
by Curt McLey 13
Maybe I’ve found a good reason to justify my pack rat inclination. For years I have maintained three dresser drawers, a suit case, and an old trunk–full of so-called memorabilia–spanning over thirty years now. I rarely venture in there. These archives contain an old autograph book, boxes of letters from old camp friends, many of [...]
Are We There Yet? No! But It Won’t Be Long Now!
by Curt McLey 04
For years I’ve had the habit of checking the Andrew Peterson message board at least two or three times each day. Tonight was no different. I tired of channel flipping and political talk and decided to see what my long-time friends on the AP board had to say. In the same way I [...]
Shive Arrives: A Song by Song Commentary on The Ill-Tempered Klavier
by Curt McLey 25
One listen to Ben Shive’s debut The Ill-Tempered Klavier will provide obvious evidence of why this young man has secured the respect of peers and colleagues on the inside of the Nashville music community. With The Ill-Tempered Klavier, Shive’s skills are now planted in the public garden.
Heretofore, there have been unsubtle hints: Andrew Osenga pronouncing [...]
Premeditated Dumb
by Curt McLey 05
One day, all dumbness will vanish from my life and my goofs will haunt me no more. Until then, I must reconcile myself to the fact that on some days my elevator doesn’t go to the top floor. In high school, I once drove my car to school–backwards. Then there was the time I gave [...]
Tag Team Corner (Matt & Curt): Favorite Sleepers
by Curt McLey 02
Matt:
We ended our last conversation with the ‘sleeper’ category and it got me thinking – what is my favorite absolutely sleeper pick out there?
Now, let me clarify what I would say a sleeper pick is. I don’t mean an Oscar winner that didn’t make much at the box office. I’m not talking about a [...]
Babette’s Feast: It’s Food, So What’s the Big Deal?
by Curt McLey 20
I’m deeply grateful that Jason Gray mentioned this movie in the reply of a recent post. It won an Academy Award in 1987 for Best Foreign Language film. I’ve intended to see it for a long time and Jason’s recommendation was the final inspiration that brought me to move it up in my Netflix queue.
It’s [...]
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Facing the Truth
I went to the doctor yesterday for the first time in years. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been sick; it means I’m the kind of stubborn fool who doesn’t like to take an ibuprofen for a headache, the kind of crank who would rather walk around squinting and snappy than to take the blasted aspirin. I just don’t like medicine. I prefer sweating it out, however inconvenient that is for the people around me. So after ten days of coughing and sniffling and whining I finally decided it must be a sinus infection. I have a show in a few days, and I can’t afford to be sick. So I bravely did what any man in my shoes would do: I asked my wife what to do. She told me which doctor to visit and I drove to the offices with a steely resolve. The nurse behind the sliding glass window handed me the clipboard with the dreaded New Patient Paperwork, and then the thing happened that made me want to write this.
The questions began. “Do you have any allergies?” “Do you drink caffeine?” “Do you use tobacco?” “If so, how often?” “Do you exercise regularly?” “Is there a history of heart disease in your family?” “Have you had any surgeries?
Rabbit Room Radio
You can now listen to Rabbit Room artists and podcasts every waking hour of your day—assuming you have a good internet connection. Rabbit Room Radio is available through the player below, through iTunes (look in the “Religious” category), or through any internet radio player. Sunday morning programming coming soon, as well as Saturday morning kids’ music. Let us know what you think.
