Desert racers have a term called "clean air," or "running clean," which
means they are out front, with no one else's dust to eat. And they can not only
see ahead, but behind them, and any cloud of dust approaching them is another
racer making time on them. On our recent road trip in the car, I was reminded
of clean air, or rather the lack of it, going through LA and points north. I
don't mean the smog, but the clean air, or lack of it on the radio. When in a
car I like to listen to local stations, who tend to play different songs not
based on any preset format. Clean air let's call it, whatever mood the DJ is
in, we can either rejoice in it, suffer through it, or change the station. And
with so many so-called Classic Rock stations to choose from, they all sound the
same. Until coming home through Santa Barbara, and we hooked into a small
station for a while. Playing non-formatted music, Sgt. Pepper to be exact. And
not just LSD, or A Day in the Life, but played three songs of side one-for you
old album types, Fixing A Hole, Getting Better, and She's Leaving Home. To me
some of the best on the album. And it took me back, to a time when FM was
young, and so was I....
WABC was the hot station in New York, Cousin Brucie, Scott Morrow, and HOA
lit up the dial. But a new style was forming called FM, and in the late sixties
WNEW-FM became the first station to have no format. You heard groups like
Chicago Transit Authority, before they became CTA, and now just Chicago. You
heard the album cut of Light My Fire, not the gelded AM version. Quicksilver
Messenger Service now just Quicksilver, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Lighthouse,
Gordon Lightfoot before he could read your mind, and Hendrix Band of Gypsies.
Music like Ten Wheel Drive that got you moving, all classics before the term
went mainstream. I remember the night they played Abbey Road, both sides,
non-stop, the day it was released. And we all were amazed, truly the Beatles
good-by album was the best. Never gonna see that again. We listened as we
heard music, not just songs on the radio. We were mesmerized by In Memory of
Elizabeth Reed, and Whipping Post by the Allman Bros., and amazed at the
harmonies of Poco. We heard horn sections, brass, and drums making melodies,
with the sound of a leslie induced organ filling my soul. Whoever would have
heard of LOVE, their Forever Changes album every bit as creative and exciting as
Sgt. Pepper? We learned bass lines could be rhythmic, that Ringo perhaps was
the most under rated drummer, and songs could flow one into another-it was
music, and it was musical. And these three songs on this nameless station,
while driving in a car opened up the floodgate of memories. If music be the
sound of love-play on!
But not all stations play music, some are just bad, reminding us of how far
music has fallen. I still wish I could buy a filter to keep both country and
western from my radio. Or how I am reminded of trips across the Midwest, and
listening to 5000 watt stations, with advertisements telling us that Louise's
Get Gas and Eat Here will be closing at 7pm for her niece's birthday, but will
open again at 6am as always. I miss the old ads that were so bad they had a
charm of their own, and after a few hours of hearing about the sale at
Briscoe's, you almost felt bad you couldn't make it. Two ends of radio, but
both moving the soul. Making the foot bounce, the heart sing, or just becoming
a new friend to a new town. Somehow although only listening, you were a part of
it. No strangers here, just old friends we haven't met yet. With the best
music yet to come, although it has been here before.
I find many times the Holy Spirit works like this. I keep looking for
answers, and seeking up and down the dial of life. When the whole time God's
still and small voice has been coming through. A familiar voice, a song I know,
but sometimes seeking a song that I haven't heard before. Or one giving me a
different alternative, one that is easier, but not as rewarding. But He is
always broadcasting, long before we're up, and long after we go to bed. We are
never out of range from His signal, yet it can be cluttered up by dirty
air-stronger stations making a louder sound, but not producing the music only
Jesus can. Sometimes a good beat, but when the song ends the feeling does too.
It is only the spirit of God that can keep us going, who can make our hearts
sing, and sing along with Him. It is only in the spirit that all the other
noises are cancelled out, and we hear the voice of God purely, His master board
using every range within our hearing, and some we have never heard before. It
is only through God we can go places, see things, and hear things not available
to the untrained or unsaved ear-it is only God who can stir the soul, taking us
much deeper than any emotion. It takes Jesus, and a relationship with Him, and
looking forward to hearing Him and from Him. Classic God if you will-not some
prepackaged CD sold to anyone who will buy into it, but fresh and new every time
you hear Him. The songs He plays are just for you, until you get together with
other believers, and find out again, they are just for you-all of you.
God was for clean air long before smog became a problem. Or dust clogged
your throat, or AM radio clogged your mind. Set your dial on Jesus, and let the
good times roll. Hear the drums, dig on the harp, and the harpsichord. Groove
with a bass line you never heard, and find yourself in a harmony with the one
who created music. No 45rpm version, or AM version-you get the whole song
uncut. You get truth it the way it was written, and the way it should be played
and lived. You get Jesus!
I still like the classics, just not someone else's idea of what I should
like. God knows, and has a whole set written just for you. Tune in, sit back,
and enjoy the music. Switch off the TV, sit with Jesus and hear it all. And
later gather with friends and groove on His love. Like the DJ once said, "put
it in the first groove and let it wail!" Never knew Jesus was so groovy, huh?
Classic love-24/7. Playing in hearts everywhere-set a preset for Him today in
your heart. You will not be disappointed.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com