The Book of Jonah stands noticeably apart from other prophet accounts for its predominantly narrative structure. Hebrew prophet Jonah, son of Amittai, is instructed by God to travel to the town of Nineveh and prophesy against the city’s wickedness and oncoming destruction. Feeling uneasy with such a mission, Jonah flees on ship from Jaffa to Tarshish, but in route, an unexpected storm bubbles and wreaks havoc on the lonely, sea-tossed vessel. The ship’s crew begin casting lots and soon discover Jonah is to blame for their troubles. He soon convinces them to toss him overboard into the troubling sea below, and there, he is swallowed whole by a giant fish, often referenced as a whale in later translations. Jonah spends three days and three nights inside the belly of a whale knelt in prayer, and he recommits himself to God.
Archives for September 2019
Americana UK Shares New Song From Josh Rennie-Hynes Featuring Erin Rae
Josh Rennie-Hynes has an excellent new album out on the 27th of this month, called ‘Patterns‘ (read the full review here) which the Australian borne musician has recorded in his new home of Nashville. It’s got a country feel, but it also has a good sized portion of Neil Youngesque guitar fireworks. This song, ‘Home to You‘, is something of an anomaly on the album – it’s far more lo-fi, has a wonderful intimacy and shows off another side to Josh Rennie-Hynes. And it’s also a duet with Erin Rae.
PopMatters Premieres Karen & the Sorrows’ New Video for “Why Won’t You Come Back to Me”
Karen & the Sorrows do something better than most: Reveal the true reach and ache of sorrow. Leader Karen Pittelman proves this via their latest cut, “Why Won’t You Come Back to Me”. With all the accouterments of country music, the New York outfit breaks our hearts bar-by-bar, line by line in this song. Are we in church or merely the church of the flesh? Where does one draw the line?
PopMatters Shares Brand New Track From Phoebe Hunt & the Gatherers
Phoebe Hunt’s mystical meditations lie at the core of the music that she makes with the Gatherers. Searching for a spiritual poignancy in the emotional sentiments of folk storytelling, Phoebe Hunt & the Gatherers are acutely aware of the human condition, its triumphs and setbacks, and the divides set between us. As Hunt herself testifies, “The thread that runs through our upcoming album, Neither One of Us Is Wrong, is the thread of reconciliation.”
Americana UK Premieres New Song from Signe Marie Rustad
Signe Marie Rustad’s third LP ‘When Words Flew Freely‘ is released on November 1st and “Something Easier” is the second single from the album which we’re exclusively premiering today ahead of the single being released on September 27th. Signe Marie Rustad is Norwegian-American and is happy to find herself to be a strong part of the Nordicana sub-genre of Scandicana. God, but we love our sub-genres.
PopMatters Talks With Shawn Colvin About Her Incredible Career
First released in 1989, Shawn Colvin’s album, Steady On,was an auspicious debut, the arrival of a new voice in American singer-songwriter circles. Continuing a tradition forged by the likes of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Jackson Browne, the album contained songs such as “Shotgun Down the Avalanche”, “Diamond in the Rough”, and “Something to Believe In”, songs that demonstrated Colvin’s ability to reveal fully-formed characters whose struggles and triumphs were both familiar and intriguing.